[eljay]

I searched for this, found an old thread in "Shadetree Mechanic", but it was old. I want to know about user's choices in TODAY'S MARKET.

I'm in the market for a 35-42 inch rider, about to finally give up on the one I have, bought in 1998 from Ace Hardware. It was actually manufactured by MTD, and I will NEVER, EVER buy a product built by them. It took all of my somewhat rusty mechanical engineering skills to keep it going this long, but I've had enough. So far I've learned that Troy Built, Cub Cadet, and several other companies have been bought out by MDT. Of what I've looked at, I've only come up with two brands that I know for certain were NOT built by MTD, that being Snapper (pretty expensive), and Husqvarna that are for sure not built by MTD. Not even sure about the low-end products from Deere.

All experiences, opinions, or other knowledge will be Greatly appreciated!

David

[Seamaster]

Still using my walk behind self-propelled John Deere, good for the exercise I guess. Share your opinion on the riding mowers, quality out the window and the focus is on purchase price points.

Neighbor has a Husquvarna riding lawn mower that he abuses and it still performs well, leaning that way myself someday. Honda? I'll have to check their websites.

PS - checked Honda website and did not locate riding lawn mowers. Will follow this thread and am curious what you find.

[budroe]

Eljay, how 'bout Toro riding mowers??

Kubota makes an excellent riding mower - they're not giving them away though!!

[KathleenElsie]

We have an MTD and it has taken lots of abuse. You are correct in that we have had to do lots of maintenance on it. Not the best cut and not real noisy.
We also have an OLD OLD craftsman. Just got it a new battery. Runs hard and does a good job in rough areas. Cuts well, but sure is noisy.

[eljay]

Eljay, how 'bout Toro riding mowers??

Kubota makes an excellent riding mower - they're not giving them away though!!

To all of you who have replied, thanks! And keep 'em coming.

Budroe, I had a Toro that I'd bought probably 20 years ago, that kept going strong until two years ago. Used it for mowing in small areas, and as a 'tug' for pulling the garden cart around. Had a dealer in Cleburne that I'd been buying parts and supplies since I moved down here. When this one died (busted connecting rod) I went to him, he said that Toro had tanked, he would no longer handle them. So, being from Missouri, I went to a dealer in Granbury, looked at and drove one for myself. He was right. I never figured out what happened to them, but IMO they tanked.

Ya know, if you want to buy from an independent dealer and not a big box store, they're getting hard to find. When I replaced the Toro, I went to Stevenville specifically to buy the small Snapper which we now own. However, they're nearly as proud of them as Kabota, whose tractor I own.

First of the week, I'm going to call the guy in Cleburne, see what he's selling now.

Local Ace hardware has a Weed Eater riding mower. Anybody know anything about them?

Thanks again, y'all...

David

[eljay]

Well, since I last wrote, I've lost track of the man hours I've poured into this old MTD mower I own. And now, down only twenty buck for a new belt, I STILL cannot keep it working right.

So, tomorrow morning I'm going to price a couple of parts for it (if they're still available), that I'm not even sure will help it. ARGHHH.

And I still haven't found what I would replace it with, but one thing I know for sure...whatever it is, it WILL NOT be manufactured by MTD. :down::down::down:

Still looking for input on this. :)

David

[Dr Dave]

Well, this is interesting. I drove down to my parent's house in Cleburne, TX today to fix both of their broken MTD riding mowers. Looks like the main one has a flat and the battery needs charging and I don't know what else. I don't have whatever special tool you need to remove the stupid wheel, so in the morning I'm going to load it in their van and take it to the repair shop two doors down from their house. It never survives the winter; I'd be better off using a blade on a stick.

[eljay]

Well, this is interesting. I drove down to my parent's house in Cleburne, TX today to fix both of their broken MTD riding mowers. Looks like the main one has a flat and the battery needs charging and I don't know what else. I don't have whatever special tool you need to remove the stupid wheel, so in the morning I'm going to load it in their van and take it to the repair shop two doors down from their house. It never survives the winter; I'd be better off using a blade on a stick.

Actually, mine was sold by Ace Hardware. But, since I wrote my most recent post, I've been searching for what all MTD manufactures. And it's scary to me. I learned that even the lower priced Husqvarnas are made by them. And, the lower priced John Deeres.

Anybody that builds a big riding mower with a blade belt that does not have an idler pulley as a tension-er has gotta be bad. :down::down:

Apparently, the only way to get something NOT made by them is to spend a whole lot of money.

Poor example of the way "consumer products" are going, in this country.

