I'm so confused! - Zero Turn Mowers

[wdrdoctor]

I currently have a 2013 Dixie Chopper Zee 2 with a 42 inch deck. At the end of this year I want to buy a new mower that's more commercial grade.
( $7,000.00 price range )

I own,and operate my own a small lawn business. I don't mow more than 20 yards per week. My dixie chopper has been very dependable so far,but I'm ready to upgrade.

I am so confused right now!

I'm reading about so many cutting problems with the scag tiger cat, and the hustler X-One / X-One I . Those were originally my top choices.

Now I am looking at the Wright ZTO 48 inch deck , Snapper S150XT 48, Gravely Compact Pro 44 .

My head is spinning!!!!!! Help!!!! LOL!!!

 

[djdicetn]

I currently have a 2013 Dixie Chopper Zee 2 with a 42 inch deck. At the end of this year I want to buy a new mower that's more commercial grade.
( $7,000.00 price range )

I own,and operate my own a small lawn business. I don't mow more than 20 yards per week. My dixie chopper has been very dependable so far,but I'm ready to upgrade.

I am so confused right now!

I'm reading about so many cutting problems with the scag tiger cat, and the hustler X-One / X-One I . Those were originally my top choices.

Now I am looking at the Wright ZTO 48 inch deck , Snapper S150XT 48, Gravely Compact Pro 44 .

My head is spinning!!!!!! Help!!!! LOL!!!

All three of those machines are nice, but for commercial use I would recommend you consider the Gravely 48" Pro-Turn 100XDZ with the Kawasaki. It'll run you more like $7,499(current sale price at my local dealer...regular MSRP is $8,299).

 

[Vanousb]

Those are good. But I agree with previous poster about more options for commercial use. You are in the right place for help, advice, and opinions. If you have a dealer, I suggest a strong look at an Exmark. Either pioneer s series or laser series for an upgrade to commercial or semi commercial. Like other post of mine, feel they are long the best for durability, power, cut, etc. for the money compared to others at this level.

Exmark Mobile: Home Page
Exmark Mobile: Home Page

 

[djdicetn]

Those re good. You are in the right place for help, advice, and opinions. If you have a dealer, I suggest a strong look at an Exmark. Either pioneer s series or laser series for an upgrade to commercial or semi commercial. Like other post of mine, feel they are long the best for durability, power, cut, etc. for the money compared to others at this level.

Exmark Mobile: Home Page
Exmark Mobile: Home Page

The Exmark Lazer Z X-Series are very popular with lawn maintenance professionals in my area, but are quite pricey. The Lazer E-Series or S-Series may be worth considering if you want full commercial. It still may be difficult to get a Lazer Z for $7,000-$7,500 though:0(

 

[Shughes717]

What kind of obstacles do you have to mow around? Any steep hills or ponds? Any low areas that may stay wet? Are the lawns you mow fairly smooth or rough? Which brand offers the best support network for your area? All of the brands you named have their strengths. The snapper pro s150xt offers the high end components for the best price. Simple heavy built rugged mower that covers ground pretty fast. If the lawns are rough you may want to look at ferris. Same mower as snapper pro but with a suspension. Will cost more for the same components though (such as fx series Kawi engines and zt5400 drives). Can get a ferris is700 for a price close to the s150xt. Is700 is offered with commercial zt3400 drives and the fs series engine ( same as offered in the one x). If I were mowing pond banks or steep hills I would prefer the zt5400 drives. Scag has a reputation of cutting wet grass well. Hustler offers flex forks to improve the ride and help the deck stay on uneven ground. Hustler is a little faster than some of the others as well. I bought the snapper pro s150xt. I wanted a mower that was built with the best commercial drive train I could afford and snapper pro offered that for less than 6000. I like exmark, but they were a little out of my price range. The pioneer is thrown out there a lot as a mower to look at, but it doesn't offer the drive train that some of the other brands do. If I am going to spend that kind of money and if I had a lawn care business with lawns I could mow at full speed I would want a mower that was a little quicker. Laser z is a well built machine though. I have no input on the wright. Don't have a dealer near my area.

 

[wdrdoctor]

Shughes717, You made a very interesting point to me. You said that Scag mowers are known to cut really well in wet grass. I live in central florida,and we get a lot of rain in the busy season. If I could confirm for a fact that this is true about scag then this may help me out a whole lot! My local dealer doesn't carry scag,but he does carry snapper pro,hustler,and wright. My closest scag dealer is about a 35 minute one way drive away. My snapper pro dealer is less than 5 minutes away from my house.

 

[Ric]

Shughes717, You made a very interesting point to me. You said that Scag mowers are known to cut really well in wet grass. I live in central florida,and we get a lot of rain in the busy season. If I could confirm for a fact that this is true about scag then this may help me out a whole lot! My local dealer doesn't carry scag,but he does carry snapper pro,hustler,and wright. My closest scag dealer is about a 35 minute one way drive away. My snapper pro dealer is less than 5 minutes away from my house.

You said you are in central Florida, Where? You say you own and operate my own a small lawn business. What type of lawns are you mowing, Sub-Divisions or what? If you live here in central Florida chances are your cutting St. Augustine and Bahia grass and 2/3rds of the time wet grass. With a $7000 budget you can afford the best of two worlds. Check The Toro Grandstand. It's the best wet mower you'll find for this area. You don't have to worry about what drives to get because there not Hydro-gear whatever, the mower is sperate pump and wheel motors that are twice as nice as any hydro gear. They are quicker and more responsive than the hydro's. the mower is more maneuverable than a ZTR. Throw a set of G6 gator blades on it and you have the ultimate mower/ztr and you can flip up the flex ride platform and you also have a wide area walk behind. I use the 36" cut and it's the most productive mower I've ever used and you can't beat the 5 year 1200 hour warranty.

 

[wdrdoctor]

I'll pass on the Stander mowers at this time. Does anyone out there mow st augustine grass with a snapper pro ?
My dealer tells me that the snapper pro is known to cut tall thick bahia grass really well. All of my customers with st augustine grass are super picky about the cut quality.

 

[Shughes717]

I have never mowed st. Augustine with my snapper pro, but the lawn at my old house is zoysia. My snapper pro left a great cut on it. My wife loved to walk bare foot in the lawn because it was so soft. Several of my neighbors came to me and asked if they could take some plugs from my lawn so they could sprig theirs. The lawn at my new home is mainly Bermuda and has been neglected for years. Had clover, nutt grass, and crab grass in it in large areas. Got rid of most of the clover. Now I'm working on the other two.

 

[Ric]

I'll pass on the Stander mowers at this time. Does anyone out there mow st augustine grass with a snapper pro ?
My dealer tells me that the snapper pro is known to cut tall thick bahia grass really well. All of my customers with st augustine grass are super picky about the cut quality.

Most people who have St Augustine are picky about there lawns and that's because it takes a lot to maintain St Augustine and everybody who owns property here has St.Augustine Front and both sides with bahia in the back. Most everyone here mows with Toro and Exmark. You can cut Augustine with about any make of mower as long as you have the BTS and a good sharp set of blades.