So we meet again...LOL.
Does it have any warranty left on it? The floating deck is nice for quick and easy height adjustments. For anything half acre or less you'll be considerably more effecient than with the Wheel Horse due to it size and maneuverability, depending on the obstacles there of course. If it really hasn't burned more than a tank or two of gas and it still has some warranty on it, the price is probably OK but the lower you get it for the better. Can't remember the difference between US and CAN dollars but a new machine just like that is probably about $2500 new here I think, I priced them just a couple days ago but don't have the figures handy. With the mulch kit and bagger it's probably fine. Mulching is nice to keep the mess down and between beds. You can get the model and serial numbers off of it and call a dealer and ask them to look it up and they should be able to tell you the year of it. With a 36" you can most likely get rid of the 21" and the 60" Wheel Horse. If it has sat along time or the gas is old, your better to drain the tank and put new fuel in it.
From what you told me about what you got the WH for, you should be able get alot of profit out of it. Can't remember how many hours you said it had but you should get at least $3000 US out of it. On second thought, if it's less than 1,000 hrs, make that $4,000 US. Which means you should be able to get the walk behind and come out ahead!!! Consider a sulky for the Toro, TrimmerTrap brand's Bull Rider sulky looks nice as you can select trailering or castering mode fairly quick and easy, looks built tough too.
Good luck,
Eric

 

Toro makes good mowers however, 2001 model year with vertical height adjustment was their biggest step backwards in the commercial world. These mowers are unbalanced and dont operate as well as the older ones. My dealer said they tried to copy scag and exmark with the pins making it cheaper but they really 30shot themselves in the foot. He wont order any of these only the older styles.
This mower is $3000 new to let you know. I dont think i would go from a 60 rider to a 36 wb your killing the productivity there.

 

Dlandscaping,
I think the prices here are alittle lower than your $3k. His rider is a 1994 Wheel Horse garden tractor, I have one just like it only a year older and 48" deck instead of 60". It's a super machine, cuts and stripes well and built commercial quality but not meant to be effecient at cutting, it's meant to do dozens of chores not just mow. It doesn't have a tight turning radius and can't mow above 5mph usually due to blade speed. If he's mowing half acre or less lots he will not lose much if any productivity. 60" is alot on a half acre, and not overkill as long as its wide open but anything other than flat wide open it is a nuisance on.
Eric

 

If you are paying under $2700-3200 you are getting distibutor pricing. My dealer sells close to 200 toro wbs a spring and he cant go lower than $3k bag included.
On a fixed deck gear drive i paid 2250 with a 12.5 kawi and that was 300 off list.

And obviously a 60 inch tractor is useless on a tightly landscaped 5k lawn common knowledge

 

A 60" GT is useless on a tightly landscaped 20,000 sq. ft. lawn too
A 48" is about right for a 20k lawn if it's a GT.
I dont' have my prices handy but I was thinking it might be about $2700 or so for that mower here, maybe it was more, I can't remember. This dealer is alot higher than the eXmark dealer here though, a 48" Metro HP (floating deck gear drive, ECS, 15hp Kohler) was only $2,600!!!! Meanwhile, a 32" eXmark Metro fixed deck, 12.5hp Kohler pistol grip gear drive was $2300 And a 36" floating deck gear drive Metro HP with ECS and 15hp Kohler was only about $2400/2500 or so. Not bad I must say! The Toro's were much higher once you got above the 32"/36" mark. I dont' really see why, although the Toro dealer is an exceptional one service wise.
Good luck,
Eric

 

I looked at a 2001 Toro Hydro 36". It didn't have a SFS deck and I'm pretty sure that there isn't any deck differences between the belts and hydros, as far as floating decks go. With all that said, all you can do is discharge and bag, which is why I didn't buy this particular machine because all I do is mulch. That's what the dealer told me and if I remember correctly there is some other 37" mulching deck or something on that particular model year. I think Dlandscaping said something about this machine and it's mulching capabilities in the past as well....

 

This sounds like the Toro I traded-in for my Walker except mine was a 2000 model I believe. Might it be the same machine? I found the Toro good in long grass. If there are low hours on the machine it sounds like a good price. I don't think mine made the ability to mulch thou.

Ray

 

i was just picking up a new blower and i looked at the prolines wb. they want like 300 or more dollars for a bag for that mower A! i like there mowers a lot. walkbehind compared to the wheel horse: the 36 and 60 would cut about the same time if you were doing a standered yard 36 might even do it quicker, but if you were doing a field or something im sure the old wheel-E would win! but you would like the WB for the convenece of not having to use a trailer.

 

My biggest property is right around 20 000 sq.ft., so it is less than half acre. It also has quite a few trees as well as beds and is divided into about 5 main areas which means jumping curbs. This mower new is about $4500 - $5000 here. I hope to see the dealer today and get a better idea of prices to buy the 36" and a value on my Wheel Horse. I also have to check on the mulching ability as the web site says there is a mulch kit available.

 

From your last post, sounds like the w/b is the one for ya then. I looked at my prices last nite, my mistake, my dealer's price for a 36" floating deck T bar gear drive was about $3100 or so. If you're getting this baby for half price, jump on it!
Like I said, DRAIN THE GAS first, if it's old you don't wanna run it through your carburetor. I don't think the Wheel Horse is gonna be able to compete when it comes to curb jumping. Well I am sure it could but it would be a pain and I'm not sure if the deck would clear it whereas with the w/b you just lift up the front end. I think on your 20k property with lots of obstacles you'll come out even or possibly slightly faster than with the Wheel Horse really. Depends on how fast you mow and HOW TIGHT the landscaping is. The cut quality probably won't get much better, but the ability to 'zero turn' is more helpful than you can imagine particularly when turning around at the end of a row and in tight places (ie, narrow islands!). GT's are a big pain for maneuverability thats for sure! I usually use a 3 point turn with GT's which works well but zero turning will definatly be alot better. Plus you have a lower profile so you can get under lower trees. More options for bagging and mulching (the 60" WH deck can't mulch and the bagger is big). As mentioned, the WH is faster on a field though.
Good luck!

