# Riding Lawn Mower Preference



## jcm71 (Mar 30, 2015)

My Murray 42" riding mower is about ready to go to the great beyond.  I've researched getting different brands to replace it, with the result I still don't know which brand to buy or avoid like the plague.   I've read good things and bad about just every brand.  All depends on whose doing the reviewing, I guess.  

Does anyone out there in Pen Land have any insight/good or bad experiences with a particular brand/model such as Toro, John Deere, Cub Cadet, Ariens, Craftsman, Snapper, Yard Machine, Husqvarna or other?

My lot is about 3/4 acre on a slight grade, and I want to keep cost below $2 grand.

Thanks for your input.

John


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## The Penguin (Mar 30, 2015)

is a zero-turn in the budget?

I think a Toro Z42 (or maybe they call it Time Cutter Z) would be in that range.

I would stay away from lower end machines: Yard Machine and Craftsman.

Look for a welded deck instead of a stamped deck. Look for a quality engine like Honda, or Kawasaki


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## tjseagrove (Mar 30, 2015)

If you went John Deere, get a commercial version.  There are metal and not the plastic you find at Home Depot, etc.


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## knowltoh (Mar 30, 2015)

I have a snapper rear engine rider 33".  It is tough as can be and the Bagging system make easy fall cleanup---works great.  Not fancy and no bells and whistles.  They are not cheap but worth it in my opinion.  I also use a snapper hand mower that i am not too impressed with.


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## low_48 (Mar 30, 2015)

I bought the Husqvarna, love it. 2 cylinder engine, ignition switch has a setting so you can mow backing up (crazy but some cheap machines don't let you do that), cruise control, nice seat. Only thing I don't like is the height adjustment range for the mower deck. I added a quick little fix to get a half way point between two of the settings. Get a hold of me if you buy it. I junked a Murray before this one as well. It's a nice step up.


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## stonepecker (Mar 30, 2015)

Personally.......I have run Snapper for 30 years.  They have a large selection and you should be able to find one that will work for you.   I have NEVER had a problem with them.
The more you spend......the more you can do with them. Even with your budget  .....you should  be able to find something that works for your yard.


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## mredburn (Mar 30, 2015)

Quite a few of the mowers are all built by one company now, you just get different paint colors and stickers. If you visit Lowes or Home depot you can see they are the same machine. I had a Husqvarna 54 in deck with B/S 26hp engine.  Not my best mower by a long shot.
The 26hp is prone to engine problems from too large a bore. I was not happy with it and got rid of it. I barely used it and I had to replace a head gasket and push rod, fuel pump, and rebuild the carb.  I thought that Husqvarna would have made a better product. I believe the smaller decks with the smaller engines do better.


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## Edgar (Mar 30, 2015)

I have two JD X-300 mowers and I highly recommend them. The price is about $3K, but well worth bumping up your budget for them. 

I use one at home where we mow about 3/4 acre on mostly flat terrain and one at our farm where we mow about 2 acres on rolling terrain. They work great.

If you look at JD equipment at all, stay away from the residential mowers sold at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. They are not built by Deere and are not worth the price - they charge a premium for the JD name for something not even made by JD.


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## plantman (Mar 30, 2015)

I also have 2 John Deeres. One is a 1987 318 with all attachments plus a custom loader I had made for it. I replaced one engine myself because I let it run low in oil and broke a rod. The other is a late model JD X465 with blower and 60" mower. I also had a custom adapter made for this tractor so some of the 318's equipment will mount to the bigger one as well. These are not riding mowers, they are garden tractors with a strong frame, heavy duty suspenshions, can take a trailor hitch, has power take off front and rear, and larger tires. I used the 318 when I built my present house to backfill, level, plant grass, sod the steep areas, haul timber, and landscape my yard. The 28 year old still has the original back tires on it because I always kept chains on them for traction and airation of the soil. With the larger tractor it takes me about 4 hours to cut the grass if I do the orchard also. My next door neighbor, on the other hand, has two Murrays ( they have to buy a new one every year) and it takes them about 3 days to cut their lawn, leaving it looking like a hay field when they are done. Last year they bought a Cub Cadet and now it only takes 2 of them 2 days to cut it with the same results. 3/4s of an acre is right on the edge of being to large for a riding mower and needing something larger. They are more expensive, but well worth it !! Look for a used one with low hours. My first one was bought from someone living out in the country and moving into the city because of a job transfer. The last one, the X465 tractor, mower deck, snowblower, lawn roller, and trailer (All brand new,never used) was purchased from a woman whose husband had bought it in November and died before the first snow fall. I gave her a thousand dollers more than she was asking. She just wanted it out of her sight. Only thing I would add next time, would be four wheel drive. That has been my light on riding mowers. They are good if you have a smaller level yard.   Jim  S


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## mredburn (Mar 30, 2015)

If you look up MTD products the WIKi has a list of the lawn mowers and other stuff they sell under different brands.


