Hustler Short Cut 1500

[cajuncutter]

Anyone here know of a place to get a good deal on the rear tires for this machine. Dealer in my area seems to have the monopoly on this one dang tire. It is such an odd size.

[gene gls]

How do you like the Short Cut??? Do you bave the bac-vac also?? Good, bad, or other wise?? I'm going to demo an upper cut this year....Thanks.

Gene

[cajuncutter]

I like it very much. I will warn you though..if you plan on doing very large properties it can take a toll on your back. If you do not mind ridding a 4 wheeler all day with no back support then I believe you will like it. I have the 54 inch deck with a 22 kholer. One thing I do wish I had is the new front casters and larger tires. Right as I bought mine they turn around and change up the design. They put larger front tires on which makes it easier to climb up on curves. I do not have the vac I discharge out the side. Also if you like to use the famous gator blades you can forget about it with this machine. They have not made one for this application yet and if they have and I am wrong someone please tell me where I can get it. Another pro about this machine is I can turn a 360 on my trailer, the common Z's can not do that. Makes it easy to get in between houses and turn around. You will have to take it to a field or perhase your own yard and get use to counter-rotating the tires...at first I would tear patches out of a yard with it. One major pro about this machine is the time it takes to learn to drive it. Lets say you go out of commision or your forman does...you need someone to learn quickly how to operate a mower. The Z's take a bit of coordination where as this machine takes hardly any. I put one of my guys on mine just the other day for the first time..with in 2 minutes he was blasting around my yard on it with no problems. I hope that this helps..if you have any other questions please let me know..BTW...not very many after market parts..such as blades/tires for the rear/bearings etc...engine parts are common...you get a choice of kholer or kaw

[MikeGA]

Have you checked with a major tire store in your area? Not Wal-mart, Sears or Home Depot. Surely they could find you some tires. They may not be any cheaper than your dealer, but they should be able to find some.

[crs]

I have a Excel Short Cut. Mine is a 20hp Kohler with a 48" sd deck. I can't say I love it but I do really like it a lot. It is a good machine for residential work. If you use it on slopes, be carefull; it has a tendancy to go down a hill if it gets pointed that way.

Stay away from the uppercut unless they have corrected all of their blade problems. I used to work for a dealer that carried Excel equipment and they had at least one recall on that machine because of uppercut blade failures. Also this machine(uppercut) is fairly high maintenance. A side discharge deck or a regular rear discharge is a much simpler machine.

If you need a machine to catch grass clipping look at an Excel 251k. This is a great machine, been a round a long time and it has all the kinks worked out. You can change from catcher to rear disharge(and back) in less than a minute. Also you can get an edger for it so you can edge while mowing. I know guys in this area that use them only for edging and leaf removal.

cajoncutter,
You should be able to have any tire dealer order those tires for you. You did not indicate if you had turf or atv tires. If you have the atv tire a motocycle shop should be able to hook you up. If not you might contact Ron Pillion at Right of Way Equipment co.(1-800-662-8711) I know they have them and they ship ups daily, they should also have the gator blades to fit your mower however the gators don't work well on that machine in damp grass. It packs up pretty bad.

Sorry to be so long winded but at least I practiced my typing skills for that next proposal.

[cajuncutter]

thanx for the number!! I will give them a call. I do have the "ATV" tire. I kind of like it but it sure wears fast. I was told that since there was less surface contact that it would help prevent the "burning" of the grass. I have not really noticed all the other machines out there leaving burn strips. Also I was told if the ground is soft or there is a lot of dew on the ground and you have to climb a hill it will prevent the tire from spinning..I have witnessed this and I like that featre. Do you have the standard turf tire or the knobby? If you have the turf do you like it? The gator blades will be more for the fall time. I figured I would run either 1 or 2 high lifts and a gator on the discharge side to help shred a little better rather than run it over 4 or 5 times. I emailed this comapny gatorblade.com and they wrote me back and said they did not have that particular blade available for the 54 inch deck..I will keep hunting. I did find an after market blade at Rotary and tried them out..doesn't have as much lift as the factory blades and seems to be a bit on the thin side..do not really care for them.

AS far as your advice on the slopes...My first experience with the short cut was a bad one..could have lost my foot. I had the dealer bring it to one of my properties which has a very steep terrice in the back. If the mower could climd it ( was not really concerned about cutting it I just wanted to cut the acre below it and wanted to make sure I could get out) I would buy it. Well the fella that brought it out climbed it several times so I took my turn. Well I am use to belt drive walk behinds some my first instinct was to get a running start and hit it head on at full speed. I got 3/4 the way up and the tires dug in and the deck came up. I paniced!!! I let go of the t-bar and the thing swung around wanting to go nose first down hill. As it went around I tried to bail but my foot got caught inbetween the body and the step up(if you want to call it that..I am sure you know what I am talking about since you have one) I went down the hill with it praying to god that I did not loose my foot. I made it down only with a sprang. From that day on I learned to respect that mower LOL. I learned my lesson when it comes to hills I am just glad I was not straped in a Z with the handle bars across my lap.
Well enough rambling..I don't mind the typing it is my spelling that kills me
CYA

[crs]

I have the turf tires on my machine. I think they do just fine. I demoed the machine with atv tires and I could not turn it without tearing up some turf. I think they will last a lot longer as well as being a little less expensive. I have not had any problems climbing anything with these tires. Something that made a difference in my machine was adding some weight to the tires. I opted to use puncture sealer rather than calcium chloride, it was more expensive but it wont rust the rims or kill the grass if it leaks. I put about a gallon and a half in each rear tire. The few extra pounds really made a differnce in it's ability to hold a hill.

GOOD DAY

[HOMER]

If my first experience had been like yours it would have been the last one! Way too much drama for old Homer! :D

[Artman]

Gator blades are available for every Hustler deck. The ones you want are 19" long and the part number is 779348 from your Hustler dealer.

Hustler also has a seat back for the ShortCut for those who want one. Part number on that is 337816.

[cajuncutter]

I think I may do that myself crs. Those atv tires are high!! Also Artman thanx for the tip. I may look into that seat back. I got a couple of larger yards this year and the seat back will come in handy.

Homer just glad I was not stuck in one of those Z models when that happened. I would have had soil in my pants....and not the dirt on the ground:D

[jeffie]

crs,
I just purchased a Short-Cut from Right-of-Way in Raleigh.
I have the 54" side discharge and the 48" Uppercut with the bagger. I have put about 20 hrs on it solely with the Upper-cut. I have been impressed with the rear discharge, it does fantastic if you don't try to take off too much of the height at one time. The bac-pak hasn't really impressed me that much, It seems to clog too easily.(moist,juicy fescue) I have used their compacts for years ( 2-251's 1-260 ) and have been well pleased with the durability of these machines.I purchased the Shortcut to replace the use of my Walk-behind and so far I've been able to take the Short-cut in the same places I use to have to use the walk-behind. After using the Compacts for years, I was at first dissapointed in the Short-Cut. (It is not a 251). I just had to realize the reason I bought it and it replaces the walk-Behind wonderfully.(why walk when you can ride)

[cajuncutter]

I agree on the ride and walk point. The shortcut is shorter than my 36 exmark walk behind. I think it is as long as it is wide. You can get in a much tighter place than the Z models with the same deck width.