We were all set to buy a new Bad Boy Maverick for our 2.5-3 acres this season. Found a gently used ZT Elite with 100hrs for $3k, and can't believe the upgrade it is over our John Deere 5-series we currently had. These things are built surprisingly stout, very happy so far.
Modern John Deere’s seem to suck. My Dad had a 430 Diesel from the 90s that he loved. He traded it in on a new one recently and it’s given him nothing but problems. He wishes he had kept the old one.
Got the John Deere Z530M model a few months ago. I saw nothing wrong with the deck. The cut looks professional too. Heavy gage steel all over this zero turn makes it sturdy and a keeper. 4.5 gallon gas tank goes a long way too. I can cut 1.5 acres four to five times on one tank of gas. I also like the ROPS for safety of the driver. Seat also has seatbelt.
I got this mower specifically to be able to drive it through a 36 inch door ruclips.net/user/postUgkx1VWTrayKBdCKAjzAcZ_Eg4dhHTae3LkN also recommend or gate It is a little tight with the grass deflector installed but has more clearance with the deflector replaced by the recycler/mulcher. This model appears to be popular and a little harder to find for that reason. I can't judge the dependability as I have only mowed the yard twice but everything else on the mower is very nice and working fine so far. I added options for the run hour timer, arm backrests, recycler/mulcher, towing bracket, deck lift assist and cover.
Would love to hear comments on a machine that is 3-5 yrs old and you didn’t have engine issues I’m constantly doing head gasket’s on Koehler engine One customer had the valve go thru the piston at 275hrs Destroyed the motor All I here is how they love their machine when it’s new See what happens after 300hrs plus Just saying
Thanks for your comment. I am in the market for a new mower to replace my 9 yr old Husqvarna RZ mower. It has a Kawasaki motor which has been a workhorse. I mow larger acreage than this mower was designed for and have had work done on the deck attach to frame that wore out. I've also replaced spindles a couple of times, but over 9 yrs for a machine that cost < $4K I've gotten my money's worth. I would like to get the Bad Boy ZT Elite 60" with a Kawasaki motor, however my dealer only has that mower with the Briggs engine. I know of the old push mower Briggs engine growing up but haven't seen enough good or bad on the larger horsepower Briggs for a Zero Turn. Plan to get the Kawasaki since I've had good experience.
It’s up to you Not trying to tell you what to do but the new Kawasaki has issues with sucking dirt even if you change the filter a lot Same with the Koehler If you don’t use factory filters warranty is void Just saying I just lost my ass cause of this
Went through head gaskets on my Kohler powered JD G110. After the 3rd one, 2 on one cylinder, 1 on the other, got rid of it. My dealer helped me but JD did nothing as it was just out of warranty.
In that price range, you could have thrown in the commercial grade Hustler FasTrak. Heavier duty engine, zt-3200 tx, 10 ga fab deck, adj suspension seat, ROPS. Great blade speeds and cut quality. Only comes in yellow though 😁.
@@jatw3721 I just (07/08/2022) looked again and the ZT Elite 48 has $6709 MSRP. The FasTrak 54 was $6800 MSRP when I purchased not so long ago, hence my comment about their price range, it's definitely not $5K.
We bought a deere mower many years ago. We live on a farm by wichita ks and wanted a heavy duty reliable machine. The only advantage for the deere ended up being less money in the bank to worry about. It quit after about 10 hours because the factory put the wrong air filter on it. Dealer charged for the repair with no apology. ( we found out about the filter problem a couple years later). Reliability has been OK but not worth the extra money out. Cheap plastic hood assembly broke also along with seat and seat safety.
I debated long and hard between the Gravely ZT XL and the Bad Boy ZT Avenger. Living in the Northeast it's extremely difficult to find a bad boy dealer let alone a bad boy dealer that actually has any mowers in today's climate. Gravely's are readily available and there are dealers everywhere. Based on dealer support and the better warranty I went with the Gravely. It might just be me but I also think it looks a little bit sexier than the bad boys. Love your videos and hope you keep it up. EDIT: Forgot to mention my yard and shed setup didn't really fit a 54" deck as well. Almost went to the HD which I guess would have compared nicely to the ZT Elite. Any how had the Gravely a week and two mows in it's cut quality is exceptional and I'll no doubt own this machine for a long time.
