Which lawn tractor to buy?

[Williy]

On the JD mower deck I don't know what year they changed to this
cheap material but you can bend it very easy. Like you say the older
equipment will out last the new as the new equipment motto is spend
less make more money

willy

 

[aesanders]

On the JD mower deck I don't know what year they changed to this
cheap material but you can bend it very easy. Like you say the older
equipment will out last the new as the new equipment motto is spend
less make more money

willy

John Deere has always had cheap mowers and good mowers. You have to be willing to spend some money to get a good one.

 

[Grumpycat]

I think some folks are confusing the brand name "Husky" somehow with Husqvarna. They are not, and never have been the same. There is a "Husky" brand, that I do believe was made by MTD.

And there are at least 3 Husqvarnas using the same logo yet different companies.

Power equipment.
Industrial sewing machines.
Motorcycles.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Im talking Husqvarna... The ones I've seen and operated as of late, are garbage. I'd never buy one

 

[stevem5215]

The truth is even cheap lawn tractors can last. You will need to do some maint to make them last longer. And yes, they are made more cheaply. But the market for them is such that when a person has a postage stamp lawn and can't walk to cut the grass then a rider is what they buy. And it's a cheap one.

I have a Craftsman Black professional model. It has the dreaded K46 transmission that's known for being weak. Yes, it's had some issues in the 17 years or so I've had it. But it's still running and yes I've changed the fluid in the trans twice by pulling the top plug out and taking the trans out of the machine and turning it over to drain. Yes, I put synthetic oil in there to make it last longer and it has. Overall a cheap $1100 mower that was on clearance at the Sears Outlet can last too. You just have to know the limits and adjust your expectations to it.

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

For the most part, you can assume a big box store lawn tractor has been made by MTD or AYP. (There is always an occasional exception.)

AYP has been making Husqvarna and some Craftsman tractors since the 1980s. In the Craftsmam line, you could find both MTD and AYP made lawn tractors even within the same year of manufacture.

Correct. AYP is Husqvarna Outdoor Products. It's been Roper, it's been Electrolux, it's been Frigidare. Now it's Husqvarna. They used to constantly change the name to get tax breaks, but they've been called Husqvarna for probably 15+ years.

From what y'all are describing MTD has really, and I mean really come up fast since around 2014. Back then Husqvarna (AYP) was thought of as a better product, and MTD more budget stuff. Back then MTD made some Craftsman, but Husqvarna made most of the Craftsman mowers including the GT series. (We used to claim the hoods looked like Optimus Prime when they redesigned the look in 13-14 timeframe) I was talking to an owner of a local large lawnmower store a year or so back, and he said Covid really F'ed Husqvarna Outdoor Products hard. Like back when I was there we made mowers for 25+ brands, and know they don't operate like that. Probably all the dumbasses in upper management that really screwed that company up. Too many stupid people, with too much power.

If MTD really did acquire Cub Cadet then that's huge. When I was there JD was our biggest competitor, but Cub Cadet was not far off, and had come up fast. If what's being said in here is correct it sound like MTD has made a lot better moves than Husqvarna (AYP) in the last decade. Again back then the general consensus was that Husqvarna made a better product than MTD, and they commanded more of a premium, and MTD was thought of as more mass produced, budget type mowers, even though Husqvarna definitely had it's lowerend, budget models as well that any given brand would buy with their paint, body panels, and stickers on them.

 

[cdaigle430]

Still have my 2004 Husvarna 20 years later, 1700 hours. Bought it at Sears for 1700 dollars with mulch kit, dethatcher and 3 bin bagger. Runs like new but the lights stopped working.
Has hard time in reverse now so I bought a used 60 inch belly more for my Massey just in case.

 

[Quaffer]

The truth is even cheap lawn tractors can last.

I have an older Deere mower that is held together with duct tape and baling wire. Still cuts like a champ.

 

[tacticalturnip]

If MTD really did acquire Cub Cadet then that's huge. When I was there JD was our biggest competitor, but Cub Cadet was not far off, and had come up fast. If what's being said in here is correct it sound like MTD has made a lot better moves than Husqvarna (AYP) in the last decade. Again back then the general consensus was that Husqvarna made a better product than MTD, and they commanded more of a premium, and MTD was thought of as more mass produced, budget type mowers, even though Husqvarna definitely had it's lowerend, budget models as well that any given brand would buy with their paint, body panels, and stickers on them.

MTD acquired Cub Cadet in 1981; Stanley Black & Decker has owned MTD since 2021. MTD has owned Cub twice as long as IH did.

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

MTD acquired Cub Cadet in 1981; Stanley Black & Decker has owned MTD since 2021. MTD has owned Cub twice as long as IH did.

Are you saying Cub Vadet is the evolution of a Farmall Cub?

Yeah, IDK. I never knew MTD owned Cub Cadet. I was a tool maker that worked for the engineers at Husqvarna mainly making one off things for them that generally was to test if they wanted to implement them into production. Moreso making tooling and whatnot that would be put on the production lines to build the products. JD was always the main focus as the primary competitor, but I just remember that Cub Cadet got big and came on fast back in the late 2,000's/early 2010's. MTD at the time was more competitive with the mass produced, large retail store, cheaper, lower end stuff, but that Husqvarna also made mowers for that role, but so did JD. When I used to think MTD it was never industrial mowers like Zero turns, or larger tractor mowers with fab decks, and the best Vanguard, Kohler, and Kawasaki engines, or fanciest transmissions, etc, but maybe they did cater to the higherend market as well. I remember on some of our lowerend mowers we started using transmissions with plastic parts in them, and that turned into a huge clusterF, and ended up costing Husqvarna a lot of money.