Best/worst lawn tractor brands?

Unless something has changed last I heard Husqvarna builds the tractors for Sears or has Sears started using a different vendor for this? My nephew just bought a Husqvarna from Lowes. He bought the big one with a 54" deck. It just barely fits through his shed door. Seems like a nice machine. He had a Cub Cadet LT 1054 that he has had since after Katrina. He got it for free. They were throwing it away since it got flooded. He mowed with it for 4 years until the engine cratered while he was mowing recently. He bought the new one at Lowes since they were having a special with 10% off.

Bolens 1000 said:

what ever you do dont buy a ********

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Lame pointless response.

IMO all the brands you mentioned are of similar quality. Husquavarna does make Craftsman. You have to spend a lot more money to get a tractor to last the 28 years like the Cub did. Ingersol still makes a GT that can last 30 years but it costs 4 times the box store tractors.

davidg said:

keep in mind that nothing in this price range can reasonably be expected to last 28 years like your previous machine! you would be lucky to get half that, more than likely less than 1/3.

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Please, do you really believe this?:ROF

I just sold an 18 year old entry level sears mower with 15hp kohler, hydrostatic drive and 42" deck. I was the second owner and it cut over an acre of grass for all that time. Trust me, the newer Craftsmans are no better built. If you maintain a tractor and store it inside when it is not in use, there is no reason it can't last for a very long time. I just bought a Husqvarna garden tractor and if I don't make 10 years or get bored of it, I will be extremely surprised.

Tell me what wears out in 8-9 years?



Chris

Swammi7774 - How you maintain it is as important as what you buy. Even the lower end equipment will give good service if maintained reasonably well. 28 years I don't know about that but even though the newer equipment may not be as well built for the lower price points it can still give good service. If all the naysayers had been right my MTD should have already blown an engine, burned out the tranny, broken the frame in half, given me halitosis and the heartbreak of psoriasis. Instead it has served me well for 5 years now. It has kept my 2 acres mowed, pulled heavily loaded carts, skidded logs and done a lot of work with the Johnny bucket. I haven't babied it but I do keep it maintained. All it has ever needed was 1 new set of belts, oil and filters. Yes you will get what you pay for - but that doesn't necessarily mean you won't get your money's worth if you maintain your equipment. I have to believe you know what you're doing there as even one of the older well built pieces of equipment wouldn't have lasted 28 years if not taken care of. The fun is in the hunt. Don't rule out any brand on anyone else's opinion. Look around, sit on as many as you can, see what's YOU like and don't like. If older used equipment is an option for you that may broaden your options for better built equipment that is in your price range. Most of all have fun looking and when you buy don't forget :wwp: :wwp: :wwp:



Lil Red is still gettin it done!!!

Boy, I don't HAVE anything newer than lower 80s.
I have 2 low enders, a Craftsman II (that I just adapted a deck to- the new arrival) runs and cuts great, it is a 6 speed manual. And a Lawn Chief (can't get any lower than that) which I adapted a deck to a few years ago.
These are both manual trannys, I don't know how long the hydros last on the light weight cutters so I can't comment on them. But I used one for a while with a foot petal control and loved it.
Change the oil, lube the joints that move, clean out the crud from under the deck at the end of season.
If it were me and I was getting a new cutter, I would bedliner the inside of the deck after making sure the thing runs right. At a minimum- lightly sand (scuff up) the deck undrneath and lay a couple of coats of brush on rustoleum.
Deck go bad long before the rest of the machine.
You know, you might want to fix that old Cub for snow duty, that is what I do- dedicated machines.

Bolens 1000 said:

what ever you do dont buy a ********

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Pretty weak post, I sure hope all your posts aren't so weak.


FYI, AYP builds the Husqvarna and Craftsman tractors. The Sears GTS 5000 comes with a serviceable Hydro-Gear G730 transaxle and nicknamed the "Excellerator" because it carries the highest forward ground speed on the market right now. Mated with a 54" deck it will cut my 2.75 acres in about an hour and leave a nice finish. I may have many complaints about my "********" but these are complaints from a guy who had to sell his "real" tractor and come down to reality (that is until he buys another "real" tractor)

All the consumer level machines are going to be roughly the same quality as far as the sheet metal goes, the price differences are in the Engine and the Transaxle... And you want the best of both, so they will last.

This should sum up what I posted earlier about not buying a ********.
This was written by another member a while back.

When I was a kid of 12 years old in 1971 I remember my dad and I shopping for our first Bolens, a 1054. As I stood next to it the machine looked HUGE. He sat me on it and asked "what do you think?" I could hardly reach the clutch pedal, but I was hooked. He bought it with a mower deck and snowcaster. It was great and I still have it to this day.

Later when we got more property he felt that one tractor was not enough to mow the 6 acres of grass as it was taking a long time with the 1054. So we went out and bought a G14 with a deck and a set of 9' wide reel (gang) mowers for it. While it was nice and had more HP then the 1054, I still like the 1054 best. The Tecumseh engine and the hood bulge on the G14 just didn't do it for me. I ended up selling that one last winter.