Like the videos on the channel. The delivery of info is fantastic. I have a Z530R and I can tell you the stamped deck is fantastic. The vast majority of commercial guys run JD 900 series mowers in my area. Other manufacturers don’t have the manufacturing ability to press a stamped deck so they weld em. The stamped decks don’t have the edges and weld points to rust out. Because of the better air flow, the cut quality from JD’s is great. I get you don’t sell JD so you want to build up the brands you do. But to say stamped decks are trash is completely false. JD’s biggest fault on the non commercial units is the sealed transaxles. I’m going to trade mine in for a 900 series next week and the transaxle upgrade is a big reason why I’m doing so
@@TractorBobs Okay, all mowers with standard build packages. It would have good to touch on some options such as mulching kit; adjustable lap bars; deck quick raise foot pedal. These options were must have when I bought my 2018 ZT Elite with 48" deck and Kohler engine. Local Dealer support has been minimal to non existent. Simple engine consumables weren't stocked (Dealer said the parts Could be Ordered though). I have a Amazon Prime account. I have a feeling ALL the Mower Vendor/shops have cut way back on inventory in my area. Just the "New Normal". If you need it, order it yourself. I lost one rear deck roller; deck belt tension spring; battery and am on my third set of the wavy style mulching blades. So far the unit has ran flawlessly, I do the required maintenance. It's exactly to mower I need for my Two acres. Good reviews.
All say this cause I have to keep borrowing my sons mower The cub cadet xt1 or whatever it is It’s a 2022 cub cadet 50” mower zero turn It’s very comfortable and handling blows my husky away The cut though isn’t nearly as good Doesn’t leave the stripes as good He has the Kawasaki engine also but 23hp verses my 21.5 Same motor basically Hopefully he has better luck lol
I’m a master ASE Heavy Truck mechanic and raced hillclimbing 2 stroke for most of my life I can make anything run and play with Chevy engines constantly I restore square body Chevy trucks The new mowers are garbage Example My son ordered a new cub cadet and finally got it The deck vibrated so bad he couldn’t use Took 3 weeks of bs to finally say come get another mower
Stamped decks are lighter, cheaper, and thinner with comparable longevity for residential applications as fabricated decks. When compared on direct impact and rough terrain handling, fabricated decks with their thicker plate design resist warping and cracking better than stamped
To bad you can’t get a commercial engine in a home owner mower To bad to get one you need to spend over 8k I can’t afford that Have a hard time getting groceries but sick of all these companies saying how great there machine is I’ve rebuilt them all and there all plagued with problems Heck my Kawasaki fr651 with 85 hrs is a pile At the shop now Don’t buy a 5k machine buy the 3k machine Same motor just 3-5 hp more with same problems Just trying to help Good luck everyone God bless
@@Badeau68 Yes everyone can have their opinion Definitely not ever going to try to stop that Just want to let people know things I own a 2019 husky 48” zero turn with the Kawasaki engine Has under 100hrs on I now they have issues with the air filter so I change mine at least 3 to 4 times a season My mower is at the shop still waiting for a answer from Kawasaki The manager said it’s not a factory air filter and Kawasaki won’t warranty the engine Still waiting though Every excuse not to warranty Know how all this bs works Society is sad At least I change my air filter Using Napa for filter Only parts store in town Probably screwed and have to spend 5k now
The video doesn’t say anything about what motors there running Probably the Koehler or the Kawasaki Both motors are still home owners Plagued with problems Spending a lot more and still not a quality motor None of them last long Basically just buy the cheaper mower
One of the biggest problems with the engine's not running properly is the fuel that is being produced today . Yes the carbs/FI is made cheaper than they once was, but with any engine that sitting down time will have pretty of problems.
But what if you add seafoem and change your air filter 4 times a year I’m screwed from Kawasaki just cause it’s a aftermarket filter Kawasaki doesn’t care Heck at least I change the air filter Looking into having my yard done but I own 1.75 acres
Trump printed about 4 trillion to artificially prop up the stock market and give out PPE loans to companies who didn’t need them and who would never pay them back. He also sent out stimulus checks with his freakin’ signature on them to Americans in 2020 (election year.) Remind me again how “Brandon” caused all the inflation?
