I have a ************* 8 year old JD LA 145 48" with the JUNK K46 hydro unit. I mow 1.5 acres with it. It does not go up a hill at all. The hydro is junk and has been rebuilt already. It was junk with less than 50 hours on it. Has 110 now. avoid any K 42-46 series hydros in any brand tractor. At least with most 54' units the build quality is better than the less than 54" models. I'm looking for a clean JD 445 or 455 this year to replace mine. Pricey but quality units. A good zero turn is nice but not a whole lot you can do with them utility wise. A zero turn is worthless for attachments. They are fast but thats about it.
(It's) Riding lawn mower time
- Thread starter Whitworth
- Start date
Streetbu
Well-known member
I sell tractors for a living, the ONLY people that have transmission issues with riding LAWN mowers, beat the **** out of them. Whether it's because they drive hard then slam them in reverse, tow too much weight, or use them for lawns too big. Ahh excuse me, I do have one customer that wasn't doing any of those things. On the other hand, he was at least 350lbs so that may have had something to do with it. LOL
Don't be scared when the chicken Little's tell you that you need a commercial $15k zero turn to cut a single acre. A PROPERLY used and MAINTAINED riding LAWN mower would work just fine.
Don't be scared when the chicken Little's tell you that you need a commercial $15k zero turn to cut a single acre. A PROPERLY used and MAINTAINED riding LAWN mower would work just fine.
My Old Tools
Well-known member
My Husqvarna from Lowes (46" deck) has had the deck rewelded multiple times. Brackets break off, scalper wheels break off, it's tissue thin and cheap Chinese welds. It's 6 years old.
braidmeister
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2011
- Messages
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Fabbed decks tend to be of thicker steel - made for commercial duty. Why? Because landscaping crews mow rain or shine and it takes longer for them to rust out. Also more damage resistant if you smack a curb.
Mow when it is dry and don't use that stupid hose attachment to clean your deck & it will last a long time. Also - don't leave your tractor out in the rain...in case you haven't checked, it ain't cheap.
Mow when it is dry and don't use that stupid hose attachment to clean your deck & it will last a long time. Also - don't leave your tractor out in the rain...in case you haven't checked, it ain't cheap.
Streetbu
Well-known member
I have never had a single deck that I welded come back for the same bracket broken... either someone cant weld, or you're beating the **** out of it.
BTW, I weld more John Deere decks than i do any other brand. Most are the Lowes box store specials.
Alchymist
Well-known member
$3000 puts you in Big Dog Alpha zero turn territory. Bought the 42" to replace a Cub Cadet rider and never looked back. Heading into the 4th season of mowing 1&1/2 acres with zero problems with it. Cut probably 30 minutes off my mowing time over the CC with a 46" deck. Highly maneuverable around trees and obstacles. The 42" Alpha comes with the 21.5 HP Kawasaki.
http://www.bigdogzeroturn.com/Products/Alpha
http://www.bigdogzeroturn.com/Products/Alpha
PassnThru
Well-known member
I had to laugh at this
My brother and I both bought riding mowers at Lowes - exact same model within a year of each other (manuals no less). Within just a few years his was in the shop for transaxle issues and mine was going strong. Same size yard. I finally replaced mine when it started using oil. His was junked out years before. I rebuilt the engine in mine and gave it to my dad. Still in use and 24 years old.
My brother weighs every bit of 350 - I weighed about 160 back then.
I replaced that mower with a Home Depot deere - an L110. I've had it for 13 years - it has 550 hours on it and still going strong. Nothing but normal maintenence and it has that God awful cheap transmission on it that everyone says only lasted them 50 hours.
But hey - it's the Internet. He just forgot to mention that he weighs 350 pounds and uses it weekly to pull a 4X6 trailer loaded with firewood/rock/Tampa's ladies/all of the above at the same time.
Streetbu
Well-known member
Exactly! It a flipping riding LAWN mower, they are NOT tractors.
