Maybe this isn't the right forum, but since I live in Florida: I'm curious what type of mowing equipment maintenance pro's use these days?

Short story: I have multiple grass types, a long water line, hundreds of trees, roughly 7acres to cut and my current RZ 5426(Husqvarna) simply isn't good enough, with it's cheesy thin blades and ultra-low tip speed. I've looked a bit... Kubota, Ariens(mid-commercial, not their standard junk), Grasshopper(I would prefer a front mount), even Husqy commercial.

When I did this for a living, it was easy... today, the choices of the 80's are basically gone and I just don't know which are the better machines for the money.

So if there are any lawn pro's out there, I'd appreciate your input. For that matter, if you happen to have a large yard and have experience with multiple mower types or simply are convinced in yours, chime in.

 

Exmark for floratam and Dixie choppers for Bahia. Sounds like you won't have much floratam though. Just my opinion.

 

I have basically all Florida versions of St. Augustine, Bahia, Buffalo and Zoysia... and weeds, of course.

Everyone seems to like the Chopper... but I've heard they use a drive system that apparently has trouble these days. Idonno... just hate to spend on that expensive thing and not have a top notch machine that will last.

The Exmark has been noted, but I haven't heard a thing about them lately. I've even looked into Gravely(real proud, they are). They were a high end machine in the 80's, so. I'd REALLY like to find a solid Ransomes Bobcat, but no luck yet. I actually have one, but a damned live oak fell on it and seriously smashed it.

The Kubota salesman told me that he thought BadBoy is actually a good machine, which surprised me. He sells Ariens and other brands, but not that one and I asked him, expecting him to frown, but he didn't. The one I want, naturally, is well over $14,000. It does have a CAT(Perkins) diesel though!

I also got a little "don't just go there because you may not like it" info on the Grasshopper. Seems it has spindle, belt and pulley issues, plus I'll need to be careful which engine I get(I'd probably go diesel since I've had them before).

I'll look more into the Exmark for now, thanks.

 

FWIW, My family does a lot of forestry and timber maintenance (although in the Midwest, but some very brutal stuff) , and we have had extremely good results with Kabota equipment. Tractors and various kinds of motors as well. Been using their equipment for a number of things for over a decade now.

 

Kubota is high on the list... I'm just weighing my options because these are pricey and this is for personal use so there's really no write off... I pissed myself off to realize, I don't qualify for agriculture exemption(though I have 3 acres of citrus). I need to plant something else... but there's a catch. I won't bore you w/ those details. Anyway, it's looking like the Z series may get my business... if I can't find a sold used front mount piece. It isn't everyday I spend over 8k on my lawn mower...

I really want to be able to get underneath these trees. I had a rather bad neck injury way back when and it seriously hurts all the time, but much worse when I run into any situation where I need to duck or quickly twist or turn my head. So the front mount has almost been a mission. On the other hand, I simply MUST get a mower that can cut the yard in less than 3hrs... been taking me 5 or so and I'm tired of that.

 

I have bahia and run a few year old ferris zero with blades designed for bahia/floartam, although I have all bahia. Ferris mowers have springs on every wheel too may help your back? I paid over $5k for mine but it was a demo and only 48", I am sure you need a 52" or bigger, good luck, lots of decent mowers these days, might look for more info on http://www.lawnsite.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1

 

That's a nice looking site, but WAY too intrusive! I tried to register and they want my family history! It's a shame, really, not to mention, it pissed me right off because I actually wanted to get involved. They want your full name, your company name, your annual income, job title, area of work, ACTUAL address... SCREW THAT!

I'm kinda retired... so I skipped it and the site stopped me from registering, telling me I'd given invalid information... What do they think they are, the government?

I thought briefly about a Ferris, but they're apparently kinda rare around here. I've never used one(that I remember) before, but have known about them for years and can't say I've heard a load of bad about the brand.

I just learned about some JD's available with LOW hours and prices(around 2k) from an auction... I'll be checking on that Saturday(auction day) and going from there. These aren't full on front mounts, but they do sit out further than say, a Chopper...

 

I saw someone mention them so thought I'd ask.... Are Ariens pretty good? My in laws have one that's a few years old.

 

I have been shopping for a few months and just picked up a Scag. (Orange mowers you see on just about every lawn companies trailers)

You will get what you pay for with mowers. I had to cough up $8,000 for mine. Its a 52" Tiger Cat, with a 22HP Kawasaki. The Scags have a Velocity deck thats angled in the front. (good for bahia and weeds)

Stick with either Kohler or Kawasaki commercial engines and you will get 1000's of hours out of it. The Briggs commercial engine was a few hundred cheaper on the same mower but was very loud, and vibrates the crap out of you.