@uncle rico10 to start he shut down all our drilling and we went from the most energy independent country to completely dependent on foreign oil overnight and then he gave a large portion of our energy reserves to China all the while us Americans were spending 4 times the amount at the pump than we were under Trump food was half the the price ammunition was half the price, a guy can hardly find primers to reload his own ammunition and if you do find them they are 6 times the price and lord knows we need as much ammunition as we can get or we would be completely communist like the world I'm sure you think is eutopia
Miss the old days Everyone made a great engine Couldn’t beat a Briggs or Koehler Then they came out with this overhead valve garbage Still garbage in my opinion Miss the real engines Now it’s all junk
We were all set to buy a new Bad Boy Maverick for our 2.5-3 acres this season. Found a gently used ZT Elite with 100hrs for $3k, and can't believe the upgrade it is over our John Deere 5-series we currently had. These things are built surprisingly stout, very happy so far.
Modern John Deere’s seem to suck. My Dad had a 430 Diesel from the 90s that he loved. He traded it in on a new one recently and it’s given him nothing but problems. He wishes he had kept the old one.
Got the John Deere Z530M model a few months ago. I saw nothing wrong with the deck. The cut looks professional too. Heavy gage steel all over this zero turn makes it sturdy and a keeper. 4.5 gallon gas tank goes a long way too. I can cut 1.5 acres four to five times on one tank of gas. I also like the ROPS for safety of the driver. Seat also has seatbelt.
I got this mower specifically to be able to drive it through a 36 inch door ruclips.net/user/postUgkx1VWTrayKBdCKAjzAcZ_Eg4dhHTae3LkN also recommend or gate It is a little tight with the grass deflector installed but has more clearance with the deflector replaced by the recycler/mulcher. This model appears to be popular and a little harder to find for that reason. I can't judge the dependability as I have only mowed the yard twice but everything else on the mower is very nice and working fine so far. I added options for the run hour timer, arm backrests, recycler/mulcher, towing bracket, deck lift assist and cover.
Would love to hear comments on a machine that is 3-5 yrs old and you didn’t have engine issues I’m constantly doing head gasket’s on Koehler engine One customer had the valve go thru the piston at 275hrs Destroyed the motor All I here is how they love their machine when it’s new See what happens after 300hrs plus Just saying
Thanks for your comment. I am in the market for a new mower to replace my 9 yr old Husqvarna RZ mower. It has a Kawasaki motor which has been a workhorse. I mow larger acreage than this mower was designed for and have had work done on the deck attach to frame that wore out. I've also replaced spindles a couple of times, but over 9 yrs for a machine that cost < $4K I've gotten my money's worth. I would like to get the Bad Boy ZT Elite 60" with a Kawasaki motor, however my dealer only has that mower with the Briggs engine. I know of the old push mower Briggs engine growing up but haven't seen enough good or bad on the larger horsepower Briggs for a Zero Turn. Plan to get the Kawasaki since I've had good experience.
It’s up to you Not trying to tell you what to do but the new Kawasaki has issues with sucking dirt even if you change the filter a lot Same with the Koehler If you don’t use factory filters warranty is void Just saying I just lost my ass cause of this
Went through head gaskets on my Kohler powered JD G110. After the 3rd one, 2 on one cylinder, 1 on the other, got rid of it. My dealer helped me but JD did nothing as it was just out of warranty.
In that price range, you could have thrown in the commercial grade Hustler FasTrak. Heavier duty engine, zt-3200 tx, 10 ga fab deck, adj suspension seat, ROPS. Great blade speeds and cut quality. Only comes in yellow though 😁.
The FasTrak goes for about $8800 so it's not quite in the $5000 for this video.
@@jatw3721 I just (07/08/2022) looked again and the ZT Elite 48 has $6709 MSRP. The FasTrak 54 was $6800 MSRP when I purchased not so long ago, hence my comment about their price range, it's definitely not $5K.
