Need a riding mower

[Oldbrass]

Grass needs mowed, ordered a cub cadet riding mower from home depot 2 weeks ago only to be told yesterday its no longer available.. lowes has a craftsman at the store with a Kohler engine. Tractor supply has a few, the PX at Fort Jackson has none.. holy smoke they're expensive. Looked at a few used ones they were garbage and still wanted a grand $$.. having a bad back a comfy seat is paramount, perhaps I could get a bucket seat at a scrap yard and weld some brackets up

[Hatchdog]

If you can swing it look hard at a twin cylinder as they run so much smoother than a single. I’ve had both and the difference is amazing.

[daytime dave]

How much lawn do you need to mow?
If you can afford it, look at John Deere at a dealership. They are pricey, but worth it if you need something decent.

[GFK]

If you can swing it look hard at a twin cylinder as they run so much smoother than a single. I’ve had both and the difference is amazing.

I agree. A twin cylinder last longer, due to less work, campared to a single. When I was looking, about 14 years ago, I wanted an engine that pump oil through the engine https://www.powerequipmentdirect.com/Br ... 77063.html. Also, I wanted a mower that had lube fittings for the front steering tie rod ends. Yet, I did not want to spend too much. It was a choice between a Craftsman and a John Deere. My neighbor had a John Deere with an automatic transmission. I think the lawn mower was less than 5 years old, when the transmission went out, could have been due to his use. So, I ended up with a Craftsman with a manual transmission. He ended up buying a Husqvarna https://www.lowes.com/pd/Husqvarna-YTH2 ... 1000368437. Now, the Husqvarna will not start. To me, the brand of lawn mower is not as important as keeping up on the maintenance. If you keep up on the maintenance, you will probably years of service, out of whatever you decide upon.

[RetiredSeabee]

I can definitely recommend John Deere. I have a small model 125 and mow my half acre and my neighbors. She is 95 and doesn’t need to be mowing grass. I also have dethatcher, aerator, lawn sweeper, and a dump cart. Makes lawn maintenance easy.

[fortyshooter]

For this year I have been using a "raised from the dead" Troy built lawn tractor with my pull along push mower as the cutting deck hitched to the rear. I removed the mower deck so I could use it on the trails hauling things in a small trailer....more needed ground clearance.
All I do is load the light weight push mower that I also use at home for trim work in back of truck and haul it to my range property. I then hitch it to the lawn tractor and it cuts the grass quick when running in 5th gear. Came up with this idea back when diesel hit 4 bucks a gallon and decided to leave the larger Kubota at home. Has worked out really well!

[Oldbrass]

How much lawn do you need to mow?
If you can afford it, look at John Deere at a dealership. They are pricey, but worth it if you need something decent.

2 acres

[Sir Henry]

I had a Deer John and it was underpowered. My Simplicity will mow the tallest wet grass without bogging down. Of course the Simplicity is 23 hp and the JD was 12.

[GeoBoy]

I really like my John Deere X380 with a 48” mower deck, they are also available with a 54” mower deck. John Deere also offers the X350 with a 48” mower and the JD/Kawasaki motor for about a $1,000.00 less. They are also offering 1.9% financing for up to 48 months.
I traded my 24 year old John Deere LX178 on the X380, the John Deere’s made in Horicon, WI are great tractors, buy once cry once.

[cooperhawk]

There's a reason John Deere's are green, it's the color of money.

I have a Toro TimeSaver zero turn and I love it. It has 24 HP, which is far more than enough power,
and is a lot of fun to use. It took a while to get used to the drive levers, but now I just kinda
think about where I want it to go and it goes there. Nice easy chair to ride on as well.

It cost under three grand which is still a lot, but boy does it make mowing a lot easier.

[daytime dave]

For two acres of lawn, I think the John Deere 300 series would be a good choice. It costs more up front, but is a better overall tractor. As Geoboy states, there are a few ways to go. It doesn't cost anything to go speak with a salesman at the dealership. Try some research before you buy.
If used doesn't bother you, as Gene stated, a Simplicity garden tractor model is a good bet. A good Simplicity or John Deere will last a long time if properly maintained.