 

BHB-We'll make the Wheel Horse jump curbs....Take the governer off, put a wheelie bar on back and floor it!

Grassman-The mower in the picture on that link in your first post is a 52". I think it is possible to see that is says SFS on the deck and that it's not a 36". Check to see if that particular deck can mulch. I was told that it can't, but I might have been looking at a 2000 and not a 2001.

 

Scagmark,
I have a WH just like his only a '93 with a 48" instead of a '94 with a 60". The tranny on mine isn't responsive enough to pop wheelies (kinda sluggish, dont' like it alot). You don't need to remove the governor on that 20 Onan, just reach under the air filter on the left side and push that little arm for the governor to throttle linkage in toward the right and whala! You get right around 4k rpm's off of the throttle lever if you want it but I just run mine at about 3500 or so. Plenty of power and blade speed there to do the job just fine. Nice tractor though...Ya won't beleive the cut and stripe quality either!
Now, this Bush Hog puller of mine will pull a hell of a wheelie ! Has the wheelie bars and 4k rpm too, at 1,000 lbs, it's a big brute! I've had it where I'd have been crushed if not for those wheelie bars It was fun though! :blob4:
Eric :drinkup:

 

I just spoke with my dealer and one of these new cost $5159 Canadian - and that is a promotional price.

He also said the Wheel Horse is valued at roughly $3000 - not sure if I can get that though.


Scag48 - I am pretty sure you are right that the picture is not a 36" but the link provides specs for the 36".

 

Is that $3000 trade in price or street value? As I mentioned you could probably sell it for $4000 US around here if it has less than a thousand hours on it and is in generally good condition. If you don't think you could get that much out of it and the $3k is trade in value, see if he'll buy it!

 

Scag ,
Toro hydros are only SFS DECKS NO FIXED and in 36" 44" 52". They no longer make hydro 37 or 62 but you could throw that deck on it on the older style only. This new style decks are not interchangable.

 

I know that you are talking Toro, but I did price the new Gravely Pro-G 13 horse Kawi with a 36" fixed deck with the new pro grip to be sold this spring (about $200 upgrade) for 2350 from my local dealer. The deck is truely built like a tank with 7 guage steel. the new pro grip is kind of like the Toro T-Bar system, and the gravely is going to have a higher top end....if it matters!

However, I did end up buying a used 32 Toro T-Bar and really like it....only paid $1000 for it with sulky, bagger, and mulch cap. It is a '97 that was used for about 3 years residentially they the owner died about 2 years ago, and the widow just sold it this year. A friend of mine found it for me. I have a 60" Yazoo and the Toro will literally run circles around it. It is not so much the size of the deck, it is the totaly desigh of the mower. I would look into a WB if I were you and you didn't the extra functionality of the WH tractor.

Good luck.

 

dlandscaping-That must have been why my dealer told me I couldn't put a 37" on that machine. Well, technically I could, they just don't make it anymore.

 

I don't need the additional functionality of the Wheel Horse as we already have a small farm tractor plus an ATV which is fine to tow a trailer on grass. All I need to do is mow.

I did find a pic of a similar 36" -

 

delete

 

Is there any reason to change out the deck on this unit and replace it with a Recycler if it can be done? Any idea of cost of a deck if there is not a kit available that will just bolt to the underside of the existing deck?

 

I think my Wheel Horse is sold. I will know later today. If so I am going to look at the 36". It is a 3 - 4 hour drive for me to see this machine and if all is good I will buy it.

Does anyone know what I should look for in the serial numbers to determine age? If I understand correctly the 2001 model is a good one to stay away from? I guess this would be the serial numbers I should be concerned about because it should be either a 2000 or 2001. If anyone can help me with the serial numbers it is much appreciated.

 

Click on this link https://lookup2.toro.com/partdex/index.cfm and enter in the model number. It brings up a microfiche for that mower and it should also tell you the years it was made for certain serial number sets. You can then click on the one that applies and it gives you the microfiches. This works for all Toro and Wheel Horse stuff.
Eric

 

TheGrassGuy, forget the above posts.

That mower is selling for about $1800 -$2000 USA. (rough guess)

It can cut grass well. It will bag grass or side discharge the clippings, but it wont let you block off the discharge chute and make it a true mulching/recycler mower.

do not have to buy a different deck for it.

Warrenty is not transferable.

If that is what you want to do, eliminate the trailer then go ahead and buy this mower.

 

LGF is a little low on his estimate. I called one of my local dealers, and this is what they told me:

List is $3633 is the list price and they sell them for $3050. This is for the gear drive, as the smallest Hydro is a 42". You can convert to a mulcher. The mulch kit should be less then $100. I don't know if I would try to save $500 and loose out on the warranty by buying one that is already a year old. Just food for thought. Like I said before, the Gravely is 2350 with pro-grip handles and a fixed deck, probably not too much move for a floating deck. Doesn't sound like the guy is giving you too good of a deal to me.

Clewsew

 

Promotional price here in Canadian funds for a new Toro 36" as mentioned is $5159. The price I am considering is a little less than half that - $2500 ono.