10 gauge is thinner than 7 gauge
Hey Faye, if you’re always learning it’s hard to have any regrets that’s the way to be🐔🐔🐔👍
We bought a deere mower many years ago. We live on a farm by wichita ks and wanted a heavy duty reliable machine. The only advantage for the deere ended up being less money in the bank to worry about. It quit after about 10 hours because the factory put the wrong air filter on it. Dealer charged for the repair with no apology. ( we found out about the filter problem a couple years later). Reliability has been OK but not worth the extra money out. Cheap plastic hood assembly broke also along with seat and seat safety.
You are my go-to for equipment information. If you want to expand, open in the western burbs of Chicago. We need a dealer like you
Thanks Robert, you're the man!!
I debated long and hard between the Gravely ZT XL and the Bad Boy ZT Avenger. Living in the Northeast it's extremely difficult to find a bad boy dealer let alone a bad boy dealer that actually has any mowers in today's climate. Gravely's are readily available and there are dealers everywhere. Based on dealer support and the better warranty I went with the Gravely. It might just be me but I also think it looks a little bit sexier than the bad boys. Love your videos and hope you keep it up. EDIT: Forgot to mention my yard and shed setup didn't really fit a 54" deck as well. Almost went to the HD which I guess would have compared nicely to the ZT Elite. Any how had the Gravely a week and two mows in it's cut quality is exceptional and I'll no doubt own this machine for a long time.
I live in Ga,and can not find a Gravely.
@@albertmcfry6322 Buy the Ariens instead. Exact same mower as the Gravely and available through Lowes stores.
@@albertmcfry6322 there’s a gravelly dealer in Carrollton Georgia
Bad boy is a nice mower
Agreed!
Can you make a $4000 top 5? Also what are your thoughts on toro, specifically model 75759
Gravely gives a 4 year and 750 hour warranty. Have a pro turn Z great mower. Had a Hustler was ok.
The Bad Boy 2yr warranty says it all. Don’t care what gauge the deck is.
Like the videos on the channel. The delivery of info is fantastic. I have a Z530R and I can tell you the stamped deck is fantastic. The vast majority of commercial guys run JD 900 series mowers in my area. Other manufacturers don’t have the manufacturing ability to press a stamped deck so they weld em. The stamped decks don’t have the edges and weld points to rust out. Because of the better air flow, the cut quality from JD’s is great. I get you don’t sell JD so you want to build up the brands you do. But to say stamped decks are trash is completely false. JD’s biggest fault on the non commercial units is the sealed transaxles. I’m going to trade mine in for a 900 series next week and the transaxle upgrade is a big reason why I’m doing so
Great comment 👍 we always appreciate and welcome the respectful opinions of others in the comments section. Happy mowing! 😊
@@TractorBobs that's a fantastic viewpoint and reply.
@@TractorBobs Okay, all mowers with standard build packages. It would have good to touch on some options such as mulching kit; adjustable lap bars; deck quick raise foot pedal. These options were must have when I bought my 2018 ZT Elite with 48" deck and Kohler engine. Local Dealer support has been minimal to non existent. Simple engine consumables weren't stocked (Dealer said the parts Could be Ordered though). I have a Amazon Prime account. I have a feeling ALL the Mower Vendor/shops have cut way back on inventory in my area. Just the "New Normal". If you need it, order it yourself. I lost one rear deck roller; deck belt tension spring; battery and am on my third set of the wavy style mulching blades. So far the unit has ran flawlessly, I do the required maintenance. It's exactly to mower I need for my Two acres. Good reviews.
Stamped decks are trash...
@@thegoodguy3391 lol
Hey is scagg a good brand ??
I’m so confused, how does anyone get mowing done with fuel tanks of 2.5 or 3 gallon tanks? Such big mowers and tiny tanks
I've only got about 3/4 of a acre of grass so for me the gas tank is a non issue. I could imagine tho it would limit you in a big property.
@@philippeandrew Bad Boy ZT Elite has a 6.5 gallon tank.
All say this cause I have to keep borrowing my sons mower The cub cadet xt1 or whatever it is It’s a 2022 cub cadet 50” mower zero turn It’s very comfortable and handling blows my husky away The cut though isn’t nearly as good Doesn’t leave the stripes as good He has the Kawasaki engine also but 23hp verses my 21.5 Same motor basically Hopefully he has better luck lol
sounds like you might want to buy a Cub. Good luck with your longevity of that.
