What happened to riding lawnmowers

KubotaSteve · May 7, 2004

My uncle bought one of those Snappers and my cousins abused that machine so bad and it still had the nicest cut and still ran. They used it to level dirt off when they had their septic tank put in. They worked on the engine and broke the muffler off. would put the little cart on the back and drift down a hill backward and pop the clutch to make it do wheelies. The abuse they put that little machine through was unbelievable but the little Snapper took it and was still running. To change the blade, they just flipped it up on the end and took off the one blade. It's a shame someone abused a machine like they did.

GerardC · May 7, 2004

Here is where to find MTD.. web page

slammer · Jun 22, 2004

We now have 3 categories of "Ride on units".

1. Tractor. Front engine. Larger cutting widths than RER's. Usually 38" to 50" in consumer models.

2. ZTR. Usually commercial but home owner models are appearing more and more. They are fast as hell but a poor choice for slopes or exceptionally rough yards. Cutting widths vary between 38" to 72".

3. Riding lawnmower. usually (but not always) rear engined. This is a broad class of mowers that includes examples such as the Snapper RER's and semi-exotics like the Husqvarna 155 and Simplicity Lancer. Cutting widths vary from 26" to 33" on the RER's and up to about 44" on the exotics.

The RER's typically have one large blade and have smaller cutting widths than the tractors and ZTR's.

For several good sites type in "lawn mower guide" at google.

Here are a couple of the "exotics".
Husqvarna 155 articulated. Almost a ZTR, it turns in 4".

Simplicity Lancer. It's rear steer gives it about a 12" turning radius.

Typical RER's

LBrown59 · Dec 14, 2004

I have a set of tires on the front wheels of my 1966 BOLENS model 850 that I took off of the rear wheels of a riding lawnmower.
The tread is sorta like a knobby tire but the knobs are square instead of round.

sneaky_pete · Dec 14, 2004

Had an old Snapper RER at my last house before moving out in the country. It made quick work of a 1/2-acre lot. It required minimal maintenance, what there was was easy to do, and it was nearly indestructible until one day when the exhaust valve stuck open and it caught fire and burned down. No telling how old it was or how many hours on it - it was ancient when I bought it for next to nothing.