Kubota or Exmark commercial mower?

[Brian72]

I'm thinking of starting a small landscape/mowing business. I looked at a Kubota loader with backhoe and zero turn mowers. My local dealer sells both and the pricing is very close. He did say he has more parts in stock for the Kubota. Any opinions between the two would be appreciated. Thanks!

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[acornhill]

Kubota is far better but more expensive in my area, I like bobcat also, we have s 61” Z bobcat, no issues, outlaw mowers are fast


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[Brian72]

Kubota is far better but more expensive in my area, I like bobcat also, we have s 61” Z bobcat, no issues, outlaw mowers are fast


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Thanks. I didn't dig into the specs too deep but the two I compared were very close in all aspects.

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[Ryan Browne]

I don't have much experience with commercial zero turns, but I think mowing is one place where a diesel would be a nice advantage. I don't know if the Kubota you're considering is diesel, but if so, I'd lean that way. Those bigger gas mowers can sure burn a lot of fuel. Diesels get a lot more done on the same amount of fuel. Also, off road diesel is a lot cheaper than premium gasoline, and with a transfer tank it's very convenient to handle. It stores much better and fueling up from a pump is a lot more fun than hauling cans around.

 

[Brian72]

I don't have much experience with commercial zero turns, but I think mowing is one place where a diesel would be a nice advantage. I don't know if the Kubota you're considering is diesel, but if so, I'd lean that way. Those bigger gas mowers can sure burn a lot of fuel. Diesels get a lot more done on the same amount of fuel. Also, off road diesel is a lot cheaper than premium gasoline, and with a transfer tank it's very convenient to handle. It stores much better and fueling up from a pump is a lot more fun than hauling cans around.

Very good points. Thanks for your input. Lots more research to do.

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[KYsawman]

I would go with the Kubota, I ran a front deck F2400 and it was built to last, sold it and got a Husqvarna zero turn and regret it.

 

[Seirraniagara]

Hello my friend, I had 3 bobcat zero turns and am down to 1 becuase I have not had luck with them. I would happily take the ex mark, assuming engines are equal. Which model/engine are you thinking? Landscaping and maintance are different animals. Pick one and build the other business. Eventually your lawn contracts will turn into small landscape gigs, and equipment for maintance is cheaper than lanscape equipment. Look at the landscapers in your area and see what they run. I regret selling my landscape gear becuase it was a financial beating but now find myself needing it for myself. I had to take a day job to support the family but still do maintance, ocasional landscaping is more often smaller scale, no one in my area is spending, even on softscape like plants and trees becuase sewer chargesdouble the water bill. It is a very tough go. I am 42 and still have nothing to show for myself, finance wise. My kids are getting a first hand education in hard work. I wish many blessings for you. It is humbling work

 

[Brian72]

I would go with the Kubota, I ran a front deck F2400 and it was built to last, sold it and got a Husqvarna zero turn and regret it.

I'm not a Husky fan either. I like the saws but find their other equipment kind of flimsy.

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[Brian72]

Hello my friend, I had 3 bobcat zero turns and am down to 1 becuase I have not had luck with them. I would happily take the ex mark, assuming engines are equal. Which model/engine are you thinking? Landscaping and maintance are different animals. Pick one and build the other business. Eventually your lawn contracts will turn into small landscape gigs, and equipment for maintance is cheaper than lanscape equipment. Look at the landscapers in your area and see what they run. I regret selling my landscape gear becuase it was a financial beating but now find myself needing it for myself. I had to take a day job to support the family but still do maintance, ocasional landscaping is more often smaller scale, no one in my area is spending, even on softscape like plants and trees becuase sewer chargesdouble the water bill. It is a very tough go. I am 42 and still have nothing to show for myself, finance wise. My kids are getting a first hand education in hard work. I wish many blessings for you. It is humbling work

Both were available with Kohler or Kawasaki. I was leaning towards Kawasaki but now considering diesel as suggested. I do a good deal of smaller jobs on the side and it's getting to the point that I just can't keep up. That's why I'm considering going into it further. I've been driving truck for 25 yrs and getting sick of living on the road. I also enjoy this type of work. In my area, it seems most of the businesses have set clients and don't have time to take on new or smaller jobs. That's how I've gotten a lot of work. People are literally walking up to me on a job and asking me to do work for them when I'm available. I certainly have more to research before making a decision but it's a start. I figure it's always something I can work at part time to get rolling.

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[Duce]

Mow neighbors lawns when he is working out of town. He owns a Ferris with a Cat diesel, 72" deck, built for true commercial use. That mower rides like a Cadillac and is very fuel efficient.

 

[Brian72]

Mow neighbors lawns when he is working out of town. He owns a Ferris with a Cat diesel, 72" deck, built for true commercial use. That mower rides like a Cadillac and is very fuel efficient.