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## Edgar (Mar 30, 2015)

plantman said:


> I also have 2 John Deeres. One is a 1987 318 with all attachments plus a custom loader I had made for it. I replaced one engine myself because I let it run low in oil and broke a rod. The other is a late model JD X465 with blower and 60" mower. I also had a custom adapter made for this tractor so some of the 318's equipment will mount to the bigger one as well. These are not riding mowers, they are garden tractors with a strong frame, heavy duty suspenshions, can take a trailor hitch, has power take off front and rear, and larger tires. I used the 318 when I built my present house to backfill, level, plant grass, sod the steep areas, haul timber, and landscape my yard. The 28 year old still has the original back tires on it because I always kept chains on them for traction and airation of the soil. With the larger tractor it takes me about 4 hours to cut the grass if I do the orchard also. My next door neighbor, on the other hand, has two Murrays ( they have to buy a new one every year) and it takes them about 3 days to cut their lawn, leaving it looking like a hay field when they are done. Last year they bought a Cub Cadet and now it only takes 2 of them 2 days to cut it with the same results. 3/4s of an acre is right on the edge of being to large for a riding mower and needing something larger. They are more expensive, but well worth it !! Look for a used one with low hours. My first one was bought from someone living out in the country and moving into the city because of a job transfer. The last one, the X465 tractor, mower deck, snowblower, lawn roller, and trailer (All brand new,never used) was purchased from a woman whose husband had bought it in November and died before the first snow fall. I gave her a thousand dollers more than she was asking. She just wanted it out of her sight. Only thing I would add next time, would be four wheel drive. That has been my light on riding mowers. They are good if you have a smaller level yard.   Jim  S



Jim is absolutely right about that.

I should have mentioned that I first use a full-size JD tractor with a 6-foot shredder to mow about 10 acres at the farm, then use the X-300 for close-mowing in the main orchard area (about 2 acres). The X-300 is adequate for the way we use it on the farm, but it would be undersized if that were the only thing I had there.

The X-300 that I use at home on mostly flat terrain just for our yard area is just right though.


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## raar25 (Mar 30, 2015)

With 3/4 of an acre you can almost get away with a push lawn mower.  I would say buy the lowest cost 42" mower you can. I have a 25 year old craftsman that rattles and shakes and never fails to get the job done.  Spend $1000 on the lawn mower and put the other $1000 towards pen blanks .  Serouisly if the low cost mower lasts you 10 years before it needs any major work you are way ahead.  By the way if you had good sucess with your murray (ie low end mower) buy another one!


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## plantman (Mar 30, 2015)

plantman said:


> I also have 2 John Deeres. One is a 1987 318 with all attachments plus a custom loader I had made for it. I replaced one engine myself because I let it run low in oil and broke a rod. The other is a late model JD X465 with blower and 60" mower. I also had a custom adapter made for this tractor so some of the 318's equipment will mount to the bigger one as well. These are not riding mowers, they are garden tractors with a strong frame, heavy duty suspenshions, can take a trailor hitch, has power take off front and rear, and larger tires. I used the 318 when I built my present house to backfill, level, plant grass, sod the steep areas, haul timber, and landscape my yard. The 28 year old still has the original back tires on it because I always kept chains on them for traction and airation of the soil. With the larger tractor it takes me about 4 hours to cut the grass if I do the orchard also. My next door neighbor, on the other hand, has two Murrays ( they have to buy a new one every year) and it takes them about 3 days to cut their lawn, leaving it looking like a hay field when they are done. Last year they bought a Cub Cadet and now it only takes 2 of them 2 days to cut it with the same results. 3/4s of an acre is right on the edge of being to large for a riding mower and needing something larger. They are more expensive, but well worth it !! Look for a used one with low hours. My first one was bought from someone living out in the country and moving into the city because of a job transfer. The last one, the X465 tractor, mower deck, snowblower, lawn roller, and trailer (All brand new,never used) was purchased from a woman whose husband had bought it in November and died before the first snow fall. I gave her a thousand dollers more than she was asking. She just wanted it out of her sight. Only thing I would add next time, would be four wheel drive. That has been my light on riding mowers. They are good if you have a smaller level yard.   Jim  S



