Box Store Tractors

[LBrown59]

My Take on how to buy one.

Buy the cheapest one that has a cast iron front axle 8" front wheels and 12'' rear wheels.
Or buy the cheapest one without a cast iron front axle and smaller wheels.

There you have it><Box Tractor Buying Made Simple !

 

[Cliff_Johns]

You know I've heard this cast-iron-front-axel stuff before, but I've never heard of anyone breaking a front axel of any type on a simple lawn tractor. Do these break all the time? I can't imagine how, unless you put a front loader on a lawn tractor or something.

Cliff

 

[SATOHBULL]

Actually, I have seen 4 or 5 front axles break, all cast iron Cub Cadets! Got one on my scrap pile that has been welded, one more in two pieces and my neighbor had one break last season. these are just the recent ones.They all broke in the same place, about one inch from the center.

However, the cheap stamped steel axles often bend a little causing poor steering. Also the cheap plastic bushings used with these axles often wear out in a couple of mowing seasons.

My ideal tractor would have a heavy gauge fabricated square tube or welded angle front axle with huge kingpins and tapered roller bearing in the wheel hubs.

I've never seen one with all these features but still think that would be ideal.

 

[LBrown59]

1* the cheap stamped steel axles often bend a little causing poor steering.
2*Also the cheap plastic bushings used with these axles often wear out in a couple of mowing seasons. .

1*This looks like the same body steel used in the fenders hood etc.
2*I could not keep the cheap plastic bushing on the right side of my powerKraft.
This caused the hole to wear oblong.
I fixed this by having a friend weld about a 3 or 4 inch piece of pipe in where the plastic bushings go thus doing away with the plastic bushing on that side. Keep it packed with grease and haven't had that problem since.
Another thing the soft cheap sheet metal can wear the bolt holes that bolt the axle to the tractor out of shape.
The only thing cheap about it is the quality The price of 20 or 30 bucks to replace just the sheet metal axle sure hain't cheap.


http://www.hubcapcafe.com/i/2001/storycty/chev6001.JPG 60 Chevy Convertible front
http://www.hubcapcafe.com/i/2001/storycty/chev6001a.JPG rear view
http://chevy.tocmp.com/chevyscrapbook/files/kamp50.jpg 1950 Chevy
http://www.jenningsequipment.com/storepics/ksBX22.jpg BX23

 

[slowrev]

Yes the plastic spindle bushings are cheap enough to replace every couple of years
All equipment needs inspection and maintenance, if you let the bushings wear out and mess up the hole, well....
Of course if you get a good unit and don't grease it the repair costs more. might be less frequent , but costs more.

 

[bontai_Joe]

The $1200 machines do have a legit spot in the market. There is no reason a guy with a 3/4 acre flat lawn that does not get snow needs a $3000 or more machine unless he wants one. Many folks get by just fine with these riding mowers. The problem is when folks buy a $1200 tractor to do a job it is not designed for, like cutting a 3 acre hilly lawn, plus plow 12" of snow off a 300 foot driveway. Thats when things break early and often. And some folks just can't/won't do basic maintenance, like change oil, air filters, check for loose hardware, etc. Those folks will destroy any machine they own before it's time. Most anyone that even visits a tractor forum such as this one almost has to learn something that will help them make a better informed decision than the impulse buyer that goes to the box store looking for a hammer and leaves with a tractor in his truck.

 

[danbike]

Funny, kind of related story. I'm looking at some serious surgery and was dealing with a general surgeon. A good fellow Brit bike collector as me the following question: Who would you have paint a BSA tank? I answered with the names of two BSA painters. Then he asked Who would you have paint a Triumph tank. I gave him the name of three Triumph paint specialists. He then asked me why I was going to a general surgeon and not a specialist. I didn't answer, I just told him that he is a wise person.

I buy simple stuff if I'm close to the Box store. For specialized stuff, like JD stuff, I have a JD dealer near me that gets all my business.

 

[Fordlords]

The box store tractors or anything in the under $2000 range are made for mowing 1-1.5 acres or less and pulling light items such as a yard cart. For mowing larger acreage, pushing snow, aerating/dethatching, or running anything ground engaging a heavier duty machine is a much wiser investment. -Fordlords-

 

[slowrev]

The $1200 machines do have a legit spot in the market. There is no reason a guy with a 3/4 acre flat lawn that does not get snow needs a $3000 or more machine unless he wants one. Many folks get by just fine with these riding mowers. The problem is when folks buy a $1200 tractor to do a job it is not designed for, like cutting a 3 acre hilly lawn, plus plow 12" of snow off a 300 foot driveway. Thats when things break early and often. And some folks just can't/won't do basic maintenance, like change oil, air filters, check for loose hardware, etc. Those folks will destroy any machine they own before it's time. Most anyone that even visits a tractor forum such as this one almost has to learn something that will help them make a better informed decision than the impulse buyer that goes to the box store looking for a hammer and leaves with a tractor in his truck.

Very well said Joe.

 

[chrisjbell]

...the impulse buyer that goes to the box store looking for a hammer and leaves with a tractor in his truck.

That was a really well put point.

But I can't help but understand how that happens. For some reason, I found myself looking at the cheapo ZTRs the other day that are now popping up at the box stores. I can only imagine the buyer for those - someone with a 5000 sq ft house on a 1/4 acre lot?

I remember looking at "real" ZTRs and good ones were something like $5K - for the basic models, and it was really easy to drop as much as it would cost for a decent CUT on one.