Looking to purcase first ever riding mower/tractor

[jenkinsph]

I haven't checked on the GT54LS, I was referring to the GT6000. I bought one Craftsman 19.5 hp riding mower new around 2000, mowed my yard less than 10 times before I had to park it. Lots of small problems with spindles and bearings, steering, and hard starting. Sold it for $500 after sitting in my shed a couple of years. Bought a Deere L130 riding mower after that and it has held up much better other than the k46 tranny. I feel I wasted $2000+ on the Craftsman and almost $3000 on the L130 with bagger. My point is to get a good mower with the capabilites you need you need to spend a little more to get a good one. Lots of us on this forum have been fooling with this stuff for years and have learned a little about this the hard way. Would hope that others can learn by my mistakes.

I still recommend you see what the best price is on a x310 equipped with a front blade and set of chains. My dealer sells me most lawn equipment for 15% off msrp, seems to me that isn't much more than the ones you are considering.

 

[ajd187]

Again thanks to everyone. Learning a lot here. Now I've got to go sell the wife on spending more than we had planned.

In regards to this...I would say getting the right thing, the first time, even if you spend more, is going to be cheaper than going back to get something bigger later on. I just bought a Deere 1025R to replace my X320 which was too small, and wish I had gone big the first time.

 

[dustycoyote]

Well, I think that I have decided to go with the Husqvarna GT54LS. I'll hopefully have it ordered in the next couple of days.

From what everyone says here, the engine will work just fine, and the upgraded K66 transmission is well worth the extra $. I also like that it has a better frame than the lower end models and the Craftsman GT's. I have read a lot of reviews and generally people are happy with it (and are happy with the other GTxxLS models in Huskys line up that share it's build, features, and functions). I would go out and look hard at the X310, especially if I could get the kind of pricing Jenkinsph is referencing, but ultimately I realized I'm kind of in love with the idea of the locking diff. And, for me at least, that's a big part of this, getting something that I'm excited about.

I wish that it came with a smaller deck (46" preferably) and for that reason I will likely make at least one call to the Deere dealer to see if they happen to have any crazy deals on the X310, but otherwise I think we can make the 54" deck work.

If anyone thinks that the GT54LS isn't a great decision though, I'd love to hear the objection before the wedding.


I appreciate all of the advice and guidance from everyone. It's great that everyone is willing to donate the time and interest to help others like me make good and informed decisions. If I hadn't gotten all of the advice from everyone here I'd be rocking a "Lowes' special" lawn tractor next week (and probably wondering what went wrong with it the next year).

 

[dustycoyote]

Ended up ordering the GT48XLS today. I didn't necessarily want to spend the extra money on the fabricated deck but I just didn't want to manage that 54" deck on the GT54LS in the tight spaces in my yard.
I ordered it from Mowersource.com. None of the dealers near me carry this unit and to order it would have taken several weeks. The local dealers would also have charged me extra to deliver it to my house. Mowersource told me that the unit will be 99% assembled when it arrives and that all I should need to do is put gas in it. I'm not ready to risk it though. I'm sure that there are things that I will want to check before taking it for a spin. Does anyone have any advice to give me about unpacking the unit when it arrives. What needs to be checked or installed?

I will order a mulch kit on Monday and will need a blade before the winter.

Does anyone have any experience with Husky blades? Will I be able to order the snow plow blade or do I need to spend extra on the dozer blade since I went with a GT model?

Also,
I would like to get an aerator and dethatcher. Does anyone have any experience as to how well these implements work? Am I better off paying someone to do it for my yard?

 

[dustycoyote]

Got my Husqvarna GT48XLS a few days ago. Love this tractor.

Wanted to post my initial thoughts;

I have never owned one before so the comparative value of my feedback is pretty limited. Regardless, I am very happy with it. I will try to remember to leave more feedback once I have used it to cut more grass and push some snow.

Amazed by the turn radius for the size of the unit. Am able to mow areas of my lawn that I didn't expect to.

The fabricated deck is awesome. I had not wanted to pay extra for it (got it just because the GT48XLS met all of my other requirements and wasn't available without the fab deck). I have already ran the deck into my concrete curbing several times and am now glad that I got it. It is built like a tank.

I had read in several forums that the B&S engine is very loud. It is loud, but much quieter than I imagined. Tough to talk over the noise but otherwise isn't bad. (haven't had a rider before so I can't compare it to a Kawa engine or anything else)

I ordered it online from Mowersource and was somewhat concerned about a dealer not prepping it once it arrived here. It was shipped almost completely ready to go and everything was assembled very well however. Had to adjust or bolt on a couple small things but overall it worked out very very well for me (I didn't want to have to tinker with it to get it ready.) The deck was already adjusted to perfectly level when it arrived, oil level was good, tranny is sealed so it can't be checked (Had hoped for a serviceable version of the K66 but oh well). A couple bolts were poorly machined (installing the brush guard) and I had to replace them. Otherwise it went smoothly.

I did notice that the front wheels don't seem to be perfectly aligned. I was concerned at first but it runs straight and steers fine. I don't think this is necessarily out of spec. Will keep watching it though.

Shipping was super fast and delivery was convenient and helpful.

ONe thing that others ordering a unit online might want to consider is that the carb may need adjusted. I am at a fairly high altitude and expect I will need to have a local dealer adjust it for my altitude at some point.

Engine is strong. Deck cuts very well. the grass shoots out of the side shoot like bullets, very powerful.

I only have one moderate hill in my lawn. It climbs that well and only scalped a knob at the top very slightly. I had read comments about the Husqvarna frame flexing a lot during use. I have not experienced that. It seems very solid and firm to me. Again I only have the one hill but I did go over a lot of uneven areas (climbing at an angle from the lawn onto a cement pad which is a few inches higher than the turf, etc.).

It goes through thick grass like butter (over 12" long and very thick).

I have some tight spots in my yard and actually would have preferred a 42" deck but after using it I realize that the 48" is best as it is desirable for the deck to extend out farther than the tires of the machine.

As long as it remains durable then I am ecstatic with the machine. Seems to be a MUCH better value than competing manufacturers' GT units.

I would never recommend anything to someone after I have only spent a couple hours on it but so far I am very happy.