Im a little more concerned about parts for my 2 cycle LB's being discontinued than production of new 4 cycle LBs.
Its gonna happen one of these days.
Its gonna happen one of these days.
Lawn-Boy R.I.P.
I have not been on MTF for quite a while, so forgive me if this has been already discussed to death.
Was at my Lawn-Boy/Toro dealer 2 weeks ago and heard the sad news that Toro anounced that they were pulling the plug on Lawn-Boy at last fall's distributor meeting. There supposedly is a new cheap model at home centers, but the Distributor network and the premium Aluminum deck models including Commercial Lawn-Boy's are done. Toro distributor network will still service Lawn-Boy's & the new home center models, but they will no longer sell new Lawn-Boy's.
He even showed me the new Toro that uses the Lawn-Boy Platinum Aluminum Deck. Toro took the molds for the deck and filled in the LAWN-BOY logo on front so they could put a TORO sticker in it's place.
I've never had any interest in these new design Lawn-Boy's until the top of the line Self Propelled Commercial model came out in 2007. As good as it is (was), it still was a 4-square 4-cycle mower that would never be better (in my mind) than any of my staggered wheel 2-cycles I've already got in my garage that will probably last me until I'm dead.
Still very sad news that struck me hard !!
Doug
Was at my Lawn-Boy/Toro dealer 2 weeks ago and heard the sad news that Toro anounced that they were pulling the plug on Lawn-Boy at last fall's distributor meeting. There supposedly is a new cheap model at home centers, but the Distributor network and the premium Aluminum deck models including Commercial Lawn-Boy's are done. Toro distributor network will still service Lawn-Boy's & the new home center models, but they will no longer sell new Lawn-Boy's.
He even showed me the new Toro that uses the Lawn-Boy Platinum Aluminum Deck. Toro took the molds for the deck and filled in the LAWN-BOY logo on front so they could put a TORO sticker in it's place.
I've never had any interest in these new design Lawn-Boy's until the top of the line Self Propelled Commercial model came out in 2007. As good as it is (was), it still was a 4-square 4-cycle mower that would never be better (in my mind) than any of my staggered wheel 2-cycles I've already got in my garage that will probably last me until I'm dead.
Still very sad news that struck me hard !!
Doug
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ARGGHH.I fiured this would happen one day. Wish someone would buy them out...........
I've heard nothing pre-duraforce will be produced after this year...Im a little more concerned about parts for my 2 cycle LB's being discontinued than production of new 4 cycle LBs.
Its gonna happen one of these days.
That is the 1st thing I wondered about when he told me this news ... will Toro accellerate obsoleting L-B parts faster than before, keep making stuff based on popularity / profitability, or what ??I've heard nothing pre-duraforce will be produced after this year...
Stens & others have some parts, maybe (hopefully) they'll take on some obsoleted parts when this happens if there is still reasonable demand for them.
So has there been discussion(s) here on MTF reguarding this subject in the last 6~8 months ??
Doug
So has there been discussion(s) here on MTF reguarding this subject in the last 6~8 months ??
Doug
Welcome back Doug.
As for discussions, I'm gone a lot more that ever but I occasionally hear snippets on this board. This has been something that has been coming for quite some time. I'm not surprised one bit.
Neal
As far as I'm concerned, they aren't killing off Lawn Boy... they are putting it out of it's misery.
They should have ended LB after 2004, rather than disgrace it with the Lawn Girl joke. The 22270 was too little too late. As nice as it was, there were way too many competitive 4 cycle mowers out there well established.
I support Toro and I think that they should keep the Lawn-Boy name and at least make some staggered deck Lawn-Boy's!:thThumbsUARGGHH.I fiured this would happen one day. Wish someone would buy them out...........
Stens and Cutter's Choice are who I look forward to still having parts. Stens mostly has F engine parts, while Cutter's Choice has C, D, and F parts. For example rebuild kits for C's, D's, and F's..... Now what about M parts? They are already hard to find as-is.That is the 1st thing I wondered about when he told me this news ... will Toro accellerate obsoleting L-B parts faster than before, keep making stuff based on popularity / profitability, or what ??
Stens & others have some parts, maybe (hopefully) they'll take on some obsoleted parts when this happens if there is still reasonable demand for them.
So has there been discussion(s) here on MTF reguarding this subject in the last 6~8 months ??
Doug
They have already ruined the name. The latest junk coming from them doesn't even deserve to have the CRAFTSMAN name on it...I support Toro and I think that they should keep the Lawn-Boy name and at least make some staggered deck Lawn-Boy's!:thThumbsU
Talked with my local LB/TORO dealer. They said they knew it was coming. They have a lot of OLD and NOS parts......and oil. OLD oil cans and other obsolete parts. As for the new stuff, they were saying they know the Toro is just Red Lawnboys.....and any other major models except for Toro's Commerical push will be steel deck......... Crap. Not bad, but just not LB with the stagger and good 2 stroke whirl.
Oh well. Im keeping what I have and trying to get more, lol.
Oh well. Im keeping what I have and trying to get more, lol.
Every piece of outdoor power equipment seems to be getting cheaper nowadays. The old adage "they don't build them like they used to" rings very true.
What garden tractor can you still buy with shaft drive, and a seperate front, center, and rear PTO? I don't know of many, if any, but my dad's '84 Ariens GT17 had 'em and is such a brutus that even 25 years later, it's still performing flawlessly with all but the most minor of maintenance. Now, it seems as if horsepower ratings are all it takes to sell a lawn tractor (I call them lawn tractors because they're really not heavy duty enough to tackle very much more). Look at your big names like John Deere, Husqvarna, etc. Chintzy tinny belt-driven MTD-esque toys with giant engines on them. Does someone really need a 25 HP tractor with only a 42" deck? Dad's old KT17 opposed twin Kohler would out-torque any of these new V-twin wannabes any day of the week.
