Husqvarna R322T AWD mower. Any Good? Got one?

[orind]

When you pull up pricing and part numbers on thecwebsite you will find 3 options.....without deck and with two different decks....without deck is $4300.

 

[orind]

I asked my dealer to put together a proposal for me for the 322 plus 103 deck, snow blower, and rotary brush--I am sure I will also get hit with shipping--

One of the challenges up here in Alaska is little to no competition or availability for some products. My Husqvarna dealer carries their chainsaws only, but has been very helpful at looking into my tractor purchase, and as an authorized Husqvarna Dealer, can provide warranty service, but he does not have any in stock to look at. Found the same problem when I talked with the New Holland and John Deere dealers--MSRP plus 2K in shipping--no inventory on hand.

Once my dealer has put something together i will be able to compare it to what the Kubota dealer can do--the machines are apple and oranges, but depending on just how much the R322T is going to cost (with shipping) the Kubota may end up being a better deal (the Kubota dealer has stock on hand he is willing to deal on).

I am on 1.2 acres, with 10,000 square feet of lawn and a 2,000 square foot driveway--I mow in the summer, and clear snow in the winter. Also, there is several hundred pounds of gravel to clean up once winter ends (streets get gravel in the winter, which the plows push onto the lawns) I like the front mount floating deck on the R322T better than the mid mount deck on the kubota, and implement swapping is much faster on the R322T.

The Kubota (BX1860, 48inch fine cut deck, rotary sweeper, FEL) has the advantage of diesel, shaft drive, and a FEL for working on the rest of the yard, but at a significant price increase (about 8K difference based on MSRP), but putting on the brush to clean up after mowing requires dropping the mowing deck, installing the front mount, and of course reversing all this to put the deck back on. And in the winter, while the brush will be the main tool, changing out to the FEL for heavy snows is no fast task--remove brush, remove mounting bracket and shaft, install loader.

My main concern with the R322T is the maximum cut height--3 inches (as stated in a previous post by me).

My current rig is a 10 year old Craftsman LT1000 (20HP twin cylinder) that I have put about 700 hours on. My lawn has some decent hills so I really want to go to 4wd--which of course will help for clearing snow.

I'll post how it is working out once I hear back from my dealer.

 

[Blue67]

The 322T seems ideal for my situation with 1.5 acres of mostly moderate to steep slope that my JD X500 (with bar rears and diff lock) slides down all too often. (Even just 4-wheel brakes would be a big improvement.) I've looked at upgrading to the X700, 1 series, or Kubota BX, but am put off by the significant (more than double) price increase. (I could use the FEL and other accessories, but not enough to justify the cost.) The 322T looks (on video) like it would solve my main need; a solid slope mower at a MUCH lower price. (What I need is a ventrac, but can't afford one.) I also have a few obstacles to maneuver around and the turning radius of the 322T appears to blow any of the other awd tractors out of the water. And, it doesn't appear that the mower is automatically disengaged when in reverse - a feature of the JD that really irritates me. I'm a little worried by the comments regarding Dealer unfamiliarity with the product in the US and possible difficulty getting parts, accessories, etc. Also, I'm in East Tenn / SW VA and guess it will even be harder here to purchase and maintain locally. I'd appreciate any additional comments current owners might have on any of these topics.

 

[orind]

Well--I went the route of the Kubota BX1860. My local Husqvarna Dealer (who is a chainsaw dealer, not a tractor dealer--but very nice and helpful) just could not put together a package for what I wanted--after 3 weeks of trying, he still did not have delivery prices/availability etc. I do not fault him, as he does not deal in the tractors. Yep, about twice the price for the Kubota, but it is much more robust and versatile.

 

[Blue67]

After several vain attempts to find a Husky dealer in SW/VA that would answer their phone or when answered, had a 322T, or knew much about them; I found a dealer east of me who keeps one in stock. I drove down to check it out and am pretty impressed with the machine. I did understand the criticisms about the direct linked steering and know my arms/wrists will be quite tired after mowing my property. It had the 48" deck on it with side discharge, but lifting it a few times left me with the impression it wouldn't be too difficult to manipulate for my purposes. It has a MUCH tighter turning radius than my JD x5.., which would save me a good deal of time mowing - along with the lack of a reverse auto shut down of the mower. The big test however is if it will handle my slopes. To that issue the dealer offered that I could "borrow" it to take home and try on my slope as long as I didn't use the blades. I'm blown away by his offer and plan to take him up on it. Gotta love small town living. (Not to digress, but I have every confidence that offer would have never been made in any of the large metropolitan areas I've lived in before moving back to small town America.)

 

[Scooby074]

Very good Blue67. Do post up your results of your "test drive"!

Again, too bad they dont have the larger units over here, I believe many of them have power steering.

 

[Blue67]

Well I picked the rider up today and tried it on my slope. At first, I was thrilled - thinking I'd finally found a mower I could use for this area. The grass was even wet and it still handled the mid steep portions of the hill side. But, when I tried the steeper section, things got harry. Turns out that while the front tires held their grip descending in this area of bank , the rear section of the rider actually lifted up off the ground! I only know this because my wife was watching from the top of the hill and saw it. For me, from the rider's seat, it felt like the rear wheels lost traction and were trying to swing out to the left. In any case, it was a very different feeling from losing traction on a front wheel steer tractor and much more difficult to control the trip down the rest of the hill side. This situation would not improve with dryer conditions since it was the angle of descent and not the slipperiness of the grass that produced the result. The rider would go up this area without problem, but was not capable of going down without the back end lifting up. My JD X5 will almost do as well, so the rider doesn't appear to be the solution for my circumstance that I was hoping for. So I'm back to the drawing board, looking for the best 4wd for the cost lawn tractor I can get. Probably looking for something around the JD X7 or 1 series or Kubota Bx models. Wonder if any of their dealers will let me try one of them on my slope.....

 

[Scooby074]

Not good at all!!

Did you happen to notice if the mower had a rear counterweight? Im pretty sure Ive seen it available as an option.

I live on a hill myself and used to have an x540. It honestly was a great machine on slopes, much more balanced than my BX. I cant mow sections of the hill with the BX that I could with the x540. Id argue that a Deere 1 series would be about the same as the BX. The deere 7 series might be interesting however.

 

[turkey2731]

Blue67

Don't forget you were not using the blades. If the blades went running the deck was off the ground taking the weight off the back wheels. If you were actually mowing it might have a deferent outcome.
:dance1:

 

[turkey2731]

Rider Husqvarna PF 21 AWD - YouTube