Buying Advice Sick and tired of low quality riding lawnmowers

[atsah]

My brother bought a 1994 Wheelhorse with an Onan 18hp, hydro. Well built tank. The problem is, it rides like a tank, has no give at all, uneven ground and it gets stuck, it belongs in a garden with a tiller attached to it, not a good lawn tractor..

 

[DK35vince]

Its all perspective. I chuckle at the guys that buy 10k lawn mowers for an acre or less of lawn or even more. I was quoted 150 bucks to do by 2 acres, my lawn probably needs to be mowed 12 times a year, thats 1800 a year. Take me well over 5 years with a 10k mower and gas, break fixes to break even rather than have somebody else do it. Then I think about the guy that could have somebody else mow the lawn for 50-100 bucks a time, your talking a decades worth of mowing to break even on the deal.

You must have slow growing grass, I think we average 25 mows per year.

 

[bcp]

One of the early high quality riding mowers.

Fertilizes the yard, too.

Bruce

 

[searcyfarms]

i mow 8 mos out of the yr, april thru nov an occassional in dec if late warm spells keep things growing, i dont mow very short, i run my deere on 4 to 5 and cut once a week tops, i could cut every 5 days at times - yes i fertilize - aerate in the fall - try to keep the weeds out with spray and broadcasting - sometimes i have to mow in march for the first mowing - so lets see, april 5, may 5, june 5, july 2 or 3, august 2 or 3, sept, 3 to 4, oct 3, nov 2 i am guessing im in the 25 to 30 times per yr and i cut around 2.5 acres - never asked how much that would cost but im sure i wouldnt want to pay it - left a couple off for march/dec as its not a for sure

i dont care how much a mower cost, i like mowing, i will be mowing till i cant climb onto the mower or fix it anymore, kind of like burning firewood, am i getting to old to be doing it with a maul ? yes that is what my back and body says every time i do it but i wont give in until i have too!!!

 

[searcyfarms]

One of the early high quality riding mowers.

View attachment 612258

Fertilizes the yard, too.

Bruce

heck just get some sheep n goats they will keep the bushes and flowers trimmed LOL

 

[goeduck]

I have found that if I do not water my lawn I do not have to mow it. Mowing less often means fewer hours on the mower which means they last longer. :thumbsup:

 

[ETD66SS]

I have found that if I do not water my lawn I do not have to mow it. Mowing less often means fewer hours on the mower which means they last longer. :thumbsup:

Well, this year. mother nature has decided to water the crap out of my lawns... I probably mow on ave about 20 times per year at two locations. One location 1/2 acre, the other about 4 acres of grass (and another 15 acres brush hog 2X a year). 3 summers ago had a drought and I think I only had to mow about 3-4 times all summer/fall. I don't think you'd ever catch me purposely watering a lawn, mowing is not that enjoyable for me, it's just a chore.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I know this is thread drift but I've always felt that good plugging in the fall with a liberal application of lime and seed is all you need. If you fertilize then you have growth thus more mowing. The fertilizer companies claim you need 2 to 6 pounds per 1000 square feet for fescue. That equates to 86 to 260 pounds of nitrogen per acre. In 17-17-17 that's 500 to 1500 pounds per acre. Way too much IMHO.

Most of the points are spot on. Back in the 80's when I purchased my Wheel Horse 520H it was over 5 grand. The compact and sub compact market has pretty much overtaken the lawn tractor segment. My goodness the speed of my new zero turn is really amazing as they all are. I think one of those Cub Cadets with a steering wheel may be your best option.

 

[RickB]

I’ll water flowers and new plantings. You won’t catch me watering grass.

 

[daugen]

I don't see a lawn/yard/garden tractor made today no matter how much it costs lasting 36 years and 4100 hours.

JD service tech said they have lots of older series JD diesel garden tractors, like mine, with 3000 to 4000 hours on the original mower spindles.
Spindles mind you, not the Yanmar engine, tech said just keep them greased. You won't get that with a new D130...clearly the engineering spec on the parts are better and of course one is paying for that. Always been a problem when bean counters override engineering, but if you want a $2k riding mower, that is inescapable.

I mow 10 acres at least once a week. No $3k mower would last two years on my farm.
We all have different needs, though many of us share common issues.
No need to be unpleasant with each other, if you can't say something nice, don't say it in this thread.

I learn more from the folks I disagree with than those whose heads nod with mine.