Which lawn tractor to buy?

[hslogger]

I have read where some are dissatisfied with their JD mower decks. All I can say is that the upper tier decks on my machines have held up real well. They are thicker gauge and strong. People that don't clean their decks all the time risk the time honored tradition of rotting them out. Even decks that I have replaced the posts once or twice have held up well. I think they are expensive but I also think they do the research and development to make darn strong functional mower decks.

 

[charris65]

I had a JD212 for about 20 years and had to change out the belts at least once or twice a year. You never knew when they'd blow, so I kept a number of belts on hand every year. I upgraded to a used JDX540 All Terrain in '06 and it still runs great. I have never changed a belt on it, <knock on wood!> I would recommend a JDX5 series like the X584 or X590. It's a lot of money [10K] for a lawn tractor, but it's a lotta tractor. Features like power hydraulic tilt steering, 54" mowing deck, hydraulic deck lift, cruise control, fender handles, and traction assist. These have a 4 year/500-hour warranty. You might be able to find a used one if you check around.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

The commercial JD zeroturn s have 7 gauge decks iirc. They are heavy

 

[mrblanche]

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.

Haven't been to Lowes or Home Depot lately? Murray is still in business and cranking them out.

 

[5000girl]

Hi All,
I have a Deere L130 lawn tractor that is at the end of its useful life. Last summer I was going to replace it with the equivalent Deere product. I called the 2 closest Deere dealerships, talked with a couple salesmen, and never heard back. I even emailed the dealerships. No replies. I guess I wasn't gonna be spending enough money.
Now, a year later, I REALLY need a new lawn tractor. And even though I wanted a John Deere a year ago I think I no longer do. With all the folks being fired and production being moved to Mexico I wonder if I buy a Deere product today if it will be supported 10 years from now. And I'm peeved that production is being moved to Mexico, with dramatically lower labor costs, without Deere lowering prices.
So, I'm looking for opinions on other brands. One thing I really like on my current machine is the electric clutch for the mower deck. I really dislike the belt clutches that just tension the belt with a lever. It has been my experience that the electric clutch systems have longer belt life, cheaper belts, because they are shorter, and have fewer problems. So I want a machine with the electric clutch.
Any help choosing would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Eric

A used simplicity broadmoor would be your best bet, very well made machine easy to work on if needed, I have 3. Buy em up when I see em,my 2008 has 800 hrs not even a new belt only a clutch early on under warranty,

 

[tradosaurus]

The commercial JD zeroturn s have 7 gauge decks iirc. They are heavy

Most if not all commercial zero turn decks are 7 gauge. My Toro Z master 2000 has 7 gauge.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

Haven't been to Lowes or Home Depot lately? Murray is still in business and cranking them out.

Who would actually buy one of those ?

I have one I got used in a package with an old craftsman and I would cry if I paid more than a few hundred bucks for it

 

[haroldmusser]

Hi All,
I have a Deere L130 lawn tractor that is at the end of its useful life. Last summer I was going to replace it with the equivalent Deere product. I called the 2 closest Deere dealerships, talked with a couple salesmen, and never heard back. I even emailed the dealerships. No replies. I guess I wasn't gonna be spending enough money.
Now, a year later, I REALLY need a new lawn tractor. And even though I wanted a John Deere a year ago I think I no longer do. With all the folks being fired and production being moved to Mexico I wonder if I buy a Deere product today if it will be supported 10 years from now. And I'm peeved that production is being moved to Mexico, with dramatically lower labor costs, without Deere lowering prices.
So, I'm looking for opinions on other brands. One thing I really like on my current machine is the electric clutch for the mower deck. I really dislike the belt clutches that just tension the belt with a lever. It has been my experience that the electric clutch systems have longer belt life, cheaper belts, because they are shorter, and have fewer problems. So I want a machine with the electric clutch.
Any help choosing would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Eric

I had a high end 48” Deere and found out after it started slipping climbing hills that THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT REPAIRABLE!! Buy a new or a BETTER aftermarket for $1,500+!! And install it yourself. I have a “vintage” 42” Sears that is UNBREAKABLE! 19 years old and replacement parts are cheap, easy to install and readily available… works for me!

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

Lowes and Home Depot have a factory warranty repair shop in every decent city for warranty work