My Old Tools
Well-known member
I didn't say the same bracket. Each one has had it's turn.
493 scamp
Well-known member
I enjoy my antique John Deere with 60" deck but it is costly to repair, when its down for repair I use my lawn tractor and a Swisher 60" finish mower that you pull behind. I mow about 2.5 acres. http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/swisher-60-in-electric-start-finish-cut-trail-mower-145-hp
Todd.Brock
Well-known member
I really wanted a 400 series deere. I was looking at $3500 plus for a 20ish year old machine. I didn't need any of the hydraulic components, I just wanted a Deere diesel for some reason. I know Yanmar is pretty reliable, but worried about radiators, water pumps, hydraulic pumps, etc. I also thought about rebuilding one, but my wife said no more projects. I drove a deere x300 around at the dealer, it had a nice hydraulic deck lift, but just was more than I really wanted to spend. I was going to get a walk behind, but I bought a ZTR Kubota which is a really, really nice machine.
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tjdux
Well-known member
If were talking real tractors as compared to yard and garden machine check out mahundra. Its an indian company that is really taking a big chunk out of basically everbody in usa.
They're not junk either. Mybdad has one with a 4ft bucket front end loader. Its great. I use it in my 1.5 lot home here in town for doing dirt work around my house but its way to big to mow with.
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
They're not junk either. Mybdad has one with a 4ft bucket front end loader. Its great. I use it in my 1.5 lot home here in town for doing dirt work around my house but its way to big to mow with.
Signiture; Check out my garage progress http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=352703
ishiboo
Well-known member
The K42 in my D130 crapped out in 50 hours, mowing a flat single acre, with a 250lb person on it. I read the reviews/problems BEFORE buying... figured a flat yard would be fine. Never pulled anything... I had a 40HP Kubota at the time with turf tires I could pull with if I had to.
There is TONS of evidence that the cheap transmissions DO **** out in regular use on those mowers. Read the reviews/posts/etc. You don't need a commercial 15k mower to cut a single acre. But the same tractors with K42/K46 also have cheap everything else.
I don't recommend them because even if they lasted ONLY with mowing, if you have an acre of yard you will soon find you want to pull a sweeper, or a detaching rake, or a cart around, etc... and pretty soon you'll be wishing you had bought something better.
duwem
Well-known member
If your looking for new, 3000 will buy a decent lawn tractor, or a bottom of the line ZTR.
If going with a ZTR, the Hustler Raptors (Hustler also makes the Big Dog brand) are the best "cheapo" ZTR's out there.
If your willing to go used, you can get a pretty nice JD lawn/garden tractor for 3K.
If going with a ZTR, the Hustler Raptors (Hustler also makes the Big Dog brand) are the best "cheapo" ZTR's out there.
If your willing to go used, you can get a pretty nice JD lawn/garden tractor for 3K.
Streetbu
Well-known member
And I bet you stomp on the pedal then switch to reverse quick too. Sorry but you're not a light guy...
Tons of evidence huh, Like how out of all the riding mowers I repair for a living, I only have an average of two per year that fail? Huh.... that must be it. SMDH
+1 to look at USED mower to get what you want. Plenty of low hour machines out there where most of depreciation has been "eaten" by the 1st owner.
Here's example of diesel Kubota 4-wheel steer for $1,000 on
www.auctiontime.com
http://www.auctiontime.com/listings...&inforequestdelay=5&livebiddingopened=1&err=3
I've seen nice John Deere mowers on there also in your $3K price range.
