Who makes the BEST garden tractor?

ducati996 · Mar 8, 2004

Bob_Skurka,

As you probably remember me, I have a Cub 3204 as well as an old Cub 125...Look in the Cub area, I have posted a lot regarding the 3204...you will be real hard pressed to find something new for the same amount of money and capability, in fact you wont...I have the blower also, and posted pictures
in one of the threads..

Duc

blackwell · Mar 8, 2004

Mossroad mentioned climbing hills with Power Trac.

We use the 425 on slopes around 30 degrees, mowing and bucket work. The 1430 on about the same slopes, although it will climb places you should not take it. The 1850 we can run on over 50 degree slopes, I don't think you could roll it, slide off steep slopes- yes, but most places too steep for a 1850 is too steep for a goat.
We have had good success with PTs, the Quick Attach makes them eaisy to change attachments. I am a fan of articulation, all its push is always directly toward the attachment, no turf damage, manuverable in tight places, and I think PT has the best and simplest arrangement.
Take a look!!
Good luck in finding what you need.
EB

Bob_Skurka · Mar 9, 2004

shoppintractors. . . I sent and email to Griere Company about their Mountaineer tractor and got no reply.

So I went back to their website and got their phone number. I called the phone number and found out it is disconnected. There is another number, in a different area code that is then given. I called that number and got an answering machine that did not sound like it was a business machine (just some guy's voice saying leave a message). I did. We'll see what happens. I really like the concept of that tractor!!!

George__NS · Mar 9, 2004

Bob, I do have one of the seeming rare New Holland GT20s. I've only had it since last August but am pretty happy with it. I managed to plow though "grass" that hadn't seen a mower in years - about five or more judging by the alders. It kept on crawling and churning dead grass out the side.. You mentioned getting the mower on and off. I only have the 48 inch deck but it does drop off pretty easy. A smooth hard surface is good because it is heavy and pulling it sideways is fun. As mentioned it is a Toro 5xi in blue paint so you can go to the Toro site and download the manuals if you want. I've also used it all winter with the snowplow and until the last storm it did just fine. The 4 foot drifts of hard packed snow were just too much for it!

frank_f15 · Mar 9, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you're only doing mowing, why so much Hp? Do you mow at part throttle? Do you weight 1,000 pounds?
)</font>

RALPH , I HAVE NOTICED THAT ALL THE GT'S ARE LOADING UP ON HP. seems like that is the thing that most folks look at, but u are correct my 18 hp gt has way more power than i need for mowing.

Buster57 · Mar 10, 2004

Different angle-I have a 1985 JD-318 with a new Onan engine.
I have a 50" deck and a really steep hill.
This is a prefect match for my Kubota L3010.
You may want to look at an older JD with a new engine. It will save you a lot of money. You may find the newer lawn tractors are not be worth the difference in price/ performance to an older rebuilt model.
Just a thought-it works for me!

timb · Mar 10, 2004

I'll second that ('87 318 owner).

Buster - I take it you have one of the new Linamar/Onans? Any issues with it? I've wondered how they compare to the "real" Onans.

I've got a tick over $2500 in my 318 (800 hours). That was $2400 from a JD dealer and $125 so far when I had to replace the oil sump (cracked foot). But - as long as everything else is sound, even a brand new Linamar Onan is around $1300 so I'll still have less than $4000 into a tractor that is probably tougher than anything this side of $10K.

The sleeper bargains in the old JDs may be the much-maligned 317. They seem to fetch very little on the used market but if you think of buying the base 317 with a new "corrected" replacement engine (the old achilles heel) I believe you could get a heck of a tractor for very little total $$.

Tim

Bob_Skurka · Mar 10, 2004

MossRoad . . . at this point the tractor I like the best seems to be the Mountaineer, unfortunately it appears that the company may be out of business. I've emailed & called. Nothing. Extensive seaching on the web is turning up nothing but their apparently old, but still active web site, plus a bunch of dead links.

The concept of 4 wheel steering and 4 wheel drive is very attractive because of the hills and tight spaces I have for mowing. As it is now, our Cub Cadet gets a workout going back and forth reversing out of tight spaces that I must get into.

So now I am back to looking at the Steiner and the Power Trac, as well as conventional garden tractors.

I am wondering about something with the front mounted decks on both the Steiner and the Power Trac. Can they be simply tipped up so that the front is in the air exposing the blades when they are parked? If so, that would make fitting them in the garage a whole lot easier!

I actually got an offer from a guy who posts on this site, who is nearly a neighbor, to try a PT422 on my hills. I think I may be taking him up on the offer. I really would prefer a brand with dealer support, and that weighs heavy on my decision. No PT dealer at all. Steiner's closest dealer is 85 miles west of me in Batavia, Illinois. PT is slightly less expensive, the Steiner appears to be about $12,000+ delivered with the 60" mower deck. I could get a conventional lawn tractor for a lot less, and that is somewhat of an issue. I'll spend the money if I feel that it is worth the added cost.

Buster57 · Mar 10, 2004

My Onan is two years old so I am not sure who built it. It said Onan? I had 1600 hours on the old engine when it died. The estimated life of the gas Onan was between 1500-1800 hours. At 800 hours you have lots of life left in that engine. The new 18 HP Onan will climb a tree. It is Very powerful.

MossRoad · Mar 11, 2004

Yeah, I recall that Mountaineer a few years ago. It really looked neat. Too bad they cannot be contacted.

If your looking stricktly for the mowing machine(I'm following most of your posts /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif) the Stiener and Ventrac look really well-built and completely up to the task. As I've mentioned before, if your hills are as steep as you say, even if the PT425 will hold it, the engine isn't rated for that angle. It will starve of oil.

I have talked to a few folks with Power Tracs over in your area. Glad to see one that is close and friendly. That's one thing about TBN, so many good people willing to help you make an informed decision. Even if the PT doesn't work out on your hills, at least the question will be answered in your mind.

As for the mower decks on the Power Trac, I'm not sure what you're asking. The mower deck mounts via quick attach to the lift arms. The lift arms can lift the mower deck to full height... in my case, about 54" high. The new Pt425 says 60" high.

Here's a view from the side.

Here's a picture from the front.

And here's a picture of the mower at full lift height.

You've probably already seen these as I see you've replied to the thread that those pictures were in. From the last picture you can see that the mower is tipped back. That is as far back as it tips while still sitting on the tractor. If you are talking about tipping it up against a wall after disconnecting from the tractor, it could be done, but it is pretty heavy and the wheels make it easy to roll and it might fall on you. And you can see from the first picture that the mount sticks up pretty high. Almost as high as the mower is deep. You would only save a foot by tipping it on end VS storing flat on the ground. Hope this answers your questions. If you ever get over towards South Bend, you're welcome to take a look at it.