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I chose the GT2550 because I liked the heavy duty features and was sold on shaft drive after using a Cub rental while my Craftsman (48”, 20 hp Kohler) was having the transaxle repaired (yup, I overworked it). With much less HP, it blew away the tractors that I had used in the past. I also thought that the price was good in comparison with comparable equipment – I paid $3499. I purchased the snow blower, chains, suitcase weights and bracket for about 15% off list and picked up a bagger this spring for $100 off list (it had been returned to the dealer unused but out of box).
The tractor was set up, but the snow blower was not – it took a fair amount of adjustment and one major modification before use. The lift handle sat so low it was unusable and I had to bend it up 16” (and add a brace – details & photo in the Accessories Forum). However, after that it worked great – The 2500 series is an excellent snow blowing platform with great traction much less front end slide, even without front axle weight. The blower throws amazingly far and handles even semi-wet snow well. I went the entire winter without the chute plugging once. I like the suitcase weight mounting bracket also.
General performance has been very good. It starts right away with minimal choke – not a lot of choke is needed before warm up in winter and none after start up now. The Kohler runs great and 22 HP is all you will ever need in this tractor. Even at 841 lbs, it feels pretty spunky, probably thanks to the shaft drive. It shuts off from any RPM without dieseling. Fuel economy is about average, but the tank size is a little small and the center fill is a bad idea – filling with a bagger on is a mess.
I am also pleased with the spring & summer performance. It just walks away with a trailer load of soil, but I had expected that. The best surprise was what a good mowing unit it is. My property is on a hill and has multiple sharp rises, but the 2550 handles it well, with less wheel spin and better stability - the weight must be concentrated fairly low. It is also as maneuverable, if not more so, as the smaller and lighter Craftsman I just sold.
It mows about as well as my previous 48” Craftsman (itself a very good cutter), and the 50” deck follows my not very even terrain pretty well. I think that the 50” is about right for me – the 54” is a ground contact deck and would probably not work as well. The deck attachment system is great (but did not adjust right till I amended the supplied instructions) – quick on & off and no pins, clips or tools required. The deck wash system has not worked well for me, and one nozzle shoots right out of the discharge chute.
I like the Cub bagger system. I did a deep de-thatch & mowing (the lawn looked like a farm field) and the Cub just sucked it all up without leaving anything on the lawn. It plugs fairly easily on high moisture grass, but no worse that my other baggers. The bags are easy to use and do not get hung up like the hard catchers do. The catcher top can be raised without tilting the seat and the chute hold downs are easy to use – the swing out lower chute is much easier to use than the Craftsman system. The bag support structure is heavy, but it slides into the frame channels pretty easily. Not so good is the thinness of the lower chute – very minor contact pushes it in and you have to stamp it back to original shape. Also, it is hard to believe that no handle is installed on the upper chute.
Other negatives include a seat that needs more rake (I am going to shim it), slow reversing as delivered (an adjustment will correct), always on headlamps (switch already added), and assembly quality that is good but definitely not up to JD standards (more like the Electrolux assembled machines). The big question mark is long term longevity, as the 2500 series has had a number of problem areas (hood breakage, faulty hood latches, engine heat, etc.) as detailed in the Cub Forum. As most of these owners had earlier machines and mine is 2008 production, these issues may be corrected by now. I hope.
In general I am very pleased with my purchase to this point. It does everything that I want it to do very well and it feels good doing it. It definitely has a premium, heavy duty feel to it, which is what I was looking for.
The tractor was set up, but the snow blower was not – it took a fair amount of adjustment and one major modification before use. The lift handle sat so low it was unusable and I had to bend it up 16” (and add a brace – details & photo in the Accessories Forum). However, after that it worked great – The 2500 series is an excellent snow blowing platform with great traction much less front end slide, even without front axle weight. The blower throws amazingly far and handles even semi-wet snow well. I went the entire winter without the chute plugging once. I like the suitcase weight mounting bracket also.
General performance has been very good. It starts right away with minimal choke – not a lot of choke is needed before warm up in winter and none after start up now. The Kohler runs great and 22 HP is all you will ever need in this tractor. Even at 841 lbs, it feels pretty spunky, probably thanks to the shaft drive. It shuts off from any RPM without dieseling. Fuel economy is about average, but the tank size is a little small and the center fill is a bad idea – filling with a bagger on is a mess.
I am also pleased with the spring & summer performance. It just walks away with a trailer load of soil, but I had expected that. The best surprise was what a good mowing unit it is. My property is on a hill and has multiple sharp rises, but the 2550 handles it well, with less wheel spin and better stability - the weight must be concentrated fairly low. It is also as maneuverable, if not more so, as the smaller and lighter Craftsman I just sold.
It mows about as well as my previous 48” Craftsman (itself a very good cutter), and the 50” deck follows my not very even terrain pretty well. I think that the 50” is about right for me – the 54” is a ground contact deck and would probably not work as well. The deck attachment system is great (but did not adjust right till I amended the supplied instructions) – quick on & off and no pins, clips or tools required. The deck wash system has not worked well for me, and one nozzle shoots right out of the discharge chute.
I like the Cub bagger system. I did a deep de-thatch & mowing (the lawn looked like a farm field) and the Cub just sucked it all up without leaving anything on the lawn. It plugs fairly easily on high moisture grass, but no worse that my other baggers. The bags are easy to use and do not get hung up like the hard catchers do. The catcher top can be raised without tilting the seat and the chute hold downs are easy to use – the swing out lower chute is much easier to use than the Craftsman system. The bag support structure is heavy, but it slides into the frame channels pretty easily. Not so good is the thinness of the lower chute – very minor contact pushes it in and you have to stamp it back to original shape. Also, it is hard to believe that no handle is installed on the upper chute.
Other negatives include a seat that needs more rake (I am going to shim it), slow reversing as delivered (an adjustment will correct), always on headlamps (switch already added), and assembly quality that is good but definitely not up to JD standards (more like the Electrolux assembled machines). The big question mark is long term longevity, as the 2500 series has had a number of problem areas (hood breakage, faulty hood latches, engine heat, etc.) as detailed in the Cub Forum. As most of these owners had earlier machines and mine is 2008 production, these issues may be corrected by now. I hope.
In general I am very pleased with my purchase to this point. It does everything that I want it to do very well and it feels good doing it. It definitely has a premium, heavy duty feel to it, which is what I was looking for.
