Help me decide - Husvarna GT48DXLS or Simplicity Prestige

[JamesPA]

I am trying to pull the trigger on a garden tractor in the next few days and I'm torn between two similarly priced units.

1. Husqvarna GT48DXLS

Three year old tractor with kawasaki engine hydrostatic drive and fabricated 48in deck with lifetime warranty. Bought and maintained at Snow-white power equipment in Southington. Only used on my .50 acre yard. It has rear differential lock . Comes with new interstate battery. Runs and works great very strong. 212 hours, sold by original owner.
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2. Simplicity Prestige

SIMPLICITY PRESTIGE GARDEN TRACTOR,,
54"deck quick connect,with rollers for pattern n lawn
23hp v-twin kohler high output engine
automatic transmission with differental lock
cruise controll and tilt steering and dc12v outlet
power deck lift and power steering
24x12.00-12 rear tires and 270hrs
great shape always serviced
moving must sell

Oils and belts good.. ready to go.. could be cleaned...and seat seam glue is separating

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I am looking to plow/snowblow with the tractor, hence the need for the heavier duty transaxle on these with diff lock. The Husqvarna has the K66 and the Simplicity appears to have the K71. Is the K71 a big enough upgrade to make a difference or are they similar enough?

Engines
Husqvarna Kawasaki 24hp vs Simplicity Kohler Command 23hp. Both seem like good engines with almost identical power.

I asked the seller of the Prestige what year it is and he claimed it was a 2009 but when I look on tractor data it appears that the 23hp only went till 2006 (not that it matters too much). It also looks like the he spray painted the deck since you can see overspray on the wheels which I don't care too much about either unless it's hiding some rust that can't be seen in the photos.

My main concern is that I've read several posts about the power steering on the Prestige malfunctioning. Even though it should be a bonus to have this option, I'd rather not have it if it becomes a problem.

Husqvarna
Pros - at least 9-12 years newer, seems very clean and frequently serviced

Simplicity
Pros - K71 trans, power steering (maybe, maybe not), deck roller

 

[oldnslo]

On some models of Simplicity had plastic components in the steering that were prone to failing if you tried to steer to hard. Not sure if that model is one of them or not.

Do the frames and front axles appear to be of similar weight and construction. Plowing snow will stress these items more than mowing the lawn.

 

[metalbender]

Are either of these equipped with the needed plow or blower?

 

[tomplum]

IMO neither one is suitable to do too much with a blade. Good enough mowers though. If I were going to outfit a tractor to purchase with a snow thrower, it would be best to check price and availability for it first. The beauty of buying used equipment seems to be when the attachments you want come with it. Attachments take the biggest $$ hit second hand.

 

[plowhog]

IMO neither one is suitable to do too much with a blade. Good enough mowers though.

I agree. My GT48DXLS is a great mower. But I would never push or blow snow with it.

 

[dadohead]

First off... welcome to TBN! I'm new here too.

I used to engineer tractors in another life (before retirement). I think I can help. Know that the weakest link in most any consumer tractor is the transaxle. Component life comes down to how much torque is routinely placed on the rear axle: tractor weight and tire size. K66 vs K71 are similar... both have internal charge pumps, are rebuildable, and have 1" axles. Both are capable of handling snow work. The K71 is way beefier however and will do it with ease. It is rated for the 24" rear (many OEM's cheat and put way too big of tires on a decent transaxle killing it). My GX has a K71. In testing, we even plow (yeah, who does that???) with them for 30 hrs straight as part of the test cycle. They easily handle pushing snow and SB work as well... bullet proof. Just need to ballast up. The newer K72 is the same transaxle but with dis-similar pump/motor piston count to quiet hydro-whine. The weak link on these is the input sheave to shaft joint. The splines are greased at the factory but start 'fretting' at 200 hrs. The sheave often 'strips' (400-500 hrs?) if left un-serviced. The input shaft is hardened so survives unscathed. I pulled the fender on my tractor at 200 hrs, removed the sheave, cleaned off the red oxidation starting to form, re-greased, and re-assembled. Both the machines above are probably due for that service too. I would opt for all the transaxle you can buy.

