The Green Industry's Resource Center

Dishiki · #1 06-09-2011, 07:41 AM

I am interested in buying a 42 inch ZTR. I have about an acre of grass, and I do have a few hills. I want to keep it in the 2500-3500 range.

I like the Hustler's but the dealer is 29 miles away so not sure I want to drive there every time to get it fixed. There are Bad Boy, Toro, and Ariens dealers all within 5 miles.

I was really looking at the Hustler. Is it that much better than a Toro? The Bad Boy looks nice but the local dealer has the 21 B&S engine. The Toro has a 20hp Kawasaki and is 500 cheaper. Then there is the Ariens, which has three blades.

I am going to be mulching 95% of the time so I want to take that into consideration as well.

mprowland · #2 06-09-2011, 09:27 AM

I asked the dealer the same question about the Toro (I'm assuming Timecutter). He said the Hustler was definitely worth the price difference. I ended up going with a 48" Hustler Sport with Honda engine. If I were in your shoes I would go with a Hustler or Badboy for that price range. The Hustler dealer may be further away but you may have to go there far less.

rwaters · #3 06-09-2011, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mprowland

I asked the dealer the same question about the Toro (I'm assuming Timecutter). He said the Hustler was definitely worth the price difference. I ended up going with a 48" Hustler Sport with Honda engine. If I were in your shoes I would go with a Hustler or Badboy for that price range. The Hustler dealer may be further away but you may have to go there far less.

I am a Hustler dealer but not a badboy or toro dealer. All in all the Badboy and Hustler will have a stronger frame and deck, but on the Badboy the weakest link is the briggs engine making the kawasaki on the toro sound like the best buy for me. Not sure what engine you have for the Hustler option but if it has a kawasaki or honda I would go that route.

saw n mow · #4 06-09-2011, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dishiki

I am going to be mulching 95% of the time so I want to take that into consideration as well.

With that in mind, the Bad Boy that you were most likely looking at (MZ) doesn't have a mulch kit available for it...as far as I know. For 2011, the MZ's have a Kawasaki 22hp (42") and Kawasaki 26hp (48") available.

Kevin

Capemay Eagle · #5 06-09-2011, 01:52 PM

29 miles is not that far and I don't think it will have to be fixed all that often even if ever! The Hustler Sport 42" is a solid mower and there are many happy owners that have purchased them in the past couple of seasons! That mower has a few engine options, you can get the Kawasaki Honda or Briggs engines and if it were me, I would go with the Kawasaki, but IMO, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them!

The Bad Boy MZ is equally as nice and has the Kawasaki and Briggs engine options! Both solid mowers and both have the EZT transmission. For your one acre, these are two good picks and both great companies and these would be my 2 choices along with the Bob Cat Fastcat RZ. The rest will have to be up to you to test ride and see which one feels right!

Dishiki · #6 06-09-2011, 03:30 PM

Thanks for the replies. Talked to another dealer that switched from Hustler to Big Dog. Apparently both are made by Excel. The Big Dog have 17.5 hp B&S or an 18 hp Kawasaki. That seems underpowered compared to both the Toro and the Hustler. Does anyone have any experiences with those? The Hustler that I was looking at had the Kawasaki engine.

rwaters · #7 06-09-2011, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dishiki

Thanks for the replies. Talked to another dealer that switched from Hustler to Big Dog. Apparently both are made by Excel. The Big Dog have 17.5 hp B&S or an 18 hp Kawasaki. That seems underpowered compared to both the Toro and the Hustler. Does anyone have any experiences with those? The Hustler that I was looking at had the Kawasaki engine.

I looked at bigdog and apples to apples they cost the same but hustler had better warranty support. So I went with Hustler, But in the sport model the only difference mechanically that I know of is the engine.

Capemay Eagle · #8 06-09-2011, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dishiki

Thanks for the replies. Talked to another dealer that switched from Hustler to Big Dog. Apparently both are made by Excel. The Big Dog have 17.5 hp B&S or an 18 hp Kawasaki. That seems underpowered compared to both the Toro and the Hustler. Does anyone have any experiences with those? The Hustler that I was looking at had the Kawasaki engine.

Seems underpowered, but it is not! I owned a Hustler Mini Fastrak with a single cylinder 17hp Kohler and it had plenty of power. I now have a 42" Hustler Super Duty with a 19hp Kawasaki and it feels about the same as the 17Hp Kohler. Plenty of power! These machines are smaller, there for the smaller engines. Big Dog would be a mower worth looking at, they are a division of Hustler, so I am sure they are a good machine. They have been mentioned on here a few times, but I have yet to see any members so far that has bought one? In the Homeowner forum that it! You could be the first!!! And if you do go with the Big Dog, I am sure others would love some feedback on it!! I would imagine you were looking at the C142? Very similar to the Sport! Did you get a price with both engines? I am curious to hear what they are priced at! The Kawasaki would be the way to go and 18hp would be plenty for that little hot rod!

Dishiki · #9 06-09-2011, 07:35 PM

Yes got them both priced. The big dog is more expensive than the hustler which is surprising since it seems to be the same machine.

Hustler 42 with 18 hp Kawasaki. 3,166. 29 miles away.
Big Dog 42 with 18 hp Kawasaki 3,400. 5 miles away

Mulching kit on both are 99. Gonna go look at big dog and if I like am going to see if they can match the Hustler price.
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Capemay Eagle · #10 06-09-2011, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dishiki

Yes got them both priced. The big dog is more expensive than the hustler which is surprising since it seems to be the same machine.

Hustler 42 with 18 hp Kawasaki. 3,166. 29 miles away.
Big Dog 42 with 18 hp Kawasaki 3,400. 5 miles away

Mulching kit on both are 99. Gonna go look at big dog and if I like am going to see if they can match the Hustler price.
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That is a great price on the Hustler!! If you can match that price on the BD, you are doing pretty good! I do find it surprising! Are these both 2011's? Not that it is a big deal, but could explain the price difference.

Just curious if you test rode these machines yet? Make sure you are comfortable on them!