has anyone ever heard such nonsense?

[Slowpoke Slim]

Not that it matters I guess, but it wasn't the OP.

 

[PILOON]

The OP rejuvenated it.

Therefor should read 'WAS an old----'

 

[Oh Lordy HepMe HepME]

Just looked in my Husky's manual to see that it has the TuffTorq K46CR: mower is more of a commercial grade one (didn't buy from a big box store) in that it's got a Kawasaki engine and a welded deck (I was wanting this plus a locking diff). This is a locking diff transmission and appears to be fairly different than the standard K46. I am unable to find any mention of problems/failures with this model of transmission: might be because they're a lot more limited production?

Sorry but all k46 trans are factory sealed "maintenance free" homeowner units.
Just nothing commercial about them, dont let CR on the end fool you. Letters only correspond to the controls/linkage locations such as left/right foot/hand & nothing more!
All commercial trans are easy fill/drain units with many of those now being actual homeowner units with reservoir(s) designed to fool buyers.
But no commercials are sealed units.
The hydros made before 2000 or so lasted twice as long due to better materials this country once used. Those days are long gone sadly!

 

[DieselBound]

Sorry but all k46 trans are factory sealed "maintenance free" homeowner units.
Just nothing commercial about them, dont let CR on the end fool you. Letters only correspond to the controls/linkage locations such as left/right foot/hand & nothing more!
All commercial trans are easy fill/drain units with many of those now being actual homeowner units with reservoir(s) designed to fool buyers.
But no commercials are sealed units.
The hydros made before 2000 or so lasted twice as long due to better materials this country once used. Those days are long gone sadly!

OK.

Fortunately I've had no issues. I think I've had my mower for about 10(?) years now.

There's "materials" and then there's "engineering" and "manufacturing processes." Good materials alone doesn't mean something is good.

 

[scaredychicken]

People can say anything, don't believe everything.

I think the dealer guy is misinformed

 

[Wagtail]

Hmmm... when I recently bought my JD Z355E it did not come with a 'towing package', it was an additional option that came as a kit. I'm sure that there is a 'sticker' (isn't there always) stating the towing capacity. There certainly wasn't a separate Towing Package Owner Manual.

Nothing in the Z355E Owner Manual as the towing package isn't a standard fitting.

 

[m1garand762]

With that logic if you had a 200 pound person they couldn’t haul a gallon of water if you account for there weight the trailer weight and the load

 

[RandyT]

Just for a newer perspective on hydrostats. Currently working on a Scag Turf Tiger with the liquid cooled engine with separate hydrogear pump and parker wheel motors with drive issues with the right side after about 5 minutes. Had to get the hydrogear flow test kit to determine if it was a pump problem or wheel motor problem.

The test involved setting the pressure valve on the tester at 300 psi and getting a gpm reading, and then increasing the pressure to 1100 psi and making sure that the flow doesn't drop more than 1.5 gallon. Now here is the fun part. While doing that test at 1100 psi the metal parts of the flow meter will get hot enough that you can't hold it in your hands. That temp increase takes about 30 seconds. Now how long would it take to overheat the oil in a hydrostat on a consumer mower pulling even a moderate load in a trailer or going up and down steep slopes on a yard.

 

[plastikosmd]

I wouldn’t expect a lawn tractor to do much and would expect more out of something branded as a “garden” tractor

At least back in the day…

(My 12hp garden tractor had(to name a few) buzz saw, grain auger, fork lift, sickle bar, loader, post hole digger and even trenching attachment options lol)

 

[RandyT]

I wouldn’t expect a lawn tractor to do much and would expect more out of something branded as a “garden” tractor

At least back in the day…

(My 12hp garden tractor had(to name a few) buzz saw, grain auger, fork lift, sickle bar, loader, post hole digger and even trenching attachment options lol)

The early 70's cub cadets had a rear 3 point option and a optional gear driven 540 1-3/8 pto, that happened to turn the opposite direction of all other tractor pto's.

 

[plastikosmd]

^
true, I think the grain auger was running off of a 540 accessory
( allis/ simplicity machines here)

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Rule of thumb, IF the wheels bolt on like a car, it's the better tranny, if ONE center nut holds the wheel on, I wouldn't be towing much of anything with it, no matter what brand tractor it's in!

THIS is when they made them good!

SR

 

[plastikosmd]

Agreed^
a few small rock loads
((Looks like weightlifting is the ideal counterweight just like the WH, lol) I didn’t have plates so check out the 85lb dumbbell))

 

[Raul-02]

the current dealer i have - a husqvarna guy said that you can only tow under warranty around 350 lbs

I destroyed my Scagg hydrostatic drives by using it as a tractor to clean up fallen branches ( There were a very great lot of them) after an early storm dumped heavy snow on trees with leaves still on 'em. Landscape guys will talk at great length about the various mowers one needs if you are mowing steep hills.
So yah I think your Husky deal is shooting straight

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

7 years so far of regular use like this...

Only 150 hours on the meter.

So far, so good. Never had any issues of any kind.

 

[stevem5215]

K46 trannys and the like are not rated to tow heavy weights. The pump and drive motors internally just don't have the power. Sure it'll work in the short term but I wouldn't want to tow that much with a lot of age on the transmission.

 

[Oh Lordy HepMe HepME]

Rule of thumb, IF the wheels bolt on like a car, it's the better tranny, if ONE center nut holds the wheel on, I wouldn't be towing much of anything with it, no matter what brand tractor it's in!

THIS is when they made them good!

SR

Yep my Wheel Horse has 5 lugs.
So "No nuts = No ballz"...lol

 

[marhar]

i have owned and used lawnmowertype garden tractors from 18 hp years ago to 24 hp. i have towed trailers full of wood etc for decades too. the larger HP i have used bigger trailers and hauled more weight without any issues to transmission, etc.

the current dealer i have - a husqvarna guy said that you can only tow under warranty around 350 lbs and that includes the weight of the driver. WTF???? most companies have ads etc showing them towing carts and soil etc behind their machines to show they are of value to help out around the home, etc. that means a heavy person can't ride them or you cannot pull anything with them of substance. the trailer has wheels and the weight is towed horizontally as opposed to vertical weight (wife is a physicist) - and it seems like a crock of manure.

any thoughts???

The old garden tractors that we used to mow with were like a small tractor. They were gear driven, not belt driven. I had a 12hp cub cadet that could easily pull a bottom plow. The trailer hitch was beefy compared to today's equipment.

 

[Paystar]

Look at the old Deeres, Bolens, FORD, Wheelhorse and so many other 60s garden tractors. Then look at the current day consumer junk. Built as flashy as possible to catch the gullible consumers eye and as cheaply as possible to make good profit, and sell a shiny new one sooner rather then later.

Just watched an episode of Classic Tractor Fever that was showing when they used to use Wheel Horse lawn tractors at the Indianapolis Raceway as race car tugs to pull the formula one cars around.
Back when lawn tractors were made with real metal.

 

[Oh Lordy HepMe HepME]

The old garden tractors that we used to mow with were like a small tractor. They were gear driven, not belt driven. I had a 12hp cub cadet that could easily pull a bottom plow. The trailer hitch was beefy compared to today's equipment.