Zero Turn mowers

In the market for a new zero turn in the 3K range. Looking at Bad Boy MZ Rambler, Cub Cadet, Husqvarna and a Toro Timecutter. Any opinions or experience with these?

My parents have the. In Cadet. It was ok. But got beat to death in just about 3 years.They ended up buying a much more expensive Scag last week. I think it was about 4X as much. The Cub Cadet couldn’t hold up to my dads use. He grew up dairy farming. They are tough on stuff. Could jack up a anvil with a feather.

Ride the two and there is a huge difference.

As my dad used to say when someone asked him.....”do you have a good cheap refrigerator?” He would say “I have a good one and a cheap one, they just aren’t the same one”.

The lower cost one are probably ok on lower use and for someone who takes care of their stuff with constant maintenance.

Love my cub cadet.

Hustler

Several good mowers out there. Get a welded deck! Not a pressed out deck. The money you spend up front will more than pay for its self. I bought a Gravley pro turn. I love it!

how large an area do you mow?

we had an exmark and within 3 yrs. lost a cylinder in a 2 cyl. engine. now have a scag commercial turf tiger and that thing is a mowin machine (think it was about 13,000 for the 60"), don't see it breaking any time soon and this will be its 3rd yr. mowing about 5 acres (4-5 hrs. to mow it all).

I see a lot of bad boy on landscapers trailers but have no idea of model or durability.

We have an acre and a half but I'm only mowing about 3/4 of an acre

I would get the bad boy then, they seem to be built well.

might look at scag and see what they have in less expensive models. if I remember right there is a dealer there in rockwall, who we were going to buy from then found a dealer in paris.


which ever one you get make sure to get the suspension type seat, solid mount sucks our exmark was solid.

Suspension and welded deck are must in my opinion

I had a Bad Boy on my place. Mowed 6.5ish acres every week with it. I liked the welded deck in it. Other than flat tires, everything else that I broke was due to running something over.

We just had a huge post about this last week. Maybe do a search??

I have had a Bad Boy ZT Elite 60" for about two years now and am still happy with it.

but then how will people brag about spending $12k to mow one acre?

12K?!? Uh no!!!

Most of the recommended mowers makers have several levels of mowers. The old saying "you get what you pay for" applies here. I'd only get one with serviceable drive pumps and that will require at least $4K expenditures. Your money but those cheaper mowers you list will not last.

Of the ones you mention Bad Boy would be my choice. Might also consider a Hustler Raptor.

I like my 54" Kubota Kommander Pro Z400. I've had it for three years and never had a problem with it. I cut an acre and a half every couple of weeks. It's not $3/K more like $6/K.

look at the Kubota Z-Kommander. Its a little more than 3k but a heck of a mower. Have had mine for 7-8 yrs and still going strong. Have one at the ranch as well

I wouldn’t brag about that…lol. Then again we brag about 80k boats to catch a 15” fish

I paid $500 for a used Cub Cadet ZTR50 10 years ago. Never had to do anything but change the oil.

My buddy just bought a 48" Bad Boy with a Honda engine.
Looks like it's built like a brick outhouse. If you want sturdy, It's all that.

I bought a Toro Timecutter because Toro had a good reputation. Major mistake! Garbage bearings on the pulleys. They warrantied three transmissions then said no more. Since then both transmissions quit. Research shows that’s not an uncommmon problem eith Toro Timecutters.

I sprang for a $4,000 Exmark Quest 42 to cut my 2 acres and I could not be happier. It has about 100 hours on it with zero issues. Not as fast as the big units but I could buy three of them for the cost of one Bad Boy

I paid $3400 for my John Deere Z-355R. I wouldn't buy ant thing different.

That’s what I had moved to the lake, use a new ztr1 I think that’s what cub calls it now. 50” fab deck, 23hp Kawasaki, only 3k and quite a bit heavier than my old ztr50. Those mowers are super dependable, I can’t see a reason to pu more than that to more a 1 acre yard.

Do you mow on a hill a lot? Those transmissions are made for fairly flat ground.

Ive been trying to sell this bad boy for my old man for a couple weeks. Haven't had much action on it.

That's sweet! You'd be the talk of the neighborhood when you roll that beast out.

I currently have a Kubota 60", when it comes time for a new one I am going to take a hard look at Bad Boy mowers, I have heard a lot of good things about them, from quality of build to price.

Install an AC, she'll sell in a hurry.

LOL, that's the reason he doesn't use this one. His others have A/C.

I mow a flat as a pancake acre, or at least I did when the mower worked. It spent five months of the first year I owned it in the shop. Toro and Magpul — two brands that will never get another penny of my money.

what's the asking price?