David

[Boz61]

I searched for this, found an old thread in "Shadetree Mechanic", but it was old. I want to know about user's choices in TODAY'S MARKET.
David

I purchased my Husqvarna GT200 from Ace in 1996, what a Piece of Do-Do. It must be one of the MTD machines. I'll never buy another Husky product.

I replaced in in 2007 with the Cub Cadet 1500 series at the Home Depot. So far so good. Actually, I should have spent the money and bought a 2500 series.

Mother Earth News has a few ads in their magazine with a few brands that look pretty good.

[bill55]

I have put 500 hrs on my 50 inch Cub Cadet in 3 1/2 yrs. I mow a lot amd I mow hard the only thing I have replaced is a set of blades and a belt. I just wish it was a 54 inch instead of the 50 I could knock about an hour off my mowing time. I cut berry vines, multiflora rose and anything else that grew up in the old pasture we now call a yard. There is very little level ground and I even mow the levee of the pond.

[eljay]

Well, I had to dig pretty deep, but found that many of the Cub Cadet models are, in fact, manufactured by MTD. Looked at one on the Home Depot page, d/loaded the user's manual, and read it cover to cover. Everywhere it talks about the manufacturer being Cub Cadet, LLC. However, reading to the very end, 'who to call with problems', two numbers are listed: Cub Cadet LLC, and MTD.

I did read about the details of the deck belts and lo and behold, they've added a belt tensioner idler pulley!

I wonder if the overall quality has improved...can only look to you guys for answers, and the model numbers I have (from y'all) aren't currently listed at the Home Depot page.

This whole thing is giving me, in addition to skinned knuckles from working on mine) a headache.

But...please keep the responses coming, as it's the best information source I've got.

David

[Boz61]

I wonder if the overall quality has improved...can only look to you guys for answers, and the model numbers I have (from y'all) aren't currently listed at the Home Depot page. David

The 2500 Cub Cadet is available at your CC Retail center, http://www.cubcadet.com/. HD doesn't carry any of the big units. I'll bet the JD line they sell is made by MTD too.

A buddy of mine has a Kubota and loves it (Diesel)

The bottom line is, you get what you pay for.

[Dwayne]

i live on 3 acres. . .

What I found out, you gotta fit the lawnmower to your mowing. . .and then you look at what you have left. . . .

I have an old Murrey. . . .It is 18HP, 42? inch deck. (Decks are usually the first thing that goes bad).

It burns 1.3 gallons to mow my 3 acres. . .and it takes right at 3 hours.
It costs 850 dollars.

I purchased a Craftsman 52 inch deck. . .It burns 3.5 gallons of gas, and mows my lawn in about 1 hour.

It costs 3000 dollars.


Push comes to shove. . .I would rather use my old murrey rider than the craftsman. . .It is not affected by bumps, hills, and slants nearly as much as the wider deck, It runs nice, and costs way less to mow your lawn.

It may be ran by belts (instead of hydrostatic) but, it is well worth it.

[eljay]

i live on 3 acres. . .

What I found out, you gotta fit the lawnmower to your mowing. . .and then you look at what you have left. . . .

I have an old Murrey. . . .It is 18HP, 42? inch deck. (Decks are usually the first thing that goes bad).

It burns 1.3 gallons to mow my 3 acres. . .and it takes right at 3 hours.
It costs 850 dollars.

I purchased a Craftsman 52 inch deck. . .It burns 3.5 gallons of gas, and mows my lawn in about 1 hour.

It costs 3000 dollars.


Push comes to shove. . .I would rather use my old murrey rider than the craftsman. . .It is not affected by bumps, hills, and slants nearly as much as the wider deck, It runs nice, and costs way less to mow your lawn.

It may be ran by belts (instead of hydrostatic) but, it is well worth it.

I keep trying to remember to check out the Murray, and forgetting to do so. Will now, after reading your post. And right now, I'd welcome belts over hydrostatic.

I live on a whole bunch of acres, only about 3 of which need mowing, instead of shredding. About 1 of those is out behind our fenced backyard, which we call the paddock.

And, miracle of miracles, I actually mowed that with the old Ace Hardware MTD today. Won't go through all the man hours and and about twenty bucks for a new, shorter belt, but that old rascal did the trick. Burned a lot of gas, but it always does. And now I've been through the underside of that machine, and figured out what it is that is supposed to provide blade belt tension. It's big, stout tension spring, and I ordered a new one today. Was amazed that they still had the original part number in stock, at MTD. I figure any spring, as tightly wound as that one is could have taken a permanent set after twelve years. Wish I'd figured that out sooner.

