Husqvarna 322T AWD

[Dan Bollinger]

I plan on using a utility trailer too, but then even loaded with soil it doesn't come close to the 300 pound roller. And if it does, I can always haul less and take more trips. I don't see a problem with the trailer.

Yes, I'll be pushing the roller. It should be pretty easy to weld a frame to slide into the attachment fitting on the mower. A c-shaped frame will grab the roller axle. A large pivot will connect the two so the roller can flex over uneven ground.

PS: FWIW: I just used my utility trailer to haul three loads of firewood up some steep hills. I experienced no detrimental steering problems.

 

[Dan Bollinger]

I've mowed twice with the new mower and have about six hours on the machine so far with mowing, rolling, and chores. The unit has no problem going up and down the 26° slope. It was secure and manageable. I have a few off-camber curves on my property and the mower lifted the outer front wheel, had to brace with my foot and back down. Nice thing about not having a center-mount deck is that you can safely put your foot down. I'll change my mowing route for that curve in the future. I'm very pleased with the mower. My only complaint is the harsh steering. It wants to bump steer. When you hit an sinkhole the rear axle rotates, yanking on the steering wheel. I find myself hold the wheel tighter all of the time to prevent this. After an hour of mowing I have a pain between my shoulder blades. I think adjusting the seat and steering wheel height will help. And, I wish Husq. had installed a worm/worm gear steering box to tame it.

 

[DHD]

Dan - Good to see you got a chance to put your Rider through it's paces.
Wow! 26 degree slope, not many mowers could tackle that.
Do you think you'll need to increase your traction, with chains or more aggressive tire ?

I know what you mean about fighting with the steering on rough ground,
I adjusted my steering wheel up and like it much better.
I wish the seat would go back further though.

After mowing with my R322T, I did a little mowing with one of my Wheel Horse mowers.
The maneuverability of the WH now seems too limited. I guess the Rider has spoiled me.
There are some really rough and rocky areas that because of the low Ground clearance of the Rider, I'll only venture with the high ground clearance WH.
I did get the protection plate kit for the Rider, but it does not protect those low hanging oil supply hoses for the front transmission, (about 2.5" ground clearance.)

Thank you for sharing your Rider experience.

 

[Dan Bollinger]

Thankfully, the 26° slope isn't very long, and only for about 3 or 4 swaths. At this time I don't see any reason for larger, knobbier, or RimGuarded tires. However, that might change this winter when I begin snowblowing. I have a long, paved drive with max slope of 10°.

I'm in Industrial Designer, and I just can't leave "well enough" alone! I've been adjusting my 322T:

1. The ergonomics in the seat is wrong, it leans forward too much. The fix is simple. I removed the flat steel seat pan (parts manual p. 46, part #1), clamped the rear mounting portion in a vise, and angled it down about 1/8" but pulling on the pan. I did this on both sides. When I bolted the seat back on I added a 1/4" stack of washers under the front seat mounting. This gave me about 3/8" tilt back over about 10". I feels very good now. I also lowered the steering wheel down 1/4". Together, the ride is much more comfortable. I suppose you could move the seat back by elongating the four mounting holes in the seat pan. That should give you another 1/4" or so.

2. The mower deck was VERY loud as delivered. I didn't measure it, but I'm guessing over 95dB. It was loud even with hearing protection. When I was cleaning the deck I noticed that the blades would line up in a row. Vortexes off of blade tips create noise, and colliding vortexes create even more noise. The passing blades created a situation very much like an old-fashioned mechanical siren. So, I moved the center blade 90° out of phase and the noise level dropped considerably. It won't stay in sync for long, but that's easy to adjust whenever needed while cleaning the deck.

3. The mowing height on my machine was exactly 3" at setting 10 measured from the front lip of the deck. I'm sure I'll never use anything less than a 7, but would like the option of something greater than 3" at times. So, I adjusted the base setting. Now #10 is 3½", #9 is 3¼", and #8 is 3". This was mentioned in another thread. But I'll repeat. See page 36 of the 322T parts manual. What I did was loosen the nut (11) a lot, and tighten the stop-nut (10) about 3/16". This is best done with the mower deck raised. Move the deck height adjustment lever (4) to gain better access to the nuts. Check your progress as you go by lowering the deck. If the deck height lever resists when you move it into position 10 you've gone too far. Loosen the stop-nut a little.

4. I checked the air pressure and all of the tires were 20psi. The manual says 9-12psi. I dropped them down to 12psi, but the mower would buck on hard surfaces and the mower deck casters would occasionally strike. So, I increased the front tires to 15psi and all is well.

 

[DHD]

Dan - Very keen observations and design tweaks.
I appreciate you sharing these modification suggestions with the rest of us R322T owners so that we can
can improve our riding comfort and machine's efficiency.
Thank you

Have you gotten your snow thrower yet ?
Which one did you get ?