Sorry to take the thread off-topic somewhat, but it just seems like the manufacturers motto nowadays must be "make it as cheap as you can without customer complaints", rather than "make a high-quality machine that will keep the customer happy for many years".
Striving to maintain brand loyalty seems to have taken a backseat to striving for maximum profit. I'm waiting for the Chinese-made Honda lookalike engines to start showing up on the big box store brand mowers, or even worse yet, the "name brand" machines.
I'm just very happy to have enough older Lawn-Boys to never have to concern myself with what new pile of garbage I'm going to buy. I refuse to buy any new mower...Not one of them is worthy of my money. I'll spend the same amount if not more to get a used Lawn-Boy (OMC era, or maybe a late-model F engine) than I would to buy any new 4-stroke mower on the market today.
What garden tractor can you still buy with shaft drive, and a seperate front, center, and rear PTO? I don't know of many, if any, but my dad's '84 Ariens GT17 had 'em and is such a brutus that even 25 years later, it's still performing flawlessly with all but the most minor of maintenance. Now, it seems as if horsepower ratings are all it takes to sell a lawn tractor (I call them lawn tractors because they're really not heavy duty enough to tackle very much more). Look at your big names like John Deere, Husqvarna, etc. Chintzy tinny belt-driven MTD-esque toys with giant engines on them. Does someone really need a 25 HP tractor with only a 42" deck? Dad's old KT17 opposed twin Kohler would out-torque any of these new V-twin wannabes any day of the week.
Sorry to take the thread off-topic somewhat, but it just seems like the manufacturers motto nowadays must be "make it as cheap as you can without customer complaints", rather than "make a high-quality machine that will keep the customer happy for many years".
Striving to maintain brand loyalty seems to have taken a backseat to striving for maximum profit. I'm waiting for the Chinese-made Honda lookalike engines to start showing up on the big box store brand mowers, or even worse yet, the "name brand" machines.
I'm just very happy to have enough older Lawn-Boys to never have to concern myself with what new pile of garbage I'm going to buy. I refuse to buy any new mower...Not one of them is worthy of my money. I'll spend the same amount if not more to get a used Lawn-Boy (OMC era, or maybe a late-model F engine) than I would to buy any new 4-stroke mower on the market today.
Every piece of outdoor power equipment seems to be getting cheaper nowadays. The old adage "they don't build them like they used to" rings very true.
What garden tractor can you still buy with shaft drive, and a seperate front, center, and rear PTO? I don't know of many, if any, but my dad's '84 Ariens GT17 had 'em and is such a brutus that even 25 years later, it's still performing flawlessly with all but the most minor of maintenance. Now, it seems as if horsepower ratings are all it takes to sell a lawn tractor (I call them lawn tractors because they're really not heavy duty enough to tackle very much more). Look at your big names like John Deere, Husqvarna, etc. Chintzy tinny belt-driven MTD-esque toys with giant engines on them. Does someone really need a 25 HP tractor with only a 42" deck? Dad's old KT17 opposed twin Kohler would out-torque any of these new V-twin wannabes any day of the week.
Sorry to take the thread off-topic somewhat, but it just seems like the manufacturers motto nowadays must be "make it as cheap as you can without customer complaints", rather than "make a high-quality machine that will keep the customer happy for many years".
Striving to maintain brand loyalty seems to have taken a backseat to striving for maximum profit. I'm waiting for the Chinese-made Honda lookalike engines to start showing up on the big box store brand mowers, or even worse yet, the "name brand" machines.
I'm just very happy to have enough older Lawn-Boys to never have to concern myself with what new pile of garbage I'm going to buy. I refuse to buy any new mower...Not one of them is worthy of my money. I'll spend the same amount if not more to get a used Lawn-Boy (OMC era, or maybe a late-model F engine) than I would to buy any new 4-stroke mower on the market today.
I am to the same point. My late 80's Lawnboy and John Deere 165 are better than most of whats out there today. I can easily tell the difference between the Craftsman and the John Deere.
I might sound stupid, but reading this thread, I just found out! This is shocking news to me since I dont pay attention to the "new lawnmower" market. But they're getting rid of the lawn-girl (in a sad way though). All those lawn-girls were were just " Overpriced Green Toros"
But my local dealership is a toro/lawnboy dealer and I should ask to buy the lawnboy sign off of them. Just to have some memrobielia. Plus I better stock up on parts before there all gone!
But my local dealership is a toro/lawnboy dealer and I should ask to buy the lawnboy sign off of them. Just to have some memrobielia. Plus I better stock up on parts before there all gone!
B4 you buy a sign and extra parts you need to get a recoil for that 22261. :fing32:I might sound stupid, but reading this thread, I just found out! This is shocking news to me since I dont pay attention to the "new lawnmower" market. But they're getting rid of the lawn-girl (in a sad way though). All those lawn-girls were were just " Overpriced Green Toros"
But my local dealership is a toro/lawnboy dealer and I should ask to buy the lawnboy sign off of them. Just to have some memrobielia. Plus I better stock up on parts before there all gone!
:ditto:B4 you buy a sign and extra parts you need to get a recoil for that 22261. :fing32:
Yes, 4 more lawn cuts !!!! :bannana:B4 you buy a sign and extra parts you need to get a recoil for that 22261. :fing32:
1 - 18 of 18 Posts
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