which ztr bobcat,scag,john deere

[zmowingmaster]

Ok here it goes,
I am in the market for a ZTR mower,not a stander.I have a mix of clients between commercial and residential,small and big.
The mower will be used by me and it will mow 5 days a week.
Currently I have wrights 52" and 36" and wb bobcat and scag.
I am looking for something that is excellent in wet dew conditions.most of my properties have irrigation and second company fertilizes
Here is what I found,it might be all over the board,but I still have about a month to decide.
52" bobcat fastcat pro 22hp kawi for 5299
60" john deere z720 21.9hp kohler for 6299
52" scag tigercat kawi for 7699.
Now I do understand that the scag may sound better than the bobcat,but price and mower weight is a factor also in my decision.
here is what i am kinda of concluding
my wallet says bobcat,lawnsite members like the JD deck,the long term investment says scag.....decisions decisions

[GMLC]

I have the pleasure of mowing in wet conditions a lot here in NH. Over the years I have run, demoed and owned many mowers. Only a few can mow in wet conditions well. The best for cool season northern grasses are in no particular order, the Scag Velocity Plus deck, Gravely X-Factor deck and the JD 7 Iron deck. Please keep in mind I have not mowed on warm season grasses and have not tried Bobcats deck.
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[Ridin' Green]

I owned a Z720 JD and it is a fine machine, and it is fully commercial duty in spite of Deere's own false advertising to help sell their 900 series mowers. I can tell you firsthand, the 7 Iron II deck will cut as good as any deck made today, and that includes the Velocity Plus deck. The one thing that the JD doesn't have and should, is a suspension seat. You can add one, but it isn't factory std. The new ratings on the engines have put some guys off, but back when the Kohler CV730 that is in it was rated at 25 HP under the old system, no one thought they were underpowered then. It's justa BS numbers game really. It is the exact same engine as it has always been, regardless if it was in a Deere or any other brand.

I will also tell you, if you decide to go with the 720, buy and use the Gator G6 blades in it. They work beautifully under that machine.

The Gravely's are also worth looking at. They are usually priced very well, and they perform beautifully.

Scag makes excellent mowers, but for some reason I rarely see one around here these days. There are a ton of Bobcat machines here though. I don't believe they cut quite as well as the Gravely, Deere or Scag under all conditions just going by how many I get to see cutting here and then looking at the QOC left behind.

[zmowingmaster]

Thanks for the replies guys I know gravely is gonna be in my search too.
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[pugs]

The Fascat is a different class of mower than the Tigercat. The Procat would be more comparable. Has a few extra features(higher ground speed, hydro oil cooler, flat free front tires) over the Tigercat and a similar price.

[LawnCareNoobie]

Originally Posted by zmowingmaster

Ok here it goes,
I am in the market for a ZTR mower,not a stander.I have a mix of clients between commercial and residential,small and big.
The mower will be used by me and it will mow 5 days a week.
Currently I have wrights 52" and 36" and wb bobcat and scag.
I am looking for something that is excellent in wet dew conditions.most of my properties have irrigation and second company fertilizes
Here is what I found,it might be all over the board,but I still have about a month to decide.
52" bobcat fastcat pro 22hp kawi for 5299
60" john deere z720 21.9hp kohler for 6299
52" scag tigercat kawi for 7699.
Now I do understand that the scag may sound better than the bobcat,but price and mower weight is a factor also in my decision.
here is what i am kinda of concluding
my wallet says bobcat,lawnsite members like the JD deck,the long term investment says scag.....decisions decisions

Not sure what your budget is, but I'd look into John Deere's new B, M, and R series ztraks. B series are priced lowest and R series being priced the highest. I had the chance to see a 930M in person and I think it's a very nice machine. JD offers 3 different seats now. The basic seat which comes standard, another seat that gives a better cushion for bumpy rides, and then the full suspension seat. Jd also has flex forks available with these machines, and I'm pretty sure you can get them to put on any current 900, and 800 series ZT.

I know you're not looking into a stander but I looked at one of their new ones as well and they are really nice. They are the same as Wright standers but there are a few little differences that JD changed.

I own two 727A's, and currently one 925A and don't regret owning them one bit. I had a 757A once but traded it in for the 925A.

[zmowingmaster]

after doing more research,I am considering also the gravely proturn 152 and the wright zto 52.
I am still leaning alot towards the fastcat pro.
I think it is gonna come down to the mower that is offered by the dealer nearest to me.They all look great and have good reviews.

[weeze]

from what i've gathered the john deere 7-iron and the scag velocity plus decks do the best in wet conditions.

really they do best in all conditions. there are exmark lovers on here that swear by exmark being the best. they only do that when it's dry and on weekly yards that are not overgrown at all. i don't know about you but that is a rare thing that i encounter. most of my accounts are bi weekly and not the most perfect yards out there. the complaint they have against the 7 iron and the scag velocity plus is that the clippings are too long. these decks cut and move the clippings out fast. the long clippings can be fixed though by using Oregon G6 blades. this cuts them into smaller pieces therefore making the 7-iron and velocity plus decks the best in all conditions. from wet, overgrown all the way to dry, weekly, perfect yard conditions.

[GMLC]

Once you demo my feeling is your going to be deciding between the Scag, Gravely and JD. The cut quality of these three are what seperates them from the rest.
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[LawnCareNoobie]

Originally Posted by zmowingmaster

after doing more research,I am considering also the gravely proturn 152 and the wright zto 52.
I am still leaning alot towards the fastcat pro.
I think it is gonna come down to the mower that is offered by the dealer nearest to me.They all look great and have good reviews.

It a lot of it comes down to the dealer as well. Make sure whatever brand you choose, you can trust the dealer to give you the best support when needed. Many of us can't afford much down time if a part is needed, etc.