Riding mowers, Sears

Post by **Sam** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 5:33 pm

Wanting to get a riding mower for a 3/4ths acre yard, side yard has a bit of a small hill to it. Went to Home Depot, a Cub Cadet for $1699 or a Sears Craftsmen for $1549.00

1) Is it a big deal that there is a cast iron front end vs. steel

2) Single arm or double arm steering

3) shift on the go vs. automatic vs. hydrostatic automatic

what is the thoughts of quality of Craftsman vs. Troy Bilt and Cub Cadet and Sears.

They have a Troy Built gear shift, no wheels on the deck, 42" for $1000 at Lowes. 46" automatic cub cadet at lowes for $1699, the ariens is $1000 but no wheels, and Sears has a hydrostatic, all cast iron, 6" double arm radius turning and 4 wheels on the deck, 46" cut for $1600 with free delivery and 12 months no interest (they wont discount it at all if I pay cash)

Any thoughts?

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 4:45 am

Sam

I have the craftsman. I used to mow about 8 very uneven harsh terrain acres with it. Outside of bending a blade now and then

it was absolutely incredible and worth every cent. I still have it and still use it occasionally. Its pretty good on gas too

When I called sears for service they were prompt in taking care of me.....the further into cutting season you go the longer the wait for service, but thats an acceptable trade-off

clive

Post by **Sam** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 5:54 am

on its way: 46" deck, hydrostatic transmission, 24 hp, dual cylinder Craftsman

bought a mulching kit

issue: any advice on how to raise the mower up to access the deck so I can swap out the blades, as I dont have any ramps?

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:01 am

I just bought one of these bad boys. A bit overkill for less than an acre. I bought it to replace a 15 year old Kubota that didn't do so well on my hills, but still probably had another 5-10 years life left on it. I also have a snowblower that mounts on the front.

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:03 am

Sam wrote:
issue: any advice on how to raise the mower up to access the deck so I can swap out the blades, as I dont have any ramps?

Shouldn't be that hard to disconnect the mowing deck, slide it out, and flip it over. You should have to do it at the end of season anyway to clean it out. My old Kubota's mowing deck took 5 minutes to remove and slide out.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:29 am

Richard and his toys!

use in good health gents. No drinking and mowing....or not to much anyway!
clive

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:51 am

fallingwickets wrote:Richard and his toys!

use in good health gents. No drinking and mowing....or not to much anyway!
clive

Clive, I am cutting just under 3 acres with lots of hills, some ass-puckeringly steep. Some guys around here mess about with Home Depot specials but are constantly changing belts, filling them with gas, and are worn out in 5 or so years. If you get something commerical quality and take care of it, it will last a lifetime for a homeowner. Yeah, it costs a lot of money up front but those Kubota diesels last and last and can cut for 10+ hours on a tank of fuel.

I tried drinking a beer and cutting the lawn once. There is so much vibration and bouncing that 1/2 of my beer watered the lawn and the rest went flat in under 5 minutes.

jtpca · Post by **jtpca** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:41 pm

rustyblade wrote:
I tried drinking a beer and cutting the lawn once. There is so much vibration and bouncing that 1/2 of my beer watered the lawn and the rest went flat in under 5 minutes.

What of the empty box of Steam Whistles beside the new unit??

Nice machine - makes the Lawnboy I push around seem fruitless.

Nitrox · Post by **Nitrox** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 3:54 pm

Nice machine Richard.

The local works department don't even have machines that nice....

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:24 am

can cut for 10+ hours on a tank of fuel

I'm impressed with that stat. I have the Husqvarna mz5225 and I dont think I can come close to that many hours.

Now I'm jealous

clive

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:40 am

fallingwickets wrote:
can cut for 10+ hours on a tank of fuel
I'm impressed with that stat. I have the Husqvarna mz5225 and I dont think I can come close to that many hours.

Now I'm jealous

clive

Zero turn mowers are great and fast and make it almost fun to cut grass from what I'm told. More guys around here are zipping around on them. Problem is, they are terrible, if not dangerously suicidal on steeper hills and this was the problem I had. I wanted something more robust, 4WD, and faster cutting than a lawn tractor, but I couldn't go zero turn. That's why I got the front-mount Kubota, they are one of the last manufacturers making them. They haven't changed the design since they came out, about 15 years I think. They are a very robust unit and you can put a snow-blower on the front, something you can't do with a Zero. Kubota don't even sell the GF1800 in the US. I don't know why.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:51 am

Richard

Husqvarna sells something very similar which I would have bought but I had to trade for the sake of 'toughness'......my property is full of holes and stumps and vegetation/debris however basically 'flat' When I spoke to the people in the know they all recommended a pro grade zero turn over the articulating rider

clive

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:52 am

p.s. the only time I can go full throttle is on the street

clive

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:52 am

fallingwickets wrote:p.s. the only time I can go full throttle is on the street

clive

It's amazing how much you get bounced around on a "flat" lawn. I've seen some of these higher end Z turns rated at upwards of 12mph and there is just no way you can cut at that speed unless your lawn is as smooth as a carpet. Mine is rated for 8.4mph and boy do you bounce around at that speed, even with the seatbelt on.

wenestvedt · Post by **wenestvedt** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:42 am

Since we got a used (1998) Sears Craftsman lawn tractor instead of the old push mower, my wife has taken over mowing. It's fun! You can't hear the kids! It's loud!

A friend of mine -- biochemistry professor, by the way -- was mowing on a riding mower. His hat fell off, he leaned over to grab it on the next pass, and shredded three fingers. What a dope. :7) *shakes head* Luckily his uncle is a plastic surgeon. He kept all his fingers, and the rest of us learned a valuable lesson.

m3m0ryleak · Post by **m3m0ryleak** » Sat Mar 31, 2012 11:20 pm

I realize that Sam has done the deed, hopefully the new models are as good as the old ones. My buddy has one (actually his wife uses it) and like the old Timex watches....

For what it's worth, Cub Cadet is outright over priced crap, it's been a long time since it's heyday as part of the International family.
I must be a masochist as I've had two. Both throw belts, electronics are dicey. Local dealer is an arrogant SOB. To think I gave away a older John Deere 160 with its bullet proof Kawasaki motor (kicks self).

jww · Post by **jww** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 7:37 am

I have long considered paving over my yard with a green coloured cement.

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Sun Apr 01, 2012 3:53 pm

m3m0ryleak wrote:I realize that Sam has done the deed, hopefully the new models are as good as the old ones. My buddy has one (actually his wife uses it) and like the old Timex watches....

For what it's worth, Cub Cadet is outright over priced crap, it's been a long time since it's heyday as part of the International family.
I must be a masochist as I've had two. Both throw belts, electronics are dicey. Local dealer is an arrogant SOB. To think I gave away a older John Deere 160 with its bullet proof Kawasaki motor (kicks self).

The problem is that they've made the low end tractors have everything while maintaining big box store pricing...power steering, hydrostatic drives, power lift, larger decks, and big gas sucking air cooled engines, while keeping the price really low. More complexity at a lower cost is bound to lead to problems...with no dealer support. As soon as John Deere made models for big box stores they destroyed their good name, and the dealers selling the "real" JD equipment want nothing to do with them.