Riding mowers

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Loggerhead Mike

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Well, what kind do yall prefer?

im in the market for a used riding mower since the new house im moving into has a football field for a yard.

My boss is wanting to sell me a cub cadet in really good shape for $500 but its got a loose connection somewheres (battery will drain intermittently) and i aint quiet sure i want somthing else to work on since i turn wrenches 9 hrs a day as it is

anyhoo, whats yalls favorite brands? ive never owned any besides a snapper :LOL2:
 
cub cadets are really nice and fairly expensive....by the way i'm a mechanic.... and 500 is a great price. otherwise i like john deer or sears brand. look for a commercial grade mower that an individual purchased, not one from a commercial company as it will be ragged out...there is a difference in how they are built....and by the way if your yard has any steep hills then make sure your mower has an oil filter and pump verses a gravity oiler (no filter) i have learned the hard way a steep incline but not that steep! will make an engine with gravity oiling toss a rod out the side!!!( more than once!) :roll:
 
my wife suprised me last summer with a new john deer zero turn and MY GOD IS IT AWESOME it would take me 3 hours to cut my lawn with the old craftsman and I can now gut the lawn in under 30 mins. it is great.
she waited for it to go on sale and then got a 10% milatary discount so he final price was around 2k it was way to much to spend but Hell I'm worth it!!
 
make sure your mower has an oil filter and pump verses a gravity oiler (no filter) i have learned the hard way a steep incline but not that steep!

thanks brother that never crossed my mind

she waited for it to go on sale and then got a 10% milatary discount so he final price was around 2k it was way to much to spend but Hell I'm worth it!!

lol them 0 turns are sweeeet... but that has to wait untill i got me a nice big boat :LOL2:

thanks for the input fellers. ive found acouple decent sears mowers in the paper for a good price. gonna wait a week or 2 to decide, the cub cadet is a sweet mower never thaught those rigs would have power steering and the rest of the 9 yards. boss man said he'd give me a week or so to decide and if not he's hacking the frame and turning it into a ride behind mower #-o
 
I have a craftsman (sears)..... Only thing that makes me mad about it is that they intentionally make the mow belt a 1/2 size so you have to buy directly from sears for like 89.99 each. grrrrrrrrrrrr
 
I have a Husqvarna (YTH20K46 model), with the Kohler engine, and haven't had any problems for the two seasons I've owned it. Much quieter & more comfortable than the old White (MTD?) brand I had for a number of years. All of my neighbors have John Deeres, so I had to be different, lol.
 
Im partial to Briggs and Straton engines and buy my mowers based on that.

I bought a used rider last year for $350, 17hp 43" deck. Works great after I replaced the spark plug and changed the oil and filter.

It replaced the previous rider that was close to 30 years old. The engine finally threw a bearing. One of the reasons I am partial to Briggs and Straton engines. Built to last, especially the commercial engines.
 
I currently have a Craftsman and it hasn't missed a lick in the 7 or 8 years that I have owned it. The oil drain valve makes for easy oil changes but it leaks and makes a mess on mine. I think I got the first year model with the cam action drain valve before it was refined. I bought the exact same mower for my mother two years later and it has an updated valve design that does not leak. Definitely go for hydrostatic if you have a lot of stuff to mow around. It is worth the little bit of extra that it costs.

Riding mowers are odd. A lot of the different brands come from the same factory and just have different paint and optional gizmos on them. I'm sure the quality of the parts may be different between the brands as well. My current mower looks just like the same year model Husqvarnas, JD's, Cubs, Troy Builts, etc. The headlights might have been just a hair different on them. It is identical to my nextdoor neighbor's JD except being a different color.

I'm not sure if it is still this way but a few years ago the John Deere mowers that you bought at a JD dealership were different than the JD mowers that you bought at the big box stores. There was a sort of Wal Mart spec type thing going on there. The ones from the dealership were of better quality but they also had a price tag to match. The one JD mower that I had was a piece of junk but I'm sure as with all other things, they turn out a bad one every now and then.
 
...I'm not sure if it is still this way but a few years ago the John Deere mowers that you bought at a JD dealership were different than the JD mowers that you bought at the big box stores...


I've heard the same thing from various people concerning the differences between getting one from JD or a big-box retailer.
 
perchin said:
I have a craftsman (sears)..... Only thing that makes me mad about it is that they intentionally make the mow belt a 1/2 size so you have to buy directly from sears for like 89.99 each. grrrrrrrrrrrr

Just for the record get the part number from sears and go to a napa store and they were able to get me a driv belt and blade belt in napa part#.....belt was 24.99.....yours may be similar... :)
 
Quackrstackr said:
I currently have a Craftsman and it hasn't missed a lick in the 7 or 8 years that I have owned it. The oil drain valve makes for easy oil changes but it leaks and makes a mess on mine. I think I got the first year model with the cam action drain valve before it was refined. I bought the exact same mower for my mother two years later and it has an updated valve design that does not leak. Definitely go for hydrostatic if you have a lot of stuff to mow around. It is worth the little bit of extra that it costs.

Riding mowers are odd. A lot of the different brands come from the same factory and just have different paint and optional gizmos on them. I'm sure the quality of the parts may be different between the brands as well. My current mower looks just like the same year model Husqvarnas, JD's, Cubs, Troy Builts, etc. The headlights might have been just a hair different on them. It is identical to my nextdoor neighbor's JD except being a different color.

I'm not sure if it is still this way but a few years ago the John Deere mowers that you bought at a JD dealership were different than the JD mowers that you bought at the big box stores. There was a sort of Wal Mart spec type thing going on there. The ones from the dealership were of better quality but they also had a price tag to match. The one JD mower that I had was a piece of junk but I'm sure as with all other things, they turn out a bad one every now and then.
thats true they are not the same.....
 
wolfmjc said:
perchin said:
I have a craftsman (sears)..... Only thing that makes me mad about it is that they intentionally make the mow belt a 1/2 size so you have to buy directly from sears for like 89.99 each. grrrrrrrrrrrr

Just for the record get the part number from sears and go to a napa store and they were able to get me a driv belt and blade belt in napa part#.....belt was 24.99.....yours may be similar... :)

I have..... unfortunately mine is a half size, which they can not obtain. I tried three belts they have given me now, and they all just burn up after two mowing sessions. The half an inch is more than it seems. I need a 96 1/2 and have tried bothe 96 and 97, and just adjusted the tensioner as much as possible without any luck. Good to know that some of their other models are more interchangeable though..... :?
 
Waterwings said:
...I'm not sure if it is still this way but a few years ago the John Deere mowers that you bought at a JD dealership were different than the JD mowers that you bought at the big box stores...


I've heard the same thing from various people concerning the differences between getting one from JD or a big-box retailer.

Yep. I wouldn't even look at the big box store mowers. I'd be going straight to the local farm supply stores.
 
Waterwings said:
...I'm not sure if it is still this way but a few years ago the John Deere mowers that you bought at a JD dealership were different than the JD mowers that you bought at the big box stores...


I've heard the same thing from various people concerning the differences between getting one from JD or a big-box retailer.

Yep, I'm also in the market for a riding mower because 1) I have 2 1/2 acres to cut and 2) I can put a trailer hitch on it and move the boat around :) ... that's my real angle. I really want a JD, but like others have said, the ones you can get at the box stores, which I believe are the 'LA' series are not the same quality as the ones you can get at the tractor supply or JD stores.
 

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