I'm not plowing the back 40, just a half acre yard with trees.................
Posted on 02/24/2018 10:13:46 AM PST by Red Badger
Will have to buy a riding lawn mower soon.
Have never owned one.
42 Inch seem to be the right size for my yard.
Have no experience with any, so I ask for your comments and suggestions on what brand to look at and what to stay away from...........................
My brother used a Sears riding mower back in the day.. He loved it.
How much acreage? I’ve heard from many that the hydrostatic (automatic) tranny’s are junk ,, most fail at about 500 hours of use so get a manual trans.
I'm not plowing the back 40, just a half acre yard with trees.................
A very nice one, too. If you have a large lawn, it's the cat's pajamas. JD X500 for me, just a little slow.
I would look for a zero turn mower, if the wallet can bear it. Once you get comfortable with it, you will love the abilities.
No Hustler does not make Lawn Mowers. MTD does. And then they put the Hustler name on them. MTD does the same with many others such as CUB Cadet, Troy Built, Yard Machine, And I believe they have Bolens. None of it is super high quality. But then High Quality costs big bucks these days.
They’re all made by MTD Electrolux so choose your engine that’s about it
Simplicity Is owned by Briggs and Stratton now days.
Yes, my brand is named "Jose."
My snapper has served me well and it’s made right here in America. It isn’t a zero turn but it turns like one (almost).
John Deere or Husqvarna - but not from Lowe’s or Home Depot consumer grade. Go to a lawn equipment dealer and get the professional grade.
That or hire a kid to mow it. We tore out our lawn and put in flower beds. Mowing the lawn in Virginia’s summer heat is not something I miss. Traded the lawnmower, (15 year old Sears push model) to a guy who repaired our water heater. Win/win.
It depends on the size of the lawn you’re going to cut.
Most lawn mowers (gas operated) are manufactured by one company.
If you’re cutting a lawn 3 acres or more look into a commercial gas powered zero turn mower, or a Compact tractor.
My ‘landlord’ has a big riding mower and the yard to use it in.
He also bicycles on narrow country roads.
He also runs to the point of passing out on the 1/2 mile driveway.
She also has him join her in front of the TV doing exercises and if I should happen to mistakenly knock, he opens the door, looking like ‘death warmed over’ and snarls...I am doing OUR exercises.
I very seriously suggested he sell the riding and power mowers, get a sturdy walk behind blade mower and mow at his leisure on a daily basis. Long about the time he finishes he will be able to start over again.
Or he could always get a scythe and get his upper body in shape.
Then he will be able to knock off the extracurricular garbage that I am sure is ‘killing’ him if a car doesn’t.
Only in America will someone get up at 4AM, run for X miles, come home, shower, get in his car and drive 4 blocks to work then take the elevator up two floors.
Wouldn’t he be ‘better off’ sleeping in, walk the 4 blocks and up the stairs.
Make it a ZTR, too.
What about Stihl? Anybody know them?
There’s a dealer right near my house...................
John Deere.
If you must have new, only buy from a local dealer who will service what they sell. No big box retailers.
My recommendation is an older Snapper, the type that can stand up vertically for service. The newer ones of the past 5 years or so are ALL crap. Trust me, I learned the hard way. Traded the new one in to my dealer who gave me a great deal on a rebuilt older one. He no longet carries Snapper.
The sturdiness of riding mowers can be compared by measuring the thickness of the deck metal.
I run a sharpening shop, I have sharpened probably 2,000 mower blades a year for 16 years. I sometimes take them off and re-install them. On any mower, the first thing to go is the deck. They wear through the sides from erosion. They also crack at the spindles.
One eighth - 11 gauge) is a death sentence.
Three eighths (7 qauge) is good.
A quarter inch (5 gauge) is better.
Cub Cadet and John Deere both have beefy decks. The only thing I don’t like about John Deere is the “proprietary” nature of many of their fasteners. For example, I once took the blades off a large John Deere bush hog. The nut is 2-17/32” a “non-standard” socket. Two and half (very common) won’t fit. JD would have sold me a 2-17/32” socket for $80, but rather I got underneath with a side grinder and took the nuts down a 32nd until the 2-1/2” fit.
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