Tractors, Mowers, Chippers, Trailers, Chainsaws, Generators, Driveway Erosion Control, ETC.

Thanks for the input. The biggest time suck on my property is my front yard, which is about 1.5 acres and has some pretty bumpy parts. It can take about an hour, sometimes more, just for that section. I also have to go around trees very slowly to keep the front tires from tearing the ground up. That's why I'm leaning towards a 72".

All things considered, I may wind up keeping the XT3 for chores and getting a more consumer grade ZT that I would not tow with, somewhere in the 6k range. These 12-15k machines make my stomach do backflips.

 

your welcome.

remember: i know nothing & am not a pro. i just mow a LOT of grass. my place is over 5 acres of rough/bumpy yard. plus for years had to mow another place & a neighbors all at the same time. ended up being about 10acres a week & hauling the big Hustler to each spot.

heres some more info just for you to chew around on: commercial/industrial ZT's are way different than the small ones you buy at lowes or RK. bigger pumps, wheel motors & usually better pulley systems & HP. these things = longevity & hrs of lifespan.

most com/ind ZT's are rated in "acres per hour". this rating is on a flat yard. my ZXT is rated for 4.5 APH. the big Hustler was rated for 5 APH & the Hustler with the 72" deck was only rated for 4 APH (bigger deck but less op speed/HP).

now if you had one of those little subdivision yards? SURE! just pick any ZT & tear it up!

but for the yard you are describing (very similar to mine)? This is a piece of equipment like your tractor. & we all know how that is... you get what you pay for in ZT's. a top of the line ZT is gonna set ya back 20K in most brands. this new ZXT im riding tested out just as good but was only 16k.. you can get down in the next tier of 10-15K & still get a great machine for most people.

if you drop down into that 6-9K range? its really hard to beat the Spartans, CubCadets, Exmarks, Gravely & so on.

now if you want a budget mower under 6k? its exactly that. you can get a few years, maybe even a decade with good care & gentle use.

lets back up just a bit:

the BEST thing about a 72" deck is that most of the com/ind models have the larger "stick out" on the left side. this is super helpful for reaching UNDER trees, deck edges, briars, bushes & so on while still keeping you with the least amount of blood on you. i absolutely loved this about 72" Hustlers. you had almost a full 12" sticking out on that left side to go under things & offset your wheel marks. IF you are a striper? this is not a great feature.

industry trend: currently if you go to multi dealers or a ZT demo show (yeah thats a real thing & so is the driving school)? They are super pushing the other direction right now. 51-52-54" decks are all the rage right now. Its all about the scalping & uneven yards. plus you get more power & its easier to have all the blade speed if you are turning a 52" deck with 40hp vs a 72" w/40hp. less bogging down (none)

for me this was just too much of a drop vs the amount of yard & the fact that i mow as fast as the kidneys/back allow already. so my current beast is a 61".

chatty cathy-ing you here so will shut up.

 

So to handle mowing chores til I can fabricoble the original deck back into shape, I visited the nearest farm supply, and procured a 60” finish mower. I perused Marketpalce and Craig’s, and everything close by was clapped out junk priced within a couple hundred of new, and I don’t have time right now to unf*ck someone else’s junk. Grass gotta be mowed.
Weather and time are my enemy’s currently, I don’t have an indoor place to cut/weld, and we’ve had rain pretty much every weekend this year, over an inch this week alone, my yard is saturated and gooey mess right now (4wd tractor for mowing duty is awesome)
New stuff,

It’ll take a few mows to get it back right

I’ll get pix of the rusted out stuff maybe later today, I have a bunch of stuff to move around to make room.

 

That's how I've been mowing my yard for 5+ years. A ZT would be nice, but not really necessary. My tractor is a little bigger and heavier so I need 3 days without rain before I mow or I leave visual tracks in the yard.

 

Completed annual maintenance on my x380 mower today. Oil/filter, fuel & air filter, spark plugs, new blades, greased all zerk points, and cleaned the underside of the deck as best I could.

Definitely a difference between the two plugs. Should this be a cause for concern?

 

Looks like half the engine is a two-stroke.