If a zero tun is an option for you, I'm not experienced with them and will defer to others.

[Hatchdog]

I had a Deer John and it was underpowered. My Simplicity will mow the tallest wet grass without bogging down. Of course the Simplicity is 23 hp and the JD was 12.

There’s a big difference between the John Deere mowers sold by Lowes and those sold by a JD dealer. I currently run a JD X350 and it’s a cutting monster. I also have a Home Depot Cub Cadet I use for mowing in the trees and the difference is night and day. Bought the Cub used from my neighbor for about one third the price of the JD so that needs to be factored in. But if I were mowing three acres I believe the cost difference will be worth it in the long run.

[cooperhawk]

If a zero tun is an option for you, I'm not experienced with them and will defer to others.

I have had a Simplicity, a Cub Cadet, and lastly a Snapper rear engine rider. I wore then all out over the years.
I will tell you that once you mow with a zero turn that's all you'll want. They're more comfortable and fun to
operate.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

[dave77]

I had a Deer John and it was underpowered. My Simplicity will mow the tallest wet grass without bogging down. Of course the Simplicity is 23 hp and the JD was 12.

There’s a big difference between the John Deere mowers sold by Lowes and those sold by a JD dealer. I currently run a JD X350 and it’s a cutting monster. I also have a Home Depot Cub Cadet I use for mowing in the trees and the difference is night and day. Bought the Cub used from my neighbor for about one third the price of the JD so that needs to be factored in. But if I were mowing three acres I believe the cost difference will be worth it in the long run.

I was considering getting a Lowe's JD but did some research and the reviews were not good, one guy said they would probably only last a few years with heavy use. Also nearest JD service is 50 miles away. Bought a mid-range (XT2 42") Cub Cadet from a local tractor dealer, it has a 18HP V-Twin Kawasaki and the mid range transmission which is a upgrade over the XT1 and also the Lowe's JD. Also has a fabricated heavy steel mower deck instead of a stamped steel deck. I have a small (maybe 3/4 acre) pasture that I occasionally mow and it does great on the tall grass, I do have to slow down a bit for the really tall spots.

I looked at the Zero turns but I need to plow my small driveway. The Cub does a great job plowing, can move more snow than you would think with that small blade. It did get a work out with last year's record 22" snowfall, first pass was a struggle, had to get off about every 10 feet and do some shoveling but after that I just had to take a smaller cut of snow. Took most of the day to get it done but would have killed me if I had done it all with a shovel.



Back yard

[Hatchdog]

^^^^^
My son who last year moved rural bought a used Cub Cadet with a snow blower attachment. This machine is the dealer level and it is built like a tank. Much more stout than my Home Depot special I got from my neighbor.

[dave77]

Snow blower would be nice but I have a gravel driveway so not practical for me.

I did a lot of snowblowing during my time working at my grade school (30 years ). Started off with just a small 2 cycle single stage you push model, the city decided to start plowing the snow to the sidewalks instead of the middle of the street so they got me a track drive two stage Honda that was incredible, it could throw plowed snow 50 ft but was very slow. Then they got me a Cub Cadet with a snow blower but they cheaped out and got me a residential model which just wasn't up to the amount of snowblowing I had to do, got to the point where I had to change out the Lovejoy Coupler after every use so it wouldn't break down in the middle of my morning snow blowing. About my last 5 years there they finally got me a commercial grade JD with a heavy duty snowblower, also built a rack on the back to carry a couple of buckets of sand and de-icer, before that it was carry them by hand and when we would get freezing rain I would probably have to spread at least a couple hundred pounds of de-icer and sand.

Nice that now when it snows I can do my plowing after coffee and breakfast instead of starting at 5 AM.

[cooperhawk]

I purchased a Ford Bronco in 1983 with the 351 Cleveland in it. I still have it and gave
a Western Snow Plow installed on it. I plow with the heater on, radio playing and a cup
of Joe on the console.

Of course I plow almost two miles of driveways and service road.

My biggest job is walking out to the pole barn through the deep snow to get it out.