So here’s the deal...I have my John Deere X738 tractor with 54” HC deck. Mows great and not getting rid of it. I use it for my 8-10 weekly accounts. Fits all my properties and mows nicely. But...we are closing on our new acreage in 25 days. It will include mowing/maintaining 4.8 acres. Lots of wide-open area and quite a few trees. My wife is concerned I’m gonna spend all my time mowing and never be inside. So...to keep her happy and free up a bit of time...I’m thinking a zero-turn mower is in the near future. Was looking at a 540R Deere but my local dealer actually steered me away from them and said the commercial ones are great, but residential not good. So he’s pushing me towards a Gravely ZT HD 60”. I could also use it on a few of my client’s yards. Reviews seem pretty favorable and put the door price of $5600 with 0% financing for 3 years.
Looking at Gravely ZT HD...any good??
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sbronemann
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So here’s the deal...I have my John Deere X738 tractor with 54” HC deck. Mows great and not getting rid of it. I use it for my 8-10 weekly accounts. Fits all my properties and mows nicely. But...we are closing on our new acreage in 25 days. It will include mowing/maintaining 4.8 acres. Lots of wide-open area and quite a few trees. My wife is concerned I’m gonna spend all my time mowing and never be inside. So...to keep her happy and free up a bit of time...I’m thinking a zero-turn mower is in the near future. Was looking at a 540R Deere but my local dealer actually steered me away from them and said the commercial ones are great, but residential not good. So he’s pushing me towards a Gravely ZT HD 60”. I could also use it on a few of my client’s yards. Reviews seem pretty favorable and put the door price of $5600 with 0% financing for 3 years.
I think for what you described your intentions are it would work fine. I have no actual experience myself with the ZTHD but a local guy runs 3 or 4 of them commercially. They seem to be holding up well and he has about 175 accounts. I’ve spoke with him and he said he likes them and has had no problems yet. He’s had them 2yrs now, maybe a little more.
Thank you for the reply. From what I've read and been watching on YouTube...they seem like a pretty solid mower and the price is pretty hard to beat. Will definitely get the Kawasaki engine as well.
I don't think it is. Not sure on that though. I didn't think I would ever even consider a ZT mower until the dealership pushed me away from the JD ZT's. The Gravelys do look like a treat mower and I think I could mow that 4.8 acres in about half the time. I could then have the wifey help too on the JD!!
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You'd better not let the wife try the z-turn or you'll be the one on the tractor.
Lol. We'll see what happensYou'd better not let the wife try the z-turn or you'll be the one on the tractor.
The dealer is gonna let me demo one for a week. So that’ll be nice before I buy
Trust me...I really wanted a Deere and still might demo one. But the guy has been selling Deere stuff for almost 10 years in the turf section. He is very knowledgeable. And to be honest-I’m not that impressed with the 54” HC deck. It mows well, but one of my accounts neighbor has a company with Gravelys and their cut is superior from my limited sample.
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If you can demo both the Gravely ZT HD and the Deere 540R, that would be a big plus for you. But I sure wouldn't discount what the dealer's advise was to you either.....if you know him well and trust his advise.
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You said: Hands down get the Deere. What is your reason for that? You should at least tell him why he should get the machine that his dealer advised against getting.
Maybe you have experience with the two mowers he's asking about and have found the Z540 to be a better machine?
Maybe you have experience with the two mowers he's asking about and have found the Z540 to be a better machine?
Ive had a new ZT HD 52 for 2 months now. Its a great machine and really is only considered high end residential because its lacking the rops and seat isolation kit that come standard on pro turn but can also be added on to the hd, the only thing bothering me is this vibration/rattle noise when the pto is engaged but I'm hoping Gravely comes out with a fix for it. It is a known issue with the 52" size only though so you'd be fine with the 60.
Thank you for the reply. Can't wait to demo one in the next month or so. I would definitely opt for the ROPS and light kit. Just wish there was more content on YouTube m. When I buy one-I will definitely do a review and give some real-world feedback and updates on it.
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I have the Proturn 260 but did see the ZT-HD and its a very sharp machine, looks like they now have a Pro turn Z machine that looks very similar to the ZT-HD but comes with the ROPS. I recently had to mow someones yard with their garden tractor and it was very frustrating after being spoiled with the zero turn. I financed the machine so i'm cooking all our own meals and never eating out to pay the bills, sometimes i regret spending that much money (like in the winter time), but whenever i am mowing i am very happy with my purchase and i am even able to mow some of the ball fields for our baseball team.
The ZT HD can also be had with ROPS, LED light kit, and something else for about a $450 upcharge over the regular ZT HD. I talked to 2 different dealers and got proposals and for the same exact machine-2018 ZT HD-60 with the ROPS kit and lights and whatever else, one was $1300 higher than the other dealer. Couldn't believe there is that much difference. Thankfully the better priced dealer is my preferred dealer and same dealer as my John Deere. So it'll work out nicely! And I think the wife is 100% on board with the plan! So even better!
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Sweet deal, upload some pics when you bring it home!
I went out and mowed our new house property on Friday. Spent 3 hrs of purely mowing and still had at least another hour left, maybe even 1.5 hrs left + hadn't even trimmed anything. A ZT is definitely going to happen. The wifey already suggested it and ok'd it so I just have to get one out there to demo. After actually being on the property and mowing, it's amazing the amount of outside cleaning up it needs. I'm gonna be a busy man for at least another year just cutting up junk trees, trimming up trees, and taking down dead ones or mostly dead already. I got my work cut out for me!
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