Toro vs Ariens/Gravely Zero Turn Mower

[dr_clyde]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to upgrade my lawn mower. I'm mowing with an old Murray 48" I bought second hand when I bought my house for cheap. I can't say as I really like it, but it has served its purpose and I can flip it for what I've got into it.

I have 4.5 acres, probably mow about 2-2.5 of it right now, but that may change. I have a 40HP Ford diesel farm tractor and a Wheel Horse garden tractor for the actual "tractor" stuff. I just need a good lawn mower.


All the usual obstacles, trees, buildings, that kind of thing. Not a ton of hills or really rough ground.

I want to buy new, and avoid the big box store for power equipment like the plauge. My local dealer sells Ariens, Gravely and Toro. I stopped in last night and talked the the sales guy for a half hour about them, and am seriously looking at Toro machines. Specifically the Toro Timecutter HD 75212, with the MyRide driver suspension.

Does anyone have any advice regarding these machines? I'd prefer to stick with something from this dealer, as parts and service are a big deal to me. He told me they keep pretty much every Toro part in stock, as they service a large fleet of professional lawn care companies. I've bought equipment from them in the past, so I like to support these guys if I can.

I was looking at ExMark, but I found out that Toro is the parent company for them, and they are very similar machines. A friend of mine has a Gravely he loves, but Ariens bought Gravely after his machine was made. Ariens is US made, and looks like a nice machine. I like the seat suspension on the Toro better, and the money is very similar.

I'd like to stay around $5500. I don't think I need or want a deck wider than 54", and I probably don't want a commercial mower, mostly due to them being 3x the cost.

 

[one9gt]

As a golf course equipment manager, your best bet is to go with the brand that has the best customer support if the machines are similar. We run toro here and our dealer is huge on in stock parts and if it's backordered we get them in 2 days guaranteed from direct from Toro.

Have you considered used commercial equipment? Most courses in my area lease their equipment and turnaround on them is usually 2-4 years. Most clubs take good care of their equipment.


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[tymbo]

fabricated deck
suspension seat
commercial- grade transmissions
3 peed ranges with 8.5mph ground speed
Sounds like a solid machine!

 

[gdocktor3]

I have a 2005 Toro Proline 52" hydro walkbehind that I bought in 2008. I use it part time professionally and I've had no issue at all. Couldn't be happier. Same Kawasaki motor that comes on Scags and hydros just as good. Don't have experience with your specific mower, but did run a 52" Toro zero turn as well and liked it a lot. I'd buy another Toro in a heartbeat. I think 48" is small for 2.5 acres. I use a 61" Scag for two 2 acre lawns and they take over an hour each.

 

[kd3pc]

I have a three year old Toro ZT, not sure the model it is at the out-laws at the moment. Only issue we have had is the start switch has failed twice and 3 or 4 of the interlock "switches" have failed. Not expensive, and the dealer has them in stock - but a pain to locate which one is intermittent, unless it has failed hard. These were all intermittent over the course of a week, it may stall/cut out once...I had a new one, that I just rotated in and moved it to the next spot until it ran for more than a week.

Solid machine and 8-12 hours weekly use, at least.

 

[dr_clyde]

I have a 2005 Toro Proline 52" hydro walkbehind that I bought in 2008. I use it part time professionally and I've had no issue at all. Couldn't be happier. Same Kawasaki motor that comes on Scags and hydros just as good. Don't have experience with your specific mower, but did run a 52" Toro zero turn as well and liked it a lot. I'd buy another Toro in a heartbeat. I think 48" is small for 2.5 acres. I use a 61" Scag for two 2 acre lawns and they take over an hour each.

I agree with the 48" deck being too small. I'm looking at a 54" deck, I don't think I can fit any bigger between some trees and some other obstacles, otherwise I'd go for a 60".

 

[MoonRise]

Toro is running some rebate promotions until May 31.

HD75212 is one of the listed promotion models. $300 back.

https://www.toro.com/en/homeowner/promos-res

Just an FYI, in case you weren't aware of the promo.

 

[Bluejoe]

I think your good on Toro or Exmark. They are both nice machines. I would stick with the commercial line.

 

[ccmac]

I have a gravely zt hd and love it, also have a young, highly motivated dealer that is awesome for support.

 

[white 450]

I also have a Gravely/Ariens ZT48 since around 07 and it has been fabulous. Fab deck, tube frame, etc. I mow my 1 acre yard in about 40 minutes. I keep a spare trio of blades sharpened and swap them out occasionally and she's good to go. Common service packs are found on Amazon/Tractor supply cheap. I do agree with the poster above that availability for service and parts should be an important factor too.

