Help me decide...

[ChipSmith]

This is my first post here, but I've been reading this forum for a while now. I am going to be purchasing a new lawn tractor this season and I have narrowed my choices between the new Cub Cadet i1046/i1050 or the Husqvarna YTH2146XP. Either of these tractors would be a serious step up from the Murray 12.5HP 40" which is on its last leg.

My yard is 3/4 acre with a fair amount of obstacles, but the real issue is some very steep hills. The steepest parts measure between a 37%-40% grade. I know I probably shouldn't be mowing the steep parts with a tractor, but I have been able to get good results with strategic body positioning on my current tractor. Whatever I get it needs to be good on hills or it will be useless for me. I have ruled out traditional ZTR's for this reason.

What I like about the Cub Cadet i1000 series is they are wide and have a low center of gravity. They feel like they would be very stable on hills, and Cub Cadet is promoting that fact in their product literature.

My dealer is recommending the GT 2550 for my hilly yard because its heavy duty transmission and shaft drive. At $3,799 it is $100 less than the i1050, but I am concerned because of how high it sits and how stable it would be on hills.

What I like about the Husqvarna YTH2146XP is it has a Kawasaki engine and the TuffTorq K46 HST for only $2,399, but my dealer doesn't regularly stock them so I would have to pay freight for the special order. That would bring the price to $2,500 - $2,600 so not as good of a value as it could be.

So are either of these Cub Cadets worth the additional ~$1,000 or so over the Husqvarna XP? I am having a hard time justifying spending close to $4,000 on a new tractor, but I have looked around at used offerings and there is nothing appealing available in my area and I need something soon.

The other option I am considering is getting another "disposable tractor" like my old Murray. It has lasted 2 years cutting my hills at my current house, and I have used it for a couple of years before at my previous house. I could buy 4 disposable tractors for what these Cubs cost. Even if I only get 2-3 years out of them I might still come out ahead in the long run. So, with that said reliability of a more expensive tractor would have to be very good.

What do you guys recommend?

 

[MrJimi]

Take a look at Lowes, they carry Husqvarna
Check out This one wider cut and more Horsepower

And welcome to the site
Jim

 

[slowrev]

I go with the cheap. I got a yardman 15.5 HP / 46" last year. Same heavy deck exactly as the Cub cadet that cost much more. Goes really good on hills ( that really suprised me) and only cost a little over $800.
Used it heavy all last year abour 1.5 acres per week and no problems yet.
Step thru design which I love with my bad back.

But then that is just me, your mileage may differ. I figure with a belt or two it will last 8 yrs. So about $100 per year cost not counting gas and routine maintenance.

I like the idea of the drive shaft and such on the Cub cadet though. Just not the price.

Ben

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

I needed soemthing to mow 2.2 acres last summer. Initially thought I'd buy a Deere, but got tired of the Deere dealers telling me if I didn't spend thousands $$$ more to get the Kawasaki engine thier lower priced units would not last. To make a long story short I bought a Sears Craftsman GS 6500 - 25hp Briggs 54" cut. So far very happy - no complaints whatsoever. The Sears unit is a Husquvarna painted black instead of orange.

 

[slowrev]

A friend got a small JD riding mower the other day. Junk, the spindles rattle around on it brand new.....
This is the low end of the JD mowers I am sure, but still....

 

[ChipSmith]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I will be going with something cheaper considering my terrain will probably prematurely shorten the life on anything I use.

With that said, a friend of mine will be relocating in a couple of months and will need to sell his tractor. He has a Troy-Bilt LTX1842 that is 3-4 years old. It has a 18 HP B&S, 42" deck, & a what looks to be a CVT instead of HST. What do you think it is worth?

