Advice Needed - Buying ZT for ~1 acre

[boris317]

Hello,

Yard
I live on 1.17 acres. In the middle of that is a 2700 sq/foot house with a deck and a long driveway. At any rate there is, to me at least, a good size yard to mow. Most of the yard has many trees to mow around. There is one large clear area on the side of my house where my septic and leach field are. The yard is mosty flat, with only a small incline in one spot.

Mowers I am looking at

• 48" Kubota Kommander Z121S 21 HP Kohler (The E series has a B&S)($4,979)
• 48" Skag Freedom Z kawasaki (~$5,200)
• 48" Ariens Max Zoom 22 HP Kohler ($4,799)
• 48" Gravely ZT HD - Specs are identical to Ariens Max Zoom but with Kawasaki ($4,999?)
• Exmark Pioneer? (price ??)

Overkill? Possibly...I'd like something with a nice ride, a sturdy enough fabricated deck (for when I crash into stuff) and a tranny that will let me pull a leaf vacuum (Is that even a good idea on a ZT?)

I was able to test ride the Kubota and was impressed with the ride but I did not get to actually mow anything with it. I am going to go look at the Ariens soon.

One of my local dealers carries Kubota, Skag and Ferris and another dealer carries Ariens. There is also an exmark dealer close by. Anyway there you have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Shughes717]

Hello,

Yard
I live on 1.17 acres. In the middle of that is a 2700 sq/foot house with a deck and a long driveway. At any rate there is, to me at least, a good size yard to mow. Most of the yard has many trees to mow around. There is one large clear area on the side of my house where my septic and leach field are. The yard is mosty flat, with only a small incline in one spot.

Mowers I am looking at

• 48" Kubota Kommander Z121S 21 HP Kohler (The E series has a B&S)($4,979)
• 48" Skag Freedom Z kawasaki (~$5,200)
• 48" Ariens Max Zoom 22 HP Kohler ($4,799)

Overkill? Possibly...I'd like something with a nice ride, a sturdy enough fabricated deck (for when I crash into stuff) and a tranny that will let me pull a leaf vacuum (Is that even a good idea on a ZT?)

I was able to test ride the Kubota and was impressed with the ride but I did not get to actually mow anything with it. I am going to go look at the Ariens soon.

One of my local dealers carries Kubota, Skag and Ferris and another dealer carries Ariens. There is also an exmark dealer close by. Anyway there you have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

All three are fine choices. They all have commercial decks, and zt3100 hydros. I am a fan of the Kawi engines, so the scag would get the edge there IMO. Ariens manufactures gravely, and look to be very similar. Gravely is a popular mower with some people on this site who are well informed on mowers, and get great reviews. Kubota, like john deere, has a great support network with many dealers throughout the U.S. And make quality machines as well. If you want to look at some of the other brands I would suggest the ferris is600 (has a spring suspension), the exmark pioneer series would be another possibility (also a popular mower on this site). Exmark is built by toro and also get great reviews. The snapper pro s125xt (same mower as ferris without spring suspension) is offered in the budget range you have mentioned. Standard power components on it are fs series Kawi engine, and zt3400 hydros. Will mow a little faster than the others mentioned, but you are only mowing an acre and any of the mowers mentioned should make short work of your lawn. They are all well built mowers and should last you for years if properly maintained. I suggest testing them all. Get to know the dealers and the mowers and choose the one you feel most comfortable with. Dealer support is important. You won't be wrong no matter which brand you choose. These mowers are all built for large estates, so they are all very solid mowers.

 

[djdicetn]

Hello,

Yard
I live on 1.17 acres. In the middle of that is a 2700 sq/foot house with a deck and a long driveway. At any rate there is, to me at least, a good size yard to mow. Most of the yard has many trees to mow around. There is one large clear area on the side of my house where my septic and leach field are. The yard is mosty flat, with only a small incline in one spot.

Mowers I am looking at

• 48" Kubota Kommander Z121S 21 HP Kohler (The E series has a B&S)($4,979)
• 48" Skag Freedom Z kawasaki (~$5,200)
• 48" Ariens Max Zoom 22 HP Kohler ($4,799)

Overkill? Possibly...I'd like something with a nice ride, a sturdy enough fabricated deck (for when I crash into stuff) and a tranny that will let me pull a leaf vacuum (Is that even a good idea on a ZT?)

I was able to test ride the Kubota and was impressed with the ride but I did not get to actually mow anything with it. I am going to go look at the Ariens soon.