Here's example of diesel Kubota 4-wheel steer for $1,000 on
www.auctiontime.com
http://www.auctiontime.com/listings...&inforequestdelay=5&livebiddingopened=1&err=3
I've seen nice John Deere mowers on there also in your $3K price range.
redmondjp
Well-known member
All one has to do is to look on the various mower and tractor forums and you can easily verify the problems with the smaller consumer-grade transaxles. I did my homework and bought a used John Deere GT235 (Tuff Torq K71 transaxle) as well as a Honda H4514 (for a different property that I mow). Both of those have a really good track record, as far as the life of the hydrostatic transaxle is concerned.
soapii
Well-known member
I cut my 3.5 acres in under 2 hours with a 61" Scag zero turn. I am not trying to set any land speed records either. Scag "suggests" you can cut an acre in 20 minutes, of course that is no obstacles and at full tilt, I usually cut between 1/2 and 3/4 throttle to save my kidneys
--Joe
Where do you work? I should go take a pic sometime of the piles of K42-46 hydros sitting on pallets at 2 of the local JD shops. They are complete junk. My dad who is 72 years old drives as smooth and slow as can be on a flat golf course lawn and his is junk with 45ish hours. Ask any shop and they will say how crappy they are. I'm smooth as butter with mine and it mows grass and thats it.
Streetbu
Well-known member
And i would bet those are from Lowes units too. It actually has nothing to do with where they are from, but rather the type of people that buy them. And I work at a Husqvarna dealer. I have yet to replace one under warranty. Matter of fact EVERY SINGLE ONE since I've worked there, (10 years) has failed because of abuse.... period. "Well i only towed the trailer a little ways" what size trailer was it sir? A 16' car trailer. Oh well in that case.
Thats just a sample of the conversations ive had with MY customers. Now, lets here your stories from YOUR customers... oh wait, you dont do it for a living? Why dont i start telling you what I've read on the internet and tell you how your job works. I'm sure that would go over great and i would know all about what I was talking about. LMAO
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BADSIX
Well-known member
Craftsman 20408, 54" cut on sale 2749.99 I cut about 1 1/2 A with a 10 year old one and its never gave me any problems .I like the big heavy duty deck with the grass catcher on the back. hold off and they might be giving them away.
Jay D.
Jay D.
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Koolmoose
Active member
I have a Husqvarna YT 1542 with a 15 HP Kawasaki 2 cylinder motor and a 42" deck. It's a 2006. I cut half an acre and have had no problems. I also pull a areator, sweeper, trailer and use it to park the 14' Lund fishing boat at the end of the season and pull it back out in the spring. Last year I had to replace the mower deck belt and decided to replace the drive belt at the same time even though it was in OK shape. No other problems.
One thing folks have not talked about is bagging. My tractor came with a 6 bushel triple bagger. More bagging capacity means less time emptying and time saved. I think a good compromise for 1 acre is a 48" deck. Are you interested in bagging your grass?
Also, perhaps you could get a good deal on a newleft over this time of the year? I got my Husky for $500 off b/c it was last year's model and they had switched from a RT handed stick to a foot control for the hydrostatic transmission. Best of luck with your search and choice!
BTW, Over the last 30 years I have had 2 tractors with stamped decks with no problems. As mentioned above cut grass when it is dry and keep the deck clean.
One thing folks have not talked about is bagging. My tractor came with a 6 bushel triple bagger. More bagging capacity means less time emptying and time saved. I think a good compromise for 1 acre is a 48" deck. Are you interested in bagging your grass?
Also, perhaps you could get a good deal on a newleft over this time of the year? I got my Husky for $500 off b/c it was last year's model and they had switched from a RT handed stick to a foot control for the hydrostatic transmission. Best of luck with your search and choice!
BTW, Over the last 30 years I have had 2 tractors with stamped decks with no problems. As mentioned above cut grass when it is dry and keep the deck clean.
merc66rkm
Well-known member
I just pulled the trigger on a used John Deere GT235. My 3/4 acre has some steep hills and killed my cheap Cub Cadet with gears. I haven't mowed with it yet, but know that it will last awhile. 48" deck with K72 trans. I'll have the option of implements down the road if I want and still under $3000. I would only get a zero turn if my yard was flat and my budget was bigger.