 

[thingy]

Not much,,just buy a 2,000 dollar one at sears,,[well you can go up a little,say 2,500 max],,and you'll be set for next 10 years if you take care of it,,,even cheap ones will last a lot longer than 3-4 years unless you are abusing it,,I got a yardman [or something like that I bought at lowes 12 years ago],,20 hp kohler,,still runs and cuts,,,got a sears 25 hp kohler hydro drive,,about 8 years ago,,still runs like new,,cut over an acre of yard,,ones got 400 hours ones got over 600,,,gotta take a little care with them,,,but not nothing you wouldn't with a new 5,000 dollar deere,,,,thingy

 

[RickO]

Yep, buy the Husqvarna with the Kawi. I had a JD 170 with the 14hp Kawi and mowed about 2 acres for 9 years and when I sold it it still ran like new and did not use oil. Great motors - lots of torque.

I'm curious who makes the Husqvarna

 

[Fordlords]

Yep, buy the Husqvarna with the Kawi. I had a JD 170 with the 14hp Kawi and mowed about 2 acres for 9 years and when I sold it it still ran like new and did not use oil. Great motors - lots of torque.

I'm curious who makes the Husqvarna

Well, it's actually made by Husqvarna LOL! (Husqvarna home products) They make about all of the Husky and Craftsman and Poulan LGT products right in the USA. One would be hard found to beat the Kwacker engine, a total top end small engine. Their fuel injected small engines are just like getting in your car, turn the key and go at any temperature, no choke to play with.

-Fordlords-

 

[slowrev]

Is Husqvarna, and AYP all under Electrolux ? or am I cornfused again ?

 

[Egon]

Have you considered a used tractor such as a Kubota B7100 Hst with the MMM. They make a very nice mowing unit.

 

[frank_f15]

Check out ALL the units at sears i have had a craftsman 18 hp with twinn B/S engine for 14 years now and i really use it hard, has been a wonderful machine.

 

[bontai_Joe]

Is Husqvarna, and AYP all under Electrolux ? or am I cornfused again ?

Electrolux spun off Husqvarna to concentrate on their indoor appliance line about a year or 2 ago.

 

[slowrev]

Electrolux spun off Husqvarna to concentrate on their indoor appliance line about a year or 2 ago.

So all of the AYP stuff or Just the Husqvarna line got spun off ?

 

[Fordlords]

AYP is no more, and Electrolux is gone from Husqvarna Group. Husqvarna Group consists of the following brand names:
BlueBird, Craftsman tractors, Diamant Boart, Dimas, Dixon, Felker, Flymo, Husqvarna, Jonserd, McCulloch, Partner Industrial, Poulan/Poulan Pro, TragetBlue, Weed Eater, and Yazoo/Kees.

-Fordlords-

 

[coasterez]

For my money, if I had hilly, rough ground, I'd look for a used JD 3xx/4xx machine. Used, they can be found for about $3K - $4K. Much heavier and more stable for steep terrain. Way more tractor than those mentioned (except for maybe the B7100). All shaft drive and have many optional attachments too. The liquid cooled ones are also very quiet, even at full throttle. Take care of it and it could be the last one you'll ever need. Mine is going on its 14th year. Never changed a belt or anything. Just change the fluids and grease the fittings.

 

[thingy]

I got a lowes special,yard pro or something like that,,its going on its 14th year too,,have changed the belts and a few small parts,,,but it still cuts!
Also got a sears mower,,going on about its 12th year,,,,had to have head gasket replaced when it had about 100 hours on it,,,and belts a couple times,,of course batteries for both at least once,,,both have kohler motors,,ones a hydro the other is manual,,one is 25 hp the other is 20,,,,have spent less than probably 500 dollars repair on both in the 14 years,,,so,,,,cut over an acre of yard,some rough,some hilly parts,,and generally don't cut grass but once every two weeks!
You can get about three of these types for what you'd pay for a new top of the line one,,,so if each one just lasted you 12 years,,,thats 36 years of mowing fun!!?? and you don't have to save for three years or make payments to get one,,well,,generally speaking of course....
1/2 acre or less grass to mow,,it just makes no sense to me spending over 5,000 on a lawn mower,,,now maybe if you had an acre or so like me,,yeah,,it might make sense,,if you could afford it that is,,,but the cheap ones cut the grass just fine. thingy