One of my local dealers carries Kubota, Skag and Ferris and another dealer carries Ariens. There is also an exmark dealer close by. Anyway there you have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

If the Ariens dealer also carries Gravely(purchased by Ariens a few years back to provide a commercial/industrial ZTR lineup). If so, you need to take a look ad the 48" Gravely ZT HD(Model# 991082-$4,999) with the Kawasaki engine. Chain hung deck, cast iron spindles, 1Year Commercial Warranty(always a good indication of a durable Residential ZTR). I think you'll be impressed with the quality for the money!!

 

[boris317]

@djdicetn Said dealer does appear to sell Gravely too. I'll make sure to check one out.

 

[Shughes717]

Shopping for these mowers can be a fun experience. The sales pitch thrown at you by some of these dealers shouldn't matter much. As I said in my earlier post all of the mowers mentioned are great machines. You should look at everyone you can and test them before making a decision. They will all have certain strengths. Let us know what you choose and why.

 

[Vanousb]

Like the guys mentioned earlier, the listed and others considered, are all great mowers. Like, Shughes717, I would highly recommend demoing each one you are considering to get a feel for how they compare in personal performance. Most dealers will do this for you. And, to me the trust in a good dealer to help with maintaining and servicing mower is important. I wanted close buy, good rep, and someone I felt good about personally. Reason I went Exmark here.

 

[djdicetn]

@djdicetn Said dealer does appear to sell Gravely too. I'll make sure to check one out.

Don't get me wrong.....Ariens are very good mowers too. In fact my next-door-neighbor has a 42" Ariens Zoom that he has had for 15 years and it still cuts great. That is another reason why I bought a Gravely when I found out that Ariens owned them. Ariens has made excellent Residential ZTR's for years, is well known for their Customer Service and Gravely has been making American built farm & lawn equipment since 1916. That's a great fit for those two companies and I figured I couldn't go wrong. I was right!!!

 

[boris317]

Hmm, there is a Bad Boy dealer about 30 mile from my house. Should I throw a ZT Elite on the table? Gaaaah, too many nice mowers at this price point!

 

[Shughes717]

Hmm, there is a Bad Boy dealer about 30 mile from my house. Should I throw a ZT Elite on the table? Gaaaah, too many nice mowers at this price point!

You should test every mower you can find with a local dealer that is in your price range. Many of us on here own zero turns and can give you some insight on what to look for. Some on here will try to push the brand they purchased on you. In the end you have to be satisfied with your purchase. Undoubtably you are looking for a mower that will last you a long time with the money you are looking to spend. The mowers you have mentioned are all good machines. You are on the right track. Get a feel for how they handle before you choose.

 

[Ric]

Hello,

Yard
I live on 1.17 acres. In the middle of that is a 2700 sq/foot house with a deck and a long driveway. At any rate there is, to me at least, a good size yard to mow. Most of the yard has many trees to mow around. There is one large clear area on the side of my house where my septic and leach field are. The yard is mosty flat, with only a small incline in one spot.

Mowers I am looking at

• 48" Kubota Kommander Z121S 21 HP Kohler (The E series has a B&S)($4,979)
• 48" Skag Freedom Z kawasaki (~$5,200)
• 48" Ariens Max Zoom 22 HP Kohler ($4,799)
• 48" Gravely ZT HD - Specs are identical to Ariens Max Zoom but with Kawasaki ($4,999?)
• Exmark Pioneer? (price ??)

Overkill? Possibly...I'd like something with a nice ride, a sturdy enough fabricated deck (for when I crash into stuff) and a tranny that will let me pull a leaf vacuum (Is that even a good idea on a ZT?)

I was able to test ride the Kubota and was impressed with the ride but I did not get to actually mow anything with it. I am going to go look at the Ariens soon.

One of my local dealers carries Kubota, Skag and Ferris and another dealer carries Ariens. There is also an exmark dealer close by. Anyway there you have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Well I think everyone will have there favorites and there are a lot of others that haven't been mentioned like the Toro, Hustler, Dixie Chopper and so on. Out of the ones mentioned the Exmark or the Skag IMO would be the best choices. I personally would look at some Toro mowers who owns and makes the Exmark before I made a choice, I'd also discount any mower from BBS like Lowes, HD or TSC because of the service availability. I think you should look at Warranty and service availability first when making a decision on a mower, those are the things that can make a mower worth while in the long run.