Educate me on riding mowers

I have a 36" cut ZT Snapper with 18HP Kawasaki engine on it. I mow roughly 3/4 acre. Its not top of the line, nor bottom of barrel. It has been problem free for the third year of ownership. It wasn't $6000, either.

I have owned MTD, Snapper (Forrest Gump type mower), and Snapper ZT. Key is preventive maintenance. Never had an issue with any them. For push mowers, I've had Cub Cadet (pre-MTD) and now a Honda. No issues except wheels on the Honda.
 
Focus on the mowing width, AND FOCUS ON THE TRANSAXLE.

IMO, a K66 and above is what you want. Find one with a sturdy transaxle, and you can mow on hills, pull wagons, even earth engaging equipment like a plow.... a "Johnny Bucket"

A HD axle never goes bad with care. But overusing a cheap axle will break!

I like Simplicity tractors.
 
dja4260 said:
I have about 1.25 acres of semi flat lawn that I need a riding mower for. The used market is flooded with units that all appear similar for $400-900 bucks.

I've seen Cub Cadets, Troy Built, John Deere, Husqvarna, Craftsman, and Toro with varying deck widths of 38-48''inch. They all look very similar with different hoods etc.

I really don't know what to look for except a maintenance record, low engine hours, etc.

I appreciate the insight!
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Many of these mowers (Cub Cadet, Troy Built, Craftsman? & Toro) are made by MTD. The low end models will be lucky to last 5-8 years and will experience significant maintenance issues.

Also, DO NOT BUY any mower with a splash lubricated engine, especially if you have hills. Note, some low end engines with oil filters are still splash lubricated.
 
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Are you really mowing the full 1.25 acres? I live on 1a and less than half of that is mowable.

If you're looking for a lower cost store bought machine, I'd go for a Husqvarna Group built Craftsman or the likes. The twin blade 42" deck is a great one. I've got a ~2007 or 8 model year Craftsman LT2000 w/ a peerless hand control hydrostat, 17hp briggs single and 42" deck. I bought it second hand for $300 10yrs ago.

With reasonably flat terrain and reasonable care and usage, you can make even a cheap MTD machine last 20yrs. If even one of those doesn't apply, it won't last.

The key with any riding mower is to keep the deck set such that it doesn't beat against the ground. Try to scrape the damp clumps out from under the cutting deck after each use with a stick, firring strip, etc. and blow the whole machine off with your leaf blower after each use. Keep it stored out of the elements as well. Unless you're talking a high end Kawasaki or maybe Kohler engine, they're all the same IMO, although I would avoid any Kohler Courage series SINGLE cylinder. The Courage twin cyls are decent.
 
JTK said:
Are you really mowing the full 1.25 acres? I live on 1a and less than half of that is mowable.

If you're looking for a lower cost store bought machine, I'd go for a Husqvarna Group built Craftsman or the likes. The twin blade 42" deck is a great one. I've got a ~2007 or 8 model year Craftsman LT2000 w/ a peerless hand control hydrostat, 17hp briggs single and 42" deck. I bought it second hand for $300 10yrs ago.

With reasonably flat terrain and reasonable care and usage, you can make even a cheap MTD machine last 20yrs. If even one of those doesn't apply, it won't last.

The key with any riding mower is to keep the deck set such that it doesn't beat against the ground. Try to scrape the damp clumps out from under the cutting deck after each use with a stick, firring strip, etc. and blow the whole machine off with your leaf blower after each use. Keep it stored out of the elements as well. Unless you're talking a high end Kawasaki or maybe Kohler engine, they're all the same IMO, although I would avoid any Kohler Courage series SINGLE cylinder. The Courage twin cyls are decent.
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Yes, I have 3.6 acres. 1.25 is what I mow. the grass is split by a concrete driveway that regularly wacks the deck of my current mower. My lawn has some dips and pitches as you mow up to the steet.
 
dja4260 said:
I have about 1.25 acres of semi flat lawn that I need a riding mower for. The used market is flooded with units that all appear similar for $400-900 bucks.

I've seen Cub Cadets, Troy Built, John Deere, Husqvarna, Craftsman, and Toro with varying deck widths of 38-48''inch. They all look very similar with different hoods etc.

I really don't know what to look for except a maintenance record, low engine hours, etc.

I appreciate the insight!
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I would first consider a wide deck, self propelled, walk behind mower . Too much weight on the lawn sprinklers and you need the exercise.
 
dja4260 said:
I got a local guy selling a Cub Cadet XT1 LT42, (https://www.cubcadet.com/en_US/prior-year-models/xt1-lt42/13AOA9CS056.html) 2017 w/ a 6x8 utility trailer for $900. I've been wanting a trailer so this seems like a good fit assuming its a clean as it appears in the pictures...
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It's a fancied up MTD machine, so you get what you pay for there. I'm not familiar with this newer series of Kohler engines. They're supposedly "built to last". It will work for ya, but for a full 1.25 acres of mowing, I'd want something more substantial
 
JTK said:
It's a fancied up MTD machine, so you get what you pay for there. I'm not familiar with this newer series of Kohler engines. They're supposedly "built to last". It will work for ya, but for a full 1.25 acres of mowing, I'd want something more substantial
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Yeah, I'd like a bigger deck too. I'll keep up my search. Thank you!
 
dja4260 said:
Yeah, I'd like a bigger deck too. I'll keep up my search. Thank you!
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My FIL recently bought a top of the line Cub XT3 having been told by the (attractive) lady sales person at the local Cub dealer that "It is ALL shaft drive". This is after I specifically told him, it's shaft drive to the wheels, not the cutting deck. The pto to deck is belt drive, just like the 2005 model year Cub 2544 I gave him years ago and he promptly beat it to near death.

The XT3 is big, comfy and looks nice, but is it worth $6000 once you add a cutting deck? I dunno.
 
I have a 20 year old Simplicity I purchased new it has been very good. It has a 16 horse Kohler Command . A little maintainance goes a long way. I do not believe Simplicity is made as well today, they were bought out by Briggs don’t know who owns them now.
 
Some friends of ours are moving overseas (military). They have a hydrostatic Husqvarna riding mower. I told them that I'm interested. It's only a few years old. They take care of their items so this seems like a great option. I'll find out more info when available.
 
honestly anything John Deere on the used market. I have an LT150 with 38" deck that is now 20 years old. Just picked it up 2 years ago, did some work to it and it runs like a top. Parts are at the dealer, on eBay, or Amazon.

For your 1.25 acres I would look for a zero turn or a larger tractor with a 48" deck unless time is not a factor.

just my $0.02
 
If I were going to buy a new mower, I’d buy a John Deere from a JD retailer, not any of the models offered cheaply at a big box home improvement store. I see a lot of the latter for sale with only a few years of use with bad transaxles and rotten decks (even in central Texas). I prefer the more robustly-built mowers. My previous mower was a 1972 model JD 110 with the 8hp cast iron Kohler engine. It only had a 38 inch deck, but I loved how easily it handled my flat but semi-rocky Texas Hill Country lot. I liked the “variator” feature that allowed me to adjust speed while staying within a desired gear. A few years ago I got a hand-me-down 1992 JD 240 with the optional 48 inch deck and a 14hp Kawasaki. It’s not as rugged as the 110, but the better refinement and bigger deck make it a better tractor for my purposes.
 
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