@@Badeau68 Actually the cub is in the same boat Plaqued with problems They all are
I’m a master ASE Heavy Truck mechanic and raced hillclimbing 2 stroke for most of my life I can make anything run and play with Chevy engines constantly I restore square body Chevy trucks The new mowers are garbage Example My son ordered a new cub cadet and finally got it The deck vibrated so bad he couldn’t use Took 3 weeks of bs to finally say come get another mower
@tractorbob’s may I ask why you think stamped decks are terrible?
Stamped decks are lighter, cheaper, and thinner with comparable longevity for residential applications as fabricated decks. When compared on direct impact and rough terrain handling, fabricated decks with their thicker plate design resist warping and cracking better than stamped
To bad you can’t get a commercial engine in a home owner mower To bad to get one you need to spend over 8k I can’t afford that Have a hard time getting groceries but sick of all these companies saying how great there machine is I’ve rebuilt them all and there all plagued with problems Heck my Kawasaki fr651 with 85 hrs is a pile At the shop now Don’t buy a 5k machine buy the 3k machine Same motor just 3-5 hp more with same problems Just trying to help Good luck everyone God bless
@Steven Moore Everyone has their opinion and none of them are 100%.
@@Badeau68 Yes everyone can have their opinion Definitely not ever going to try to stop that Just want to let people know things I own a 2019 husky 48” zero turn with the Kawasaki engine Has under 100hrs on I now they have issues with the air filter so I change mine at least 3 to 4 times a season My mower is at the shop still waiting for a answer from Kawasaki The manager said it’s not a factory air filter and Kawasaki won’t warranty the engine Still waiting though Every excuse not to warranty Know how all this bs works Society is sad At least I change my air filter Using Napa for filter Only parts store in town Probably screwed and have to spend 5k now
No Toro, I’m skeptical of this video.
Toro has great offerings for commercial use but has fallen behind the pack when talking residential mowers which is what a sub $5k mower is.
ZT elete
The video doesn’t say anything about what motors there running Probably the Koehler or the Kawasaki Both motors are still home owners Plagued with problems Spending a lot more and still not a quality motor None of them last long Basically just buy the cheaper mower
One of the biggest problems with the engine's not running properly is the fuel that is being produced today . Yes the carbs/FI is made cheaper than they once was, but with any engine that sitting down time will have pretty of problems.
But what if you add seafoem and change your air filter 4 times a year I’m screwed from Kawasaki just cause it’s a aftermarket filter Kawasaki doesn’t care Heck at least I change the air filter Looking into having my yard done but I own 1.75 acres
No Ferris? Are you mad at them? Industry leading Suspension.. well made… instead you included John Deer? Overpriced Walmart tractor!
It's very obvious how bias this channel is... Hustler and Bad Boy fan channel. I mean leaving out Exmark and Toro is a huge red flag.. lol
Wish they were still priced like this…LETS GO BRANDON!!!
The bad boy prices are accurate. But Gravely prices have gone insane. Try tractor supply.
Trump printed about 4 trillion to artificially prop up the stock market and give out PPE loans to companies who didn’t need them and who would never pay them back. He also sent out stimulus checks with his freakin’ signature on them to Americans in 2020 (election year.) Remind me again how “Brandon” caused all the inflation?
@uncle rico10 to start he shut down all our drilling and we went from the most energy independent country to completely dependent on foreign oil overnight and then he gave a large portion of our energy reserves to China all the while us Americans were spending 4 times the amount at the pump than we were under Trump food was half the the price ammunition was half the price, a guy can hardly find primers to reload his own ammunition and if you do find them they are 6 times the price and lord knows we need as much ammunition as we can get or we would be completely communist like the world I'm sure you think is eutopia
I thank him every day for beating trump.
were is BobCat
Perhaps chasing the squirrels out of the manicured lawn so that the John Deere can mower the grass 😉
@@ernestmorellsr7929 🤣🤣🤣
Miss the old days Everyone made a great engine Couldn’t beat a Briggs or Koehler Then they came out with this overhead valve garbage Still garbage in my opinion Miss the real engines Now it’s all junk
In other words…. Never buy a ZT that’s only 5 grand.
who makes bad boy mowers?
here we go where the country clipper there the best