I've not seen that here in Columbia, SC. Generally what I've seen them do is some kind of exchange deal, but IDK, as I haven't messed with it. I can tell you this, most any highend brand, outdoor product dealership that has traditionally had chainsaw, weedeaters, etc brands that they sold on the side (maybe a JD dealership, or MF dealership, or Kubota, CIH, NH, etc dealership) has around here anyways gone almost exclusively Stihl, and they're even starting to get PO'ed with Stihl selling product at Northern and whatnot. Reason that a lot these dealers dropped Husqvarna, and Echo is because Lowes started selling Husqvarna, and HD started selling Echo. So then people will buy these cheap, non-professional level products from Lowes or HD, and when they break they take them to the mainstrain Husqvarna/Echo dealer and expect them to warranty these products. IDK why these dealers don't tell them to pound sand. (or maybe they do) It's not like you go to Lowes to pick up a Husqvarna 395XP, or 572XP saw or something, and we on the otherhand don't mess with that Ranch BS. I will say that I've seen HD advertise they higherend Echo saws, but I haven't seen them in store. It's kind of like when RK came out with their tractor lineup a few years back. Do you trust them to deliver a quality/reliable/competitive product? Do you trust them to deliver good tractor servive when the occasion arises? Is the price on them right? If the answer is yes to those questions then rock on. I ain't got no beef with or against RK tractors. Would I personally trust one of them as much as I would going to my local JD dealer and buying a new 4R, or going to my Kubota dealer and buying a Grand L? No, those machines cost big $, and these dealerships don't mess around, and tend to had very good warranty and repair services, but the cost saving might offset it enough to make the RK the better buy. It's what you have to ask yourself before buying.

 

[jyoutz]

I've not seen that here in Columbia, SC. Generally what I've seen them do is some kind of exchange deal, but IDK, as I haven't messed with it. I can tell you this, most any highend brand, outdoor product dealership that has traditionally had chainsaw, weedeaters, etc brands that they sold on the side (maybe a JD dealership, or MF dealership, or Kubota, CIH, NH, etc dealership) has around here anyways gone almost exclusively Stihl, and they're even starting to get PO'ed with Stihl selling product at Northern and whatnot. Reason that a lot these dealers dropped Husqvarna, and Echo is because Lowes started selling Husqvarna, and HD started selling Echo. So then people will buy these cheap, non-professional level products from Lowes or HD, and when they break they take them to the mainstrain Husqvarna/Echo dealer and expect them to warranty these products. IDK why these dealers don't tell them to pound sand. (or maybe they do) It's not like you go to Lowes to pick up a Husqvarna 395XP, or 572XP saw or something, and we on the otherhand don't mess with that Ranch BS. I will say that I've seen HD advertise they higherend Echo saws, but I haven't seen them in store. It's kind of like when RK came out with their tractor lineup a few years back. Do you trust them to deliver a quality/reliable/competitive product? Do you trust them to deliver good tractor servive when the occasion arises? Is the price on them right. If the answer is yes to those questions then rock on. I ain't got no beef with or against them. Would I personally trust one of them as much as I would going to my local JD dealer and buying a new 4R, or going to my Kubota dealer and buying a Grand L? No, those machines cost big $ and these dealerships offer very good warranty and repair services, but the cost saving might offset it enough to make the RK the better buy. It's what you have to ask yourself before buying.

I bought a Cub cadet ZT from Home Depot last year. The Kawasaki motor was defective and HD referred me to Cub cadet. Cub cadet referred me to a local small equipment dealer who was authorized to do repairs. We discovered that the engine parts were going to take over six weeks to obtain. I decided to have HD pick up the mower and refund my money. I ended up buying my Stihl ZT from the local dealer. I’m not saying bad things about Cub cadet or Kawasaki. It was a fluke. But I’m happy that I decided on the Stihl with the four wheel suspension, so this ended up well. HD doesn’t do warranty repairs in my area.

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

Bought a Husqvarna 21CK46 (or something like that) brand new from Lowes in 2012 for $2,200. It has a bit less than 300 hours on it, so it has not been used hard or put away wet. It is kept inside a building, and serviced according to the manual. I am not hard on machinery, and I am good with tools - I do things right, no bubble gum or baling wire. It is used to mow about two acres of plain old grass on a flat lot - no rocks, hidden rebars, land mines or anything else.

It is without a doubt the worst piece of garbage it has been my displeasure to own. It is broken more than every other vehicle I own put together - several motorcycles (one from 1952), three cars (including a geriatric Honda, a Mercedes convertible and a Subaru which my wife drives like she hates it), a Kubota 2601, which IS used pretty hard, and an airplane . . .

The Husqvarna won't go ten whole hours in a row without *something* breaking, failing, or falling off. Broken spindles, failed batteries, substandard welds which broke ten hours from new (fixed under warranty), dry rotted front tires ("We've never seen that before, but here's a set of free inner tubes."), bolts made of butter (Grade zero bolts), defective carb from new (replaced with one from eBay, now the thing runs *almost* well), three mufflers (metal fatigue), seat falling apart (I weigh a whole 160 pounds) and more, more, more, I keep records and logbooks for everything.

Yes, Lowes has a "warranty" - you have to deliver it to them, they'll take it to their "service center" located in parts unknown (I'm in the Daytona area) and they'll "get back to you in 30 days or so" with an *estimate* of how long it will take to fix it - IF - in THEIR opinion, whatever is broken is in fact covered under warranty or if you are going to pay for it.

I prefer Charmin to their warranty . . .

When this thing breaks again, which if past performance is any indication will be real soon now, I intend to give this thing a full bore Viking funeral - so the *entire* membership of Tractor By Net is cordially invited to watch YouTube for the festivities!

