Hustler Mini 44" not cutting like a $6K mower should

[griffithtlc]

We picked up a 44" Mini Z this year for our residential accounts. We have been forced to double cut EVERY lawn we do, because it leaves two tracks of strands sticking up. We have been religiously cleaning the deck, the blades have been sharpened every morning, we tried the stock blades, as well as gators, and even double blades, but still nothing! If we can't get this thing to cut it is going back, because it just loses time. We are thinking about bringing the 52" snapper walk behind out of retirement. John Deere dealer has recently marked down their 48" mini Z trac... might be making a visit up there. Please Help!

[mowerconsultant]

Have your dealer take a look @ the deck pitch and also make sure the belt is tight enough and engine RPM's are set to where they belong.
If your dealer has any questions have him call the factory, they will make sure the unit cuts right.

Pj

[bcayes]

I'm sorry you're having these problems. I'm sure your dealer and/or Hustler will get you fixed up.

But the reason I'm sending this message is to address the nature of this post. From the text of the message I'm assuming this is the first time you've let anyone know of your problem. However you start off bashing the product with the comment "Hustler Mini 44" not cutting like a $6K mower should" and end the post with stating that you will start using old, inferior equipment to do the job because your hustler can't.

Instead of degrading the product and belittling the company(who can't fight back because you ARE the customer), how about following the normal channel for problem resolution. Go back to the dealer that sold you the equipment. Tell them of your problem and find out their course of action. If that isn't sufficient, post a message here asking for assistance. Your post doesn't have to be aggressive or degrading. Just state the facts. As evidenced by other posts, Hustler seems to really care about their customers and will do the right thing to get your problem resolved.

I'm sure it's frustrating to have a problem with a new, expensive piece of equipment. But theses things are mass manufactured. And any thing that is manufactured by humans can have a problem.

Sorry for the rant, but these attacking posts on a public forum are becoming way to common and are unfair to the companies that are trying to do legitimate business. And no, I don't work for Hustler.

[mowerconsultant]

griffithlc,
I sent you a PM, please respond and e-mail me.

Thank you
Pj

[RD NELSON]

I've got a super mini z 44" and also a fastrack 44" and both units do a perfect job of cutting. I cut mostly st. ausustine with the super mini z but cut a lot of bermuda, weeds and st. augustine with the fastrack. Your unit must be out of adjustment, not inferior! These units seem to be some of the best in the industry and the company is very dedicated to keeping happy customers as well as building a great product.

[RD NELSON]

I agree with bcayes. go thru the proper channels and I'm sure they can solve your problems. I have 2-44" hustlers and they work great.

[griffithtlc]

PJ, sorry about the delay in getting to your message, we've been bombarded with rain and have finally caught up. I'll shoot you an email with the info you requested. Thanks!

Bcayes, I don't want this to turn into a ******* match, but you can certainly sense our frustration when we are putting in 45 - 50 hour weeks because we have to double cut every lawn that our residential mower does, when we should be out of there in 35-40 hours. I didn't bash hustler, I simply said that we may be bringing our older residential machine out (which is not inferior) because it is more efficient than double cutting. With all the rain we've been getting efficiency is key. However, if you or Hustler was offended I will appologize, and in fact I want to praise Hustler and our local dealer because of how they are handling this matter.

[mowerconsultant]

I received your e-mail and all of your information, I am forwarding it to the proper people to make sure you are getting taken care of ASAP.

Pj

[Rougewave]

Just wondering how things turned out? I am having the same issues......

[Rougewave]

I was wondering how this turned out ? I am having the same issues.
Thanks

[mowerconsultant]

If you are having the same issues, e-mail me and I can get this taken care of for you.

Pj

[griffithtlc]

Hustler sent up some new spindles with smaller pulleys on them, and the discharge opening was enlarged, we were told that these were the changes they made to the 05 model, but it ended up cutting worse than it did before. So we were given the option of getting an 05 model, or jumping up to a 52". We just didn't trust that the 44 would cut so we opted to work with the 52". Hustler was pretty cooperative through it, although we are more than a little disgusted at the fact that Hustler would put a mower on the market and have their customers pay to do the R & D for them. Props go to our dealer, M&M Express out of Maple Lake, MN they took good care of us by giving us a loaner and making sure that we were being treated fairly. From what we were told, the 44's just aren't cutting right, first we were told they've never had this problem, and now all of a sudden it is a common problem...but our 52" unit cuts very nicely.

[mowerconsultant]

It is not a common problem, although we are seeing it in a few different regions of the country this year.
We have offered this 44" deck for almost 5 years and have sold a lot of them, with few complaints.

Pj