Good, Older Used Lawn Tractor Recommendation

[TimS]

For under $500, you're going to be buying a fixer-upper brand name tractor or an off-brand, or spending a whole lot of time looking. I'm sure there are deals out there, but "under $500" and "good" don't go together well for the major brands, even older units.

Tim

 

[drivadesl]

Thanks guys, these are all great suggestions. Yeah, I'm kind of expecting a fixer upper machine for the money I want to spend. I haven't shopped much, though I do watch craigslist all the time and have seen whats out there. I see a lot of craftsman of all vintages but I've never liked anything they sold with an engine so unless I fall into something, would prefer to rule them out. Until I actually go look at some of the rest, its all hitnmiss as what to expect. I suppose a little bigger is better, but again, fitting through a gate is a must so hopefully that doesn't limit me to much. How wide do these machines typically run anyway? The last gate I had to push a wheelbarrow full of firewood through had a 48" opening. I would think even the larger lawn tractors would have no problem with that. I'm gonna search a bit and see what info I can come up with. I know gravely made a good machine when I was looking 12 years ago, and like a lot of whats made today, the older models were built much more rugged. Thats why I'm starting with a "good" older machine. No sense in starting out trying to fix an old piece of junk that was junk when it was new. If there are any other specific models or engines to look out for good or bad, I appreciate your input.

 

[BruceR]

Thanks Bruce, real nice Yanmar. I like the Yanmar, just that I'm not looking to spend much $. I would think a diesel SCUT like this even in rough condition would run a grand and Im looking to spend no more than $500, preferrably less. Do you have any pics of your Cub Cadets?

Here are a couple pics of my Cub Cadets. Even the 70 with 7hp is impressive with what it will do. What I like most about the CC's is the driveshaft rather than belt drive.

I see you are in NY. There is a fellow up that way named "Coop" I think who has some nice CC's for sale in your price range. You may have seen his "Cubzilla".

Here is a recent quote from another board on what he has:

"I'm selling a few of my Cubs, gotta make room for another project and build the slush fund. I have 5 Originals, a 106 with rear hitch, a 107, 126 w/rear hitch, (2) 127's, and a 782 roller with no engine. I've got more, gotta look around in the barn, see what else I want to get rid of. If you're interested in any of these, shoot me an e-mail, I'll get some pics and better info to you. I'm also open to trades for aircooled VW stuff..... "

Models ending in even numbers are manual trans, odd numbers are hydro. I have two manuals and one hydro. I would opt for the hydro, as you have infinate speed variations. For my tastes, unless you get a manual with the creeper option, they are just too fast.


Bruce

 

[drivadesl]

Bruce thanks for the pics, those are nice looking CC's you have and exactly like what I'm looking for. Do you find the hydro trans eats up to much Hp when pulling a load, to limit is effectiveness vs a manual trans? Is COOP a member here, I tried searching for him with no luck.

 

[kwolfe]

I wouldn't discount the older Craftsman and Sears GTs. Some of these had Briggs I/C engines in them. The same engines were also used in Deere, Simplicity, Allis, etc. Too bad you don't live closer to central PA. I have a Simplicity 6216 and a Deere 210 that I would like to sell cheap. The Simlplicity needs a new starter and the Deere needs a new solenoid.

 

[BruceR]

Bruce thanks for the pics, those are nice looking CC's you have and exactly like what I'm looking for. Do you find the hydro trans eats up to much Hp when pulling a load, to limit is effectiveness vs a manual trans? Is COOP a member here, I tried searching for him with no luck.

I don't guess Coop posts on here. I couldn't find him in a search either. I will PM you his email address.

They say that the hydro eats about 2HP, but I havn't found it a problem. Remember that the Kohler K-series are "old-school" horsepower. They have a lot of torque. From my personal use, I would say that my CC109 with a 10hp hydro would out pull my old Craftsman with a 15.5hp Kohler Command.

Bruce

 

[Egon]

I owned a 1975 Sears 16 hp. tractor with a four foot mower. It was a very well built tractor.

16 Onan twin electric start. Three speed two range transmission. Belt drive that was lovely. One could feather the clutch to change speeds at times when this was needed. Hand operate three point hitch. Would accept a trailer ball on the main frame. I kept chains on the rear tires year round.

It was a much better built tractor than what you see in the stores today. It seved me well mowing three acres over a period of 20 years. It was replaced by a Kubota B7100.

I beleive these tractors were made by Roper. Finding one and fixing it up would certainly be sound project.

Prior to this I had a Craftsman 8 HP with a B&S pull start engine. It was also a good machine but a little too small. Picture of it enclosed.

 

[Harry c]

I 've owned my Cub Cadet for almost 32 years and it was used when I got it. It's a 107 which means 10 hp and Hydrostatic. I had a 3 1/2 acre hilly lawn at the time and felt like it was taking too long to mow. I modified the frame slightly and dropped in a 16 hp K series Kohler and it's been running ever since. It was available as a 14 hp in the 147

Actually, the Hydro trans is amazingly strong. I have 12.00 x 24 x 12 Carlisle ag tires filled with water. I had a Brinley turning plow and I had to keep it down at a fast idle in rough ground because the tractor repeatedly destroyed the plow when it caught a stump or big rock.

The only problem with the tractor is the roll pin that goes through the wheel spindle where the steering attaches. That roll pin wallows out the hole in the spindle and the steering gets really sloppy. Probably not very hard to fix. I understand there's an oversize roll pin just for that.
At any rate, it will easily pull a 3,500 pound trailer up the hill, through the yard whatever... If it snows tomorrow the BX24 will stay in the garage while the Cub blades the road.

 

[billbill1]

My parents had a 1959 CC 70, that thing was bulletproof. My brother-in-law still owns it, we used it to push vehicles in and out of Dad's shop. It there was something it couldn't move, it would spin. A Kohler 7 hp engine that has been overhauled once and it is still in very good condition. It was used to mow the lawn since new and I can't tell you how many 1000's of hours it has on it now. A great little tractor!! I have a C175 Wheelhorse, it's a rugged beast as well.

 

[LBrown59]

I 've owned my Cub Cadet for almost 32 years and it was used when I got it. It's a 107 which means 10 hp and Hydrostatic. I had a 3 1/2 acre hilly lawn at the time and felt like it was taking too long to mow. I modified the frame slightly and .

The only problem with the tractor is the roll pin that goes through the wheel spindle where the steering attaches. That roll pin wallows out the hole in the spindle and the steering gets really sloppy. Probably not very hard to fix. I understand there's an oversize roll pin just for that.
At any rate, it will easily pull a 3,500 pound trailer up the hill, through the yard whatever... If it snows tomorrow the BX24 will stay in the garage while the Cub blades the road.

My BX23 stayed in the garage last month while I plowed 4''s of snow off the driveway with the BX1500 with a front blade.
== L B ==