Six years ago I picked up a 1256 with the Hydro trans. It helped cut the time for snowblowing my driveway in half as I did not have to constantly stop to switch gears as the snow got lighter (needed 2nd or 3rd gear) or heavy (needed low range, 2nd). But I find tilling is better with the 1054 and the geared trans.

A few years back my neighbor was teasing me that my 1054 was only 10 HP and he head a new craftsman 18HP tractor. I called it his riding grass cutter as those little things have the stamped frame, a battery the size of a small motorcycle and a transmission that you can hold in the palm of your hand. He didn't like me talking down about his tractor, and I didn't like him calling the Bolens "old".

One day we were both out cutting the grass. His riding grass cutter was a full throttle and struggling through the wet grass. He came over and watched me with the 1054 with my mower deck on it, and pulling a 3 reel set of Pennsylvania gang mowers (9 feet wide) and going up a hill in 2nd gear. His 18hp tractor was useless in the wet grass, but the 10hp Bolens was doing just fine.

He finally had to ask why it was so powerful. I just replied "It's a Bolens". What more was there to say?

Later that summer his Craftsman riding grass cutter trans went out and I fixed it (the trans was a die cast housing and the trans output shaft was on a small bushing). Weeks later the battery mount broke, then the mower deck welds cracked, then the lift arm, then the starter.


He finally asked me what I had replaced on the 1054 over the years and I replied "Oil changes, a spark plug, the belts and a battery or two. But nothing mechanical". He was not happy with his purchase. I stumbled on a ST160 a few years back and he bought it and has been very happy with it. I'm not a fan of that series as I like the tube and large frame tractors. If you can mount a front end loader to it, it's a tractor in my opinion.

But the older Bolens and their proud heritage is diminished by the new Bolens tractors sold at places like Lowes. Just as a joke I asked the sales guy at Lowes if:
1. "can mount a front end loader on on the 15.5HP model they had on the floor? he chuckled and said "No".
2. can I put a rear tiller on it? "no".
3. how about a larger mower deck "no"
4. does it have a real frame? "no"
5. does it have a cast iron transmission case?, "no"
he was getting frustrated so finally I asked him an easy one
6. does it come with a cup holder "yes.

There is something to be said for machines that run for over 30 years with virtually no mechanical failures. They were built to work, and to last. Maybe some of the others from the era were too. But I believe that Bolens had a good reputation back then as a work tractor, not a riding grass cutter.
I hope this wasn't another weak post for you guys

Okay, we get that you are a Bolens Fan Boy.... But there is LOTS wrong with the post you referenced. Garden tractors today are quite different than all old GT's were.. Even the old Sears Suburbans were more beefy than today's models. But that does not mean a well maintained piece of equipment won't last and do it's job.

I can pick on anything if you want... I can pick on all of your bolens equipment.. Does it have a cast iron diesel engine with a cast iron mid section and a cast iron rear end? Oh it only has the rear end, that's right your bolens has a frame... Real tractors don't even have a frame, the engine, the mid section and transmission are the frame of the machine. My FEL ears went right into solid cast iron.. My FEL also weighed more than your whole bolens...

Does that mean your tractor is somehow inferior? No... It was just made to do light duty work.... Everything in perspective... The Sears GT's (not the lawn mowers) will pull a rake, pull a tiller, pull a plow, pull a ripper, throw snow, plow snow, yes you can mount a bucket on them (JBJr and the like) and they will move small amounts of ground. But at the end of the day, they are small toys, all of them and are meant to do smaller jobs or if you do a bigger job, it takes ten times longer than it would with a big tractor.

Riding mowers are what they are.. Their lot in life, is to mow up to an acre of relatively flat ground, that is all they were ever designed to do, and if used for that task, they will do it for a decade or more.

What did a top of the line Bolens cost new? We can do some "In todays money" calculations and I bet, they were not cheap when new, so if you want to compare dollar for dollar, I'm sure I can find something to compare it to....

But the older Bolens and their proud heritage is diminished by the new Bolens tractors sold at places like Lowes. Just as a joke I asked the sales guy at Lowes if:
1. "can mount a front end loader on on the 15.5HP model they had on the floor? he chuckled and said "No".
2. can I put a rear tiller on it? "no".
3. how about a larger mower deck "no"
4. does it have a real frame? "no"
5. does it have a cast iron transmission case?, "no"
he was getting frustrated so finally I asked him an easy one
6. does it come with a cup holder "yes.

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I've got a question you can add to this list -

7. Is this a garden tractor? "No" So why would you mount a loader or a tiller if it isn't designed for ground engaging implements?

