Need riding lawn mower recommendations

[Texan4Life]

Well I think it is getting time for a new rider. the craftsman is probably around 40 yrs old and the deck is shot. runs and drives great but the mower deck is rusted out and it is patch on top of patch. And I'm just tired of patching it so I can try and finish mowing. Still gonna keep the tractor still pops wheelies and the peerless trans is butter smooth.

Not to sure of a price range yet, but I'm willing to pay more if that means it lasts anywhere close the craftsman. The craftsman was nothing special but I guess they jut built things better than. It was 8hp, 36 in cut, 3 speed transaxle.

I don't need anything huge, but we cut about 1 and a half acres with it. I'm not loyal to any brand, but it does need to have a an oiled transmission, serviceable would be best. Manual or hydro is fine. Briggs engine would be best, but I'm willing to give kohler a try.

not dead set on a tractor style, so I'm open to zero turn mowers. I have mowed with a Dixon which was great, but it was an older one with to cone clutch drive which sux the big one. I would have to work on it more than the craftsman at the time. not sure if they even use that anymore or if they are all hydros now.

thoughts, opinions, comments, recommendations?

 

[apwillard1986]

Diesel Kubota! Will last as long as you wanna ride it!

 

[WagonBoss]

Zero turns are a good choice if the only duty is cutting grass and your terrain is relatively flat. I have slopes and hills I wouldn't trust myself on on a zero turn. A lot depends on what dealers you have and one that will give you good service. Simplicity is known for their cut quality. A Broadmoor with the Vanguard is a dandy cutter. Bad Boy ZT is a relatively affordable zero turn. Any 300 or 500 series Deere will do you well for years. Ariens makes pretty good stuff, but I haven't really looked one over - maybe one of the Max Zoom models.

To me its about what will do what you want it to at the best price versus brand. Going to a 60" deck will cut your mowing time by over half. Is that important? Do you want it to stripe well? Do you bag, mulch or discharge?

Get the cutting deck to meet your needs the rest will fall in place.

 

[Texan4Life]

Originally Posted By: WagonBoss
Get the cutting deck to meet your needs the rest will fall in place.


wow thats a good tip. 36 was a little small. The Dixon was a 42 and seemed about right. I probably wouldn't want to go over 46 in.

It is fairly flat with alot of trees. and regular discharge is all I use. no need for mulch or bagging.

 

[FNFAL308]

Stay away from the Bad Boy and others (especially D/C) and go with Ex-Mark or HUSLTLER..
You won't be disappointed with either..

If your local dealer can/will offer you a model with the HONDA Motor upgrade DO IT.. I paid and X-tra $500.00 to get the HONDA on my HUSLTER but it was worth it.
Buy one of these Quality Mowers and with reg care/maintenance you'll never buy another mower the rest of your life.

Cutting with a ZTR compared to a using a Garden Tractor is like comparing a Pinto to Porsche.

 

[2cool]

I went to a Sears outlet and bought what I imagine was a returned lawn tractor, 42-in. cut, B&S single-cylinder, 6-spd. manual; with the two-bag grass catcher for $999. It's on the third year and no problems (that I didn't cause). Not fancy, but runs and runs. I ran SAE 30 for the first hour and 15W-40 since.
The lawnmower forums and some folks here can tell you that some of the Craftsman production is American Yard Products (good stuff, produces higher-end brands) , and some is MTD (not so good, budget brand). I can't tell one from the other, but mine runs great.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: Texan4Life

thoughts, opinions, comments, recommendations?


It all depends on how much you want to spend.

You can spend $500 on a used machine or $6-8K for something new and/or commercial grade.

Given you had a Sears machine for 40yrs, I'm thinking you don't wanna spend $6K on something like a new commercial machine?

If you're looking for a rider, decks, transaxles and steering components are the important features IMO.

I had a Cub Z-Force 44" with a heavy fabricated deck and serviceable transaxles. Given the rough and hilly property I had at the time, I'd never go that route again. I'd stick with a conventional rider or a walk-behind for hilly/rough stuff.

I know people knock Cub Cadet, but you can't beat a Cub 2K series machine for what you get for the money. I know back in 2005, I got my 2544 for $2999. My FIL still beats the [censored] out of it and it's in one piece.

