Cub Cadet 3000-series -- newby question!

[Dave01]

I've mowed quite a bit with a 3204. There is no maneuverability problem with the 3000 series, they have a tight turning radius and with the power steering and hydro you can get in and around obstacles easily. As long as the overall width of a 48" or 54" deck doesn't cause problems for you I'd recommend the 3000 series if you can afford it.

 

[Dockhead]

I've mowed quite a bit with a 3204. There is no maneuverability problem with the 3000 series, they have a tight turning radius and with the power steering and hydro you can get in and around obstacles easily. As long as the overall width of a 48" or 54" deck doesn't cause problems for you I'd recommend the 3000 series if you can afford it.

Thanks -- that's useful information. I've just about decided to go that route. Horrendously expensive -- nearly $15k with deck, bagger, hydraulic front lift, dozer blade, and snow blower (high taxes here in Russia).

Probably unreasonable to spend that kind of money for my relatively light tasks. But if I buy some crappy disposable mower -- any of the lower end MTD products it seems to me -- I know I just won't like it and I really don't want to spend time on all the little problems those things have. So I think I'm going to bite the bullet and do it -- and know that for many years I'll have a reliable workhorse for the grass in the summer, the snow in the winter (6 months in this climate), and other chores, rather than just a mower.

What they sell here is the 3235 which has the 25 horse Kohler engine and the diff lock. Seems like good stuff to me.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Don't know what your mowing conditions are but if you are faced with thick/tall/wet grass in the spring, you'll want one of these mower decks. Not available on models other than the 3xxx. It will cut grass with little strain that would bring the tractor and stk mower to a standstill in short order. Think the 48" model has been replaced with a 50" model.

Have same tractor and mower as Duc but grass conditions dictated this mower deck for early spring time conditions.

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

I love my 54 inch deck much more than the 44R I had on the 1450. It will cut in either suspended mode or "ground following" mode. I run it in ground following mode so the wheels are always on the ground. My yard is fairly level with some bumps. I'm glad that it doesn't clog and requires little cleaning since the deck weighs 260 lbs, I believe. I've removed it twice - once to disable the no-reverse mow switch and once to clean. My rear yard is very wet much of the time so it's a good test. If it's too wet and the grass is long, the chute clogs up with the bagger too often and I have to remove it. The 3235 has shaft drive to the mower deck, which is nice and eliminates one belt that doesn't have to be purchased. There's still one belt driving the outer deck spindles and then they added two on the vacuum operated PTO. I would have preferred thay stuck with the electric PTO and eliminate the belts. My 1450 ran 26 years with an electric PTO and only required clutch adjustment a coupe of times during that time.

Bob B.

 

[Dockhead]

I love my 54 inch deck much more than the 44R I had on the 1450. It will cut in either suspended mode or "ground following" mode. I run it in ground following mode so the wheels are always on the ground. My yard is fairly level with some bumps. I'm glad that it doesn't clog and requires little cleaning since the deck weighs 260 lbs, I believe. I've removed it twice - once to disable the no-reverse mow switch and once to clean. My rear yard is very wet much of the time so it's a good test. If it's too wet and the grass is long, the chute clogs up with the bagger too often and I have to remove it. The 3235 has shaft drive to the mower deck, which is nice and eliminates one belt that doesn't have to be purchased. There's still one belt driving the outer deck spindles and then they added two on the vacuum operated PTO. I would have preferred thay stuck with the electric PTO and eliminate the belts. My 1450 ran 26 years with an electric PTO and only required clutch adjustment a coupe of times during that time.

Bob B.

I'll definitely go for one of those decks.

I don't mind the extra belts on the PTO -- surely they are not so troublesome since they don't accomodate any movement. It's the lack of belts in the transaxle drive which is so nice on the 3000's, it seems to me.

 

[Mike5252]

Dockhead, are your a Russian national (with exceptionally good english) or an expatriate working in Russia?

Is it possible to import a garden tractor as part of a household move into Russia w/out having to pay the duty and VAT? I lived in the Netherlands for a couple years and if you imported property as part of a household move, the regular duty/vat taxes generally did not apply.

If this works in Russia, does your company have anyone moving your direction that include the tractor as part of their move?

Just an idea.

 

[DmansPadge]

I've got a one hectare (2 1/2 acre) lot in a cold climate -- Moscow,Russia.

Just curious... what kind of temperatures do you have throughout the year?

 

[Dockhead]

Dockhead, are your a Russian national (with exceptionally good english) or an expatriate working in Russia?

Is it possible to import a garden tractor as part of a household move into Russia w/out having to pay the duty and VAT? I lived in the Netherlands for a couple years and if you imported property as part of a household move, the regular duty/vat taxes generally did not apply.

If this works in Russia, does your company have anyone moving your direction that include the tractor as part of their move?

Just an idea.

Hi: I'm American, and a long time (15 years) expatriate living here. The Russians don't give any exemption on the taxes unless you're a diplomat, which I am not. High duties on this kind of equipment, and on cars, used to really irritate me, but I've gotten used to it. Just bite the bullet and pay.

It helps a lot that in Russia there is a fantastic income tax -- flat rate of only 13%. Now I wish we had that back home.

 

[Dockhead]

Just curious... what kind of temperatures do you have throughout the year?

Well the climate here is probably like St. Paul Minnessota I would say although we're further north. It's a dry continental climate so the winter is usually really nice -- cold, dry and brilliant sunshine most of the time. This year has been mostly warm, wet, and horrible except for just four weeks in February. We've had has cold as -20C this year (I think -4 F) but last year we had -35C (-31F).

We usually open the snowmobile season on Thanksgiving weekend and sled into early April. But this year we had bizzarre weather and didn't get real snow cover until late January.

Summer is warm and sunny (80'sF and even 90's) but very short -- basically June and July. August is already cooler (we stop swimming in our lake the first week of August). September usually a bit of Indian Summer but too cool to swim.

We are very far north so for a couple weeks either side of June 21 we have a phenomenon called "white nights" -- midnight sun. Throughout the summer it's broad daylight until at least 10 PM.

So we have two good seasons -- winter like in a ski resort, and a warm sunny summer where it's light all the time. Spring and fall are crap, though. Spring is a sea of mud and melting snow, and fall is just dark.

 

[DmansPadge]

Well the climate here is probably like St. Paul Minnessota I would say although we're further north. It's a dry continental climate so the winter is usually really nice -- cold, dry and brilliant sunshine most of the time. This year has been mostly warm, wet, and horrible except for just four weeks in February. We've had has cold as -20C this year (I think -4 F) but last year we had -35C (-31F).

We usually open the snowmobile season on Thanksgiving weekend and sled into early April. But this year we had bizzarre weather and didn't get real snow cover until late January.

Summer is warm and sunny (80'sF and even 90's) but very short -- basically June and July. August is already cooler (we stop swimming in our lake the first week of August). September usually a bit of Indian Summer but too cool to swim.

We are very far north so for a couple weeks either side of June 21 we have a phenomenon called "white nights" -- midnight sun. Throughout the summer it's broad daylight until at least 10 PM.

So we have two good seasons -- winter like in a ski resort, and a warm sunny summer where it's light all the time. Spring and fall are crap, though. Spring is a sea of mud and melting snow, and fall is just dark.

Thats interesting... thanks for the info. Its pretty cool to here what it is like so far away from here.