I should also have added that I am 310' off the road with a double wide drive  opening up to 55' wide the last 50 feet to the house. So, my needs are quite different from the average city dweller's, hence the larger equipment.  Jim  S


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## TellicoTurning (Mar 30, 2015)

BURLMAN said:


> My Murray 42" riding mower is about ready to go to the great beyond.  I've researched getting different brands to replace it, with the result I still don't know which brand to buy or avoid like the plague.   I've read good things and bad about just every brand.  All depends on whose doing the reviewing, I guess.
> 
> Does anyone out there in Pen Land have any insight/good or bad experiences with a particular brand/model such as Toro, John Deere, Cub Cadet, Ariens, Craftsman, Snapper, Yard Machine, Husqvarna or other?
> 
> ...



Hey John,
My lot is just about 1 acre, mowing about 3/4 of it... a goodly part of my yard goes up at a pretty steep grade not sure of the grade, but estimate at least 20 or 25% and a couple of places steeper than that... the back side of my lot is higher than the peak of my roof by at least 10-20 feet... 
I hate roller coasters cause mowing my lawn is like riding one.... 
I use a Troy-bilt w/36 inch deck... I think the model name is the Pony.

Mine is about a 2003 or 4 year model... it was a return to Lowe's in Athens when we bought it, so got it at half price, but it's been a work horse since 2005.  To date, (knocking on wood) I've had no engine trouble with it at all... I did slide into a ditch with it, jammed the front fender against an old juniper stump, busted a couple of the anchor holes on the engine cover and punctured the gas tank... my mechanic drilled a couple new holes and put in another gas tank from a junker he had... still running and pulling strong.

I thought I would show some of my yard that I mow... as I said it's about 3/4 of an acre and of the portion I don't mow, I'm about to start mowing another area that on a strong hill outside my shop that a good 40 or 50 feet by 40 or 50 feet as soon as I get all the little youpons cut off it.

These pictures are just of the back yard... my front yard is relatively flat.  With my little Pony, it generally takes me about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to cut... there is one section immediately behind the house about 10' wide by 50 ft long I have to do by hand with push mower as it steeper than I want to try to ride... if I fall of that area with the riding mower I'll land on the back porch.

In the first picture, I only mow up to the big rock... where I'm standing is not my property.  The second is from the pack porch looking up the hill... my lot runs to the tree line... third is from top near the treeline down to the house... last picture, I'm riding up near the top of the yard.

I do like my Troy-bilt.... my son brought his Toro up for me to use when he stopped doing his yard in Bastrop... it wouldn't pull up these hills.


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## jcm71 (Mar 30, 2015)

Thank you all for your input and advice.  A lot to still think about.  I did go by HD today to pick up some landscape timbers, and looked at the mowers.  Very disappointed to see the JDs and Cub Cadets with plastic hoods, as mentioned by Tom.  I won't go that route.  Even my 15 yr old Murray has a metal hood.  Thank you again, everyone.


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## wob50 (Mar 30, 2015)

we had a  Craftsman, John Deere, Yard Machine   all are gone the craftsman lasted the longest till it burn to the ground, I mean  BURN TO THE GROUND , no rubber left on it at all even the metal was melted on the ground ,just glad it was not close to the house.
we have a zero turn now, it works great, but high price tag. Edgar is right stay away from Lowes and the other store great a good zero turn should be able to get one under 1800 dang that is a good lathe. We had a  John Deere from them lasted one season before it went out.


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## Edgar (Mar 30, 2015)

I must say that even the Deere-built X-300 has a plastic hood. It does seem to me that it's a bit sturdier than the hoods on the D-series mowers. I'm not sure about the hoods on the higher end X-series mowers.

The chassis and mower deck of the X-series are much better built than the D-series mowers.