I'm old wt 220, and Use my 2005 JD L100 badly. I move cars ,haul a small trailer,cut 1.5 acres, and have changed engs 3 times. Always a used eng, smoking or loss of power. Mine came with a 17 hp eng. It was given to me with a 13 hp eng and I have not had any trouble doing any thing with the smaller eng. I have a ft slope about 10 ft long at about 30 degrees, pulls up that fine. Had to replace the spindles a couple of times and out rigger wheels . I keep it greased, oil changed ,and clean. Welded a crack on the deck once. I live in the south and use mine all yr. I have a bagger and it works well. The 100 series is the cheapest made to be able to be sold at the big box stores. I abuse mine ,but take care of it at the same time
jives
Well-known member
Not really trying to change the thread, but ya' gotta consider what tasks you will do and how you will do them. I would have burned up a yard tractor per year the way I use them. My garden tractors pull 1000 lb loads, dozer dirt and snow (used the blade and a drag to level off 1.5 ac of farmland), mow steep ditches, brush hog trails through our meadow, pulled a moldboard plow for a garden and for ditch creation, rototilled, and more stuff I'm almost ashamed to admit.
Oh, I also mow about 1.5 ac with a 48" deck, which is too small.
Oh, and these are 30 year old tractors. Wheel Horse 310-8, 416-8. Kohler Magnums. Hour gauge on the 416 stopped at about 1800 hrs, and that was probably 6 years ago. Couple of mower belts and drive belts, decarboned the heads and new head gaskets, patch weld on one deck (the other is now trashed), oil change every now and then. Carb cleaning once a year. No electronic gizmos. Mow forward and back.
I would never pay $1-2000 for a new lawn tractor when on CL I could find another WH with relatively low hours for the same price.
Oh, I also mow about 1.5 ac with a 48" deck, which is too small.
Oh, and these are 30 year old tractors. Wheel Horse 310-8, 416-8. Kohler Magnums. Hour gauge on the 416 stopped at about 1800 hrs, and that was probably 6 years ago. Couple of mower belts and drive belts, decarboned the heads and new head gaskets, patch weld on one deck (the other is now trashed), oil change every now and then. Carb cleaning once a year. No electronic gizmos. Mow forward and back.
I would never pay $1-2000 for a new lawn tractor when on CL I could find another WH with relatively low hours for the same price.
ejkuhl
Well-known member
I would agree on the Hustler Raptor.
All I'm looking for is a decent quality riding mower with a large deck, upwards of 54" (I value my time). A 12 gauge stamped mowing deck is fine, and preferably a good name engine like Honda.
Is that asking too much at $3000 ? Seriously? I'm fairly gentle on my stuff and have never had an issue with wear or breakage on my Craftsman. Doesn't have to be hydrostatic drive, but that seems the new norm now.
I don't need something commercial quality, and a used mower is not in the picture as I do not want someone else's problems. Don't need a garden tractor, and if I did I'd go full tilt with hydraulics and pto.
Is that asking too much at $3000 ? Seriously? I'm fairly gentle on my stuff and have never had an issue with wear or breakage on my Craftsman. Doesn't have to be hydrostatic drive, but that seems the new norm now.
I don't need something commercial quality, and a used mower is not in the picture as I do not want someone else's problems. Don't need a garden tractor, and if I did I'd go full tilt with hydraulics and pto.
Todd.Brock
Well-known member
Yes- I believe that you can get a good mower. Husqvarna seemed like good value when I was looking at ZTR's. Before I bought my Kubota. Here is a link to the dealer I purchased from for a lawn tractor that fits in your budget. It's not a Honda motor though
http://www.baxlatractor.com/m/showcase_unit.htm?id=25174969&status=1
http://www.baxlatractor.com/m/showcase_unit.htm?id=25174969&status=1
ejkuhl
Well-known member
It's not the size of the deck, it's how you use it.
