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Zero turn

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dasmoeturhead
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Zero turn

Post by dasmoeturhead » Sun Sep 27, 2020 9:43 am

I'm doing research on Zero turn mowers. Im going to have 3 acres of grass to cut, next season. The temps will be rather hot in Chuckey Tn in the summer (close to Greenville), and I don't want to be in it long. My John Deere riding mower will take at least 4 hours plus to do this, and it will have to be done every 4-5 days. I'm getting to old to be beat up like that. I can handle the heat, but I'd rather stay out of it if I can.
Sooooo I'm looking for a top of the line fast zero turn mower. I've got my mind almost made up on a Badboy Renegade. 13 mph, 6 acres an hour machine. Suspension seat, full suspension chassis 1/4" steel deck. 61" cutting deck. My budget is $15k for the mower, and I'm allowing $500-600 for accessories. The main option I will definitely get is The hard roof, to keep the sun off of me. I'm looking mainly at Bad boy brand and John Deere. JD's have a better warranty, but are more expensive. I have plenty of time before I actually need a fast Zero turn, but I want to be ready.
Anybody have any experience with large zero turns in this class. I'm also leaning towards a diesel. If I'm going to spend that much I want the longevity of a diesel. I've had the Vangaurd motors, and I don't feel there up to snuff. The Kawasaki motors I beleive are better. The Badboy Renegade comes with either a 999 kawi, or a Perkins Diesel.
Thanks for any feed back you may have.
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JEBar
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Re: Zero turn

Post by JEBar » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:25 am

our oldest son has a Grasshopper Zero Turn mower .... one of the fields he mows is over 10 acres .... it has proven to be able to quickly mow tall, thick grass .... it wasn't cheap and has proven to be an excellent machine
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Sir Henry
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Re: Zero turn

Post by Sir Henry » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:36 am

Can I borrow it? I have one acre and a 26” push mower.
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dasmoeturhead
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Re: Zero turn

Post by dasmoeturhead » Sun Sep 27, 2020 12:00 pm

JEBar wrote:
Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:25 am
our oldest son has a Grasshopper Zero Turn mower .... one of the fields he mows is over 10 acres .... it has proven to be able to quickly mow tall, thick grass .... it wasn't cheap and has proven to be an excellent machine
That's one heck of a machine. How fast is it? That deck is huge. I will have trees to mow around. Can it mow around trees and other obstacles well? I'm guessing it won't do wheelies ;- )>
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JEBar
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Re: Zero turn

Post by JEBar » Sun Sep 27, 2020 12:14 pm

its fast .... given reasonably level ground it can mow thick, nearly knee high grass at a speed considerably faster than I can walk .... with the front mower deck it can mow under and around trees/bushes .... push a button and that mower deck can be raised to a straight up position so that it can be parked in a much smaller place
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dasmoeturhead
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Re: Zero turn

Post by dasmoeturhead » Sun Sep 27, 2020 12:35 pm

JEBar wrote:
Sun Sep 27, 2020 12:14 pm
its fast .... given reasonably level ground it can mow thick, nearly knee high grass at a speed considerably faster than I can walk .... with the front mower deck it can mow under and around trees/bushes .... push a button and that mower deck can be raised to a straight up position so that it can be parked in a much smaller place
Very impressive. I looked them up, and they are pricey. They start at $20,000. It would definitely make short work of 3 level acres.
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JEBar
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Re: Zero turn

Post by JEBar » Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:00 pm

you can get the big one like his for way less than that .... I know he paid somewhere around $14 for his .... I believe it comes with a 3 year warranty
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Re: Zero turn

Post by Cowboy Gun Fan » Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:04 pm

For the fields, I mow with a Bush Hog on the back of my Tractor. Although they also make a Finishing Mower for a nicer cut. For the yard, I still mow with my old 38 Inch Craftsman. I can't take the heat either and do not like to work in the sun for long periods of time, but I beat that by mowing late in the day. Sometimes it's almost dark, lol.

The Bush Hog is a 5 Footer and mows quick. What I like is the economics of it. It's a well-built quality implement and only cost $625 new. Of course you also need a Tractor to pull it, which I have anyway. If a Bush Hog or Finishing Mower would be satisfactory for your acreage, you could buy a good used Farm Tractor for as little as $2000.

But if I had $15,500 to spend, I would buy a nicer used Farm Tractor, a new Finishing Mower and a Hydraulic turn Grader Blade for Snow Plowing in the winter time (if you get snow, lol). There are also a whole lot of other attachments you could put on the back of it with the 3-Point Hitch. Besides, Tractors are a whole lot more fun, lol.
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JEBar
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Re: Zero turn

Post by JEBar » Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:28 pm

our son has my JD tractor shown below .... it has a 5' bush hog and a 5' finishing mower deck .... they have to mow his place at least once a week, most of the time twice .... using his Grasshopper he can mow his place in a little over 1/3 the time it takes with my tractor .... his wife uses it to mow some of the smaller fields while he uses the Grasshopper on his largest one .... using them both they save a considerable amount of time
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Re: Zero turn

Post by Cowboy Gun Fan » Sun Sep 27, 2020 2:49 pm

Nice tractor and I almost mentioned a Front End Loader. They are great and I didn't mention it because they can sometimes be in the way when mowing, but there is nothing like them. Unfortunately, I don't have one yet, lol. My goal is to have one Tractor with one and one without. That way I can also have 2 different attachments on the back without having to switch.

I also have a John Deere which I've had for 20 years now. It has been a great Tractor and has needed very little all through the years as they are well built and, of course, made to last.
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