Well after some research of my own, as if I were going to use your budget to mow what you have, (or what I personally used to mow) here are two I came up with that are not Jd.

GT52XLS Husqvarna

The biggest points on this for me are the Kawasaki 24HP twin and the fabricated deck. They don't mention any thing about the drive as in filter or no...and they are belt driven.

XT3-GS Cub Cadet

Strong points here for me are the shaft drive and fully serviceable hydro and transaxle. Seems they only come with the kohler Command Pro, but it is horizontal shaft and I have not seen many like the vertical shaft. The stamped decks are cheaper, but IMO, the fabricated decks would be worth the long run money. Either are available for the cub, but they are sold separately.
You might also check out the 2500 and 3000 series which are the lines below the XT enduro series.

Either one I think will do what you need and want. For me, with a budget, I would go with the Husqy. I simply trust Kawasaki engines and actually the Husqy name. If the Cub came with a Kaway though, I would be making up a honey dew list on my own for the extra budget. The Kohler certainly makes good and enough power, but reliability and maintenance compared to the Kaway sways me the other way.

 

I almost, almostr fell for a ZTR but final decision will be tractor. 7.8 mph speed is actually faster than competible ZTR and I can tow with it. Get a cart.
Surprisingly, Consumer Report keeps listing Cubs as their best choice. They also list Cubs as higher reliability than Husks.
There is only one problem with that model, BF. Dealers keep telling me that you can not get them with a Kawasaki engine. Yes, listed it is - no can buy. I called Husqvarna 800 number and person on the phone was clueless.
So tractor it is. Thank you, BF.

 

Here's an option you might like. Not trying to plug mine because I wasn't even looking for this feature--but I bought a used one in very good condition and this was what's on it.


Beats me why a joystick isn't more popular than dual levers. It's handy when going over bumpy lawn and siding a hill to hang on to a SOLID lever with my left hand. On flat ground I can hang on to a beer

Country Clipper is a little-known commercial-grade ZTR. Because nobody's heard of it you can get a good deal on a used one. Exmark rules in my area but for the same money all the ones I looked at were beat to death, with very high hours.

 

Took so long to compose my post you got your final decision in before me!

 

Ha ha. Yeah, those look cool. I like stand up deck for sure. No dealer local though. Also, a bit out of my price range and I'd rather not hassle with used one. It's a toss.

 

OK, it's done.
Surely enough, I bought not what I set my mind on.
Couldn't resist, sorry.
Got 52 inch Hustler. 24hp engine. Come to find, they were first to make a z-turn mower and ever since made nothing else but z turns. Sorta like Subaru - everything ever built is 4WD. I guess the "got it".
It also apparently does well on mounds steeper than mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3ixg_yhEiA

And it tows a 1000 lbs. So I also forked for a lawn cart. Both will come tomorrow. Supposed to hit 81 same time, so I may have some mowing fun.
Unfortunately, Kawasaki engines for those been discontinued.

 

Bet it shot that budget right in the butt !! Congratulations.

 

Glad to hear from a fellow Hustler owner. What brand of engine does it have?

 

Actually no, budget was fine. $3339 for mower. $350 for Husqvarna dump cart. Cart rotates 360 degrees and dumps any direction you want to. Will come handy on 6 acres. So I was dead smack on $4K budget. Actually could have gone higher as yesterday, after we did some donuts and such, then my son had heck of fun on it, she CALMLY presumed I spent $5K. Go figure.
It's 24HP Kohler engine. V twin.
First impression is twofold. In hour yesterday (including 10 minutes son was doing his ting on it not mowing) I mowed about 1.5 acre that's learning how to drive it and going very slow on tall grass. I think, as soon as I get it all to maintenance level, I'll be able to do both upper and lower sections in about 2.5 hr.
2nd half of impression is - it's BUMPY. As in - bumpy. Guess I'll get them torsion forks later some time. Mulching kit will go on tomorrow. I need to mulch, not going to rake the hay.

 

Very happy with purchase. I did ALL of planned mowing, wild guess is about 3 acres, yesterday, in 2.9 hr based on meter. That includes very slow creep through some high grass areas, as I installed mulch kit. Goal now is to maintain.
Mower went without a burp up any hill I had. Does very well on slopes sideways, but on steep one tends to steer downhill, what needs to be corrected. Towed several carts of wet grass, made big pile next to chicken run for their pleasure. They love grass clippings.
I'd pay it off and then get torsion forks. Honestly, my Craftsman mower is not much less bumpy, it simply goes or has to be used slower, so it's less noticeable.
Mow quality on level ground is perfect.
Ability to turn on a dime is huge improvement.
All i need to do is to figure why it wants to pull towards the left, I have to counter with the right handle bar and it's annoying.

 

If you are referring to steering on the side of a hill, this is a symptom of ZTRs using lever steering. The front wheels swivel and offer no steering control. The steering wheel ZTRs allow the front wheels to help control steering.

I love my Hustler. Hope you have good results with yours.

 

I find that if my ZTR wants to fall off an incline, I let it. It means the hill was a little too steep for my machine, even though I have wider stance tires than most. I come back from the top of the hill and work down. Never work up as the engine is too much weight on the back.

 

Test the steering on flat level ground, if it is fine, then the hill is causing the issue. If it is off on flat level ground, there are adjustments to the arms controlling the hydro unit/units.
BTW, do you have one or two hydro units?

 

I have 3 acres and have been mowing it with a Husqvara YTH2348 with a 48 inch deck for 9 years. When we first moved here, much of the lawn was not filled in yet so the mower kicked up a lot of dust. This was the worst thing for it. I sandblasted the blades down to nothing after only a few mowings. The engine began burning oil at year five and i had to replace it. Once the grass filled in, maintenance went down considerably. I replaced the mowing deck this year because the wheels fell off and the metal around the discharge was completely missing. It takes about 2 hours to mow the whole thing including the ditches in front of the house. A zero turn would probably be much quicker, but if your lawn is filled in, a tractor could handle it.