Sick of cheap box store riding mowers. 1500-3k budget used zero turns?

[pmsmechanic]

I'm not sorry I spent $6000 on a mower. It sits all winter. I get onto it, start it, grease it and go mowing. I don't have to take it to a shop for anything in spring. I just get on it a go mowing.

There's a reason that the only motor I own with a carburetor is the 1947 IHC KB-1 that I learned to drive in as a kid. If that truck didn't have sentimental value it would be gone beause carburators and gas engines are a pain.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Ive had an old craftsman that I have cleared a lot of land with over the last twenty years. Ive saved enough money on oil changes to pay for it, because I have never changed it. I mow about seven acres or so. But not all of it every time. Then, when grass is gone, drop the deck. I put a gun holder on the deck height adjustment lever and I have a four wheeler. I also have a 5x10 trailer I pull to cut wood. I made a hitch for it that is the same height as my truck, makes it easier to pull regular trailers. I have a little trailer I use when i change an engine in my shop. I can put the replacement on the trailer. After i pull the bad engine, i back this engine uo to A frame and hang both on hoist. Then after I swap all the doo dads over, I put old engine on trailer and install good one. I work alone, so I have to be resourceful.

 

[fried1765]

I'm not sorry I spent $6000 on a mower. It sits all winter. I get onto it, start it, grease it and go mowing. I don't have to take it to a shop for anything in spring. I just get on it a go mowing.

There's a reason that the only motor I own with a carburetor is the 1947 IHC KB-1 that I learned to drive in as a kid. If that truck didn't have sentimental value it would be gone beause carburators and gas engines are a pain.

Same is true for my 1951 8N Ford, which I don't even use!

 

[Username Taken]

I felt that way myself believe me it's not easy to spend this kind of money for a mower. My Craftsman t3000 is made by Husqvarna it's literally the worst piece of junk and it's constantly breaking. The first year and every subsequent year it has to go back to the local small engine repair shop constantly. My time is simply too valuable to be working on this stuff myself I'm too busy to dedicate hours on my weekends repairing CVT linkages or trying to fix the drive system on these cheap mowers

Husqvarna made that craftsman to craftsman specs, not to Husky specs. And neither one made the engine, I suspect it was a Briggs.

The engine on my John Deere rider is a Briggs.

Most brands of riding mowers are made by MTD with John Deere and Husky being rare exceptions. Look it up. Zero Turns are more diverse but many of the household names, including Cub Cadet, have been bought up by MTD and others. Gravely is now Ariens, I think.

Any more, if Deere puts their name on it, they make it themselves.

Husqvarna? I don't know. I've heard good and I've heard bad. Mine has a Kawasaki engine. I've heard some not-real-flattering thinsg said about Kohler; and Briggs..... Well, they're Briggs. Not bad, not great. But they do have high and low end machines. I had a Briggs on a Craftsman rider that lasted me 15 years and is still running strong at my Buddy's 5 years after I gave it to him.

And cutting the grass in Florida is 12 Months out of the year. In rainy season, the grass can grow like you wouldn't believe. Sometimes you gotta set the deck on its highest level to get through it. Or near it.

 

[crazyal]

I use to feel the same way. I had a flat small lawn and one of those $1000 MTD specials (Wheel Horse). When I moved and tried mowing a larger lawn with hills I found out why they called it a "Super Bronco". When the cra**y brakes don't work because grease leaks out of the gear box, Yee Haw, hang on because it'll be a wild ride. I thought that the Kohler Courage engine should be good but nope. I got one of the better ones. A coworker had his block split. You can see a video of someone else who had the same problem running on YouTube. The drive system was great and junk. The variable speed is a reeves belt system and was better than any HST I've used. But it was mated to a gear box for forward and reverse that would never fully shift into gear and on occasion would pop out.

A ZT would work on my hills so I found a less than a year old JD X500. Sorry to all you doubters but it's like someone saying "All you need is a Yugo. You can feel the difference. I can't say I was a fan of green paint but the few odd things that came up (the steering wheel cracked and some idiot put a strap across the seat to hold it down on a trailer and ripped it before I bought it) the local dealer fixed without a fuss under warranty. I'll keep it for a few more years and then replace it (most likely with another Deere).

The problem with zero turns is that the nice ones are normally bought by lawn care guys. They use them hard. When they sell them they look like they've had a hard life. Those who buy the nice ones for their house usually keep them a very long time. So the used market is slim pickings. The good news is if you do sell it down the road it'll get snapped up quickly and fetch good money.

