Which lawn tractor to buy?

[Grumpycat]

I forget which brand lawn tractors I saw at Lowes a couple years ago that had the plastic transaxles in them. Wonder how many hours they actually rate the life expectancy on them?

IIRC John Deere was talked into that and recently had a recall to replace the transmission with a metal cased unit.

 

[Williy]

IMHO the new stuff is no way as good or will last as long as the old
My neighbor has a husqvarna he hardly ever uses it and he has been
having problems with it. I personnaly will never purchase a john deere
riding mower or anything john deere. The mower decks on the jd riding
mowers are pure crap! the supports that lift the deck up and deck pull
out of the deck and mech at jd said you had to have special welding equipment to weld the deck back to gether again. A striped new deck
over a year ago was $800+ for the jd riding mower. also the seats for
the jd riding mowers are crap they have a very short life

willy

 

[Richard001]

Oddly it will if the engine is spinning too slowly.

Read the owner's manual, YMMV. My Country Clipper zero turn specifies 2/3rds to full throttle when engaging the PTO. My dealer has a collection of belts on the wall from customers who ripped the belt by starting the blades too slow.

Interesting information. I have heard this story before, but still is amazing.

The only thing I can think of why this would happen is that with the engine spinning over at top RPM, the clutch is overcome for a few moments by the inertia of the deck components. So the energy is being absorb by the clutch material and wearing away in the process.

 

[Vmax540]

Who makes one anymore ? Everyone has a zero turn

Husqvarna?

I have a cheap Husqvarna that I paid $200 for with ~50 hours . It's got over 650 hours now and it's falling apart.

600 hours for $200.00 is quite the mowing bargain ! In 2009 I bought a new DYS4500 leftover for $1250.00 and just, this spring with over 700 hours sold it for $900.00. Like anything with an engine, maintenance is a priority for longevity as well as using a lawnmower for just that (these mowers are not built like garden tractors).

 

[tradosaurus]

36K hours on a 15 year old lawnmower?

2400 per year?

Almost 7 hours per day, 365 days per year?

I caught a fish so big I woke up in the middle of the night and called myself a liar.

 

[TractorNoob85]

I caught a fish so big I woke up in the middle of the night and called myself a liar.

Some people like to mow. Some people don't have a car to drive to work and all they got is the lawn mower.

 

[tradosaurus]

Some people like to mow. Some people don't have a car to drive to work and all they got is the lawn mower.

I joke but I would bet the number given by "elviscaretaker" was a misprint.
Unless I had a cabbed tractor with A/C I would not want to be on any mower more than once per week.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

600 hours for $200.00 is quite the mowing bargain ! In 2009 I bought a new DYS4500 leftover for $1250.00 and just, this spring with over 700 hours sold it for $900.00. Like anything with an engine, maintenance is a priority for longevity as well as using a lawnmower for just that (these mowers are not built like garden tractors).

And I have beaten it to death.

Just Sunday I was rolling in some dirt I spread on a hillside with it, slid off into a fence and tangled it up. Drug it back up the hill with the tractor and kept going.

The engine runs great even tho it's some cheap Kohler. Oil change and air filter change every year.

Someone who just mows a "yard" with one should get a lifetime out of it

 

[AndyMA]

IMHO the new stuff is no way as good or will last as long as the old
My neighbor has a husqvarna he hardly ever uses it and he has been
having problems with it. I personnaly will never purchase a john deere
riding mower or anything john deere. The mower decks on the jd riding
mowers are pure crap! the supports that lift the deck up and deck pull
out of the deck and mech at jd said you had to have special welding equipment to weld the deck back to gether again. A striped new deck
over a year ago was $800+ for the jd riding mower. also the seats for
the jd riding mowers are crap they have a very short life

willy

Willy

Thats not my experience. The deck and seat on my X748 which is 14 years old are fine.

 

[tonys55]

FWIW, I have had a JD X360 for quite some time and do all maintenance including valve adjustments. Not difficult stuff and I can easily get parts. That is really important to me. Having said that, I would probably have gotten an X500 series based on what I have come to use this lawn tractor for over the years. If you are just cutting grass and maybe pulling a heavy cart on flat ground, no problem for an X360. I have a leaf and lawn vac from DR. From a dead stop on steeper hills there is barely enough power to move up hill. I would imagine a fully loaded cart might present the same issue. Yet, with this kind of use it has held up nicely on 3/4 of an acre. There are other times I get wheel spin, so 4 wheel drive on an X500 might be a consideration next time around. It's all about your specific situation. Budget, use and terrain.
As for Made in USA, I'll buy US made whenever I can. I have purchased well-made US products and I have purchased poorly-made US products. I'd stick with what gets decent reviews and a dealer that backs their product. My local JD dealership has given me no reason to switch to another brand.