Joel

 

[dwendt44]

Arens(Briggs & Straton) has bought the brand name Allis Chalmers for it's second line. Only two models but less that $1500 at my local Ace Hardware store.

http://www.allischalmerslawn.com/


Riding mowers.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Having had both a ZTR and regular L&G tractors, I wouldn't want to go back to a regular L&G tractor for everyday mowing. What used to take me almost 3 hours with a regular tractor now takes just over an hour with my John Deere 757. With the mulch on demand, when I get close to the driveway or landscaping I flip a panel and I don't spray clippings all over. I also use it to pull a small trailer as well as a spreader, sprayer and aerator. It does quite a number on fall leaves-chops them so fine they pretty much disappear.

There are a lot of good deals to be had-my 757 is a commercial quality unit that I bought used from my dealer after it had been completely serviced and inspected. I paid about what a new high end ZTR would cost at a big box store, but I have a much superior unit, and my dealer warrantied it for 12 months (I never needed the warranty).

Originally Posted By: TexanforLife
wow thats a good tip. 36 was a little small. The Dixon was a 42 and seemed about right. I probably wouldn't want to go over 46 in.

It is fairly flat with alot of trees. and regular discharge is all I use. no need for mulch or bagging.


Fairly flat, lots of trees to mow around, that's ideal for a zero turn. If you don't want to go with a large deck there are plenty of them with 48 inch decks.


Originally Posted By: WagonBoss
Zero turns are a good choice if the only duty is cutting grass and your terrain is relatively flat. I have slopes and hills I wouldn't trust myself on on a zero turn.


My property is quite hilly and my 757 is extremely stable on the hills-more so than my JD 325 ever was. I also pull a trailer, sprayer, spreader and aerator with my 757. The only thing it doesn't have are attachments like a blower or snow blade, but I don't have a need for any attachments.

Our winery is very hilly and we contract with a commercial company to mow it-they never seem to have a problem with the hills on their Toro zero turn mowers.

 

[FNFAL308]

The problems associated with the Standard Homeowner Garden tractor aren't usually how they run. With reasonable care the Engines on these units will generally outlive the rest of the components.

The PROBLEM areas are everything else. Peeps just don't want to accept that Box Store mowers are [censored]. With the application of even a little bit of logical thinking one can quickly see this. Homeowners as a rule have a predetermined $$ amount they are comfy with and more often then not their purchase is determined by that $$ amount and whether or not they can use there BOX STORE C/C to fund the purchase.

Peeps BIG END number is usually somewhere between $1500.00-$2000.00 (closer to $1500.00 from what I've seen) and the Box Stores AND Mower manufacturers KNOW THIS. In order for the PRICE POINT to be made and BOTH the Box Store and Manufacturers to make a PROFIT they have to cut corners on the chosen components simple as that.. Failure to acknowledge/accept this means you end up with a POS Garden Tractor..

It doesn't matter what brand it is, their all pretty much the same (some are worse). Sears. Murray, Cub Cadet, Troy Built, John Deer, Husky, Scott's, Poulan, every one of them use the same/similar low quality components to build their units.

While many homeowners note the shiny new mower and pretty colors of their fave brand they rarely note the inadequacies of these units.

This is a short list of LOW quality components:

Thin Stamped Decks
Bushings instead of bearings in the FT End and FT wheels
Sealed/Grease-less Spindles, & POOR spindle Drive Pulleys
Plastic Idler Pulleys on drive system (might be 50/50 on this)
Thin, Cheaply made Deck Hangers (Ft & Rear)
Cheap Easily worn Fan Sprocket & Gear for the steering
"SOME" have a ridiculous variable speed drive system .

There are more items but this gives you an idea of what you get. The OLD CUB, WHEEL HORSE, TORO, and other Quality brands from back in the day are LONG GONE.. Replaced by BOX STORE units designed with nothing in mind EXCEPT Sales Volume.

If you think you can by ANY of these tractors today and give to your Grandson 40 years from now I submit you will be terribly disappointed..

 

[dwendt44]

There are a couple of lawn tractors that have 'dolly' wheels in front, allowing them almost as much tight turning as a zero turn unit.

Cub cadet has a current unit like this and John Deere has a 'non-current' model line with dollys in front.

