heavy duty tractor/mower recommendations?

[TheYard]

Hi all!

I've been pulling my hair out trying to find a *reliable* riding mower for about 1/2 acre of grass that can pull a cart full of loam uphill. Seems like everything has something wrong with it. At first the Husqvarna higher end models looked good - heavy duty transmissions and kawasaki engines, and then I read about frames cracking on them. My budget is around 3-3.5K and I'd like to get something that is going to last, and be relatively trouble free. If there was a no brainer at 5K, I'd probably go that much.

I don't have a way to transport to/from the dealer, so it can't be something where I'm paying for transport fees to fix stuff on a regular basis.

Maybe I'm expecting too much? Anyone have wisdom to share?

Mike

 

[oosik]

Yesterday( Saturday ) I went to the local JD dealer. Looking for a new riding mower to replace my 2003 JD G100. The JD G100 is twin cylinder - 25hp - 54" cut. Price in 2003 - $3950. To get a replacement - as close as possible to the G100 - it would be the JD 570. With local/state taxes - $6600.

I can learn to live with what I have.

 

[dnw64]

I can highly recommend a Case/Ingersoll. They are a real tractor, pretty much unchanged for over 50 years. I had a 1972 444 that I bought in '99 and used it for 18 years before I upgraded to a 4WD Cab tractor (an M-F GC2300). It was still in fine/great shape.

INGERSOLL

 

[Gem99ultra]

I have a Husqvarna GTH26V52LS, i.e. 26hp Kawasaki, 52" cut that I use often to pull not only my little garden cart around but occasionally my 4'x8' trailer loaded with logs.

I bought it primarily to use for mowing steep slopes around a 3/4 acre pond. I had not found anything within my budget prior that could handle the ~25* slope. Even with the Husq I had to add rear wheel weights and ATV tires for traction. But pulling and mowing high weeds power was never a problem. So far I've used (abused) it for over 9 years. Just now had to replace the drive belt for the first time.

Granted, the mower wasn't built with the intention to use it daily for hauling heavy loads, but it was built to use for a light weight garden tractor. It may well turn out to be your best choice in the price range you're working with.

 

[TheYard]

I can highly recommend a Case/Ingersoll. They are a real tractor, pretty much unchanged for over 50 years. I had a 1972 444 that I bought in '99 and used it for 18 years before I upgraded to a 4WD Cab tractor (an M-F GC2300). It was still in fine/great shape.

INGERSOLL

Are they still in business? The website is pretty thin, and copyright in 2009. Their facebook page was last updated in 2018.

Sounds like a great machine - but not sure how to lay my hands on one

 

[dnw64]

Are they still in business? The website is pretty thin, and copyright in 2009. Their facebook page was last updated in 2018.

Sounds like a great machine - but not sure how to lay my hands on one

Not sure if they're still in business or not. I'd try giving them a call.

 

[MF2604h]

I recommend a snapper spx. I own a lawn care company so I use and abuse it. I pull a 48 inch aerator with four cement blocks on it, yard carts full of mulch and fertilizer spreaders. Not to mention when I have overgrown jungle yards that need to be cleaned up I will use it.
When I first started lawn care that was my only lawnmower. I have cut a ton of grass with this lawnmower. Now I just use it as a backup to my zero turns.
You have to go to a snapper dealer don稚 get the ones sold at Walmart. Mine has the fabricated deck and a commercial 23 hp Briggs and Stratton engine.
Good luck

 

[Alan W.]

The Husqvarna garden tractors are good. I have a Craftsman DGS6500 which is a rebadged Husqvarna. It has over a thousand hours on it now and its been used on very rough ground, pulled my cart with whatever I put in it and the bagger is used heavily in the fall.
I replaced the rear tires with atv tires. No problems with a weak frame. It has the K66 hydro in it. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

 

[4570Man]

Any of the small tractors with a MMM are pretty much indestructible. A Deere 455 is a more dedicated mower that’s tough. Or there’s commercial grade ZTs. Buying new I don’t think $3500 buys a very solid option.

 

[oosik]

Well - I finally had to give up on the old JD G100. It became just to tired - wouldn't cut well - made a mess of my lawns. I'll still use it to mow Buck brush & wild rose thickets. I bought the JD 570. What a machine. Perfect cut - half the time. In a couple day I'll have a whole lot of dry grass to gather up.

