Originally Posted By: FNFAL308
With my Flame suit on I'LL say I wouldn't take most of the Garden Tractors mentioned ifya gave them to me for FREE...
Having worked on most brands they all have ONE thing in common. That thing is "PRICE POINT", many homeowners refuse to buy quality lawn equipment and base their decision almost solely on COST and "IF" they can buy it with their BOX STORE Credit Card. $1500.00 is the HIGH end of what many homeowners will cough up and it's no accident that these mowers don't cost more then that..
Since the retailer and manufacturers BOTH have to make a profit the components selected for each unit generally are of poor quality. THIN decks, NON greasable Spindles, bushed (instead of bearing) front wheels, lightweight front ends, and Variable speed trans drive systems are all cheap to make and don't last. The only saving grace for many is they simply don't get used much in places where there is winter. Here in Florida we mow year round and have grass that's MUCH diff then most other states.
Bahia Grass is grown in sandy soil and the sand destroys the deck from the inside out. Flora-tam is a very thick wide bladed grass and quickly weeds out the low powered units as they will cry uncle in no time in a well manicured lush lawn.
Most of these mowers have pathetic blade engage systems, and deck pulleys, as well as cheap steering gears. In the summer when we really have grass growth I replace spindles, decks, steering gears, and other failed components regularly. Many are made by the same company as mentioned but my list of turds is a long one. Murray, Cub, Troy Built, MTD, Scotts, Craftsman, and others will never see the inside of my garage.
Using the Op's requirements I would recommend a SNAPPER Rear engine rider.. These things are solid performers and have a drive system that's pretty much gone unchanged for the better part of 50 years. With a number of grease points (including the spindle and ft wheels) maintenance is a breeze and one can expect a very long service life.
Stretch the cuting area, run time, or annual hour usage and it's time for a ZTR. Having worked on pretty much every brand out there I like HUSTLER, EX-MARK, WRIGHT, SCAG (some modles),LESCO, Ferris and a couple others.. Ones I would NEVER own are DIXIE Choppers, OLDER Scag's,TORO (even though they own EXMARK), Grasshopper (cut good but te sux to work on), BADBOY, OLD Snapper ZTRs and I also hate J/D..
Yeah, a rear engine Snapper is a great mower...if you only want a 28" to 33" deck.
The run of the mill big box store mower is junk when compared to a $10,000+ mower, but not everybody has the means or interest in spending that much. It makes sense if you're going to make a living with it, but a light weekend user doesn't have to step up to a high dollar, high quality mower unless they want to.
As I said before, I definitely do not recommend anything Husqvarna-made due to all sorts of quality and parts availability issues, but for light use there's nothing wrong with an MTD if that's what you can afford. For the most part, they hold up reasonably well if they are not abused. Someone who just mows their yard once every week or two during the season, does maintenance every year or so, and doesn't hit every stump or rock they can with the deck can probably get 10 years or more out of an MTD.
With my Flame suit on I'LL say I wouldn't take most of the Garden Tractors mentioned ifya gave them to me for FREE...
Having worked on most brands they all have ONE thing in common. That thing is "PRICE POINT", many homeowners refuse to buy quality lawn equipment and base their decision almost solely on COST and "IF" they can buy it with their BOX STORE Credit Card. $1500.00 is the HIGH end of what many homeowners will cough up and it's no accident that these mowers don't cost more then that..
Since the retailer and manufacturers BOTH have to make a profit the components selected for each unit generally are of poor quality. THIN decks, NON greasable Spindles, bushed (instead of bearing) front wheels, lightweight front ends, and Variable speed trans drive systems are all cheap to make and don't last. The only saving grace for many is they simply don't get used much in places where there is winter. Here in Florida we mow year round and have grass that's MUCH diff then most other states.
Bahia Grass is grown in sandy soil and the sand destroys the deck from the inside out. Flora-tam is a very thick wide bladed grass and quickly weeds out the low powered units as they will cry uncle in no time in a well manicured lush lawn.
Most of these mowers have pathetic blade engage systems, and deck pulleys, as well as cheap steering gears. In the summer when we really have grass growth I replace spindles, decks, steering gears, and other failed components regularly. Many are made by the same company as mentioned but my list of turds is a long one. Murray, Cub, Troy Built, MTD, Scotts, Craftsman, and others will never see the inside of my garage.
Using the Op's requirements I would recommend a SNAPPER Rear engine rider.. These things are solid performers and have a drive system that's pretty much gone unchanged for the better part of 50 years. With a number of grease points (including the spindle and ft wheels) maintenance is a breeze and one can expect a very long service life.
Stretch the cuting area, run time, or annual hour usage and it's time for a ZTR. Having worked on pretty much every brand out there I like HUSTLER, EX-MARK, WRIGHT, SCAG (some modles),LESCO, Ferris and a couple others.. Ones I would NEVER own are DIXIE Choppers, OLDER Scag's,TORO (even though they own EXMARK), Grasshopper (cut good but te sux to work on), BADBOY, OLD Snapper ZTRs and I also hate J/D..
Yeah, a rear engine Snapper is a great mower...if you only want a 28" to 33" deck.
The run of the mill big box store mower is junk when compared to a $10,000+ mower, but not everybody has the means or interest in spending that much. It makes sense if you're going to make a living with it, but a light weekend user doesn't have to step up to a high dollar, high quality mower unless they want to.
As I said before, I definitely do not recommend anything Husqvarna-made due to all sorts of quality and parts availability issues, but for light use there's nothing wrong with an MTD if that's what you can afford. For the most part, they hold up reasonably well if they are not abused. Someone who just mows their yard once every week or two during the season, does maintenance every year or so, and doesn't hit every stump or rock they can with the deck can probably get 10 years or more out of an MTD.
