Which lawn tractor to buy?

[etpm]

I believe most Deere mowers are made in Horicon Wisconsin and have not seen anything about moving that assembly plant to Mexico but anything is possible. Deere and MTD are about the only two companies making lawn tractors anymore. They both make some cheap junk and better quality machines.

I would not purchase a rider that does not have a tie rod connecting the two front tires. Seems like almost all the lower cost models do not have this and after a couple hundred hours the front tires do track straight.

On Deere I believe you need to step up to X3** series to get away from this feature.

Not sure what models on Cub Cadet which is MTD.

Thank You, I knew I could get some good advice here.
Eric

 

[etpm]

The JD X 500 electro clutch just failed about a month back on me. The solenoid action works but all of the clutch material is gone 900+ hours. When it failed it was instantaneous.

I could have got a cheaper knock off replacement but it was stuck on the shaft pretty badly... which required drilling and tapping puller holes and a few hours of labor, so I bit on the JD factory part $260 (had it the next AM) hoping it will be higher quality and go another 900 hours.

I had to replace the clutch on my L130 and I went with aftermarket because of the reviews. It was not only much less money it is beefier than the OEM clutch.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[etpm]

Thanks for all the replies folks, they really do help. It looks like either another Deere or a Husky. I'm gonna check out the Husky mowers now and see how they compare. Even though it looks like the Deere models are now being made in the USA I'm still dubious, because of their business practices and the impending move to Mexico. I wonder if Husky is any better business wise?
Eric

 

[sd455dan]

I had to replace the clutch on my L130 and I went with aftermarket because of the reviews. It was not only much less money it is beefier than the OEM clutch.
Thanks,
Eric

Well, I did need the mower and sprung for the extra shipping and they did have it the next morning.

I have been trying to upgrade/ fix up the X500 when I can, new seat, new front tires, deck belt, factory Deere blades, air and oil filters, repaint body worked hood, buffed out ceramic sealed paint when I removed the seat to replace it etc.
Probably could have saved over a 100 bucks. I don't mind supporting our local dealer once in a while, although I am not impressed with corporate's actions lately. I do think the X series mowers are well built and very serviceable with great parts supply which is what caused me to find the JD in the first place. MTD stopped supporting some of their mower deck parts and unless I lathe/ mill manufacture spindles and drive sprockets my old hydrostat rider is only good for pulling things.

 

[kozal01]

If I was forced to go back to a tractor style mower from my ZTR I would look for a good used Simplicity or a new non box store Husqvarna. Simplicity was known for making some of the best lawn tractors, cut quality is top notch and they were built well. Husqvarna offers a lawn tractor with the good Kawasaki FR series engines and fabricated mower decks. I had a JD 110 lawn tractor for years and it was ok but I wouldn't touch a new JD with a ten foot pole.

 

[etpm]

I had a JD 110 lawn tractor for years and it was ok but I wouldn't touch a new JD with a ten foot pole.

What do you have against the John Deere lawn tractors? Any specific reasons? I'm gonna plunk down around 4 grand for a lawn tractor and I value the experience of the folks here and their advice to help me choose.
Thanks,
Eric

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I never owned a Cub Cadet tractor, and they still sell them. My CC zero turn with steering wheel runs great, and is pretty heavy duty in construction. I imagine the tractors would be as well.
I had gone with a JD L??? 12 years ago, and other than normal maintenance, it took a beating, and kept going strong. OK, mower deck bracket broke it's weld last year, easy fix.

 

[kozal01]

What do you have against the John Deere lawn tractors? Any specific reasons? I'm gonna plunk down around 4 grand for a lawn tractor and I value the experience of the folks here and their advice to help me choose.
Thanks,
Eric

Unless you're getting into the X series I do not think they are well made, even my 2005 model year JD was a flimsy cheaply built machine with weak transmissions and cheap stamped decks, the new ones are worse yet in my opinion. Also I was never impressed with the cut quality of mine, mowed slow and cut quality left a lot to be desired. Honestly, unless you plan to run a plow or a snowblower in the winter or you have steep hills to mow I would look hard at a ZTR. These are just my opinions of course. Budget, dealer support, comfort, features etc should all be considered though.

 

[SteveS42240]

I have been using Cub Cadet mowers for 35 years and have gotten lots of good use out of them. Yes, they do require maintenance, but so will any decent tractor. My biggest repair is spindle bearings, so I keep several bearings on hand and keep one spindle assembly built in case I need to change one out before I mow. The 50 Zero Turn I am using now was given to me by a friend because he couldn't keep it running. I did some wiring in his garage as a "swap" for him and I have been running it for 4 years now. All I did to it to get it running was a couple of tubes, a tune up, and spindle bearings in 2 shafts. It's been a good mower, so I gave my 5 year old 1052 Cub Cadet to my stepson when he bought a house a couple of years ago.

 

[etpm]

Unless you're getting into the X series I do not think they are well made, even my 2005 model year JD was a flimsy cheaply built machine with weak transmissions and cheap stamped decks, the new ones are worse yet in my opinion. Also I was never impressed with the cut quality of mine, mowed slow and cut quality left a lot to be desired. Honestly, unless you plan to run a plow or a snowblower in the winter or you have steep hills to mow I would look hard at a ZTR. These are just my opinions of course. Budget, dealer support, comfort, features etc should all be considered though.

Thanks for your detailed reply. This is just the kind of thing I was looking for. Because of the uneveness of our terrain and because of the other use of the lawn tractor for towing a small trailer around I think we need a conventional lawn tractor. But I will look again at ZTRs.
Eric