In a previous post I talked about how the church’s 2001 eXmark Lazer Z HP burned to the ground. Replacement cost is like $10k when comparing feature for feature. $13k when simply ordering top of the line (from the eXmark dealer) as it was when new. We have yet to see how the insurance company will want to replace it. I haven’t yet gotten to read the contract myself.
What are the hive’s thoughts about getting a replacement commercial zero turn mower? New? Used? High end non-commercial? From another thread on GMR it sounds like the main brands are all equal enough - eXmark, JD, a couple other commercial only brands
Also, I’m going to look for water cooled and a serviceable, not sealed, hydraulic system.
I almost always buy used but since I don’t know anything about mowers in particular and since the last one lasted 19 years (although engine was replaced with something not OE three years ago) I’m wondering if we should throw in all the money on it once more.
Things about the church:
-the finances must have been much better back in 2001. We could never spring that much for a mower these days
-we have like 30 regular attenders and finances are always pretty tight. I doubt that will ever change.
-I’m probably the person most comfortable with repairing things here, and at best I’m a “parts replacer” not a mechanic. my BIL is here as well and he’s willing to follow a YouTube repair. We don’t have much expertise or ability to crack open an engine and dive in. If/when we leave I want to set them up for success and not having a mower that always needs to he tinkered with.
Would buying a smaller $2.5-3k mower to maintain an acre or two near the building and paying someone a couple of times a year to bushhog the remainder be a feasible option?
I have no idea if possible, but what about leasing a mower?
I've not really kept up with what is out there and my experience is from 5-6 years ago.
We cut 43 acres every week during the growing season using a 72" SCAG. Beat the user up pretty bad as there was no suspension. I had a crew of 5 that would spilt the property up into zones and take chunks of it so it worked out pretty well.
The SCAG was getting pretty long in tooth - 8 years old - and started having reliability issues - mostly ignition modules going belly up. We replaced it (but kept it as backup) and got a new Ferris 72" cut.
We spent 19 hours a week on the SCAG cutting grass. Using the Ferris we were able to cut that time down to 13 hours. The Ferris has 4 wheel suspension which allowed us to go across the fields at a faster clip without beating my team up.
I was able to get a 'deal' on the Ferris because they were selling to a church. I forget those particulars but it was about a $2,000 savings. I was able to get it a Zero interest but after 6 months or so we had a fund drive and paid it off.
I let the dealer borrow it a couple times (trade for scheduled service) to use for a few days as a demo for some of the local bigger municipal property departments.
I never tried to lease one and after the SCAG maintenance issues we were hesitant to get a used one.
Your results may vary.
I'm going to say that in 2001 someone donated that thing to the church, as said above a lot of places will have a benevolence fund to reduce prices for churches, schools, daycare etc.
P3PPY said:
In a previous post I talked about how the church’s 2001 eXmark Lazer Z HP burned to the ground. Replacement cost is like $10k when comparing feature for feature. $13k when simply ordering top of the line (from the eXmark dealer) as it was when new. We have yet to see how the insurance company will want to replace it. I haven’t yet gotten to read the contract myself.
What are the hive’s thoughts about getting a replacement commercial zero turn mower? New? Used? High end non-commercial? From another thread on GMR it sounds like the main brands are all equal enough - eXmark, JD, a couple other commercial only brands
Also, I’m going to look for water cooled and a serviceable, not sealed, hydraulic system.
I almost always buy used but since I don’t know anything about mowers in particular and since the last one lasted 19 years (although engine was replaced with something not OE three years ago) I’m wondering if we should throw in all the money on it once more.
Things about the church:
-the finances must have been much better back in 2001. We could never spring that much for a mower these days
-we have like 30 regular attenders and finances are always pretty tight. I doubt that will ever change.
-I’m probably the person most comfortable with repairing things here, and at best I’m a “parts replacer” not a mechanic. my BIL is here as well and he’s willing to follow a YouTube repair. We don’t have much expertise or ability to crack open an engine and dive in. If/when we leave I want to set them up for success and not having a mower that always needs to he tinkered with.
There is a reason most commercial lawn mowers around here start out with new equipment. . Sitting on equipment all day long 5-6 days a week they simply cannot fall behind while the mower is being repaired.