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## Lucky2 (Mar 31, 2015)

I don't understand what everyone's problem is, with owning a tractor with vinyl hoods. Have you checked out the full size models lately, most of them now have vinyl or plastic hoods and fenders?
Len


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## Wildman (Mar 31, 2015)

I bought this mower last year with rewards from credit card & military discount got it with bagger for $814.00. I am satisfied with it but reviews spot on when it comes to shifting gears and do wheelies. This model does cut in reverse which takes some getting used to but nothing major.   Other than that simple machine and meets my needs. 

Ariens A175G42 Briggs & Stratton 42 in. 17.5 HP 6-Speed Gear Front-Engine Riding Mower-960460067 - The Home Depot

Did not have model with Kohler motor at the store so don’t if there is a big difference other than price.

Would recommend this one over one I bought. Repairman recommended auto verus shift model, did not have any in stock.

Ariens A19A42 42 in. 19 HP Briggs & Stratton Automatic Gas Front-Engine Riding Mower-960460062 - The Home Depot

I wish still had my 23 year old Lowes 38” mower made by MTD.  Except for major repairs simple to maintain.  Lawn mower repair shop tired of seeing me twice in one year recommended buying a Husqvarna or Ariens built mower over other makes because less problems than those other brands sold in my area.  So when hit a root in the yard and bent blade shaft & both blades went to Sears. Was looking for a Craftsman made by Husqvarna or straight Husqvarna model.  Salesman did not have either model on hand and lied to me, would not give a military discount because Craftsman model made by Husqvarna on sale.  So went to Home Depot, which did not have any Automatic version in stock so bought the manual shift model. I am happy with my purchase. 

Bottom line check with local repair shops for most trouble free brand in your area.


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## NittanyLion (Mar 31, 2015)

I cut 5 acres, every week, pretty much spend my summer on a mower.  I'm now using a Cub Cadet 50" zero turn.  Before that I had a Wheel Horse(the real one before they were made by the same company that makes every other mower).  I'll never own anything other than a zero turn now.  Whatever you buy, maintenance is key.  A well maintained mower, built by MTD, or John Deere, will last a long time.


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## bobleibo (Mar 31, 2015)

Holy smokes You guys have big yards~ Around here we'd call that "the grounds". I guess using a teenager is out of the question? 
I need to move to the country!


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## Edgar (Mar 31, 2015)

bobleibo said:


> Holy smokes You guys have big yards~ Around here we'd call that "the grounds". I guess using a teenager is out of the question?
> I need to move to the country!




"Faaaaarm livin' is the life for me" 
Green Acres


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## jcm71 (Mar 31, 2015)

bobleibo said:


> Holy smokes You guys have big yards~ Around here we'd call that "the grounds". I guess using a teenager is out of the question?
> I need to move to the country!



Yes, but my shop is so small.


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## plantman (Mar 31, 2015)

BURLMAN said:


> bobleibo said:
> 
> 
> > Holy smokes You guys have big yards~ Around here we'd call that "the grounds". I guess using a teenager is out of the question?
> ...



Buying a new and larger mower is a great ploy to use to talk your wife into letting you build a bigger shop !! You don't want your new investment to get wet and rusty, plus think of all the extra space she will have in the garage.   Jim   S


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## plantman (Mar 31, 2015)

bobleibo said:


> Holy smokes You guys have big yards~ Around here we'd call that "the grounds". I guess using a teenager is out of the question?
> I need to move to the country!



This is a photo of me, ( I'm the one with the gray hair ) my grandson, the X465 JD and about half of my front yard. It doesn't show the steep slopes on the side yards or back drop off.    Jim  S


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## Mike211 (Apr 2, 2015)

I had a crapsman (42'') ran that puppy into the ground! it was about 15ish years before it gave out.  It ran fine, it was the deck that was rusting out.  (long story on that, I will save you the pain)  I bought a John Deere D-140 (46") LOVE the hydrostatic clutch!!!  Just to reinforce what NittanyLion mentioned, maintenance is key.  I baby this machine, the deck comes off several times a season and is cleaned and at the end of the season it is powerwashed so the acidic grass is not sitting on there all winter.  The start of the season it is painted with a fresh coat of John Deere yellow!!  I follow the there maintenance schedule to a T, and then some!! Happy cutting!


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