 

[Gem99ultra]

The Husqvarna garden tractors are good. I have a Craftsman DGS6500 which is a rebadged Husqvarna. It has over a thousand hours on it now and its been used on very rough ground, pulled my cart with whatever I put in it and the bagger is used heavily in the fall.
I replaced the rear tires with atv tires. No problems with a weak frame. It has the K66 hydro in it. I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Amen. I also have a "small" Husqvarna Rider 155 that I've abused for 18 years. It now has over 2500 hours on it with little repairs. Biggest repair was replacing the 3 mandrels a few years ago. The 'small' 15 hp mower was used to help me clean up our property after Hurricane Ike. We used it like a tractor - hauling huge sections of oak trees, countless loads of branches, building materials, etc.. At the time we did not have a tractor or anything else - just our little mower and our own manpower.

The point of this dissertation is perhaps you're underrating the power of not only Husqvarna but Snapper and a lot of other brands. You just may not need as much mower/tractor as you're expecting to need.

As far as Snapper goes... I had a 8hp Snapper that even after 15 years, it just kept on working. Good machine, for sure.

 

[Industrial Toys]

You want the impossible. Heavy Duty at the price of homeowner/consumer stuff.

ALL that stuff is built at price point for certain market segments.

 

[TheYard]

You want the impossible. Heavy Duty at the price of homeowner/consumer stuff.

ALL that stuff is built at price point for certain market segments.

Maybe that's why I'm pulling my hair out Not the first time I've been looking for the impossible. This might be a two machine problem - one for pulling and loading, and another for mowing. Something like an old bolens for the former, where if the machine is down for repairs, the grass can still get cut, and maybe something new like a mid-range husq for mowing.

 

[airbiscuit]

I had a Snapper SPX and it was a good machine for the money. My only complaint was that the Mower deck couldn't be raised to cut very high, no matter what kind of adjustments I made.

The Husqvarna TS348XD or TS354XD models come closest to what you are looking for and come with heavy duty transmissions and locking differentials. The frames are strong enough, just not made to mount a loader on.

I have a Simplicity Conquest that also has a heavy duty transmission and locking differential, but at twice the cost.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

You want the impossible. Heavy Duty at the price of homeowner/consumer stuff.

ALL that stuff is built at price point for certain market segments.

There's the RIGHT answer, right there!

SR

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Maybe that's why I'm pulling my hair out Not the first time I've been looking for the impossible. This might be a two machine problem - one for pulling and loading, and another for mowing. Something like an old bolens for the former, where if the machine is down for repairs, the grass can still get cut, and maybe something new like a mid-range husq for mowing.

I would buy an old Wheel Horse 8 speed for pulling, they are one of the toughest lawn tractors out there and if needed, easy to work on. You can pull all you want with them, the tranny and rear end will easily take it!

It's really handy having an extra tractor around, especially one that you don't have a pile of money into...

SR

 

[mikester]

You want the impossible. Heavy Duty at the price of homeowner/consumer stuff.

ALL that stuff is built at price point for certain market segments.

Agreed. This thread title is nothing but click bait....where is the tractor?

Anyways, on your budget buy a mule for pulling and some sheep for mowing. When the covid apocalypse comes you now have a food source.

 

[nyone]

1/2ac of grass is not much grass to mow. Have you considered a walk behind and something like the mikita electric wheel barrow? The less gas engines to keep running the better

 

[TheYard]

i have a walk behind 22" - and I had considered a few different options for material moving assistance. I looked at a lot of various electric carts ranging in price from the low end like the makita to higher end electric models in the few thousand. I also looked at some gas powered carts like super hauler. At some point, if electrics all get the bugs worked out, that could be a viable option.

But in the end, I don't think there was going to be a single "forever machine" for me - at least not right now. So I got two "good enough for now" machines - one for moving materials (Bolens HT20 with a gardenway loader - used of course) and a low end Cub Cadet 42" (new, from my trusty local dealer - if anything goes awry I'm sure that they'll stand behind it). Once I'm through some of the re-landscaping work around the yard, I'll revisit those choices.

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful advice. Meanwhile, I'll be working on replacing a hydro pulley. I'm not sure if it's common practice to put a zinc pulley on the hydro motor for a loader and connect it to a 20 horsepower engine, but I have a hard time believing that's stock...)

 

[nyone]

I believe they call 22in mowers push mowers. If you moving dirt is a one time deal I dont see buying a forever tractor. Buy a good wheelbarrow and do the work.