Now if the church has the flexibility to mow whenever the equipment is working then yes maybe used equipment will work.
But don't buy from a dealer. The price they allow for a trade in versus what they will sell that same piece for is mainly profit. Not value!
Contact local commercial lawn services. The city, county. Etc find out what their replacement schedule is like. When they find out it's for a church they often will get a bit more charitable.
If you're shopping commercial mowers I'd recommend Dixie Chopper. I've had mine over 15-years, though I've not put many hours on it.
When I was shopping for a mower to last the rest of my life I hit up a bunch of professional lawn-care forums & sites, everyone seems to have their favorite brand, but in every thread there would be a post like "Yeah, I had(Xmark/Dixon/etc.), then switched to Dixie Chopper and never went back".
I see used ones for sale for around $2k pretty frequently. I'd presume those all need some work, but as mentioned above if you're only using it once every week or 2 it should last for many years.
Depending how tight finances are, walk behinds are the poor man's zero turn. I have a walk behind with a sulky because of how steep my hills are. I'd love to be able to drink a beer and mow, but I also don't want to spend the 3k for a decent one. And I don't want to tip over.
I like 90BuickCentury's idea. 
If you walk in front of a Home Depot or Lowes you see a whole price range. Sort of like stereo equipment in the 70's.
I'm mowing 5 acres every 6 or 7 days. Being Florida, the season is long. I'm using a pro-sumer model in the $4K price range. Has been a joy this year. I change oil every 25 hours, and because one site i mow has some Bahia grass I'm sharpening blades every month, replacing about every 3 months. Use the grease gun every 5 hours. The trailer i use is only 60" wide so i bought a 54" unit. Mowing at 11 mph is addicting.
For our region a heavy duty deck and blade hubs are a priority. I consider the low end home-owner models to be toys, but for my needs the pro models are overkill.
IMHO, there is usually a reason used stuff is for sale... Just saying
YMMV
Ours goes 9.5- 11 would be a trip! What model do you have? What you’re doing seems similar.
I'd wait to see what the insurance company says before doing any serious shopping, so you'll know what kind of budget you have to work with.
In reply to stuart in mn :
True, but on our garden tractor it takes days, OR it's a couple hundred dollars to get the lawn mowed each time so I want to be prepared to execute as soon as my ship comes in, no matter which ship it is.
In reply to 90BuickCentury :
I am completely on board with that idea. I was hoping this would be a wake-up call for that. BUT years ago there was this old guy who put in plenty of time clearing land because he wanted a hobby and now no one wants it to go feral. No one wants to mow either, so that's my argument. I didn't think of the brush hog thing. My proposal was to mow in sections, hitting the important stuff weekly and the other stuff on rotation, but ... well, being a part of a church body is sanctifying by design and my proposal was quietly ignored. To be frank, I can't think about stuff like that too much or I have to set aside a chunk of time forgiving people all over again LOL
In reply to Purple Frog:
I have a question about heavy duty blade hubs. The deck part seems easy enough to tell but is there a visual inspection for hubs? Or is it a matter of doing my research model by model?
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:
If you're shopping commercial mowers I'd recommend Dixie Chopper. I've had mine over 15-years, though I've not put many hours on it.
When I was shopping for a mower to last the rest of my life I hit up a bunch of professional lawn-care forums & sites, everyone seems to have their favorite brand, but in every thread there would be a post like "Yeah, I had(Xmark/Dixon/etc.), then switched to Dixie Chopper and never went back".
I see used ones for sale for around $2k pretty frequently. I'd presume those all need some work, but as mentioned above if you're only using it once every week or 2 it should last for many years.
+1. Dad has a pair of commercial 60" dixies. The newest is a 2002. The oldest is a 1998. The 98 did need a new engine 3 years ago. They mow 5 acres with them. Takes them combined an hour and a half. Or 2.5 with just one.
move had a residential Dixie since 2008. I did have a gearbox die last year at about 400 hours. Cost me $900 and it's good for another 11 years.
Fun fact, dads newest Dixie mows at 13mph tops out at 14mph and will pull wheelies. My non commercial mows at 5mph tops out at 7.
bobzilla said:
Fun fact, dads newest Dixie mows at 13mph tops out at 14mph and will pull wheelies. My non commercial mows at 5mph tops out at 7.
