You can spend as much as you want on good marketing but I’ve got 3 $3500 cub cadets that get used like bush hogs and keep 40+ acres cut each year plus everything the kids use them for and all I ever do is change oil and blades every year. Much of last year my tractor was down and they cut almost 200 acres a couple times.

kubota,but get the 54 inch deck

More specifically, a Kubota diesel.

i bought a 54" toro yesterday from robertsdale power equipment $3,900 out the door.. cut my house and office with it. seems like a decent machine. i wanted a kubota, scag or exmark but couldnt justify the money.

Whatever you get make sure it has a kawaski on it. Not a Kohler, definitely not a briggs.

We are in the business of making internal components for zero turn mower transmissions. Our biggest customer is easily HydroGear. HydroGear builds the transmissions, but they also have test facilities where they develop specific models for customers that request them. They have models at their plant from most of their customers. When we started looking at zero turns, I was mowing 6 acres every 2 weeks. We went to HydroGear and asked their test group which mower they would buy for their own use. We were told either Hustler or Scag. Those of us at work have bought 4 Hustler Fastrac SuperDuty's with 54" cuts and the Kawasaki engines and have had few issues. If I were buying again, I'd buy another current model of the same.

I will add this. About 5 years ago, I wanted a second machine. At that time, our local Hustler dealer was closed (Between owners). I bought a Kubota Z726X with the Kawasaki. It is a good mower, but not as good as the Hustler. It has been in the shop twice with fuel system issues. Instead of using the HydroGear Transaxle units, it has a HydroGear pump and Parker wheel transmissions. The transmissions are not near as smooth to operate. Probably what says the most is, if only one of us is mowing, we will move the Kubota to get on the Hustler.

This

Some good info.

I was advised to get a commercial mower but even though I have a good sized yard, I just wasn’t ready to drop that kind of money. I will say that some of the Hustler residential models have near-commercial aspects to them, like the seats and deck quality. I didn’t get the model with the best seat they offer but even mine is super comfortable. The deck is fabricated and welded, not stamped.

As I mentioned before, if I could change one thing it would be going from 60” back down to 54”. Possibly stepping up from the XD to the XDX.

But the Kawasaki motor and hydro gear ZT 2800’s are solid for residential.

I've got a Ferris 61" cut with a 36hp vanguard and love it. Mow my yard and about 5 acres of pasture with it. It's an absolute tank and I use it like a bushhog half the time. All I've done to it is change oil, blades and belts. It's a 2012 model so don't know if they're still made as good as mine.

Kubota and regular maintenance 👍🏻 I am hard on my equipment

I have a 60" Spartan that is a freaking beast. I cut about 4-5 acres weekly and it took my cut time in half. I got lucky and found mine at an auction, but I have a friend that bought one at ACT in Oneonta, and they bring it to you and come to you if it needs warranty work.

It has a full suspension which makes it ride so much better than a rigid mower.

bad boy's are actually one of the cheapest zero turns. though you may be comparing a commercial bad boy to a box store mower. bad boy and cub cadet both had bad reputations years ago and are still on the cheaper side. but for the options you get and commercial grade they may be the best buy. yeah it's better to go cheap commercial than namebrand home owner.

After a ton of research, in 2009 I purchased a Kubota ZD326. This one har a 60” commercial deck & is a three cylinder diesel.
This time of year I’m cutting about 6 acres once a week. Mower has plenty of power & more grease fittings than you care to mention. This 326 will mow faster than my old butt can stand. This mower has been a damn good one and has been kept out of the weather. There are too many sensors to get wet & cause problems.

I looked at a bunch of them a couple years ago. Doesn’t seem like that much difference in the commercial ones. They seemed to use a lot of the same components. The Kubotas are nice but pricey and just didn’t fit me. Was gonna get a hustler but the place that sells them ripped me off on some parts for my Woods mower. I wound up with a Graveley because aI ran across one in October and I knew the dealer didn’t want to keep it all winter so I went DJT on him and got a really good deal on it.

Kawasaki motor, I've got a Gravely that's been awesome over the years. But my buddy has an Exmark that's great also.

When I was looking I noticed Exmark transitioning from Kawasaki to Exmark engines which I figured meant engines made in China.