Alright, I have a big yard (4 acres), and a Crapsman mower that I own just rolled over and died. I am looking at buying something new. I want a 54″ deck and some sort of power bagging system. Anybody know pros and cons to some of the manufacturers out there. I was looking at the John Deere 540. Any ideas?
I don’t think that the Deer comes with drinkholders. What a about a Huskavarna? My old man loves his. Plus Reis should be able to hook ya up with a deal.
I ran an X-Mark commercial mower for 10 hours a day for 2 summers straight with zero problems. I paid $7500 for it, put on 500 hours, and sold it for $7500. Any of the commercial mowers- X Mark, Gravely, etc..- will pay for themselves over time. They are built to last, easy to maintain, and hold there value. Just my .02 worth. 
Ol Green Deere, they are easy to find service centers to work on them, and they stand behind them 100%. Those orange Husquvarna (spelling?) are nice, but down here there isn’t a place to service them if some warranty work needs to be done. Just something to think about.
X-mark!!
Zero turn!! upgraded from a deer rider that took 2 1/2 hrs to mow my lawn and now with the x-mark it takes 30 to 45 mins! they are the best zero turn mowers ive found for hills as well!!
I got a buddy that runs a commerical lawn service. He swears by the X-mark.
I have a Dixon Grizzly 60″ with a 25 Kohler. The new commercial bagging system has a blower attached to the deck. You can get it in two or three bag holders. The Bobcat was my top choice, but got a Dixon for far less money. Get a commercial grade mower, its worth the extra money. Start calling dealers and have them bring mowers out for you to try in your yard. I didn’t use my mower for two months and had different dealers bring out different brands and models.
John Deere; they do come with drink holders.
agreed. Beer holders… er… uhm… Drink holders are a neccessity. I am in the middle of mowing right now… well, just taking a break… I have a John Deere L120 48″ cut deck and 5 acres… and a beer… er…. drink holder holding my fosters…er…. pepsi right now.
I am in the Lawn care business professionaly, and I would definitely spend the money for the ZTR mower. I have demoed every brand there is, and I run Hustlers. My choice of Hustler over eXmark was only made due to the Hustler dealer being in town. Either one of these machines will cut some serious grass, and you will leave the poor guys with the JD tractors in the dust. I demoed 2 JD ZTR mowers as well, the 737 and 757, and they dont compare to the eXmark or Hustler. Just look to make sure you can get good dealer support where you are. And also, any dealer that is worth anything will let you demo a mower. I ran an eXmark for a week and the Hustler for 5 days before making my decision. If they wont let you demo one, just keep looking. 8-10k is way too much money to spend without getting to run it on your own ground. Any other questions feel free to pm me, I have had a lot of experience with most major brands of commercial mowers.
we have a husky. and we love it, it has the cup holder and you dont have to use a foot peddle while you mow, its a great mower
Simplicity is the the only way to go, I’ve had it for 13.5 years and the only thing I had to do is replace the starter gear just this week. They also have an awesome turbo bagger for it. Jim @ Eagle Ridge in Onamia can set you up . 320-532-4484 
I would never have any qualms buying anything from Jim at Eagle Ridge! He bends over backwards for the best price and service!
I would imagine he would work out an IDA discount. 
I have 1992 John Deere LX 178, I use it year around mowing and blowing snow, it still runs great
So I would rec. Deere
Anything but a john deere in all of my experiences you are just paying for the name and paint. We had a lx130 and had nothing but problems with it. The same time we bought a cub cadet and have yet to touch it other than oil changes. It has run awesome. We also still run the old ih 900 series riders to.
I allways find this interesting when talking about brands and such. How many have hour meters on there lawn mowers?
My meighbor is a true blue green only guy. Allways bragging about his John Dere mowers and how trouble free they have been. My last John Deere lasted me 12 years before it gave up.
So we were discussing just that and I asked him how long does it take to mow your lawn he said about an hour and a half. OK i said how often you mow? Once a week. How many months do you use your mower? He wssn`t sure so I said lets say eight months , which is really stretching here in Wiscosin. So let see 1 1/2 hours per mowing and 4 X 8 = 32 weeks X 1 1/2 hours = 48 hours a year X 12 years =576 hours. What did you pay for your last mower around $9,000. So lets see $9,000 divided by 576 hours =$15.62 per hour of use. Kinda expensive mowing don`t ya think.
My whole point of this, most people don`t realize how few hours they really get out of there equipment thinking in terms of years not actual hours used.
That is why our last mower purchsse was a commercial, and hopefully the last mower we ever have to buy.
I absolutely love my John Deere!!! I have had it for 3 years now and I have not had a single problem and I have a big place to take care of. Great piece of equipment and the drink holders are placed in the perfect ergonamic position. 
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Great piece of equipment and the drink holders are placed in the perfect ergonamic position.
I too have a JD, and the only complaint that I have is the location of the cup holder. It’s on the same side as the mower output, and if it’s windy at all clippings can blow up into whatever beverage you’re drinking. Other than that, I love it. It’s also easy enough to operate that my kids do most of the mowing now. 
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I too have a JD, and the only complaint that I have is the location of the cup holder. It’s on the same side as the mower output, and if it’s windy at all clippings can blow up into whatever beverage you’re drinking.
OK, so maybe the old man is a professional, but when he is out plowing trees, he takes his beer and puts it in a can coozy. You know, the styrofoam ones. The then he cut the bottom off another coozy, just so it’s long enough to slide down on the can. Not only is the beer fully insolated, it helps keep the debris out.
We’ve used that technique before, works well. My old man also bought some can steins that have a lid that closes nicely over the top of the can. Its not completely insulated then, but the lid wont get lost either. And who drinks slow enough that they need it insulated on all sides
I guess I’m not loyal to any brand…
Whatever the Favorite Wife wants to use is ok by me. 
Coming dear!
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I allways find this interesting when talking about brands and such. How many have hour meters on there lawn mowers?
My meighbor is a true blue green only guy. Allways bragging about his John Dere mowers and how trouble free they have been. My last John Deere lasted me 12 years before it gave up.
So we were discussing just that and I asked him how long does it take to mow your lawn he said about an hour and a half. OK i said how often you mow? Once a week. How many months do you use your mower? He wssn`t sure so I said lets say eight months , which is really stretching here in Wiscosin. So let see 1 1/2 hours per mowing and 4 X 8 = 32 weeks X 1 1/2 hours = 48 hours a year X 12 years =576 hours. What did you pay for your last mower around $9,000. So lets see $9,000 divided by 576 hours =$15.62 per hour of use. Kinda expensive mowing don`t ya think.
My whole point of this, most people don`t realize how few hours they really get out of there equipment thinking in terms of years not actual hours used.
That is why our last mower purchsse was a commercial, and hopefully the last mower we ever have to buy.
that is a good point we still have two old international red riding mowers which were not made after 1982 and they both still have the original motor on them. One has an hour meter but only went to 1000 hours and we have counted it has rolled twice already. So can’t really complaing about it.
I have a Gravely, circa 1985. It has an hour meter, I don’t think I have looked at it in years. The thing just keeps on cutting The funny thing is I had an old Gravely, circa 1965-68, that had a busted manifold, had been rolled, and I thought it had a dog clutch that was bad. I gave it to a former co-worker, if he would get it out of my storage shed where it had lived for more than 10 years without running. He took it home, spent about 2 hours and less than $25. and he is using it a 3-4 hours every week, for the last 2 months. They just keep cutting!
dave
I have 94 Deere with the 54in deck.No bags.Haven’t looked at the hours but so far,so good.
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