What ZTR to buy-suggestions

[rob5ham]

New member. Have farm as well as manage 4 properties. Bush Hog most of farm, but mow about 4 acres of hilly, somewhat rocky yard from April to October. Properties are flat 1 acre that require less maintenance. I'm hard on equipment, ran a rocksolid 1856 Cub Cadet for 20 years & it's about dead.
Dealers in my (rural) area: Scag, Toro, Exmark, CubCadet ; Farther are Gravely & Ferris, but know nothing about them. Looking to stay under $6k
Have priced the Scag Freedom 48" w/21 HPBriggs,Stratton for $5400; Toro Titan Zx5480 w/ 23HP Kawasaki for $5400
any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[gahardware]

I would stay away from that Briggs (my $0.02).
JLM

[rob5ham]

GaHardware - Thanks, I feel the same way about them. Trying to stay with kawasaki engines where possible.

Like to know if anyone thinks the Toro won't have enough heft to do the job. A bit higher & I can go with a Hustler SuperTrak. Thoughts?

[Nate'sLawnCare]

Do you have a Snapper dealer nearby? Their Pro series mowers have good reviews overall and they have a number of models with Kawasaki power. They're also pretty reasonably priced. I found a leftover 2011 S75X for $5500 last week, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger yet. It's got a 26hp Kawasaki and 52 inch deck. Good luck in the search.

[greenology]

Recently bought a Hustler and have been disappointed in it as it is has a terrible rough ride and bouncey deck which creates scalping. not worth the nausea and whip lash I have found

[dbear]

Originally Posted by greenology

Recently bought a Hustler and have been disappointed in it as it is has a terrible rough ride and bouncey deck which creates scalping. not worth the nausea and whip lash I have found

Out of curiosity, which model?

[greenology]

Its hustler super Z, 37 hp with 60" deck.

[S&M Landscapes]

Not in your price range but a tiger cat may be worth a look for you.

Also check out bob cat z's they seem to be reasonably priced.
Posted via Mobile Device

[IS500Z]

You mentioned hilly and rocky land. For a smooth ride I would look at the Ferris line of mowers. The suspension system works very well. The IS500z is in your price range but does have a Briggs engine which you may not want. The IS1500z would be around $7,000 but would give you the Kawi engine. Also ZTRs are not the best on steep hills. If you have gentle rolling hills you are fine, but if you are mowing steep hills you might want to reconsider a ZTR.