 

[firebox40dash5]

Another vote to go commercial. Take care of the engine and hydros, and it can go ages with minimal maintenance. I had to have the Hydro-Gear pumps on my Exmark resealed (cap o-ring gets hard and weeps) @ 1100 hours, and the small engine guy I had do the job said the guts looked excellent with no noticeable wear. I've seen stuff with 3000 hours on original hydros, and even engines... although an airhead with those hours is beat and on borrowed time.

I was poking around CL last night and deals on used pro mowers were nonexistent, but I've seen some really good (looking) deals at the end of the season and over the winter, if you can wait and compromise on a used machine. Seen motivated sellers let a 60" Exmark Lazer with a few hundred hours (in one season) go for $6-7k... and Exmarks are admittedly pretty high priced.

Dunno about your area or connections, but I have a buddy who was with Brickman/Brightview who offered to get me on the list for one of their walk-behinds, they apparently sell them at 2 years, period... he said going rate was $1500-1700 for their (mini-ish) Turf Tracers, which is probably a grand or more under market for a 2 year old unit with high-ish hours but good maintenance. Could be a good deal on one of their ZTRs if they do something similar, but I don't know for sure...

 

[Skunkape]

Another vote for Gravely. I've had a 60"HD for 4 years and it has been a wonderful machine!

 

[_Stang_]

$5500 you're in Ferris is600/700 territory with the suspension. When you're looking at machines compare the usual pieces (deck, hydros, etc) but also look at the weight which tells a lot. My Ferris 700 is a substantial machine at over 1,000 lbs.

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[AntiqueVises]

i have a ferris is700z, awesome machine. gave around $6k~ for it new. definitely go for a commercial unit and you won't go wrong

 

[HMCFab9]

Ariens is within eyesight of my house....so, ya, they are definitely American made.
Gravely is also a very good machine. Either of those would work well for you.

 

[dr_clyde]

Thank you everybody for your input. I'm still leaning towards the Toro, but its nice to hear some people vouch for the Ariens. I'll see if I can get a decision made by next week sometime. It would be nice to take advantage of the rebate if I go for the Toro.

My dealer doesn't really have any Gravely stuff that trips my trigger within my price range. They have the stand on ones, and they are nice, but I want to sit down. Sure, I could spend 15K and get a real nice commercial mower, but that would be a waste. I just don't need a mower to run 8 HRS a day for me.

 

[matt_m]

deleted

 

[firebox40dash5]

Have you ever tried a stander? I honestly prefer standing to sitting on my *** unless I'm mowing for 3+ hours... welcome change of pace from sitting at my desk at work. Plus it's much easier to get off and pick up/move stuff, and you have the deck in front of you so you can get under trees/bushes easier, and duck behind the controls to mow totally under low branches. Beats getting smacked in the face with branches IMO.

Do yourself a favor and really search out reviews on the engine & hydro system of anything you're considering buying. There's some damn good transaxles (I prefer separate pump & motor systems myself) and engines out there, but Hydro Gear as well as every engine manufacturer also make models that don't last worth squat. The chassis and deck are important too, but they're pretty hard to screw up... and it'll be kinda a moot point if you need a new engine or transaxle @ $1500+ at 600 hours.

 

[dr_clyde]

Well, last saturday the old Murray finally **** the bed. It had a good run, too bad most of it was when someone else owned it. Something catastrophic failed in the engine, and I'm in no mood to repair the 20+ year old wal-mart special.

So I went down to my outdoor power equipment dealer and came home with this.

First time out, I cut my 2-2.5 HR mowing time to 45 minutes. I still had the gearbox in turtle mode. This thing is crazy fast.

20 minutes to run around with the trimmer and blower and I was done. I can get used to this.

 

[Banjorear]

Well, last saturday the old Murray finally **** the bed. It had a good run, too bad most of it was when someone else owned it. Something catastrophic failed in the engine, and I'm in no mood to repair the 20+ year old wal-mart special.

So I went down to my outdoor power equipment dealer and came home with this.

First time out, I cut my 2-2.5 HR mowing time to 45 minutes. I still had the gearbox in turtle mode. This thing is crazy fast.

20 minutes to run around with the trimmer and blower and I was done. I can get used to this.

Sweet. Bonus beverage holder for those nice cold beers!