And I guess I have to say this; after twelve years of hard service, and only passable servicing and maintenance, perhaps I've been too hard on the machine, and maybe the brand. Was surprised to learn that Tractor Supply sells the MTD, under its own (MTD) brand name.

Think I've rambled long enough, still appreciating all the posts sharing their experiences, and please keep 'em coming!

David

[budroe]

I haven't been able to convince the Missus that our yard is big enough for a riding mower. FWIW: all the lawn services in our area use the Cub Cadet riding mowers.

[eljay]

I haven't been able to convince the Missus that our yard is big enough for a riding mower. FWIW: all the lawn services in our area use the Cub Cadet riding mowers.

Well you aught'a convince her, Budroe. :D

Since my last post, I looked in Murray. Go to their page, they talk about eighty or ninety years of providing excellent equipment. However, go to WalMart, look at the Murrays they sell, and sure enough they're manufactured by MTD. Also, most of the low end Cub Cadets, by the way. They're trying to become the WalMart of lawn mowers, I guess. :down:

Don't know what I'm gonna do, I guess that, since I now have that old POS of mine running, I'll just ride it 'till it dies.

Kinda figures probably, after all the stuff I've done to keep it working, next time out it'll drop a rod, or something. :D

David

[Dwayne]

I have a cub cadet! I believe it is a 32 inch deck. .

I tried mowing my law with it for the fun of it. . .

I went around about 10 laps, spent about 1 hour, and still had about 90 percent of my lawn to do. . . .:D

But, it is all about the RIDE!!!!

Nothing like sitting on the backs of 8 horsey´s and riding around and circles.

[budroe]

Well, our house sits on 3/4 acre. Small front yard, nice sized backyard. Good exercise with a gas powered push mower. I think the wife is scared if I had a riding mower all her flower bushes would disappear.

[Dwayne]

Well, our house sits on 3/4 acre. Small front yard, nice sized backyard. Good exercise with a gas powered push mower. I think the wife is scared if I had a riding mower all her flower bushes would disappear.

if you are as good of shot wtih a lawnmower as you are with your guns. . .I wouldn´t blame her! :D

[eljay]

Well, our house sits on 3/4 acre. Small front yard, nice sized backyard. Good exercise with a gas powered push mower. I think the wife is scared if I had a riding mower all her flower bushes would disappear.

Just stay away from the ZTR ones! Don't believe I'd ever turn my wife loose with one of those.

Not even sure about myself. :D

By the way, Budroe...found out what cause Toro to go down the tubes...called MTD. Like I said, the WalMart of lawn mowers. :down:

David

[budroe]

I hate flower bushes!!!

[She Who Must Be Obeyed]

Our ground is too uneven for a riding mower. The only thing we don't tear through is a 21" walk behind. Since we mow around two acres it takes awhile to mow though. So Himself is anxiously waiting for me to put in MORE flowers...less for us to mow. I actually mow more often than he does because of his work schedule, but regardless it takes a lot of time away from things we'd rather be doing.

[eljay]

Our ground is too uneven for a riding mower. The only thing we don't tear through is a 21" walk behind. Since we mow around two acres it takes awhile to mow though. So Himself is anxiously waiting for me to put in MORE flowers...less for us to mow. I actually mow more often than he does because of his work schedule, but regardless it takes a lot of time away from things we'd rather be doing.

Well, my wife is a flower fanatic and, ever since we moved down here in 1998, she's been putting in flow beds. And a raised rose garden I promised her.

And I will just say this; the trimming around the edge of each one is a more difficult task that running a mower over where the bed is. For me, I'd rather mow than trim. ;)

But that might be because most of the beds are bordered with the very plentiful rocks that exist around here, making them really, really difficult to trim around.

David

[She Who Must Be Obeyed]

Ok, I can see your point there. I border with landscaping logs, if I border at all. Mainly because I hate trimming.

[eljay]

Well...so MTD is, in fact, the Ebay of riding mowers. So today I went to the local Ace hardware to actually lay eyes on some mowers,figuring I might well end up with another mower manufactured by MTD. Came across the Poulan brand. Looked at a 42 inch. Was actually impressed by what I saw, although it's definitely at the bottom end of the market price, and probably quality - wise. Looked high quality and strong, if compared with my 14 year old MTD mower. I've not been able to determine who manufacture it, although online I looked it up, dounloaded the user's manual and nowhere found any reference to MTD.

Without about $2500 to spend, I'm perhaps out of luck.

Yuck. :(

David