riding mower selection help

[boostn]

Hello everyone. I have some questions on buying a riding mower. I have about a acre of land with serveral obstacles (trees) and will be using the mower about once a week for about a hour. I know I could buy a certain model/brand and then several years down the road, move and need a different mower so I would prefer to do it once and take great care of the mower, so I will have it for many years.

I have been looking at the JD brands at Home Depot and the Cub Cadet, Huskavarna brands at Lowes. Which engine should I stay away from or look for? Briggs, Kohler....

I will be looking for other brands but those are the ones I have found in my area. I live in Roanoke, Va.

Thanks for any advice given. I am in no rush as I am till clearing out the backyard so the rider won't be needed soon.

Michael

 

[JTK]

It really boils down to how much you want to spend. eletrolux/AYP machines (Sears, Husqvarna, Poulan) offer alot of LT/GT for the money. MTD products are good provided they have a gear or a hydrostatic transaxle. Many of the lower end MTD products use a belt & variator pulley drive system which stinks. Stepping up to a 2000 or 3000 series cub cadet will give you a heavy duty long life machine in the $2500-6000 price range. Top dog for comfort, ergonomics and resale is John deere. They are by far the most comfortable machines, but the *real* JD's are pricey- LT,LX,GT,GX, etc... The low end "L" series deeres (made by a different division of JD) at big box stores are good, but desined as a low cost, high volume, limited life unit. Oh, and simplicity/snapper and toro/ford LT/GT's are really nice as well, but expensive and harder to find & service. In my opinion, all the engines are good these days provided you take care of them. B&S and Kohler are most common. Kawasaki's are typically on higher end units. You see some tecumseh singles and twins now too on lower end LT's
G/luck!
Joel

 

[JayhawkRoy]

The next Consumer Reports issue will feature riding mowers/lawn tractors. It should be released in about ten days or so.
Lately JD models have come out on tops in performance. I have mowed between two and four acres with a JD 325 for eight years and have had to repair it twice. It provides a good, consistent, reliable performance. I would check out the high performers from CR as a start point. Good luck in your search.

 

[JTK]

Michael, I definately would NOT base my descision on CR's findings for these products. They recently did a test on a bunch of lower priced lawn tractors. Most of them electolux/AYP products. Basically identical tractors with different paint jobs & cosmetics. They gave them totally different ratings

! Then they rated the murray tops, and Murray is out of business unless briggs & stratton decides to put them back into production (B&S recently 'aquired' murray). IMO- CR is a joke.
G/luck
Joel

 

[boostn]

Thank you for the replies. I will take my time and look at how they are made, ect and go from there.

 

[LarryL]

If you have the time you might want to stop by some lawn mower service shops and talk to other home owners. Part of your choice will be, can you do all your own service and if not, where can you get good service for the model you choose close to home (these things don't fit into your trunk). Service is a big deal on riding lawn mowers. Some models are just not up to the job their designed for, and you have to find a way to get it to the shop.

I had a rider for years. When the local repair shop went out of business, the new shop made such a mess of things that the mower is now parked under the deck. Today I get my exercise with a cheap B/S powered non self propelled throwaway mower that I can do all the service myself on (oil, filter, plug and blade, no drive belts). In other words, I gave up and am now pushing. I just could not justify the cost of a new rider and its service ($$$) against a $175 at Costco. My chepo mower is doing fine and gets plenty of work every week. Between a weed wacker and the mower I burn about 5 gallons or gas a month on a large yard and all I have to do is keep repeating, 'the exercise is good for me','the exercise is good for me','the exercise is good for me'....

Anyway, just another view....

 

[MADMIKE]

Consumer Reports just arrived and as expected the John Deere's topped the ratings--the L111 was #1 and a "best buy" followed by the L108 which was # 2 and also a "best buy". Just as important as performance is reliability and JD topped the charts again as the least repair-prone brand. I know the naysayers out there are critical of the 100 series but for their price point they appear to be the best performers and most reliable brand.