I ordered my 2 stage snow thrower back in Feb. along with my R322T.
Order numbers got switched around and a single stage snow thrower arrived instead.
( Kova Made in Finland 967 27 67-01)
Snow thrower - Rider accessories

(I thought there was only one blower for the R322T):confused3The 2 stage Agri-Fab 966 41 60-01)

I returned the single stage, thinking the 2 stage was just out of stock, but now I wonder if the two stage will be offered again.
I can't find the two stage on Husqvarna's web site any longer.

 

[Dan Bollinger]

I haven't gotten my snowblower yet. I'll hold off for a bit. I can't imagine that a single-stage blower would be effective when 42" wide.

I went to your link above. It seems that Husqvarna switched from an Agri-Fab unit to Kova. They showed an Agri-Fab unit three weeks ago. The Kova seems better integrated with the 322T. Any idea what its price is? Agri-Fab is not very far from me home. I'm guessing that you can still find some of them at discount outlets. About two weeks ago I found one at Lowes online for around $1200. Search Lowes.com for part number 337388.

Regardless, I'm going to add a urethane scraper blade and remove the shoes on the side of the snow blower. I want the unit to scrape the drive clean so the sun can quickly melt off the remainder.

 

[DHD]

The Kova single stage I received had a working width of 39.4 inches.
My dealer told me the price was about $1500 but was going to let me have it for the same lower price,
as the Agri-Fab I had originally ordered at $1399.95

I noticed when I lifted the the blower, via the lift handle on the R322T, there was a noticeable weight shift, off the back tires to the front tires, much more than lifting the mower deck.
Even though it's an AWD, I wonder if this weight shift could cause traction issues.
Especially if you were relying on the traction of tire chains, which are only permitted on the back tires.

I've check with some of the discount outlets and all so far, are out of stock on the Agri-Fab snow thrower for the R322T,
they claim they will be restocked in August or September, after Agri-Fab has geared up to manufacture more blowers.

The Husqvarna web site leads me to believe that Husqvarna may not restock the Agri-Fab blower for the R322T.
So, will Agri-Fab bother building any R322T blowers for the discount outlets, if Husqvarna doesn't order any themselves ?

I went to the Lowes web site and saw the Agri-Fab Blower 337388.
The front shot of the blower looks right.
I'm not sure it will fit the R322T, because I can not see the attachment style on the back of the blower.
Do you know if that 337388 has the correct attachment style for the R322T ?

 

[Dan Bollinger]

The Lowes website says it is for the R322T. I've contacted Agri-Fab and asked them about the model number and availability. I'll post what I find out. According to the Husqvarna and Lowes Owners Manuals, the model number is LST42C.

Something to keep in mind is that when you lower the blower most of the weight is shifted to the pavement and traction will return to the rear wheels.

 

[DHD]

Something to keep in mind is that when you lower the blower most of the weight is shifted to the pavement and traction will return to the rear wheels.

Thank you for your feed back, I should of explained in more detail my concern for the weight shift.

I have a gravel driveway, so I rely on a snow pack layer to cover the gravel so that through out the winter I avoid picking up rocks with the snow blower.
The result of this snow pack can cause traction issues, this snow pack often becomes ice, in time.

When using my rear wheel drive Wheel Horse with the single stage blower, the only time I encountered traction issues was when I lifted the blower and tried to back up an incline.
That weight transfer from rear wheels (with tire chains) to front wheels often left me motionless and spinning.
Because I had my seat safety switch disconnected, I could get off the seat,
activated the hydrostatic drive control and push on the Wheel Horse unit at the same time to free myself from these traction-less situation.
Normal, forward snow blowing, was rarely an issue for lack of traction.

Having had this experience with my Wheel Horse, I would rather work with the Agri-Fab two stage blow
because it is supported by the transport wheels and this weight shift from rear tires to front tires would not occur
as it does on the Kova single stage blower.

The AWD R322T I'm sure would do much better than a Rear wheel drive Wheel Horse in this situation.
I thought it important to highlight one of the differences between the Agri-Fab 2 stage and Kova single stage blowers.

 

[Dan Bollinger]

Good news! I spoke with Agri-Fab customer service this morning and they confirmed the 2-stage snowblower for the R322T is still in production. This is a relief to me. I know I'll need a 2-stage unit to move the heavy snow we get in Indiana. She said that the blower itself is stock, and that it comes with a Husqvarna mounting kit.

The new model number is LST42D. They can be purchased through Husqvarna dealers as well as Dixie Sales and Lowes. Agri-Fab began retail sales just 5 weeks ago. This means we can buy direct from them, too. Cost is $1368.37, including shipping. Call 800-448-9282 to order.

DHD, I now understand your weight shift issue with the WH. I suspect that backing up a slope with the R322T and snowblower won't be a problem. At least I hope not, I have the same situation at the bottom of my drive where it connects with the county road. If the rear wheels lose traction power should shift to the front wheels. I'm wondering if I couldn't test it? I think I'll lift the rear wheels off the ground using my chain hoist and see what happens when I try moving the mower.