This will be a brief statement of my opinion of 2017 (i think) Ferris 3200z 72"deck with 37HP
First a couple things about me. I owned operated a landscaping business for 10 years and have been in OPE business, dealer, landscaping outfit etc. for most of my life.
I now live on a farm with around 7 acres I mow weekly weather permitting, I also have pasture that is waist high that I mow for trails, or to clear a spot for cutting a dead ash tree etc.
My previous mower was a 27hp 52" toro z that was a carry over from my landscaping business so for comparison purposes that is the mower.
Again my personal observations.
The cut. Hands down the Toro had a better cut, the Toro deck created a vacuum that would stand the grass up and pull the surrounding grass in to the deck. The problem I had with that was when the grass was wet the deck would plug and I would have to find a spot to shut the blades off and drop a wheelbarrow load of grass on the ground.
The Ferris deck has no noticeable "vacuum". In other words if your deck is set at 3.5" and the grass or weed is laying down it will not stand it up and cut, this is especially noticed when mowing clover (I keep honey bees), where the front tires lay the clover over the deck never pulls it back up to get mowed. Furthermore it is actually noticed in any tall grass the front tires can lay down, there will be two strips of laid down grass where the tires mashed the grass. However I have never had the deck load with grass and plug like I did with the Toro.
The ride. The Toro did not have any suspension seat but it was a nice seat..... I could have told you where every chuck hole and bump was in my yard, My back hurt, guts hurt, everything, also had to mow slowly for self preservation.
This is where the Ferris shines, I can rally across just about anything at 12mph with hardly any discomfort. This is a big deal and makes up for me the inadequate cut in tall grass.
The Machine. Both the Toro and Ferris are what I feel to be a good engine mower combo. In my opinion the 37 HP is by no means over doing it. The biggest problem I had with the Toro was keeping the deck belt on when engaging the blades. With 3 hours on the Ferris the pto bearing was squalling. They replaced it under warranty and now again at 30 hours it pto bearing is squalling.
To be fair, in weekly mowing accounts I the Ferris cut would be acceptable but we all know conditions are never perfect.
First a couple things about me. I owned operated a landscaping business for 10 years and have been in OPE business, dealer, landscaping outfit etc. for most of my life.
I now live on a farm with around 7 acres I mow weekly weather permitting, I also have pasture that is waist high that I mow for trails, or to clear a spot for cutting a dead ash tree etc.
My previous mower was a 27hp 52" toro z that was a carry over from my landscaping business so for comparison purposes that is the mower.
Again my personal observations.
The cut. Hands down the Toro had a better cut, the Toro deck created a vacuum that would stand the grass up and pull the surrounding grass in to the deck. The problem I had with that was when the grass was wet the deck would plug and I would have to find a spot to shut the blades off and drop a wheelbarrow load of grass on the ground.
The Ferris deck has no noticeable "vacuum". In other words if your deck is set at 3.5" and the grass or weed is laying down it will not stand it up and cut, this is especially noticed when mowing clover (I keep honey bees), where the front tires lay the clover over the deck never pulls it back up to get mowed. Furthermore it is actually noticed in any tall grass the front tires can lay down, there will be two strips of laid down grass where the tires mashed the grass. However I have never had the deck load with grass and plug like I did with the Toro.
The ride. The Toro did not have any suspension seat but it was a nice seat..... I could have told you where every chuck hole and bump was in my yard, My back hurt, guts hurt, everything, also had to mow slowly for self preservation.
This is where the Ferris shines, I can rally across just about anything at 12mph with hardly any discomfort. This is a big deal and makes up for me the inadequate cut in tall grass.
The Machine. Both the Toro and Ferris are what I feel to be a good engine mower combo. In my opinion the 37 HP is by no means over doing it. The biggest problem I had with the Toro was keeping the deck belt on when engaging the blades. With 3 hours on the Ferris the pto bearing was squalling. They replaced it under warranty and now again at 30 hours it pto bearing is squalling.
To be fair, in weekly mowing accounts I the Ferris cut would be acceptable but we all know conditions are never perfect.