I priced a diesel 72" deere when we were looking, over 18k for it

$32,500 I've looked online and seems about right for this model 1300 Turbo Batwing. I really don't know, trucks are more my thing...LOL In retirement he is buying all kinds of stuff to flip for the fun of it. He's done pretty good with big equipment. Currently trying to sell these also.

BAD BOY! Very heavy duty. Bought a 60in last year. Was considering Cub Cadet, but when I saw them side by side was no comparison.
The New Holland Tractor dealer in Mc Kinney has Bad Boy, Cub Cadet and Hustler. You can compare
them side by side.

CB

I have the Bad Boy Elite. Served me well thus far.

I have a cheap 54" Husqvarna from Lowes. It has been completely trouble free except for the choke cable sticking every once in awhile. 6 years and about 400 hours.

Saw this in DTX today.

I’ve got a Hustler Raptor for my 1 acre and going on 8 years of solid work. If I were to do it over I would have spent 4-500 more and got the Raptor SD but 8 years of mowing and no regrets for standard residential use.

I've been running an Ariens IkonX42 for 5 years with no issues other than replacing the deck belt last year. Mower has a welded deck, Kawasaki engine and if memory serves me correctly, Paid about $2800 for it, and it's been an efficient and reliable piece of equipment. BTW, Ariens is the parent company of Gravely lawn equipment. I would highly recommend Airens mowers for residential use, the only thing it won't allow you to do is brag that you spent 15+K on a mower to cut your half acre............

Big Dog and Hustler are the same. Both built by Excel just with different brands.

Bought the Bad Boy....initial impressions are good. Love the 5 gallon gas tank w/gauge, the welded deck, floor access to pullies and the control knob/foot pedal for the deck height. Doesn't vibrate near as much as my old Toro but we will see how she mows this afternoon.

The cheap ZTs use cheap transmissions. All of them. Not just toro. Most of them use the Hydro Gear EZT. It usually holds up ok for a couple years then you're looking to spend another $3k-$4k where you'd be much better off if you'd just spent $6k to start with.

There really isn't a ZT mower worth paying new prices for under $4500 anymore

I'm about to be selling a Ferris IS3200Z. Probably out of your price range at $8k, but it was $15k new with a full suspension seat and Ferris's top end suspension frame, 61" deck, 37 hp Briggs Vanguard EFI engine, ZT-5400 transaxles, etc. I mow my front 4 acres in under an hour. Only switching because we had some land cleared and now I'll be mowing 20 acres at least 4 or 5 times a year and I found someone selling a 72" of the exact same mower.

My hats off to you sir on the 20 acre challenge. I keep about 8 acres up and do like you and mow it 4-5 times a year depending on how much rain we get. Otherwise do about an acre and a half every couple of weeks here at home.

Love my Gravely for sure - 44" Pro Model - mow an acre in 45 minutes easy.

we are about to sell our small deere with all implements. cab has ac/heat and stereo.

My last ZT was a Gravely and it went 8 years with almost zero issues. Loved it. It had a Kawasaki motor and ZT-2800 transaxles and ran just as good when I sold it as it did when I bought it.

My boss tested a Kubota, JD and Gravely on his property and went with the Gravely. That mower is a beast.

I have the same mower. Bought it from the people we bought this house from. It was 2 yrs old then.we have had it for 2 years. It's been flawless. We mow about 2 acres with it.

I bet you’re a blast at a boys night out or a party❗️‼️

Well first mow was yesterday and wow what a difference from my 14 year old Toro Timecutter! Faster, more responsive, quieter and less vibration....so far I'm impressed, hopefully it will be durable!!

For your needs, Ariens would serve you well. Ariens is built well with a solid deck with almost all of the features of other zts but they are lite weight, rough-riding and they willl pound the hell out of you. I mow 2.5 acres with an Ariens IkonX 52" that takes about 2.5 hours but afterward, I'm beat. Go with something heaver.

Any unit without a frame will beat you up. I had a $20k Kubota ZD1211 that beat me and itself to death. Broke motor mounts, busted the engine cowliing, battery box mounts, etc. So it isn't just cheap and light units.

Ferris really is the best option out there if the yard is bumpy

I've heard this several places.

yep love my Ferris for sure its 10 years old and going strong

I sure love mine...5th year and trouble free so far. Solid construction in every aspect IMO

My previous post meant to say "...anything without a **frame suspension**..."

I bought a Scag when I first moved out to the new place, realized it beat me to death. Thought the heavier Kubota with the rotating from axle would be better so I sold the Scag and bought it and it was even worse than the Scag. Tried my buddy's IS3100 Ferris. Bought an IS3200 and never looked back. It's night and day different. My Kubota was twice as rough going 6 mph as my Ferris is going 8-10 mph. It saves a bunch of time and makes the job more pleasant.