What is your favorite brand?

   / What is your favorite brand?
  • Thread Starter
#21  
When are the 2005's coming out? I talked to a guy at the local Cub dealer and he told me about 3 weeks and they should have some. Do you know of any other changes?

Thanks.
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #22  
We don't get our first shipment in until around late Nov. or so. Another small change for 2005 is the use of black frames across the line and Kohler only engines.
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #23  
I have an older craftsman 43 inch deck mower. The people at the store say it doesn't even exist. I can get parts for it online real easy and havn't had any problems. It's abused and neglected.

My dad bought a brand new Deere from Home Depot a few years ago. I don't remember the model number, but it was a fairly small one. He ran it once or twice and started having trouble. Home Depos said to contact Deere directly since there wasn't a local Deere dealer.

It was a huge headache and finally Deere admitted to not being able to get the parts he needed and to return it for a refund.

He brought it back to Home Depot and they gave him his money back and told him to keep the mower. It was too much trouble for them to return it or dispose of it and they didn't want it.

Dad ended up trading a neighbor for an old golf cart for it and I dont remember if he ever got it running or not.
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #24  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm probably one of the few people who have had a good experience with the Craftsman line of mowers )</font>

nope you are not! i have had a crafstsman 18 hp gt for 13 seasons now, probably put over 100 hrs a year on it cutting grass, pickicking up debris, and have never had one problem with it other than a new starter motor, besides the normal belts, blades etc. the mower deck is the same, no rust . but of course i do take care of it as i do any stuff i own. would not hesitate to buy another.
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #25  
I have a Craftsman GT 3000 and an LT 1000. They are great for the money spent IMO and have held up very well for me under some pretty rough conditions. Especially the GT 3000.

As far as the LT's go, they are not as good as the higher priced stuff from Cub or Deere (Cub 2K and Deere LT/LX), and of course dont compare at all to Simplicity or Kubota. But I think they compare very well against the low end Deere and Cubs at the box stores and beat most all the other low end MTD stuff they carry hands down.

Craftsmans are basically the same tractor as equivilent Husqvarna without some of the nice upgrade features found in their orange relatives. Their manuals have very good Illistrated parts break down and if you are at all handy, they are simple to fix. How good their service is I think depends on the area. Some places Sears service is very good, others I hear are lousy. I dont know first hand, since I've never had to call them out.

The things I dont like about the Craftsman LT design is the poor steering support and the thin drag link on their lower end LTs. Also, the draw bar could be thicker material on them too IMHO. I dont know how that part compares with other LTs but I want mine a little thicker /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. They have bushings in the front wheels instead of bearings. There are very few grease zerks and not enough IMHO. The exposed steering sector gear gets dirty if greased over time and steers hard if it isnt. The lowest end models have stamped front axles, the better ones have cast iron.

Enough on my Craftsman experience /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Kurt
 
   / What is your favorite brand?
  • Thread Starter
#26  
Thanks for the great info. My dad has a Craftsman that he has had great luck with. I think I'm still leaning toward the Cub 2000-2500 series.
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #27  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have always liked Wheelhorse (now Toro),
Locally there are literally 1000's of old Wheelhorses still in service. They were real popular here.)</font>

I've owned my 1980 C-101 Wheel Horse for 20+ years and its still going strong. It's been a good one !!
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #28  
DK35vince,
I have a 1991 312-8 purchased used: now with 750 hours. My dad has a 1979 C-111 he purchased used in 1981: now with thousands of hours on it.
Dad upgraded the motor 2 years ago to an 18 horse Briggs twin. Dads tractor has taken abuse like no other piece of equipment I have ever seen.
It hauled all of our fire wood (3-4 cords) out of the woods every year, with a heavy home made car axle type trailer. Sometimes through a foot of mud on the logging roads. Many times with the front tires in the air. It mowed 1 acre weekly. Pushed and pulled cars. Moved a shed. and put up with all the abuse I could think of subjecting it to as a teenager.
The original drive belt lasted over 20 years. He has been through several seat covers.
The little tractors will probably out live both of us.
You can still get a new one for 3900$, 4500$ with a mower
I really get a kick out of people who say I have got 10 years out my (brand XYZ) before I replaced it. What a great machine. At ten years one of these older design wheelhorses are just breaking in.
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #29  
Some off the Sears tractors along with Poulan, and another brand tractor that slips my mind are manufactured by American Yard Products. AYP was part of Roper Corp. GE purchased Roper Corp as they wanted another part of the Roper Corp that fit with their business. Subsequently, AYP was split off and purchased by Electrolux Corp in Europe. Huskvarna (sp) is part of the Electrolux Corp and AYP is now part of Huskvarna.
You will have to draw your own conclusions on your favorite brand. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
   / What is your favorite brand? #30  
dmanspadge,

My all time fav has to be Kubota. However, as far as bang for the buck, I cannot rave enough about my 30+ year old Ariens. This thing is a bonafied tank. It blowed snow all winter and cut grass all summer for over three trouble free decades. And it still looks good! See photo. I have since sold it to my neighbor, and he loves it.

I don't know what Ariens are like nowadays. But if they still build them like this one, you may want to take a closer look.

Killer B 7610
 

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