Hi,

I have a very small mowing business (about two dozen customers) and have used my Cub LT 1050 (2004 model or so) for many years with occasional mechanical issues but nothing terminal until recently. I'm now in need of purchasing a new mower and rather hurriedly, I'm afraid.

(FYI, I don't use my mower at all properties. Some customers have me use their own riders (in some cases Lazer Z's!!), others only have me do trimming or hand-mower work. In general, though, I'd say I mow about 5 - 5.5 acres per week.)

I do have a small secondary mower for my own property to be used mainly as a back-up mower, but it doesn't have the power, speed and cutting width of my Cub.

I'm not in the big leagues here, so I can really only afford one rider for my customers' lawns. And because of my modest customer base and, therefore, limited income, I can't afford the large tractors or commercial ZT mowers, but I would like something that has a reasonably wide deck (48" - 54") and a decent mowing speed. (My 1050 was able to do a very nice cut at full speed!)

I have, indeed, perused the forum here, including the "Advice on getting a new mower" type threads and have gotten a lot of useful information. But I thought I'd open this thread mainly because in my present circumstances I'm most likely going to be limted to purchasing one of the following mowers, based on availability at local dealers:

1) Cub LTX 1050 (Kohler engine, I believe)

2) Cub LGTX 1054 I'm not sure I'm remembering the model designation properly here. Going on memory from what I saw it at the dealer (didn't write it down), I thought it was GTX 1054, but apparently there's no model like that. LGTX 1054 or GTX 2054, but I'm pretty sure it was not a 2000 series tractor.

3) The new Husqvarna RZ 54i

4) I vaguely recall seeing a RZT S at the Cub dealer (I forget the deck width, 50" or 54", I believe; see here Not sure if this type mower is something to stay away from or not. :-/

Other models at the dealers are either out of stock, way too expensive, or have too small a mower deck (less than, say, 48").

I have tried to look at various reviews online (e.g. the reviews on the first Cub tractor listed above are quite divided and some not very encouraging at all!), but I'm still less than confident about what route to take. I haven't purchased a mower since getting my Cub, so I don't really know how company reputations have changed for the better or worse. I'm hoping to add any information/suggestions provided by you experienced lawn machine owners here to what I've been researching elsewhere so I can make as informed a decision as possible in the limited time I have to make it!

Thanks for any comments! :-)

Scott

EDIT: I did also see a "Scag" mower at one dealer, but know nothing about that brand. ??

This post was edited by not2bright on Fri, Jun 6, 14 at 16:23