 

[p0opstlnksal0t]

I ended up getting a good deal on a Scag liberty z 61" with Kohler 7000 26hp engine and the zt-3100 hydros

 

[paulfun9]

Paul,

I should have done it this way /sarcasm/. ;-)

I'm actually pretty good with tools and don't break them or what I'm working on. I've successfully fixed mechanical watches, pocket watches, quartz watches, 400 day clocks, computers, TVs, radios, HiFi equipment, wired entire buildings, fixed uncounted modern and antique motorcycles and cars, a few airplanes (including a brake job on a real, actual four engine DC-7, no less than 168 brake pucks), computers, hotrods, drag bikes, classic cars, exotic cars, built a working EFI system from parts, firearms, cell phones, well pumps, air conditioners, appliances, lawn mowers, the Kubota, and that cursed Husqvarna. Sometimes I scare myself with all the stuff I've fixed. 99% of the time, what I fix stays fixed and works properly happily ever after.

My "workshop" is 4,500 sf, concrete floor, lights, power, cube fridge and a 10 by 40 bifold door (it is an aircraft hangar, I tell my wife it is the world's second largest shoe closet, and she's happy).

Tools - everything imaginable. And more. Often in duplicate or even triplicate. And I really do know how to use them properly, I used to teach in a vocational school. Dedicated tool chests for each function, one for electronics tools, one for aircraft sheet metal tools, one for air tools, etc. I also discovered I have gas welding equipment, a MIG welder and two arc welders. (My name is Mike and I have REALLY, REALLY GOT to stop acquiring tools!)


The problem with the Husqvarna is that it refuses to STAY fixed. It is like trying to patch a spider web. All the old stuff breaks again and again, and then new stuff also breaks. I guess it was built on a Friday afternoon before a major holiday or on a Tuesday after that major holiday, and the hangovers weren't gone yet. Either that, or it is possessed by evil spirits or demons and I shall get to choose between having it exorcised or driving a stake through its heart. I think it knows I am seriously beginning to hate it and come high noon at the OK Corral, *I* am going to be the winner, not it.

Speaking of abusing tools, one of the other instructors once caught a student using a micrometer as a 10mm open end wrench. The instructor was 6'4" and admitted to 350 pounds (think big, badass biker, beard, tattoos and all). He grabbed the 90 pound student's wrist, splayed the kid's fingers out on the table and with an evil grin told the kid to "pick a finger".

Not having much choice, he did. Evil Instructor said "I caught you using a micrometer for an open end wrench. Pick the finger you want me to cut off. You'll never get to do it again."

The kid fainted . . .

After he came to, he ran to the director of education and complained. The D of E called in the instructor, closed the door and told him it was probably the funniest thing he had ever heard but please don't do it again because we don't want to get sued.

Best,

Mike/Florida

I should have never said a word.

Today while the nephew was running it she sputtered and shut down.
Fortunately it wasn’t a big deal it seems the carb finally got some crap in it and flooded it while he was cutting in a pretty bouncy area. About an hour to clean everything up and get it fired up again for him.

 

[Tinhack]

I ended up getting a good deal on a Scag liberty z 61" with Kohler 7000 26hp engine and the zt-3100 hydros

It doesn't count unless you add pictures.

Also, you should probably see a doctor about your user name.

 

[deezler]

I would heartily endorse a used John Deere, but only if its one of their top tier garden tractors. I found a mid-2000s GX335 for $1800 that I jumped on earlier this spring. With ~1250 hours, it's a little well used, but fires right up and mows strong all day. Rear diff lock, hydraulic deck lift and power steering are super nice. Big rear tires smooth the ride and the K71 trans is butter smooth back and forth, and scoots up to 7 mph.

I found out that I have too many narrow trails and sneaky stumps though, I blew the bagger impeller off the side of the 54C mower deck real quick, doh.

 

[Unclewillie]

Google says;
Where are John Deere tractors manufactured at?
Where are John Deere tractors built? John Deere has kept its roots in the United States. The world headquarters is in Moline, Illinois, USA. The company continues to make tractors of various different types at factories in four US states: Georgia, Tennessee, Iowa and Wisconsin. Jun 24, 2020

Garden tractors are made in Horicon, WI, but the cheapy box store types moved to Greenville TB, maybe 30+years ago leaving the bigger GT up to 26 HP diesels in Horicon. No idea where Z turns are made.

Want to know where that JD is made ? Look on the tags / stamps on your tractors. Google may get an embarrassing expression of it were human.