 

Rented a splitter to take care of the multiple 70+ foot trees we’ve dropped over the last couple years on the property.





I still have more to go tomorrow but I’m over splitting for the day after 6 hours straight. The old 9N saves the day again with the heavy lifting

 

Any smoke at all while running? Might have a bad head gasket.

Can you do a compression test to compare the 2 cylinders?

 

No smoke at all, and other than seeing the plugs today I really had no other reason to suspect there could be something amiss. I don’t have a compression tester but I’m not opposed to potentially getting one.

 

Im going to have to think this one out, it’s A lot uglier than I was expecting

 

Yikes!

I've walked away from some that were similar and just sourced a new deck.

Regardless, you have to completely strip that apart to do a proper assessment.

Keep us posted.

 

I’ve been keeping an eye out, lots from auctions a few years ago, nothing recent. I’d drive a fair piece to get a good one. One about 2.5hrs from me, that’s without traffic, he has no interest in a weekend meet, I’m not keen on 6hrs driving AFTER WORK and another in Maryland eastern shore area (5hrs) that I haven’t done anything about, I don’t have that kind of time currently.

as far as tear down I’m hoping I can get it apart with little mangling of the parent metal, power tools will come in handy.

 

Please share the progress. We all enjoy that...even if it's a complete failure, we all learn.

Thanks

KO

 

Wouldn't mind having 1 of those finish mowers.

If I tried using my little B7100 with the R1 ag. tires it would rip up the lawn .

 

glad you got ya a "backender" as they call them here...

as another member mentioned: usually took 3 dry days before i could use mine behind the B7200 without making ruts.

 

I like hearing your experience, thanks.i used to run a couple old Woods ZT's at the stable I used to work at. The kind with one caster in the back. I have never used a more modern one. They were just for the lawns around the buildings. I spent way more time dragging a 15 foot batwing around the fields.

It seems like a 72" deck necessitates a full on commercial machine. Looking at the Exmark website, they have a mid line range called Radius, the top of that line is 61" with an FX921 and ZT3400's. Oof still 12k+ though. The big cub cadet looks ok but only 24hp.

 

the professional yard services in my area gave me all knowledge gained. they told me what to look for, picked out my Hustlers & helped me get the machine that would climb my hills & not get me killed. most of the commercial outfits in my area either use Hustlers or JohnDeeres.

this is just a personal preference... i dont like the combo trans/pump set up. for me its always gonna be separate wheel motors & hydro pumps AND mechanical brakes!!

my dad was on a big Kubota diesel ZT & a wheel motor went out. he went down the hill & thru a fence before it hit a tree & shot putted him off there. The Kubo is a great machine, but had no mechanical brakes & when that wheel motor went out? he was just a sled.

just by chance from your general location: you can pick up a used Hustler in good shape pretty cheap on FB marketplace. if you go Hustler? You want a Super Z or a Super Z HD.. no need to buy a Raptor or a Fastrak. down in the lightweight models like that just buy a cheaper brand.

then again it would be nice to see another guy on here riding a Wright ZXT like me.

https://www.wrightmfg.com/products/mowers/commercial/mid-mount/zxt/

 

Make no mistake, those treads leave waffle tracks everywhere when the ground is soft, but the width keeps them from tearing things up most times.
My yard is MUSH right now, it’s rained 2” the last 72hrs and it’s still coming down.
when I mowed yesterday the tires were wet pretty much everywhere I drove, but it had to be mowed, it had been 2 weeks.

 

Yeah, I mowed on Thursday even though I didn't particularly want to. My yard was at the beginning stage of needing to be mowed. Tall in spots, but difficult in other places to tell where I had mowed. But due to the weekend rain forecast, it was going to be Tuesday or Wednesday of next week before I would have another opportunity to mow again. Delaying it would have made it beyond the stage of needing it. When you're using a 4500# tractor for mowing, you gotta plan your mowing activities with the weather forecast.

 

Get ready it's 19:30 now and winds have moved thru and moved in again, should help dry things a bit.
Wishing you well from the land of Banjo playing and moonshine.