 

[coasterez]

There are always two camps here: buy cheap and replace/repair more often or buy top quality and keep forever. Both are reasonable ways of going about it. For me personally, the point I was making is that if I were going to lay down $3K or more for a lawnmower, I'd rather have a used top-shelf garden tractor as opposed to a new "disposable" one. The top-shelves can do so much more, and are a pleasure to use. But, it is a personal choice. And if all you want to do is cut 1/2 acre of grass, then the run-of-the-mill lawn tractor is more than sufficient, even a small one at or around $1000 would do.

I used my fathers Craftsman to cut his grass from time to time. I hated using that thing: noisy, hard to steer, seat killed your back, vibration numbed the hands, poor traction, tipped easily, new belts every other year and were a pain to change out. But, then I was spoiled by my JD. When I'd get home after cutting my dad's, I'd kiss my deere and give thanks to the lawn tractor gods for giving me such a fine machine. There is absolutely no comparison. But, then again, that little craftman is on its 14th year too. I'm just glad my butt wasn't on that thing for 13 straight years. I will say that the newer "disposables" have much improved human factors engineered into them. I just wanted to offer up an alternative to the new "disposable" that it didn't appear had been given serious consideration.

 

[thingy]

Your right,to a certain degree,,but,,,,nothing but rocks last forever you know.
Those newer top of the line brand riding lawn tractors use many of the same parts those cheapos do,,motors on some I think,,like I said,,my 25hp kohler blew a head gasket on that sears at probably around 100 hours,,so,,
They just build them to fast nowadays,,zipp zip here,,snip snip there,,sometimes the robots have a bad day,,,people did to back in the old days but,,seems like their quality control can't keep up now adays some times.
Just all depends on money like every thing else,,,if you want a mower and you got plenty of it,,,get the best one [or if you don't know which is the best one],just get the most expensive one they sell,,,it should be pretty good??
Used,,never did like buying stuff with a motor used,[unless you knew the owner],most people just don't sell stuff that still runs and works like new,,or in case it never did run worth a @#$!,,run like they wanted,,,spend 3,000 on a 20 year old lawnmower to me just ain't worth it,,but to each his own of course,,,thingy

 

[Diesel-ME]

There are always two camps here: buy cheap and replace/repair more often or buy top quality and keep forever. Both are reasonable ways of going about it. For me personally, the point I was making is that if I were going to lay down $3K or more for a lawnmower, I'd rather have a used top-shelf garden tractor as opposed to a new "disposable" one. The top-shelves can do so much more, and are a pleasure to use. But, it is a personal choice. And if all you want to do is cut 1/2 acre of grass, then the run-of-the-mill lawn tractor is more than sufficient, even a small one at or around $1000 would do.

I completely agree.

I'll add that if you are only mowing a small area, say under an acre, AND it's relatively smooth, than it would be hard to justify buying a lifetime quality machine. ($3,000 +)

But if your "lawn" is really rough and/or multi-acre, than the disposable machines may not be worth buying.

Also, don't be fooled by the fact that some of the disposables have Kohler or other higher-end engines. Sears/HD/Lowes/etc have forced the manufacturers to make cheap-o versions of their engines. Same goes for horsepower. So what if Crapman has a 26 horse "famous brand" engine in a lawn tractor.... doesn't mean it will last 500 hours and/or it's as good as the same-brand engine in a high-end machine.

Having said that, I think that most folks are more than happy with a regular old lawn tractor purchased from a big box retailer. Just go easy on it if you have bumps and rocks sticking up in your lawn. Besides many guys enjoy the hunt for new mowers every so many years anyhow. I feel trapped by my lifetime Cub Cadet garden tractor that I've had for 13 years. The darn thing refuses to break so I'm stuck with it for another decade or so.

~paul