 

[JTK]

The Cub Cadet model w/ front caster wheels was essentially a zero-turn. It had/has Hydrogear EZT, zero-turn transaxles in the back.

Joel

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: FNFAL308
The problems associated with the Standard Homeowner Garden tractor aren't usually how they run. With reasonable care the Engines on these units will generally outlive the rest of the components.

The PROBLEM areas are everything else. Peeps just don't want to accept that Box Store mowers are [censored]. With the application of even a little bit of logical thinking one can quickly see this. Homeowners as a rule have a predetermined $$ amount they are comfy with and more often then not their purchase is determined by that $$ amount and whether or not they can use there BOX STORE C/C to fund the purchase.

Peeps BIG END number is usually somewhere between $1500.00-$2000.00 (closer to $1500.00 from what I've seen) and the Box Stores AND Mower manufacturers KNOW THIS. In order for the PRICE POINT to be made and BOTH the Box Store and Manufacturers to make a PROFIT they have to cut corners on the chosen components simple as that.. Failure to acknowledge/accept this means you end up with a POS Garden Tractor..

It doesn't matter what brand it is, their all pretty much the same (some are worse). Sears. Murray, Cub Cadet, Troy Built, John Deer, Husky, Scott's, Poulan, every one of them use the same/similar low quality components to build their units.

While many homeowners note the shiny new mower and pretty colors of their fave brand they rarely note the inadequacies of these units.

This is a short list of LOW quality components:

Thin Stamped Decks
Bushings instead of bearings in the FT End and FT wheels
Sealed/Grease-less Spindles, & POOR spindle Drive Pulleys
Plastic Idler Pulleys on drive system (might be 50/50 on this)
Thin, Cheaply made Deck Hangers (Ft & Rear)
Cheap Easily worn Fan Sprocket & Gear for the steering
"SOME" have a ridiculous variable speed drive system .

There are more items but this gives you an idea of what you get. The OLD CUB, WHEEL HORSE, TORO, and other Quality brands from back in the day are LONG GONE.. Replaced by BOX STORE units designed with nothing in mind EXCEPT Sales Volume.

If you think you can by ANY of these tractors today and give to your Grandson 40 years from now I submit you will be terribly disappointed..



This I agree with. My dad told me he bought a John Deere. Turns out it is one of those tractors from home depot. I do all the maintenance on it and the 25 hp Kohler runs fine, but the rest is trouble. Its mostly little annoying things like deck idler pullies and ignition switches. The electronics are very low quality. He also uses it to snowblow the driveway. The blower rusted after the first year and seems very flimsy. The machine is only a few years old and I'm disappointed. This week I get to replace the steering gear since it is completely worn down and skips when you turn.

 

[jstutz]

As far as a tractor, i could not be more happy with my cub cadet GT2544. I spent about 3k on it 6 years ago and it is great. I use is hard and it really is heavy duty. Much better that the 1000 series sold in box stores. I have had a few minor electrical problems but I would definitely buy again if i was in the market. I put chains on it and use it in the winter. I ride the kids on atv trails with it when the deck is off. I mow all summer with it. I really could not ask much more from it for what i paid. The only upgrade i would do would be put better deck wheels on it.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: jstutz
As far as a tractor, i could not be more happy with my cub cadet GT2544. I spent about 3k on it 6 years ago and it is great. I use is hard and it really is heavy duty. Much better that the 1000 series sold in box stores.


Couldn't agree more. I had the last year of the 2544 w/ 3pc metal hood design (2005). Excellent machine. This year's model look great now that they've routed the exhaust properly. The 2006-2010's (2000 series Cubs) had tons of plastic hood problems because of the exhaust melting it.

 

[rainman49]

My Scag Freedom Z zero-turn was the best $5,000 investment I've ever made. When it rains in Lower Alabama, the grass grows like crazy, so I've been cutting my 2.5 acres every 5-6 days lately. Compared to my old Craftsman lawn tractor, the Scag cut my mowing time in half. My neighbor bought a Craftsman with a 25 hp Kohler the same time I bought the Scag. He came to borrow my impact wrench the other day to take off the deck. Two of the three spindles were shot and the stamped deck looked terrible. The Kohler is smoking and may have a blown head gasket, and the neighbor does not neglect maintenance. The only problem I've had with the Scag was a starter solenoid.