Riding Mowers

Wow guys...lots of good feedback....Do any of you guys have the attachments like tine de-thatchers and aerators?
I have been researching and am contemplating a walk behind.....I would love to add a striping kit but I dont see them available for the lawn tractors.
BTW....the yard is roughly .65 of lawn and relatively flat.
 
rondds said:
Acre here. When I moved to the 'burbs, I picked up an Craftsman 42" 16hp with Kohler engine, USED, that I found in a classified ad in the local paper. I think I paid $650 for it and the guy threw in the lawn sweeper and the bagger. The model year is 1992 and I bought it in the spring of 2000. Still going strong. I use it in the fall to suck up and shred all the damn leaves and in the spring to tote around 14 yards of mulch with my 2000 HARBOR FREIGHT fold-up trailer (yes HARBOR FREIGHT). This thing keeps going. Sears' website for parts is fantastic and you can get any part any time on the internet. I have a John Deere gas string trimmer and it's a pain to get parts for it - I don't like being at the mercy of the dealer for simple things.

If my Craftsman dies I'd get another in a heartbeat.


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That looks like mine! Mine is a couple of years newer but very similar. I have 5.5 acres but most on a hill so I get to mow maybe 1/2 and acre. The rest is weed whacked or stays natural. I WANT A CONDO OR A BIGGER BOAT TO LIVE ON! I'll give my garden tools and mower, pickup, etc to whoever buys my place...
 
My JD Spin Steer doesn't lend itself to great attachments. I do use it to tow an plug aerator at the begining and end of the season. JD's SST 16/18 was a hot seller, until they launched a marketing blitz for their All Wheel Steer.
 
DaNinja said:
My JD Spin Steer doesn't lend itself to great attachments. I do use it to tow an plug aerator at the begining and end of the season. JD's SST 16/18 was a hot seller, until they launched a marketing blitz for their All Wheel Steer.
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I want one of the SST18, the sales rep talked me out of it because I have some hills. so I ended up getting an LT180.
 
I have a JD LT160...as Dave S mentioned, it has the hyrostatic transmission which is great. I have a much kit a majority of the time, but can take off the muching blades and use a bagger if needed. If you have a pretty flat yard, you might check out the zero radius.

JohnDeere003.jpg
 
Do the Deere's have a roller kit?
I just checked out the Simplicity site and man some of those are sweet!
Love the deck design and full length rollers.
Anyone have any experience with the Snapper rear engine (17-17.5 HP)??
 
Jack F said:
I want one of the SST18, the sales rep talked me out of it because I have some hills. so I ended up getting an LT180.
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Yep. A SST, and probably many spins steers, loves gravity. I found myself pinched against the fence a couple of times before I gave up and just did a couple of quick passes with the Toro instead. The lot is a bit under an acre, so it still goes pretty quick.

Even with that, I can knock out the front during a NASCAR yellow, and the back if we get short red flag.:grin:

It would take 5x that walking behind the Toro.
 
Weave said:
Do the Deere's have a roller kit?
I just checked out the Simplicity site and man some of those are sweet!
Love the deck design and full length rollers.
Anyone have any experience with the Snapper rear engine (17-17.5 HP)??
Click to expand...

Not sure if the JD have a roller kit. When I purchased mine 6-8 years ago, they did not. But that may have changed. The Simplicty's are very nice mowers...and with the roller kit, you can so some great yard stripping.
 
Bottom Line said:
I have a JD LT160...as Dave S mentioned, it has the hyrostatic transmission which is great. I have a much kit a majority of the time, but can take off the muching blades and use a bagger if needed. If you have a pretty flat yard, you might check out the zero radius.

JohnDeere003.jpg
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Nice looking yard!
I've heard that those much kits come with a bunch of great stuff!

That border on the drive is like the section of my yard that the SST hates, only mine involves a fence or a three-foot terrace. I could do that border with the SST without crashing into the fence or dropping off the ledge.
 
I have no need for a riding mower. Live in a Townhouse and have an electric push mower.

It would probably take longer to mow with the rider than just to push mow it lol.
 
Sheridon, you are my hero! I used to live in the concrete jungle, wanted the property, got it and have had it for 10 years and now getting tired of it.
 
My hydrostatic drive Cub Cadet Garden Tractor had a 48 inch mower, a snow blower, and a tow behind gas powered leaf/grass vacuum. I also had a 4 foot lawn roller I used in the spring. I also had an aerator that I pulled behind it for lawn aeration. You can use all these attachments with some of the larger lawn tractors (rather than garden tractors) but it is easier with a good lawn tractor.

One more thing no one has mentioned. Look at how easy it is to take the mower off. On my Cub Cadet it required no tools. You pull a couple of pins and slid the mower out the side..........took about two minutes to do. On most garden tractors removing the mower is not necessarily very easy to do. In the spring when the grass grows like crazy and is lush it tends to clog the mower pan. It is much easier to clean a mower pan if you can remove it. And it makes removing the blades for sharpening or replacement a breeze as well.

Dave
 
I mow about 6 acres, all fenced in, and with around 100 trees to go around. Also have a pond a creek to work around. My mower is a 72" front deck zero turn made by Deines MFG and it takes me about 3 hours. Use to take me longer to mow with a tractor and 7' finish mower.

I like the front deck because I can get under trees and the fence easier, and it can be easily tilted up for cleaning. http://www.marty-j.com/split.html

The bad thing about these front decks is that if it is windy you have to be careful when turning or else you will be covered in grass. But to me the benefits out weigh the negatives.

If I had less than an acre I would still like a ZTR but might look at about a 48" model.
 
I cut 2.5 acres with a 50 inch(Z Force 50) zero turn Cub Cadet. Cut my mowing time in half from a 48 inch Bolens tractor mower. More time for boating.
 
Weave said:
Wow guys...lots of good feedback....Do any of you guys have the attachments like tine de-thatchers and aerators?
I have been researching and am contemplating a walk behind.....I would love to add a striping kit but I dont see them available for the lawn tractors.
BTW....the yard is roughly .65 of lawn and relatively flat.
Click to expand...

Weave,
I am glad that Dave S. mentioned Cub Cadet tractors since I view them on par with John Deeres like mine at a lower price. Another feature available on certain Cub Cadet and higher end JD tractors is shaft drive which provides more reliable and more efficient power transfer to the mowing deck or attachments using the PTO.

You mentioned the desire for attachments which in my book pretty much precludes zero turn mowers like the Simplicity bigot and more modest others have mentioned. Sears sells a lot of tractor attachments requiring a clevis hitch that can be used with a JD tractor like mine along with other brands I am fairly sure.
 
I've got this along with a boat load of attachments. Picked up the aerator on CL, replaced the spoons & it's like new.

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Bought this a couple days ago....

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Wheel Horse of course! Research it, for about $600 you'll get something that will last another 30yrs and all the attachments you'll need can be interchanged in mins, tach-a-matic:thumbsup:
 
I am on my 5th year with a Cub Cadet LT1554, I have the wagon and sweeper. I mowed roughly 3 acres every two three weeks the 1st two years of owner ship and it did the job. Now I only have 1/2 a acre and it is a little over kill but like Dave mentioned earlier the larger the tractor the longer it will last. I have 18 hp kohler motor and that puppy knocks out my current lawn in 45 minutes and I am ready to do the tirming. :thumbsup:

I looked at all of them (JD, Kabota, Murray, Craftsman...) it came down to the deal. One of my customers was a Cub dealer and give me a heck of a price cut to buy it from him so there we go. :grin:
 
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