Ride-on mowers. Best and worst features.

alchemysa · Feb 5, 2010

I might be buying another ride-on in the next 6 months so I thought I'd collect your ideas on what are the important (but sometimes less obvious) features to look for or avoid. This might help other buyers too.

On my Viking Ride-on...
Best features.
HYDROstatic transmission.
INTEGRATED REAR catcher (Its great when it works.) Its quite compact and you barely know its there.
SEPERATE levers for raising the deck and disconnecting the blade drive.

Worst features.
BELT snapping. I think I've finally fixed this by increasing the spring tension and raising engine revs. I've noticed some newer machine are promoting counter rotating blades (like mine) these days. Its something to possibly be wary of because its a much more complicated belt arrangement.
DECK raising lever was very hard to pull. I added some springs to make the deck easier to lift. I tend to adjust deck height quite a lot while mowing.
REAR catcher. (The machine has counter rotating blades that throw the grass though a central chute over the back axle. I like to catch the grass when possible but this chute is constantly prone to clogging if the grass is too long or damp).
SINGLE cylinder engine. I'd definitely get a 2 cyl next time.

Son-in-law's MTD
Worst feature. Has a single lever that both raises the deck and disconnects the belt drive at the same time. This is a terrible arrangement in my opinion.

This thread isn't meant promote or cane any particular brand of mower. I'm just interested in the features you have found particularly good or bad that would be considered when choosing your next mower.

beenthere · Feb 5, 2010

Hydrastatic drive, PTO deck drive, All-wheel Steer, cruise control, PTO electric clutch, water-cooled 24 hp, hydraulic deck lift, easy removal (and on) deck, good seat, lights, are a few of the "must have" features.

bontai_Joe · Feb 8, 2010

My list may be different from someone else's list because of what and where I use the machine.
GOOD things:
1. A comfy seat that does not hurt my back, or transmit every bump into my spine.
2. Easy to get on and off of without snagging or hitting a lae on some fender mounted lever or other doo dad.
3. Tight turning radius
4. Headlights bright enough to actually use at night.
5. All fluid levels should be easy to check and refill if needed

BAD things:
1. Seat that hurts my back and/or is rigidly bolted in place to shake my teeth loose over bumps.
2. Design the tractor so I whack my ankle EVERY time I get on or off.
3. Make the mower deck a 1 hour job to remove, and a 1 1/2 hour job to reinstall.
4. no lights
5. Any tractor that has no brakes if the drive belt snaps.

sawdust_maker · Feb 10, 2010

alchemysa said:
This thread isn't meant promote or cane any particular brand of mower. I'm just interested in the features you have found particularly good or bad that would be considered when choosing your next mower.

I've had a few tractors now. Surely your needs will guide what is important for you. Since I need to use a bucket and a blade at times, needing to swap at often random times of the year, a quick attach and disconnect are of crucial importance for me. You don't want to be fussing and cursing underneath a tractor in 10 degree (or 95 degrees and humid) weather for an hour or so to swap implements. A friend of mine loved the snowblower attachment he had for his tractor, except for the half day in the fall and spring he had to spend every year to put it on and take it off.

As far as attachments go, I could not survive here without a bucket, a snow blade, and a mower deck. There are a few times I've wished for other items, like a box blade, a grapple for the bucket, maybe a hitch receiver to move the boat trailer around, forks or a boom to pick something up with, a snow blower, a small back hoe, or a winch. But the big three are the bucket, blade, and mower deck. The rest are for me just something I'd need to find a place to store.

Next item of importance for me is 4WD. We have hills here. With my past tractors, in order to mow one of those hills in a certain spot, you just pointed the tractor downhill, and hung on for dear life. I'd tear up the grass in spots because the tractor would bump up in the air. The wheels would lose traction, then suddenly regain it. That was the only way to mow this hill, at least with that tractor. With 4WD, I go downhill smoothly. In fact, I can stop midway down the hill and then back up the hill smoothly. No more fear.

4WD is also valuable if you plow snow. On my past tractors, I needed chains to plow. Chains will probably double the depth of snow that you can push around. With 4WD, I don't bother with chains, even with turf tires. This saves me some time every year putting the blasted chains on and off. As well, I don't worry about tearing up the lawn if I need to drive over it in the spring or fall when it is soft.

If you do plow snow, then tractor mass can be important. The blasted snow pushes back after all. I also find rear suitcase weights to be useful to counterbalance the bucket out front. They are especially useful on hills. A problem with a moderately high tractor mass is a tendency to compact the soil more. So you might consider a plug aerator. I have one that I use every fall.

A small uncut radius (zero is always nice) is very nice if you spend much time mowing. For me, time spent mowing is just extra seat time, so it is not bad. Since my typical mow time is only about 45 minutes, this is not a factor.

A bagger for my mower deck. This one I do miss every fall. In the past, I would mow and bag up the leaves, then compost them in a huge pile. Without a bagger, I mow over them repeatedly until they are small enough to break down directly into the lawn. But I did love building that big compost pile.

A minor thing for me is a hydrostatic transmission. To be honest, while I do love it, and I'd probably miss it like crazy if I had to go back to a clutch, a geared transmission has its own virtues too. I might be biased here, as I'm one of those who prefers a manual transmission in my car.

John