I can cut my 2.5 acres in 1 hour. Thats with a bunch of obstacles, trees, and my property is not smooth at all, so I cant go even half speed.

 

Ariens has 3 grades I'm aware of and the standard yard mower is decent for a small lawn, particularly if it's also well maintained. Their "mid-grade" is actually pretty solid and I've considered them because of that. Their high end commercial stuff is actually made by Gravely and it's quality equipment. It's also priced accordingly.

Looked over a SCAG yesterday... asked $7,500 and I don't even remember the model, but it is a Tiger Cat of some sort. The former owner traded it for a Z725 Kubota and I gotta say, it's surprising how many of them I'm seeing, now that I'm looking. Not all are the Z725, of course, but there are several nice models and I was quoted $9,414.93 for a standard Z725 - 60" while I was there.

I like the machine and I've heard from many, it's outstanding. On the other hand, that is plenty of money to mow the yard. Incidentally, I got a quote for weekly service... $350 a cut. I'll be passing on that, thanks. This is justification for a solid machine.

Put new blades on the RZ5426 today. Not a difficult task, just have to lift the mower and I have an engine hoist. Soon thereafter, the cut was EXCELLENT for about 1hr... in that time, I got about 2-3acres cut and inadvertently ran over a piece of metal, black, under grass... it didn't even bend the blades... but something was jarred out of place... because it's not sturdy enough. I think I found the plate that moved(under the deck) and will look it over tomorrow. I spent the last 30-45min of daylight cleaning the thing so it will be ready to work on in the morning. Anyway... TOO many troubles with this one, but I am glad I finally found a moderately capable blade. I hadn't cut in 11 days and as you may well know, in FL during the rainy season... bad idea. The mower did a stellar(for it) job till the clank.

MIGHT go with a different Husvarna... The RZ is out for me, but the P-ZT 60 is a solid step up(mid grade) and is considered commercial grade... it's got a few drawbacks the PZ 60 overcomes, but the price difference is ... $2,300.00 and the the cheaper model is $8.199.95... not close to cheap. I like the more expensive for it's better drive train and the spindles are iron rather than aluminum, which wears too quickly for me(due to heat cycles).

Found what I think is a good deal though... P-ZT 60, Husvarna 350BT blower, KTF27B line trimmer, 6.4 X 12 open, dovetail trailer and 3 trimmer line trimmer rack. I already have a trailer and bought a T344 Shindaiwa T344 (4-stroke, sounds like a 2 and uses mixed fuel) line trimmer today, plus I already have a Husqy trimmer...

This is all for $8,499.00 though... new. Of course, my current mower is more powerful even with it's narrower cut and that leads me to concern over the power level, since even the new machine has hydrostatic drive. It has a 10ga steel deck though, much tougher than my stamped steel crap..


Anyway... CONSIDERING PLENTY and haven't made any solid decision... one of my brothers was supposed to check on a used Gravely for me today, but I never heard from him so I suspect he didn't. Then there's the whole AUCTION thing... still haven't been told of a new auction and I'm all about a 3k front mount mower... used and all, even if it's a John Deere. Finally(for now at least), I looked into KUBOTA a good amount more and found they do in fact offer a front mount and it's positively a serious machine... F2690 is the machine I'd really like... but it's quite pricey, I'm sure... dealer told me over 11k to start.

 

That plate was fine, though bent a hair... The problem was 2 things... #1, there's a baffle under the deck(typical on all mowers anymore) and for no apparent reason, it wasn't welded in when built. Hence, it fell down and got SLAMMED by 2 blades. In the process, 1 of the spindle mounds(aka mandrel) cracked at a bolt hole. Another is on the way and I finished mowing, relying on the 3 remaining bolts. It's noisy, rattling like mad!

Looked into several more machines... May buy a used SCAG for $7,500... Turf Tiger 61 as I remember. I also looked a bit more at a Husqvarna like the one I have, but in seriously pro trim... frame, welded deck, iron mandrels... good stuff. $4,500 gets it. I'm concerned though, with a bit of really odd wear, so we're going to schedule a test next week. I'll be testing the Kubota too.

Used to be very familiar with them... quality machine.

I wanted to say, I agree totally with "get what you pay for" and my only real hope is to fall into a great deal.

I'm really interested in another diesel... that's the goal if I can swing it and I had them look into pricing me an F2690(Kubota 4X4 front mount) today, but he hasn't gotten back to me.

I usually spend 5hrs.. about 7.5acres... Should be taking me about 2.5-3hrs total, but I have probably close to 1,000 trees and other things to go around. It's a mess, frankly. I have 1 section that's "tree free" .. has a chunk of trees in one area, but otherwise... empty... That's roughly 1.25 acres and takes me about 30min when the mower cuts well. Problem is, it rarely does.