All engine manufacturers make a decent engine and they can make throw-away... depends on the how they were spec'd by the OEM. Stamped vs fab'd deck? Marketing wonk. Both can be done well or not. Usually, welded decks are done by smaller companies that can't spend the $600K required to tool a deck shell. I suspect Husky opted to fab because their internal Marketing is telling them that customers 'prefer' welded decks... wonk. Simplicity made great cutting decks! Maybe the best in industry. They run on the ground though (not suspended from the tractor). If you mow a normal yard and like the striped look... hard to beat Simplicity. If you mulch or cut long grass (mow ditches) though... many operators hate the rear roller bar. It's noisy, it brings up the mulch clippings you're trying to hide, and can get all wound up with long grass.

Good point above about attachment cost and availability. Need a good dealer around you too! Hope this helps!

 

[TMGT]

First off... welcome to TBN! I'm new here too.

I used to engineer tractors in another life (before retirement). I think I can help. Know that the weakest link in most any consumer tractor is the transaxle. Component life comes down to how much torque is routinely placed on the rear axle: tractor weight and tire size. K66 vs K71 are similar... both have internal charge pumps, are rebuildable, and have 1" axles. Both are capable of handling snow work. The K71 is way beefier however and will do it with ease. It is rated for the 24" rear (many OEM's cheat and put way too big of tires on a decent transaxle killing it). My GX has a K71. In testing, we even plow (yeah, who does that???) with them for 30 hrs straight as part of the test cycle. They easily handle pushing snow and SB work as well... bullet proof. Just need to ballast up. The newer K72 is the same transaxle but with dis-similar pump/motor piston count to quiet hydro-whine. The weak link on these is the input sheave to shaft joint. The splines are greased at the factory but start 'fretting' at 200 hrs. The sheave often 'strips' (400-500 hrs?) if left un-serviced. The input shaft is hardened so survives unscathed. I pulled the fender on my tractor at 200 hrs, removed the sheave, cleaned off the red oxidation starting to form, re-greased, and re-assembled. Both the machines above are probably due for that service too. I would opt for all the transaxle you can buy.

All engine manufacturers make a decent engine and they can make throw-away... depends on the how they were spec'd by the OEM. Stamped vs fab'd deck? Marketing wonk. Both can be done well or not. Usually, welded decks are done by smaller companies that can't spend the $600K required to tool a deck shell. I suspect Husky opted to fab because their internal Marketing is telling them that customers 'prefer' welded decks... wonk. Simplicity made great cutting decks! Maybe the best in industry. They run on the ground though (not suspended from the tractor). If you mow a normal yard and like the striped look... hard to beat Simplicity. If you mulch or cut long grass (mow ditches) though... many operators hate the rear roller bar. It's noisy, it brings up the mulch clippings you're trying to hide, and can get all wound up with long grass.

Good point above about attachment cost and availability. Need a good dealer around you too! Hope this helps!

What company did you work for? Always interesting to hear from the people that build them.

 

[dadohead]

What company did you work for?

Hi... I retired from John Deere Horicon Works in '16.

Oh yeah, SB's really add to the steering effort... using power steering/lift with a SB or blade is HUGE. I know which one I'd pick ;<)

 

[tomplum]

If a complete thrower were available for the Simplicity, it would be the more solid of the two. With age comes part availability issues. A snow blade on a tractor this small requires either limited snow fall or a good layout to get the snow off the drive and not tear up the yard. IMO when looking at a fab'd deck, many times the assumption is made the rest of the tractor is as heavy duty. I did run into an ad the other day on EBay that made frame reinforcements for them though. We will see if the OP visits again.

 

[Cuttingrass]

I’d recommend you direct the question to the web forum below. They have a group dedicated to garden tractors

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www.mytractorforum.com