PB's ZTR Shopping Blog

I'm thinking of buying a ZTR some time this summer and thought I'd just blog my thoughts here for others to give feedback on. This is a big purchase for me so it may not happen for months. I'll most likely over analyze the crap out of it.

I'm also scanning Craigslist and eBay but the pickings in the NW are really slim.

I'm aiming to keep it in the $4000-$8000 range which gives me tons of opportunities but does appear to rule out Diesel ZTR's.

Features I want:

1. 50" -60" deck - Deep is good but I'm not too concerned about the gauge of metal.

2. The ability to mulch thick dense wet grass (more HP the better) so most likely a 23-27 HP Gas motor.

3. Speed - It should be able to mow well at 8-10 mph on the smooth nice lawn. I think most low-end residential riders top out at 6mph so I'm looking at top-end residential or low-end commercial

4. Comfort - a decent suspension seat so if I decide to more the pasture areas with it then I won't have a sore back the next day.

The big downside to ZTR shopping in the NW is that for some reason ZTR's aren't that big here. When I was in the south a few months ago I would drive past dealer after dealer with rows of ZTR mowers. Up here, you are lucky if a dealer (other than the big Deere and Kubota Dealers) has 1 mower in stock. Not much competition or choice.

Price quotes I've had so far:

Kubota ZG23 - $7400 + $450(approx) for mulch kit.
Kubota ZD321 - $10,300 + $450 for mulch kit.

Deere EZTrack 445 - $4,649.00 (web site price)
http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductC....ProdCatProduct?pNbr=SKU21899&tM=HO&link=enav

Deere 727A - $9,009.00 (web site price)
http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductC...iew.servlets.ProdCatProduct?pNbr=0890TC&tM=GC

Toro 74248 (Last years model) - Probably a 500 - $6849
http://www.toro.com/professional/lce/zmaster/z500/index.html

That's it so far.

A not-so-local dealer has an '03 Toro Z255 with supposedly "low hours" for $6500.

It probably has a 60" deck with a mulching kit.

Might be worth a 2 hour drive to inspect it.

Just got a call back from the Deere dealer

He can get me a new 727 for $7995. Hmmm . . . That's tempting.

Is a Deere 727A $500-800 better than a Kubota ZG23?

Found a Last year Hustler Mini-Z with a 20HP Honda for $5149

A 2007 Hustler Mini-Z with a 24 HP Honda would be $8949
A 2007 Hustler Mini-Z with a 23 HP Kawasaki would be $8849

Gravely 252 - $8799-$9499
Gravely 152 was something like $8199.

Shouldn't think there is much between those machines.
I'd go for the one with the closest dealer.

Thanks Mith, Unfortunately for me - no dealer is "close".

The closest dealer is probably 45 minutes away.

I'm not sure there is a big enough difference between ZTR's.

At this hour, I'm kind of leaning towards the last years Toro or the JD EZTrack 445. But next hour I'll be wanting the $10K Diesel Kubota!

All I know about ZTR's is Dixie Chopper cause I saw it on American Chopper............

I have a commercial mower, it's a Scag Wildcat. You should be able to get a 27hp v Twin Kohler engine and 61" deck for less than 8k. I think Scag and Exmark have the best suspension of the ZTR's (since they are commercial). Check with landscaping dealers in your area. Find out what they use, and where they buy them. That will also help with service.

Hey Doc,

If you lift the chute up, what's the width on your mower? My shed has 64" wide opening so I'm wondering if I'll be able to sneak a 61" deck in there if I lift the chute up.

I found a Scag dealer and wil call them tomorrow.

Thanks,

PB

If you go fast enough I bet you could fit a 72" in there

Scag makes a fine mower.

I liked the Dixie Chopper but it doesn't do well on hills.

Like me, you'll over-analyze it and then come to the realization that you're looking at a commercial mower and therefore a lot of the analysis is pretty moot.

Here's what I came up with...
Let's use one of these commercially under these terms:
Southern climate (longer mower season)
Let's say they get used 40 hours/week for 25 weeks/year.
That's 1000 hours of use/year.
Let's say they last 3 years in this scenario before they start needing a lot of repairs.
Basically, 3000 hour life expectancy.

Now, let's do my yard.
Mine is about 2 acres and I do it in about 45 minutes. Let's round to 1 hour for the heck of it.
Being up north, I mow about 20 times per year.
At 20 hours/year and a life expectancy of 3000 hours, it's going to theoretically last me 150 years.

My selection came down to what works well in my hilly terrain and what comforts or options does it have.

I think I'm narrowing it down.

I have a 64" opening in the shed I want to store it in so I have to be able to squeeze it in there. I'd also prefer to have higher HP with a narrower deck so I can mulch the thick stuff better.

During the spring and warm falls the lawn is dense and wet. I'd prefer not to bag so I want to go with high HP or diesel with some mulching power. My nice lawn is all perrenial rye grass which currently bogs down my 25HP Craftsman pretty easily.

I'm not too worried about hills. The Crapsman is weighted down and handles those fairly well. From the pictures BC posted my steepest hill that I would want to use the ZTR is no problem.

I do want comfort. My Craftsman actually mows fine and fast on the really smooth straight sections but when it gets bumpy I slow down to save my back. I want either a kick ass suspension seat or a ZTR with Suspension.

I thought the Simplicity Citation Suspension looked kind of nice:
http://www.simplicitymfg.com/citation.php#

So Simplity Citation and above are basically Ferris 1500Z or 2000Z:

http://www.ferrisindustries.com/pages/mower.php?product_id=22

According to lawnsite.com they come off the same assembly line.

Does this seem too good to be true?

It's only 6 hours away:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2005-John-Deere...ryZ50374QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

PBinWA said:

Does this seem too good to be true?

It's only 6 hours away:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2005-John-Deere...ryZ50374QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

Click to expand...

Hmmmmmmmmmmm................... read some of this!

This ........

Yep....... since searching I've seen them as high as $7250 used

PBinWA said:

Hey Doc,

If you lift the chute up, what's the width on your mower? My shed has 64" wide opening so I'm wondering if I'll be able to sneak a 61" deck in there if I lift the chute up.

I found a Scag dealer and wil call them tomorrow.

Thanks,

PB

Click to expand...

I'll check that measurement later tonight for you.

I hope the safety police don't see this but why not remove the chute guard?

I removed mine shortly after getting it. With it on, you can't mow close to anything on that side.

bczoom said:

I hope the safety police don't see this but why not remove the chute guard?

I removed mine shortly after getting it. With it on, you can't mow close to anything on that side.

Click to expand...

I have no safety chute's or guards on any of my mowers - including my Flail Mower.

The safety police gave up on me a long time ago.

If I set the deck up for mulching then there is no need for the chute.

PB

Dargo popped in on a ZTR thread on the "other" site and mentioned he had a Ferris 1500Z and that it was the smoothest ride of all the ZTR's he had owned.

I'll be calling the Ferris and Simplicity dealers today.

PB-
Approx how large is your lawn? How long does it take to mow with your present setup?
Bone