The fact of the matter is you can still buy a great garden tractor designed to handle heavy duty use..... BUT you're going to pay dearly for it. The average buyer is just looking to cut the grass. As a result every manufacturer has models that cater to this market segment. I looked at the larger GT's and for the price once you added the 3 point, PTO etc. which all added on to the base price it became obvious to me that it didn't make sense economically. Their simply wasn't enough price difference between the high end GT's and a cut. And when it was all said and done the high end GT's still ended up saddled with a limited cat 1 - 3 point hitch. The bottom line is there are a range of models to fit different needs. Sure they aren't the great GT's of yesteryear but that's because most consumers aren't willing to pay the cost of producing one of those. A lot of people think MTD's are crap too but mine's held up under some very tough usage. Survived being flooded by a hurricane and bulldozed debris with the Johnny bucket after the storm. I can't vouch for any other MTD models I haven't owned. I can't even tell you if mine is a fluke and all the other 808H series were trash. I can tell you this particular one has never failed me in whatever I've tried to do with it.

Blanket statements about anything are rarely true. Every manufacturer has made some dogs.... and not all of those are of recent vintage. Add to this the differing needs of the end users (One man's trash is another man's treasure) and it's usually a good idea not to bash a brand as a whole.

swami7774 said:

Okay, I'll cross that line off my list.
Speaking of Bolen, also saw a 13AM762F765 for $950. It's not a hydro, but boasts something called "shift on the go". What is that? A fancy way of saying "manual"?

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i believe the "shift on the go" is similiar to what's on my honda - basically when you move the shift lever, it auto-mechanically dis-engages the clutch, then when you've selected your next gear, it releases the clutch - mine has a dampner (like a small shock absorber basically) that controls how fast the clutch re-engages - wish my last car had had something like that for my wife's sake.

personally i like the hydrostatic transmissions, but the issues i see that are difficult to diagnose and expensive to repair, keeps me happy with my 20 yr old honda lawn tractor

and what others have said about maintenance - i agree with wholeheartedly. At the end of the season i even pull all the belts off mine, saturate in armourall (same stuff they sell for use on car vinyl & dashboards), as well as saturate the tires - i've even used it to freshen up tires that are "dry rotted" - i've replaced one deck belt, the mule drive belt in the 20 years and suspect at of this season i'll be replacing it again and maybe the blade belt but other than that and the oil/filter changes, haven't had any failures.

I do think some of the low end lines are not meant to be repaired, so i'd be watchful for those

and like someone else said, the fun is in the hunt

and i really like that idea of using bed liner for undercoating the mower deck - I've been using epoxy (i do a lot of fiberglass work and epoxy works similiar to the bed liner material - serves to seal the surface and act as a renewable sacrificial layer or surface for flying debri chipping at the deck's underside

tvern i completely agree with your post while i will say im not a fan of most the newer ones I do own a 98 craftsman with a 18hp I/c briggs and 42in deck and other than the shifter rusting in place because it had gotten left outside all winter without a cover ive had no probs with it what so ever it always fires right up and runs great it is used to mow about 2 acres not much is flat its basically a incline with a steeper hill at the top . its got a 6 speed not the hydro and has pulled enough weight to pop 1 of the tires on the little yard trailer and only things that have been done are tune ups and oil changes plus replacing the shifter i would be very surprised if it didnt last atleast another 10 years if not longer but it all depends on maintenence and what its used for . if you are trying to do the work of a cut with a $1000.00 riding mower it wont last but if you have a cut and use it just for mowing it could very well outlast you while i agree the average life span is about 10-12 years its an average well maintained properly used ones are gonna go longer poorly maintained ones trying to do things they werent designed for wont last long in some cases only a season or 2 before they fall apart . and there does seem to be some quality control issues with almost every manufacturer which could shorten its life just because one neighbor has a 30 some y/o jd without a single prob doesnt mean that the guy who walked in and bought the same model right after he left will not have probs with his even if its maintained perfectly . These are infact mechanical in nature and mechanical things do wear out in time and break some sooner than others of the same brand and model even but it doesnt mean that they are all that way its just a machine it happens weather its a bad engine that sliped through or a bad weld on the frame even a loose bolt can cause alot of damage ive seen the cheapest craftsman riders last 20 years and seen a jd x700 only last 2 years before it fell apart both well maintained . every model from every brand always has a few turds that slip out the gates

Swami. - I think what Bolens1000 is trying to communicate is that he ONLY recommends an old Bolens and nothing new. Many feel old used tractors are the way to go. Of course you have to be very careful not to purchase someone elses problems. I suspect if you were going old you would look for another Older Cub as your other appears to have served you very well.

Personally, I like my Husky. Last model year with the heavier frame. With JBjr, weights, and chains. I've moved close ot 80 tons of driveway stone, and fill, dragged logs, moved large amounts of split wood, pull a wood splitter, back fill and grated a beach, and this year I now have a snow plow. (I've never mowed with it.) In the price range, I think there is little difference between any of the brands, with the exception that you will pay more for a JD and I will still argue that you are just paying for a name.

Just take care of it. Besides oil, filters, belts, and lube, you have to wash and wax.

On a more preference note - I like the color of the Husky, Kubuta, simplicity, craftsman. I think JD green is hideous. Don't care for the bolens color either.
Dark colors too. Why anyone would want to ride a dark tractor in the sun is beyond me.