New LT1042 with snowblower?

[spudpro]

Hello,

I just found this site while researching for a new mower. This is my first post and I have a few questions about my future purchase. Thanks in advance for your help and expertise.

I have over a half acre and I am looking at a new Cub Cadet LT1042 for basic residential mowing, mulching, bagging, etc. with no heavy trailering planned. I also took a look at the John Deere L111 which seems comparable. Does anybody have experience with both? What are your preferences and advice? With all things being equal, I am gravitating toward the Cub because it would be from a local dealer that has a good reputation and service. The L111 is from Home Depot (no local delivery or service).

From what I read on this forum, the mower comes with a mulch kit/plug, right? How is it for mulching? How is it for bagging? Is the bagger a worthwhile purchase? Is it a good capacity and easy to install?

I have read complaints about electrical issues and backfiring. Have these problems been resolved in the newer models?

We get a good annual snowfall so I am contemplating the 42” snowblower attachment versus a walk-behind 28” snowblower to clear a straight two and a half car wide driveway. What are your experiences with the attachment? I cannot seem to get any information on it, not even from the company website. Do you know of any good sites with specifications?

Is a belt-driven mower strong enough for this kind of attachment? It would seem that the attachment would clear the driveway faster because of the clearing width but somebody I spoke to said it actually takes longer because of the turning radius (don’t know what kind of tractor it was). Any thoughts? Is the directional chute controllable from the tractor?

The tractor would be delivered with the snowblower, weights, and chains all attached. What kind of work is involved in removing these in the spring and re-attaching in the winter? I have to remove the deck also, right? I would not say I'm mechanically inclined but I’m pretty good at following directions!

Thanks.

 

[BowHammer]

I have a 1050 - a very similar tractor with the 42" snow thrower.

I like the tractor a lot and feel that it was a very good value. As long as I throttle down for about 20-30 seconds when I shut it off it doesn't backfire - I was advised to do this by the dealer and my nieghbors Simplicity (quite a bit more expensive) does the same thing. My old 1422 doesn't do it though.

The snow thrower is kind of a pain to put together and attach, and I'm wondering if I shouldn't have gotten a walk behind and saved a few $$ (the thrower was around $1350). I spent a couple of hours turning the tractor over from the cutting deck to the thrower and some bloody nuckles as well. For the life of me I don't know why they don't engineer something different than those stupid pins that they use. Otherwise the thrower appears to be well built and the tractor hardly notices it when the PTO is engaged and the blades start spinning (albeit with no snow yet).

The chute is controllable in direction and angle, and the mower itself turns very tightly. IMO the 42" tractor throwing would put a 28" walk-behind to shame.

I've already gone over a little about attaching and will add that the directions are okay but I had to take a leap at one point because I was confused about what to do about some extra brackets I got but didn't need. One thing that I'm doing now though is adding a lamp onto the blower itself. The headlights on the tractor don't view over the thrower well because of its high profile. Well weights and chains are easy enough to work with, no complaints there.

 

[Geo148]

I have a 1018, the previous years version. I wish I bought the shaft drive series, My dealer told me that the machine could handle a blower but, with the drive belt system it can take a toll on the machine. just the other day while mulching and sweeping leaves I heard the machime bog down. If that was snow I just wonder how much stress the machine would survive. I've got less than a 1/2 acre to mow which is fine if thats all i am doing... mowing. other stuff, well I wish I bought a larger with shaft drive. Just my 2 cents.
whereabout in WNY.
Geo. (in Evans)

 

[MrWiggles2]

I did the same thing with my 1/2 arce. I bought a 1515 when I really wanted a 2166. The machine really is just for cutting grass, that is ok, but I like to pull stuff and work a tractor. I kept it two years, sold it for $400 less than I bought it and picked up my 2180. I'm keeping this one. The best thing about the shaft is what its hooked up to, a heavy duty rear end. It holds a lot of fluid and is serviceable (just changed the filter at 100 hrs, very easy). You just don't get that slipping belt howl that used to drive me nuts. As for a snowthrower, my dealer said the 1515 frame isn't meant for it. On the 2000 series they do a good job, but the steel they use is sliced deli thin. I looked at my Ariens 1028 walkbehind, its double the gauge thickness. If I took that Cub snowthrower attachment down to the end of my driveway after the snow turns to ice, I'd have a pretzel when I was done. I am sticking with the walkbehind, I've seen a few bent snowthrower attachments recently. Whether they build housing thin to save weight or money, for a Buffalo winter I need heavy duty.