No seriously. A large deck attached to an underpowered engine and a slow speed is not good for your time. Where as a smaller deck that can cut at twice the speed and power will still get you finished faster.Supergumby5000
Well-known member
Ugh. This thread stresses me out. The wife and I need to grab a rider before they are all gone up here. We were planning on the upper end Husqvarna from a box store but maybe I should go to the dealer.
We werent planning on $3k+ though. Ouch.
We werent planning on $3k+ though. Ouch.
Streetbu
Well-known member
Box stores dont/cant sell the upper end Husqvarna, only dealers can. BTW, the GT54LS has the K66 transaxle if that is a concern of yours. Other models do also but i cant remember them off the top of my head
Supergumby5000
Well-known member
When i say 'upper end from a box store', i meant the upper end of what they sell. Easy misconception due to my poor sentence structure
seems not very many people are a fan of the K46...
I've been peeping the JD X330/X350 and I'm looking at a Husky GT54XLSi after work.... Knowing myself, I'll probably pony up and get something from a dealer.
I have JD 445 with 60 deck and its presence gives me strength. I mow about 3 acres of land and I'm very satisfied
Going to try electric this year. Plan to get an Ego Z6 when it's available.
In the late spring grass is best cut every 5 days around here so it will be nice to be able to cut in the morning or late without disturbing anyone. At least that's the plan.
In the late spring grass is best cut every 5 days around here so it will be nice to be able to cut in the morning or late without disturbing anyone. At least that's the plan.
rburke65
Well-known member
Well for starters this post is 4 years old.
PassnThru
Well-known member
andyvh1959
Well-known member
This summer I bought a used Simplicity ZTR on an auction bid for $800. 26hp, 52" formed deck with three blades, electric deck height adjustment. Runs great, cuts good and it is faster than a lawn tractor, especially on my 1/2 acre yard with over 30 trees. But until I learned how to turn a ZTR I was tearing up the lawn. Also, a 52" deck is a bit big for my yard. So I was still looking. Probably will sell the ZTR next spring.
In September I found a Husqavarna R120S front deck articulating rider mower for $400. 42" front deck, hydrostatic drive. 19.5hp. Cool product. More adaptable than a ZTR. Doesn't tear up any turf when turning, near as fast as a ZTR. With the deck out front I see everything the deck is going over, very easy to maneuver. Though because the wheelbase is shorter than a ZTR, and the wheel stance is narrower, it does ride more rough if your lawn is lumpy like mine. Still a cool machine.
Husqavarna no longer makes the R120S, but I think they still make the R322T:
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/riders/r-322t-awd/967032101/
Whatever you chose, it is worth digging deeper to check out the transaxles on it. Some are not rebuildable, or even serviceable (oil changes). Some transaxles are limited for torque output, but may be mixed with an engine capable of much more torque, as is the case on my Simplicity ZTR. The engine puts out a lot more torque than the transaxles are rated to take. So I keep the engine speed a bit lower to limit the power applied.
In September I found a Husqavarna R120S front deck articulating rider mower for $400. 42" front deck, hydrostatic drive. 19.5hp. Cool product. More adaptable than a ZTR. Doesn't tear up any turf when turning, near as fast as a ZTR. With the deck out front I see everything the deck is going over, very easy to maneuver. Though because the wheelbase is shorter than a ZTR, and the wheel stance is narrower, it does ride more rough if your lawn is lumpy like mine. Still a cool machine.
Husqavarna no longer makes the R120S, but I think they still make the R322T:
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/riders/r-322t-awd/967032101/
Whatever you chose, it is worth digging deeper to check out the transaxles on it. Some are not rebuildable, or even serviceable (oil changes). Some transaxles are limited for torque output, but may be mixed with an engine capable of much more torque, as is the case on my Simplicity ZTR. The engine puts out a lot more torque than the transaxles are rated to take. So I keep the engine speed a bit lower to limit the power applied.