well I am searching for the right ZTR for me. I cut around 7 or 8 acres no slopes some lawn some pasture. some spots are prone to getting wet. mowers I have looked at so far john deere, cub cadet tank series, bad boy outlaw series, Husqvarna pz-60 series have all been eliminated due to control arms hitting my legs. ferris 3100, Hustler super z and toro pro 6000 34efi are still in the running ferris 3100 60 inch vanguard and the toro 6000 60 in 34 efi with hozizon will be about the same price $11,000 plus taxes . I still have to go see the Kubota zd366 , gravely 200 and 400 series, scag turf tiger and cheetah and big dog Diablo MP (red hustler) dealer. If the control arms come up and curve around your leg they seem to hit the bottom of my thighs the toro price is using the equine savings program which is 26% off msrp. I am looking at motors of at least 29 hp with 60 inch cuts. I can get a toro 6000 26.5 hp efi for 9500 plus taxes but I am not sure if it would have enough power. Would love to hear any advice any of you have
ZTR search ramblings
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Shughes717
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All of the mowers you have listed are fine machines. You can't go wrong with any of them. See if your dealer will let you demo them on your property. If you are worried about the control arms. Check out the country clipper defender. It has a single joy stick control and the deck flips up for easy access to the blades and the under side. The ferris is3100 will give you the most comfortable ride. The hustler super z will be the fastest. They offer flex forks for an improved ride. Toro is a quality mower as well. Exmark is made by toro, and the laser z would be worth looking at as well. With that many acres to mow, a comfortable ride should be a high priority. Get the suspension seat on which ever mower you go with!!! Snapper pro is the same as ferris just doesn't have the independent suspension. You can get the 61" s200xt with the 32 hp vanguard in the $8500 to $9000 range. The kubota mowers offer some great features as well. I really like the swivel front axle that will stand the front of the mower up for easy access to the blades. The scag cheetah and turf tiger are very good mowers as well. Try them all out if you can before you buy. It will come down to which mower felt the most comfortable to you. All great mowers though.
djdicetn
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The Gravely Pro-Turn 200 XDZ comes with a full suspension seat and the 400 comes with an air ride seat and both have highly adjustable steering levers. I doubt that there are any riders that could not adjust the seat and/or levers to obtain a comfortable ride!!
Why are you so adamant about getting an engine with 29hp or >?? You do understand that since the recent class-action lawsuit forced all manufacturers to use a different calculation to determine horsepower that all the hp ratings came down and you really need to focus on an engine's torque at a given rpm to determine how much "cutting power" it has. My Pro-Turn 152 has a Kawasaki FX691V Commercial engine that is rated at 22hp, but I have literally cut 8" windrows of grass clippings(before I installed my mulch kit) and the engine did not exhibit the least bit of strain or bog down whatsoever. Deck design contributes to that as well and the Gravely X-Factor decks are some of the best. I can assure you that my Pro-Turn 152 would cut your 7-8 acres without breaking a sweat!! Now one of the Pro-Turn 460 XDZ's(Model$992235) does sport a 31hp Kawasaki FX921V, but the 460 Model#992234 has a Kawa FX850V rated at 27hp that would be more than adequate(and use less gas:0)
Here's a link to check out the specs on the Pro-Turn 400 XDZ and you can locate your nearest dealer(s) from there. All of the machines that you listed that you are considering are all top notch machines, but check out the Gravely's before deciding. I'll bet you will be impressed:
Pro-Turn 400 Commercial Zero turn Mower
It seems like where I am no one wants to let you try out a mower so I would rather error on the side of extra power (can never say to much power) than to be wishing for the next 10 years that I had got the bigger engine because hopefully this will be the last mower I ever buy. I will look at Gravely but my closest gravely dealer (15 miles away)does not stock any mowers they told me to go to Edenton nc 65 miles away to find what I want then they would order it for me. If I drive there I will buy there but that is a long way to go if I need parts
jekjr
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Two weeks ago I demoed a Turf Tiger 60" with a 35 Vanguard. There might be something out there that will out cut it but I never drove one. That is a grass cutting machine.
I bought a Tiger Cat 52" because it was cheaper. It has a 24 hp Kawasaki. We have cut Bahia grass over knee high with it since we got it. Power is not an issue at all.
We also have a ZD 326 Kubota with a 60" deck and a ZG 222 Kubota with a 48" deck.
Both are good mowers as well. The 326 is a beast but it won't cut Bahia with the Scag. Power is not the issue it is the difference in deck design.
As far as durability I personally do not see anything that I think is as tough as the 200 and 300 series Kubotas. Of all of the mowers listed I think the ZD 326 Kubota will be the most fuel efficient. It has two tanks and I have run mine hard many days and never been able to run both tanks out in a day. Mine has about 600 hours on it and is about 14 months old.
Running all day every day I could not afford to buy fuel for the Turf Tiger with the 35 hp Vanguard.
I hear a lot of good things about the Gravely mowers as well.
I never saw a ZD 366 Kubota. Is that a mis type?
Should be ZD326 (sometimes my fingers don't do the right thing)
djdicetn
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I understand....having a dealer you are comfortable with nearby is a very good idea. Did you try the "Find Dealer" on the Gravely website? It shows a bunch of dealers in NC. There may be one close by that you didn't know about. Here's a link to the search for NC:
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Shughes717
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You are on the right track. The best way for you to choose a mower is to try them. If your local dealers won't let you demo a mower then the next best thing to do is see if some people you know will let you try theirs. Any way you go you will be getting a quality machine with the class of mowers you are looking at. All of them are going to offer the same major components. It will come down to what extra features you are most comfortable with. Good luck and let us know what you went with.
Just keep in mind that more power=more fuel. I have a 61" Tiger Cat with the Kawi FX730 (23hp) and do not have any issues with power.
Vanousb
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Been following your thread. Previous commenters are right on target....try every one you are considering...feel our the dealers to find the one you trust in. The dealer and my trust in him and the service I get and would get was worth a little extra to me. All the mowers mentioned here so far are in the top group that compares well together and it ends up being personal preference at that point. It was mentioned that Exmark was made by Toro and would be a good mower to consider (which I totally agree). Did you locate a Exmark dealer to take a look at them as well? Very popular and impressive mowers used by commercial residential here in my area.