Hello,<p>Funny, but I was having the same thoughts about wheter to buy a fixed or floater too. We currently have a 36 bobcat belt, and it doesn't scalp. As mention in other post, it will scalp on drainage swails/small steep inclines if you are not careful. I looked into the scag ultimate and another bobcat 48 hydro. The scag has the floater. I just don't know if it really helps either. We have 72" groundmasters with floaters, and they tend to scalp horribly on the short, steep inclines (more of deck size problem though) I figure to shop around, try them out, and just go with the mower with the best performance and price. <p>I priced out the 48 ultimated scag, and it was real close to a 48 bobcat hydro, so I would move towards the scag just because it has a 18 kohler and the bobcat a 14. Have to test it first though. <p>steveair