4 acres is a lot. I would increase the budget and get a commercial zero turn. There is a world of difference in how long the commercial models will last compared to homeowner models. In the long run you will come out way ahead. For your property a 60" mower would increase your mowing speed but deck width isn't everything. Forward mowing speed is important also. I would stay away from anything larger because larger decks cut worse on bumpy uneven terrain. If you absolutely have to stay with $4000 then consider the John Deere Z425. It's as close to a commercial model as you can get for the money.
I would increase to the $6500 range and get something like a Scag Tiger Cub. See the link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scag

Also look at the Bad Boy "Pup" series. They start at $6200.00US. I know that's more than you want to pay, but look at that deck ...it is welded/fabricated steel plate, not stamped thinner plate like my JD425 residential model. As rdaystrom mentioned, 4 acres is a lot of grass and a commercial level ZTR is what you should be looking at for longevity. You may get better pricing from a dealer near you, although I don't know the difference in exchange rate between the US$ and the CN$ these days.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bad Boy Pup Series

ZTR's have two advantages over regular tractor-type grass cutting equipment.

The first advantage is a much higher ground speed and the second is they are highly manuverable which allows you to cut around obstacles much faster.

Here's the downside for you. Your property is very bumpy. ZTR's will shake the crap out of you on bumpy ground if you try to make them run at the speed where they shine. In other words, your bumpy property may prevent you from using the sort of speedy cutting that ZTR's are famous for.

To cut a 4 acre property, a 60" deck width is the minimum and a 72" would probably be better as long as the machine will fit between all the fixed objects on your land. But to get into decks that big, your budget is too small.

Perhaps you might be better off by forgetting about a ZTR and instead, keep your 46" lawn tractor and buying a Swisher 60" offset mower from Tractor Supply that you can tow behind your current tractor. This combo would give you an 8 foot cut on each pass while mowing the big, wide open areas. When you get those areas finished, just shut the Swisher down, tow it back to the barn/shed/garage, pull the pin and go finish the tight areas with the tractor.

The Swisher can be bought for less than $2500.00 and I've seen it for less when TSC has them on sale.

A commercial model would be the way to go. The big difference from a residential model to a commercial model is about 1500 to 2000 hours of service. Residential mowers are for part time home owner use. Commercial mowers are rated for hard work, 8 to 12 hours a day, 5 to 7 days a week. A typical residential mower is rated for 500 hours to 800 hours of life time service. A commercial mower is rated for 2000 to 3000 hours of life time service. I mow 5 acres of very rough land in Central Mississippi. I also have a fast growing grass type named Bahia Grass that loves hot dry or wet weather. To put it mildly Bahia Grass grows form 4 to 8 inches a week. I've owned 3 lawn tractors in the last 20 years. The first 2 were junk. In 1999 I got a Sabre by John Deere with a 46 inch deck, powered by a Briggs Vanguard. It did a pretty good job. But I couldn't mow the whole 5 acres. I had to hire a bush hogger to come in every year. Then if it rained a lot, my grass would get out of hand in a hurry. So my mowed yard got smaller, and smaller as the years went along. So I had to get a bush hog in more as the years went along. My mowed yard shrunk to about an acre. Than again a bush hogged field is not a pretty sight. My deck gave out last year on my Sabre. By that time my wife and I took on my mother in law's property due to the death of my father in law. Here we were in a wet year, with a broken mower. Things were getting in a bad way fast. I had to order a deck for an end of life mower. That took 2 week to come in. Then I had to paint the deck, and transfer all the hardware from the old deck to the new. That took about 2 more weeks. During that time we had to hire a bush hog, and a lawn care mower to knock the grass down on both properties. My wife and I started researching ztr mowers. Like you we didn't want to spend large amounts of money. We found that residential ztr mower had no longer life spand than our lawn tractor. Ether they had the same stamped deck and residential engines, along with the same hydro transaxles. Or if the mower had a fabricated deck, it still had a 500 hour rated engine. So 50 hours a year = 10 years. If we were going to spend that much on a mower, we wanted longer than 10 years. We looked, and looked, and researched, and looked, and researched. During that time the grass never stopped growing. I got the Sabre back into action. We got the mil's lawn back in to shape. But we lost the battle at our place. We made our decision. Funny someone mentioned our mower above. We got a 52 inch Bad Boy Pup with a 30 hp Kohler Command Pro. I've got to say that mower changed our life. What took us day to mow. We now can do it all in about 3 hours. And that's not traveling all that fast with a 52 inch deck. I'd say average speed is about 5 mph. We have trees, and rough grounds. I've rambled enough, so I'll show some pictures.

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Oh! I haven't found the ride to be that bad.

Good Luck!

ms

I can't seem to locate any dealers for Bad Boy Pup mowers in Ontario. Do they sell up here in Canada?

pugwinkle,

Bad Boys are nice, but there are plenty of other brand name to look at. I was just trying to show the difference between residential and commercial mowers.

Harkness Equipment Ltd.
519-338-3946
5808 Hwy 9
Harriston, ON NOG 1Z0
Canada

McQuipment
519-462-2019
596210 Hwy 59
Hickson, ON NOG 1LO
Canada

Smith's Farm Equipment
613-283-1758
613-283-9952
32 County Road 17
Jasper, ON K0G1G0
CANADA

Here is a link that might be useful: Ontario

Thanks for the info!! Harkness Equipment isn't too far from me. I'll be checking them out.

Here is a link to Walker Mowers, they are all over the world. My wife loves ours.

The nearest dealer will bring one out for you to try.

It is really best to drive each one on your own property, so you can see how they handle in your rough or difficult spots.

Their dealer service is second to none.

Here is a link that might be useful: Find a local dealer for a demo

ZTR's hmmm I actually own a craftsman I can honestly say that it beats my back to pieces to mow with. Our lawn is very bumpy and hilly to boot in places.Only ztr ive owned and im definitely ready to park it when the opportunity arrives. It is not a commercial mower by no means and I wouldnt recommend it to Satin hisself Oo. Good luck on your search

Scag-Freedom Z for $5000.00.

"ZTR's hmmm I actually own a craftsman I can honestly say that it beats my back to pieces to mow with. Our lawn is very bumpy and hilly to boot in places.Only ztr ive owned and im definitely ready to park it when the opportunity arrives. It is not a commercial mower by no means and I wouldnt recommend it to Satin hisself Oo."

Sorry to hear that! I've never owned a craftsman. I met a lady that mowed with a craftsman ztr. She seemed happy with it. Her husband said it was her's!!! Her lawn looked very nice. I didn't study the in action, or just sitting. Does your craftsman ztr have springs under the seat to soften the ride? You could get one of these. I am as soon as I find a quick side survey that will cover the cost in cash.

Here is a link that might be useful: Michigan Seat Highback Suspension Seat, Model# V-5300