 

[dB]

quote:

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Originally posted by MADMIKE:
Consumer Reports just arrived and as expected the John Deere's topped the ratings--the L111 was #1 and a "best buy" followed by the L108 which was # 2 and also a "best buy". Just as important as performance is reliability and JD topped the charts again as the least repair-prone brand. I know the naysayers out there are critical of the 100 series but for their price point they appear to be the best performers and most reliable brand.

---

That's good to hear, since I just bought an L111 last month.

Haven't really used it yet, though. I like the hour meter and hydrostatic drive. I bought mine from a JD dealer rather than the localy Hopy-Dopy.

 

[cousincletus]

I would buy from the local small engine shop rather than the H-D, Lowes, etc. You'll pay the same amount and get way better service from the little guy.

 

[drm7]

I don't know much about these things but I've been pretty happy for 3 years now with a Husqvarna 1542 XP. This is the twin cylinder Kawasaki motor. It seems to take a few cranks to start for some reason but runs like a top and uses no oil. I've been running Mobil 1 since about 20 hours on the clock. It has 15 hp and 42 inch cut. The mowing deck is very heavy guage and it has 3.5 gallon tank under the seat instead of the small 2 gallon they put with the engines on many mowers. I got it at Northern for $1800. A littly pricey but I hope to get years out of it. I tend to change plugs and oil once every season. I run some sea foam at the end of the season an store with full gas. I start it once a month in the off season and let it get full hot. The oil stays pretty clear for a mower.

 

[JustinH]

my uncle has a kubota tractor from the early 80's that runs like new, its a diesel powered one. He hooks up the grass cutter up to it and it plows through his 2 acres.

 

[Cujet]

I purchased a Deere GT235 with the Kawasaki 18HP twin and a 42 inch deck. I needed the small deck to fit between the trees. My yard is rural (rough) and 2+ acres. The Deere had performed very well, and I have only good things to say about it. It was expensive, but worth every penny!

I fabricated a 42 inch front end loader for the tractor and it has no problem lifting about 200 pounds of dirt. I was convinced I could do this because of the heavy duty nature of the frame. Also, the unit is 200 pounds heavier than the HD versions.

Some tweeks: To aviod pulling the PTO switch (enables mowing in reverse) I bent the tab on the trans mounted switch. That way the mower does not disengage when reverse is used.

I disconnected (jumpered) the brake (to start engine) switch.

I also jumpered the seat switch so the engine runs when I get off the seat.

This is one fantastic machine.

Chris

 

[JTK]

Geez Chris, you might as well hop off & let that JD do the mowing itself!! You got everything jumpered out!

. The GT series deeres are great machines. We had a 1992 GT262 that was outstanding. We bought it used, mowed (3 acres) and snowblowed with it for 6yrs & sold it for nearly what we paid for it. IMHO- that's the best thing about the higher end JD's. They hold their value.
G/luck
Joel

 

[Scooby]

I've got a Scott's 17.542 (17.5 hp Kohler, 42" cut) I bought from HD going on 4 years ago. Its made by JD and identical to ones sold today except for color (new style). It has the hydro drive and the mower has been great. This thing leads a hard life. The unit has about 75 hours on it and the motor has been blowing blue smoke since about 30 hours. Up to that point it led a very easy life. It has been serviced regular and I am disappointed in the Kohler smoking already. It calls for 10w-30 (Halvoline in now), but plan on changing to M1 5W-40 soon.

 

[Cujet]

Scooby, sorry to hear you have problems. But, that is one of the reasons I purchased the tractor I did from the Deere dealer. I could get a known good engine (Kawasaki).

The Kohler should not smoke with the low hours you have. Maybe you overheated the piston rings? My neighbors all have Kohler powered tractors and they have no problems. I hope that it is just oil related smoke and a good oil change will fix the problem.

You could try to use a thicker oil for the summer. M1 15-50 works very well in air cooled engines. During cold starts, it is not a thick as you might suspect. In other words, oil pressure will come up right away.

Chris