Narrowed it down, need help deciding

[Roger Wilkerson]

OK, this is my third post and hopefully my last on this subject. I need to buy a mower tomorrow and I need help deciding. I'll recap, I have about 2 acres of rough ground with a 30 degree slope in the rear. I have been shopping and here are my options

John Deere x300 - 2699.00
Cub Cadet SLT 1554 - 2599.00
Craftsman GT6500 - 2599.00
Hustler MiniZ 15/36 - 3020.00

The Hustler has the speed and the cool factor but I am concerned about the hill holding capability. The JD (17 hp kawasaki)is a nice tractor, has a 42 inch cut which seems a little small for that tractor. The Cub (25 hp Kohler)on the surface looks like a nice machine but I hear there are some quality issues. The Craftsman seems like a really nice machine with a 26 horse Kohler Pro Courage. All have welded frames, all have hydrostats, all have step through access. All in all very similar mowers with the exception of course of the Hustler. The only difference notable is that the Craftsman has a 5 bolt rear end with 23 in. tires and accepts ground engaging equipment. Come on guys, let me hear from the mower junkies, I need HELP.

Roger

[Roger Wilkerson]

bumpity bump bump

[lucforce]

There is not a machine on your list that I would suggest using to mow a thirty degree slope-Huge safety issues and equipment shortcomings. If you wand to spend this amount on a quality mower, price a few mid-size commercial walk-behind mowers and buy a jungle wheels or a sulky to ride on behind it.

[flake1333]

OK, this is my third post and hopefully my last on this subject. I need to buy a mower tomorrow and I need help deciding. I'll recap, I have about 2 acres of rough ground with a 30 degree slope in the rear. I have been shopping and here are my options

John Deere x300 - 2699.00
Cub Cadet SLT 1554 - 2599.00
Craftsman GT6500 - 2599.00
Hustler MiniZ 15/36 - 3020.00

The Hustler has the speed and the cool factor but I am concerned about the hill holding capability. The JD (17 hp kawasaki)is a nice tractor, has a 42 inch cut which seems a little small for that tractor. The Cub (25 hp Kohler)on the surface looks like a nice machine but I hear there are some quality issues. The Craftsman seems like a really nice machine with a 26 horse Kohler Pro Courage. All have welded frames, all have hydrostats, all have step through access. All in all very similar mowers with the exception of course of the Hustler. The only difference notable is that the Craftsman has a 5 bolt rear end with 23 in. tires and accepts ground engaging equipment. Come on guys, let me hear from the mower junkies, I need HELP.

Roger


Roger, The hustler mini z without a doubt. I have a 19/52 and you mentioned concerned about the hills with this model. No problem I mow a bank so steep my previous craftsman 42 inch 15.5 kohler could not even drive up with out losing traction. I mow long ways and do to the mini z having a low center of gravity, I mean don't worry about the hills, it will go anywhere almost.

[Roger Wilkerson]

I made a mistake, it is actually a mini fastrack. Think that will still do the job?

Thanks

[Roger Wilkerson]

Luc, thanks for the input. I was looking at those walk behinds. I am about three hundred lbs. think that would impact the performance of that type of mower with a sulkie or a velkie? Probably a sulkie cause my yard is so rough.