How Bad Can a free lawn tractor be?

dholly · May 4, 2007

mjarrels said:
I use to mow 1.5 acreas with a 36" deck... took 5 beers. Now mow with a 60" deck and it takes only 2 beers. Cut mowing time from 5 to 2 beers.

Well, that's it then. Get the smaller deck and buy more beer with the savings!

bigtiller · May 4, 2007

If you want the cub then go get it, but give the man a fair price for it! A hundred bucks or a bottle of wine will lower his opinion of you if he finds you are not planning on keeping it.

sandman2234 · May 4, 2007

Considering I mowed 1.5 acres with a 28" Snapper, I think you will do fine for a while. If you keep your ear to the ground, maybe you can find a used Swisher mower or build one similar, to increase your coverage and lower your beer bill.
I agree with the last poster about you getting it and selling it. A lot of people would have a problem with that, including me, if I gave you a mower because you didn't have one, and you turned right around and sold it/made money off it. If you buy it outright, that is another thing, but if it is a gift, I would at least give it a try for a while.
David from jax

Bob_Young · May 4, 2007

Bigtiller and sandman are right. If you plan to flip it, pay a decent price for it. I had that happen with a boat that I sold very cheaply to a friend who had been borrowing it. When he sold it for 3 times what he paid, it left a bitter taste.

Running it until it breaks and then trading it wouldn't be so bad.
Bob

gemini5362 · May 5, 2007

Im waiting for someone to tell me about mowing their 5 acre lawn with a reel pushmower and how many cases of beer that takes.

john_bud · May 5, 2007

gemini5362 said:
Im waiting for someone to tell me about mowing their 5 acre lawn with a reel pushmower and how many cases of beer that takes.

Well, lets see..... 5 acres is 217,800 square feet. A 18" wide reel mower would run linearly 145200 feet. There are 5280 feet per mile, so that means you are walking 27.5 miles. A in-shape person could push a reel thru medium thick and tall grass at about 3 mph, so that would take 9 hours and 10 minutes. A reasonable estimate would be 1 beer every 20 minutes of cutting or 28 beers.

However after the first few beers, you may just decide that you need one every 15 min, then every ten, then pretty soon you are just sitting under a shade tree sleeping off a Saturday afternoon drunk. Hmmm, gotta get me a reel mower.....

jb

mjarrels · May 5, 2007

Have to add a little extra time... 28 beers will require a few pee breaks!

mark

Pale Rider · May 5, 2007

Guys, with all due respect, I was the one who received a call saying there was a tractor to be had for free or close to it. I didn't go looking for it and I'm not trying to trick the guy into thinking his mower is worth less than what it really is. And, he is savvy enough to figure out how to sell this thing and get top dollar for it if he wanted. He's just too lazy to deal with it and would rather give it away so he doesn't have to deal with it. If I stand to gain from that, then so be it. Let's assume it's worth $1,000. If I wanted to spend that kind of money it would be towards a bigger ZTR or something similar. Now, with that said, I am vert grateful to get a free tractor and I do intend to give it a try before making any decisions to part with it. Also, I never even met this guy so I don't think he cares one way or another what I do with the Cub.

BillyP · May 5, 2007

I'd say if stranger offered to give you a lawn tractor for free, take it, do what you want and he has no reason to care.

Looks like some people have more money than they care to worry about

RoyJackson · May 5, 2007

Pale Rider said:
Guys, with all due respect, I was the one who received a call saying there was a tractor to be had for free or close to it. I didn't go looking for it and I'm not trying to trick the guy into thinking his mower is worth less than what it really is. And, he is savvy enough to figure out how to sell this thing and get top dollar for it if he wanted. He's just too lazy to deal with it and would rather give it away so he doesn't have to deal with it. If I stand to gain from that, then so be it. Let's assume it's worth $1,000. If I wanted to spend that kind of money it would be towards a bigger ZTR or something similar. Now, with that said, I am vert grateful to get a free tractor and I do intend to give it a try before making any decisions to part with it. Also, I never even met this guy so I don't think he cares one way or another what I do with the Cub.

That's the correct attitude, Pale Rider. Sometimes we do overanalyze here on TBN. I'm sure you've noticed we can really talk up a subject...any subject.
Stick with us! If you do sell that lawn tractor, we'll help you spend the money!
Have you picked the tractor up yet?