Kohler, command VS. courage

[Geo148]

I heard good & bad with both, I need your opinions.
The command is 18hp, The courage is 19hp. Is the courage that much more beter?
Is the a better post for this request? I'd like as much input as possible. Thanx Geo.

 

[DmansPadge]

I'm no Kohler expert. I can tell you that the Courage is the little brother to the Command. The Courage engines are all one cylinder and almost, if not all, Commands are v-twins. I would prefer a Command v-twin to any single cylinder engine. You can look at Kohlerengines.com to get all the details.

 

[my1stcub]

Geo148,
I recently purchased a Cub Cadet lawn tractor with a Kohler Command. Yesterday I was doing some research on Kohler engines. I don't remember where I found this but here is what they said. Kohler Courage is an entry level engine and Command is a mid-range.
Will

 

[rmet6669]

New to the site.....I read somewhere that the Commander is rated at 2000hrs and the Courage is rated at 750hrs....hence the idea of the Commander being built more durable....I suppose that is "controled" enviroments.....I own a 2005 LT1050 CUB witha 26hp Commander that has had no problems mowing close to 3 acres of level grass.

 

[BruceWard]

The Courage is built in China. I have a little Courage engine on my Husquvarna push mower.

 

[Baucom]

I'm no Kohler expert. I can tell you that the Courage is the little brother to the Command. The Courage engines are all one cylinder and almost, if not all, Commands are v-twins. I would prefer a Command v-twin to any single cylinder engine. You can look at Kohlerengines.com to get all the details.

Courage and Command are 2 series of Kohler engine. There are singles and V Twins in both lineups, and hp ranges from about 6 to over 25 in both the Courage and Command lineups. I can't speak to the specific differences between the Courage and Command, but will echo the response that stated that the Courage is considered the "entry level" engine and the Command is a "commercial" engine. Generally speaking, either one will likely outlast whatever piece of new equipment it is installed on (with a few exceptions).

 

[RickB]

My experiences with Command engines has been very good. When I was shopping mowers late this past winter, I could find very little good written about Courage engines. Admittedly, I have no experience with them.
I ended up buying a Scag with a Briggs in it.

 

[Baucom]

My MF mower has a 23hp Command and I've been very happy with it so far (77 hrs). Like Rick, I've not heard much good about Courage engines (specifically early models and singles), but the Courage V-Twins seem to get pretty favorable reviews. I still don't believe that the Courage V-Twins are built to a standard as high as Commands.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I have a 20HP Kohler Command engine in my Legacy. The engine itself has been good, but I did replace the fuel pump at 250 hours, and replaced the starter at 500 hours. It's at 540 now.

 

[bg1984]

bought a Toro with a Kohler Courage 20 hp. At 230 hours the head cracked. Also the head bolts constantly had to be tightened.
I was told it was made in China and cheaper metal is used.

 

[upinsmoke53020]

The Kohler Command is a good engine...the Courage is not. The courage is made in China as the Command is made in the U.S. As a matter of fact, only about twenty miles from where I live.

 

[Oh Lordy HepMe HepME]

Old thread here I know but my cousins MTD has the Courage that suffers from oil burning issues with less than 200hrs its toast. His pile of China junks been setting behind his garage yrs now because he bought a new unit. Want to guess what he bought?
Seems some folks actually enjoy being kicked in the balz by the same mule more than once, all I'm say'n..lol

 

[esox07]

Well guys, I bought a CC LT1045 back in 2008 new. It has the Courage 20hp single cylinder. It is still running, but I have had issues but nothing catastrophic. Valve cover getting loose and leaking oil onto the muffler so every time I would start it, it would smoke like crazy for a couple minutes after it warmed up. Blown fuse. Hard starting after warmed up that was due to the solonoid that shuts down spark when you shut off the motor which is designed to keep it from backfiring.

So, the other day someone lists a curb alert CC LT1046. It has the Command 23HP V-Twin. I jump on it and bring it home. It ran and I thought pretty well, but it didn't seem to have as much power as I expected. Anyway, the next day, I take the shroud off and find it jam packed full of leaves, grass and dead mice. I spend an hour pulling poking and vacuuming the junk out of it. I iImmediately notice the left spark plug wire is completely severed, in fact the damn mice ate a good inch out of it since it was too short to even touch the ends. Other wires were stripped or exposed. I ordered two new coils and installed them. Now, it runs so nice and smooth compared to my single cylinder. I now am seriously considering to keep it and sell my LT1045. The LT1045 has 125 hours on it and the LT1046 has 183 hours so neither motor has been well used and should have many years left of life. I just love the smoothness and power of the 2 cylinder. The LT1045 has a 42" deck and the LT1046 has a 46" deck. Seems like benefit, but my yard is not that big with probably a little over 1/2 acre of mowable area and there are trees and other obstacles which makes the smaller deck a bit more desirable.

The LT1046 has some issues with the deck. Not sure if the spindles are bad or not. I haven't really looked at it yet. But, either way, I plan to fix up the deck and sell one of the mowers. I have a choice to make, I guess. What would you guys do?
Thanks,
Bruce

PS: Does anyone know if the deck from the LT1045 would fit on the LT1046?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

wow, that is about the worst case of mice nests I've ever seen.

 

[Oh Lordy HepMe HepME]

I've seen engines ran like that. It overheats the engines, eventually destroying them. I bet I pulled over a hundred mice nests out of engines and under dash areas, its really important to keep the head fins clean especially on air cooled engines. Great pic there!
Sorry cant help with question?