[le machine]

who makes the best product..Scag, Exmark, Husqvarna, or Toro ?

[Bill Schwab]

I firmly believe with mowers, you need an application before you can judge what works best. All round? ZTR's turn tight and cut well. Toro Groundsmasters will out work, out last, and out perform any mower for large prperties, weather you have a 72" wide deck, or a full blown 580D with a 16' cut. But if you have allot of trees, turning and so fourth, the ZTR's will win. I personally like the Exmark.

Walk behinds, I would not own one that was not a hydro, and in all honesty, if I was in that market again, I would look very hard at te Snapper hydro line. The one we bought in 1998 ran 1500 hours a year until 2002, then I moved it to San Diego with us, where it ran under 300 hours a year. I sold it to a guy in Escondido for $1,500.00 and he is still running it every day. Outside of the Kawasaki engines loosing their lunch before swapping to Kohler, the mower deck drives and spindles (sealed bearing units never needing service) has never been down once.

So, my answer is thee is no best all round unit. Each unit has a best use, and specific job it will out run other machines in doing. No one brand has a machine that excels over the next in every application.

[cutntrim]

I've run Ransome WB's and ZTR's for 14+yrs. I can't complain about the reliability of them, they've paid for themselves many times over. My WB's are old-school gear drives which means they're more physically demanding to operate, but they spend less time/money in the repair shop as well. The riders are (like the WB's) very solid. Kohler engines in the WB's, and Kawi's in the riders. Had a Toro rider for a few years, lost both hydro pumps on it, but it had paid for itself long before they went out on me.

Never owned Exmark (yet) but they get high marks from most guys, and when I demo'd them they looked good. Tried out a Walker rider some years ago, but was unimpressed with it's bagging capabilities in wet grass, and wasn't interested in swapping decks to side-discharge, nor in the inflated sale price compared to other brands.

Having said all that, as Bill says - it's more important to choose the right KIND of mower, rather than worry about the right BRAND.

[NCSULandscaper]

i run all Husqvarna myself and really like their whole line....Every piece is Husky now, ZTR, WB, and all 2 cycle handhelds. Plus i have a Toro ZTR also that i use mainly for pesticide applications. If i had my choice, i would go with Hustler, their new line is by far the best i have ever seen.

[Tim C.]

We run Toro for walk behinds both gear and hydro and also Toro ztr"s, we have tried john deere but like the toro's better. We do have John Deere tractors though.

[marcus]

What do you think about the ferris 0turns

[Bill Schwab]

Everyone I know who runs a Ferris loves them. The reason they dropped them where we used to live is the dealer support was poor and waiting for warranteed parts on a 10,000.00 mower is unacceptable in any book.

So, before you buy anything, a good part of your consderation should be how accessable the service network is and how quickly can they turn you around when you need them.

[le machine]

Thanks everyone for your imput..

[cutntrim]

One of my local suppliers dropped Ferris for the reason Bill mentions. He was unable to get parts fast enough from the manufacturer when the machines came in for repair. He already carried Bunton, and I think he still does.