Help me decide on 1 of 2 Zeror turn mowers by Friday.

[JayBone]

Cub cadet RTZ 50

http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_14101_10231_33817_-1_600000_33817

Toro Z5035

http://www.toro.com/home/zeroturn/z_micro/timecutter-z5035.html

[300rman]

Cub Cadet FTW. Toro is more of a homeowner brand IMO, where Cub Cadet is more geared towards commercial use.

honestly, I would have sprung for either a GrassHopper or an ExMark, but Cub cadet is also a very good piece of equipment.

[Thorpe]

I lean Toro...

[JayBone]

Those are to much cash. I set aside 3k for a mower. I have an acre, but i wanna be able to mow it fast and be done with it. The rider i had took me forever so i'm looking at 20 mins instead of an hour.

[chrisand4]

Both brands were great years ago, but like all new products, they are now shoddy and won't hold up(the homeowner versions anyway). A close friend of mine bought a cub cadet zero turn a two years ago, it has been nothing but trouble. I have always been a toro fan, but I wouldn't buy a new product from them either. I would try and find a used Ferris or Grasshopper, but if you are set on a new mower, I would lean towards the toro(i'm biased) but they will both be close in quality anyway.(Glad to see your choices both have the kawasaki engines, don't get one with a briggs...expecially an intek briggs.)

[300rman]

be wary of used equipment.....could have belonged to a company at one time and have a couple thousand hours on it......

[JayBone]

Yes the KAWI engines i know are excellent. Briggs are gocart motors and old school push mower engines no doubt.

From my understanding MTD now owns Toro. I know once manufactures change hands they are never what they once were.

[rockinrod80]

Id go with the cub cadet, i have a cadet garden tractor(gt 1554) and im very happy with it

[JayBone]

I think i'm going with the Cub.
The price i am getting is 2800 bucks for the cub out the door.

[skippy]

Exmark, i have a sweet 27 hp... its awesome!

[200xman]

Take a look at these if there is a dealer in your area. http://www.hustlerturf.com/ . Like was mentioned before the newer Cubs and non commercial Toro's are pretty crappy nowadays. I bought the sport 42" with the Honda on it this spring and love it. Does 6 mph forward and cuts mint at that speed and it's a super solid built machine. The biggest turn off for me with the other mowers was that the frames and decks are only stamped steel while the Hustler is all welded plate.

[hillbilly 200x]

hey guys I work on these everday. The Toro and the Cubs are crapy if you want to use them for commercial uses you will end up replacing it with in a year or two, an Exmark or a bobcat or any other name alread said is the way to go. stay away from the brings they like to through rod at about 2000h the kawi is the way to go but they still have some probilme, now and then (keep a oil pump on sefl) they have a plastic oil pumps that like to get hot and melt. hop this helps and sorry about the spelling

[JayBone]

Oh man! I like the Hustler brand. The closest dealer to me in an hour away though.

The hours i'm not to concerned about. I'll put an hour a week on it or so.

Hillbilly 200x

What are the most common issues you come accross with the Cub & Toro models. Besides the oil pump on the kawi's.

Thank's for all this info so far everyone.

[andrew j hyman]

I am a John Deere fan I have a 997 Diesel ZTrak 31hp 6 foot deck . MAn this thing just runs great .

[The Goat]

I'm a big fan of bad boy mowers and skag. The bad boy is half the price but doesn't have near the power of the kawi powered skag.

Even still.... You can mow at 10mph...

[JayBone]

I also found i can get the Husqvarna RZ5424 Zero-Turn Lawnmower for $2750 +tax. That's a pretty good price IMO.

I'm going to look at that also. Looking to see how comfortable i will be on this. I'm actually favoring this model only cause MTD stuff has issues and Husky is still Husky.

Way to many models to choose from IMO. My yard is an acre and flat. A 4k mower is super overkill unless it had lots of chrome.. The goal is to have something for years and that will cut well & quick with minimal maintenance. Nothing will last forever.

The differnet opinions on mowers are awesome. Out of eveything the Hustler brand actually seemed the best cause it has a honda engine. I only wish the US made the same or longer lasting type engine, but that is a whole other discussion.


Awesome feed back and thanks for everything. Pictures of what i end up with on monday morning around 8am est time.

[oldskool83]

who ever is closer and sells them or has better hours to get parts. i bought a toro push mower when i bought my 1st house in 2007. that thing is great, same plug almost 4 years later.

and btw i didnt know you needed lawn mowers in NJ cuz all places i seen only got sand lol!

[JayBone]

Oh yeah!! well down by Ft Dix & the pine barrens area yes it is all sand, but i'm hours north of that so i actually have a lawn. I'm close to Milford PA actually and it's a little country yet.

[JayBone]

Here is what i ended up getting. It's a Husky rz5424 24 hp Kohlar engine.

Some of the factors that made me choose this one was the choke, throttle and blade engagment is all on the right side. The brake & deck controls are easy to use. The main pullies on the deck all have grease fittings. When i got it home i road around for a few and then put it in the garage to see about space. That was an issues i had to think about. I couldn't be happer with the buy. I am very happy to have not picked a Cub or Toro. After i got the mower home me and my father went to look at the Toro again and it was hands down i made the right choice.

Thank you all for the advice and suggestions. It helped out a lot.

[300rman]

aas long as your happy, thats all that matters ;) hopefully it will serve you trouble-free for years.