NOW we’re talking!
Does it have a suspension for all that speed??
EDIT:
Apparently the REAL question I came on here to ask was “what is the fastest mower on the market?” :)
Don't know if it's still true but Dixie chopped claimed to be the fastest mower in the world for a long time. And no.... there's no suspension. In my yard you were lucky to stay in the seat at that speed. But damn was that hilarious.
Only their top of the line come with the front fork suspension but it looks like a retrofit-able part. With their full price line of mowers it looks like the only question now is which one we’ll end up with based on what the insurance company returns to us.
Well, they gave us $13,300. I’m going to have a conversation with the pastor soon about the different paths to pursue.
1. Smaller footprint lawn and $3k used [EDIT: or $4-5k new??] mower
2. Same footprint lawn and high end fast mower- on the theory that we need to have the lawn done in the least amount of time possible since we don’t have people with a lot of spare time to do it anymore
Or buy two new $5K prosumer models and mow it in a little over two hours, with money left over for future maintenance.
Alarm bells ring in my brain when i hear "used lawn mower". Just saying.
We just don’t have enough volunteers for two mowers, is all.
I guess what I need to know is the consensus on used mowers. Someone pointed out to me that many ppl feel the same way about used cars: you don’t know how they’ve been treated but I still buy them with wild abandon. On the other hand it’s a lawn tool and not the same as a family’s major purchase. Akin to buying a used NAPA parts truck, I suppose?
EDIT:
Also, how much does it matter if I’m near a dealer? The closest Dixie Cutter is 60 miles away.
Son of a ... they make front suspension for them now? Bastards! 12 years I've been beating myself up
In reply to P3PPY :
That's about how far away the nearest dealer was when I bought mine. I don't think that would be a big deal.
Our church has a giant lot and the grass is always an issue. Somebody donated a new John Deere ($25k). Getting volunteers and doing it right is an issue.
I signed the checks for a while and it was shocking the money we spent on parts at the tractor parts place, well, then again car guys would understand.
All our property but the house in the top right.
STM317
UberDork
7/22/20 5:39 a.m.
Random collection of thoughts to follow:
Dixie Chopper has had a winding road the last few years. They've been bought a couple of times, even stopping production completely at one point. Make sure you know what you're buying, and not just going on the reputation of what they were selling 15+ years ago.
When I was in the market for a big mower I spent a couple of months looking around at what landscapers near me were using. I hardly ever see Dixie's (perhaps for the reasons mentioned above), and they were made 50 miles away for most of their heyday. The pros all use Scag, Exmark, Deere, Gravely or Hustler.
I bought a used Scag commercial unit for my personal property (3 acres). It was previously used in a residential application, rather than a commercial one so the hours were low given the age of the machine. The mower shop that I bought it from had just replaced both hydraulic pumps and a bunch of smaller things which made the deal more palatable. It's been a trusty machine and it makes every other mower that I've used in the past feel like a toy.
That being said, I don't know that I'd suggest a used mower for your case where you have more grass to mow and it really can't be down for repairs.
For a new mower, having a dealer near by is great because they'll handle any issues that (hopefully won't) come up during your warranty period. Having to transport a broken mower 1+ hr away for service could be an extra hurdle if things do break. If all of the service will be done on site, then that's less of an issue. Parts are often cheaper online than the local dealer for me, and the local dealer may not stock a bunch of parts on hand anyway.
I think I'd buy a mid-tier commercial unit with local dealer support. Liquid cooled engine strongly preferred, but not likely to find in a mid-tier unit. I'd mow a couple of acres around the church and let the rest go to hay. This simultaneously keeps mowing time down for the church members and keeps hours down on the machine so it should last a long, long time.
Does a church really need 8 acres anyway? Could 3-5 acres be sold off to raise funds and reduce the need to mow at the same time?
STM317 said:
Does a church really need 8 acres anyway? Could 3-5 acres be sold off to raise funds and reduce the need to mow at the same time?
This question is very relevant looking at your problem from the outside.
A church with 30 regular attendees, and you need 8 acres? Is some of it graveyard? Is this land helping people? Does the community use it?