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

Yes, this is an extremely budget machine.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Husqvarna-Yth21K46-21-HP-Hydrostatic-46-in-Riding-Lawn-Mower/3285344

Unfortunately people promote using a good dealership for buying a truck, or a tractor, or guns, or dirt bikes, or whatever, but then there's some things their willing to budget on because they're not sexy purchases. Like you might buy a professional chainsaw, because chainsaw's are cool, but then you may be willing to buy a cheap weedeater. Just because Husqvarna, and Stihl make professional saws, doesn't mean they don't also make POS saws that are on the level of the cheapest Poulan saws on the market. It's the same with any of they're products. They absolutely use their name to push some BS. Yes they want to cater to the highend, niche market, but they also want to sell products in the cheaper, residential, mass markets. First there aren't many commercial tractor style lawnmowers. That market's dominated by your ZTR's and mowers like that. But there are definitely levels to your tractor mowers. You can spend $5-$6K on a tractor mower if you want to. It will be a much nicer machine than a $2K mower with a beefier chassis, better engine, way better transmission. That cheap mower might use bronze bushings for things that the more expensive mower uses ball bearings or something like that. The transmission is often a very budgeted area. I think OEM's have kind of gotten away from them, but in the past lawnmowers with plastic gears was not uncommon, and were extremely unreliable. When looking at a lawnmower that you want to be good, a great area to start is the tires. Ask yourself, "do the tires on that mower look like some cheap, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony type BS, or are they some serious, badass looking meats?" Cheap tires generally means cheap lawnmower, car, truck, tractor, etc.

 

[Grumpycat]

As a general rule Kawasaki has the best parts availability, dealer training, and honor of warranty of any. My local dealer has gotten to the point he doesn't order anything with anything but a Kawasaki engine. Costs more but his customers have fewer problems.

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

Personally I'm more of a Kohler fan, but to each their own. Kawasaki is made in Mississippi I believe, and Kohler is make in Missouri.

 

[jyoutz]

As a general rule Kawasaki has the best parts availability, dealer training, and honor of warranty of any. My local dealer has gotten to the point he doesn't order anything with anything but a Kawasaki engine. Costs more but his customers have fewer problems.

I think it varies. My local small equipment dealer says Kawasaki makes very good engines, but he is always happier when the customer has a professional grade Briggs or Kohler. He says that he can get parts with short turnaround times for those, but Kawasaki always takes awhile to get parts. Meanwhile the customer’s machine is sitting in the shop.

 

[yomax4]

I gave away a Husqvarna YTH or YTM 54" tractor that literally fell apart as I was using it. I had to weld nearly everything on that paper thin sheet metal and the steering tower needed reconstructing several times too. Deck adjuster was insanely cheap and failed. All this on 3 acres of lawn. The thing would barely move in reverse which was dangerous. I was told it was a safety feature. I bought a new Gravely commercial ZT and would never go back to the goofy tractors that take all day to do a 30 minute job.

 

[stevem5215]

You want a tractor ? Buy the best transmission available for the money you want to spend. This means that you should consider what transmission is used in the tractor to avoid the short term issue of poor quality components. When you buy into a better transmission you will also be buying into a better unit overall. Better unit are more durable and longer life spans with higher quality decks and suspension seats usually. If you want cheap then you'll get cheap.

 

[Grumpycat]

Personally I'm more of a Kohler fan, but to each their own. Kawasaki is made in Mississippi I believe, and Kohler is make in Missouri.

Kawasaki’s factory is in Marysville, Missouri. Northwest corner of the state. A couple hours from their initial plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.

 

[tradosaurus]

You want a tractor ? Buy the best transmission available for the money you want to spend. This means that you should consider what transmission is used in the tractor to avoid the short term issue of poor quality components. When you buy into a better transmission you will also be buying into a better unit overall. Better unit are more durable and longer life spans with higher quality decks and suspension seats usually. If you want cheap then you'll get cheap.

You might want to give more details.
How does one know and identify the best transmission available?

 

[Gem99ultra]

I gave away a Husqvarna YTH or YTM 54" tractor that literally fell apart as I was using it. I had to weld nearly everything on that paper thin sheet metal and the steering tower needed reconstructing several times too. Deck adjuster was insanely cheap and failed. All this on 3 acres of lawn. The thing would barely move in reverse which was dangerous. I was told it was a safety feature. I bought a new Gravely commercial ZT and would never go back to the goofy tractors that take all day to do a 30 minute job.

I also gave away my Husqvarna 52" garden tractor/mower ($3100) after breaking the pinion gear, with no replacement parts available.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

A lot of the commercial zero turns are 7 gauge or heavier decks.

The highest trim bad boy rogue I believe has .25" in spots

I've never seen a mid mount for a scut that heavy duty

The JD 755 mid mount we have is really light gauge stamped sheet metal and my buddies modern mahindra deck is a lot lighter than his JD 972 ztr