Thanks. I hear good things about Ferris. I'll check them out too. My dealer sells Exmark and Kubota so that's what I was leaning towards but no harm in looking at others.

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[psuiewalsh]

I see a lot of JD zero turns around here. A lot of the commercial mowers have been switching to them. Not sure if it is the mowers or the parts support.

 

[Brian72]

I see a lot of JD zero turns around here. A lot of the commercial mowers have been switching to them. Not sure if it is the mowers or the parts support.

I think mowers more than anything would depend more on a good local dealer and support.

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[Dustin4185]

My $00.02. We bought a 60" Z421. Seems to be a good mower so far. I have a front deck F2880 diesel, 72" cut at work. It has close to 1500 hours on it since we mow close to 8 acres every 5 days. I had a gearbox go out (bottom seal leaked and bearing failed) and borrowed another agency owned Kubota diesel zero turn. The diesels are nice, bit won't hang on a hill at all. I assume the extra weight drags them down, to the point that it was scary. The 421 at church hangs hills fine. The diesel ZT would slide going forward down a hill and might not stop.

I always ran Scag when we moved commercial. Exmark is another good mower for sure. The downside to Kubota is part prices!

 

[Brian72]

My $00.02. We bought a 60" Z421. Seems to be a good mower so far. I have a front deck F2880 diesel, 72" cut at work. It has close to 1500 hours on it since we mow close to 8 acres every 5 days. I had a gearbox go out (bottom seal leaked and bearing failed) and borrowed another agency owned Kubota diesel zero turn. The diesels are nice, bit won't hang on a hill at all. I assume the extra weight drags them down, to the point that it was scary. The 421 at church hangs hills fine. The diesel ZT would slide going forward down a hill and might not stop.

I always ran Scag when we moved commercial. Exmark is another good mower for sure. The downside to Kubota is part prices!

Good info. Thanks! Funny you mention hills. I watched a guy with a Toro slide down a hill yesterday on wet grass. Made my heart skip a beat! Luckily, it wasn't a big hill and he saved it but I was surprised how quick it happened.

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[Reedo]

Between Exmark and Kubota I would choose Exmark every time. Kubota s are well built but Exmark is a way better engineered mower for the commercial LCO. We have ran JD, Exmark, Toro, and Scag for Zero turns over the last 20 years since I have been in this business. We bag a lot of grass and so far overall Exmark has been the easiest for our mowing crews that don’t know if they will need to bag from job to job.
Scags are excellent at everything except bagging as it takes 20-30 minutes to put on or take off the bagging system. If we didn’t bag when grass was long, wet, or leaves are falling Scag then Deere would be my first two choices. Overall they cut best in all conditions when not bagging but Scags definitely have a more comfortable ride.
As far as hills go we deal with the worst of the worst as far as hills go and Exmark, Deere, then Scag is how I rate hillside performance. Depends on what you do with your company. I purchased all Scags trying to cut back on bagging so much and it definitely worked. If it needs bagging we do it. Only problem is that the customer our crew spends 2 days a week mowing wants everything bagged weekly so they don’t track grass in the houses we maintain for him. Either going Exmark or JD for Zero turns next time around depending on the ease of switching from side discharge to bagging on the fly.

 

[Brian72]

Between Exmark and Kubota I would choose Exmark every time. Kubota s are well built but Exmark is a way better engineered mower for the commercial LCO. We have ran JD, Exmark, Toro, and Scag for Zero turns over the last 20 years since I have been in this business. We bag a lot of grass and so far overall Exmark has been the easiest for our mowing crews that don’t know if they will need to bag from job to job.
Scags are excellent at everything except bagging as it takes 20-30 minutes to put on or take off the bagging system. If we didn’t bag when grass was long, wet, or leaves are falling Scag then Deere would be my first two choices. Overall they cut best in all conditions when not bagging but Scags definitely have a more comfortable ride.
As far as hills go we deal with the worst of the worst as far as hills go and Exmark, Deere, then Scag is how I rate hillside performance. Depends on what you do with your company. I purchased all Scags trying to cut back on bagging so much and it definitely worked. If it needs bagging we do it. Only problem is that the customer our crew spends 2 days a week mowing wants everything bagged weekly so they don’t track grass in the houses we maintain for him. Either going Exmark or JD for Zero turns next time around depending on the ease of switching from side discharge to bagging on the fly.

Good info. Thanks for the reply.

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[dgeesaman]

Thanks. I hear good things about Ferris. I'll check them out too. My dealer sells Exmark and Kubota so that's what I was leaning towards but no harm in looking at others.

Apples vs. oranges and oranges. Ferris has a full independent suspension. I use one and it allows me to mow bumpy ground without ejecting internal organs. I haven't run an Exmark but I have run a Kubota (ZD326(?)) on my property and I had to crawl around the bumpy ground to keep my lunch down. All solid frame mowers should be about the same for riding comfort.