Riding lawn mowers....advise.. - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

aklim · #16 01-03-2005, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plantman

I think I'll talk him out of the Murray.

The funny things is, he really doesn't need one, I don't think. His land is a little less than half an acre. I think he just WANTS one. Well he is 71 and never mowed a lawn in his life. I think he's scared to have to pay someone 40 bucks once a month. Remember, he's cheap.

Who am I to argue. He's pretty frugal and will settle for the cheapest thing on the market, hence the murray.

I may look into some sears clearance centers and check it out.

Thanks

$40 a month? You sure? It takes me about $50 a time for them to mow my lawn in the city. I have 13000 sq feet with a house in the middle which means about 10000 sq feet. At $50 a time, my Kubota is a bargain because I use it for pushing snow.

Frugal means getting value for your money too. If you buy the cheapest thing on the market (You get what you paid for) and have to replace it ever 3 years, have you saved anything?

#17 01-03-2005, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

You're joking. I actually prefered the Rincon 650 to the Rubicon 500. My wife who used to ride with me behind me, liked the Independent Rear Suspension better than the straight axel. Also, the Rincon had 2WD or 4WD mode. I felt the Rubicon was harder to steer especially when the Rincon in 2WD mode. Even in 4WD, the Rincon was easier to steer than the Rubicon and the Rincon felt more peppy. BTW, especially with the jet kit and K&N, the Rincon would also start on the first time.

It wasn't so much the starting that bothered me it was the transmission when it was cold, sometimes I would have to warm it up for 15 minutes or the bike would just sit no matter how much you revved it. It was a great trail machine but in gets a solid C+ for work. Not having a Low gear while brush hogging or plowing was tough, and it was easier to get stuck as well. The bottom line is the Rincon was not built for my purposes which is work. The Rincon stalls almost instantly in deep water which became a real pain in the %$%%

The Rubicon now has a 2wd selector switch so it steers easier than the Rincon.

Plantman · #18 01-03-2005, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

$40 a month? You sure? It takes me about $50 a time for them to mow my lawn in the city. I have 13000 sq feet with a house in the middle which means about 10000 sq feet. At $50 a time, my Kubota is a bargain because I use it for pushing snow.

Frugal means getting value for your money too. If you buy the cheapest thing on the market (You get what you paid for) and have to replace it ever 3 years, have you saved anything?

Where he lives there are a lot of migrant workers who work cheap and like cash.

If it were me, I'd pay up to 75.00 once a month not to do that crap.

You are right, you get what you pay for.

I was looking at the snapper web-site and a nice littel unit can be had for appx 1200.00, only 400.00 more than the Murray.

I mentioned the gas tank fire to him and he seems to disloke Murray now.

crash9 · #19 01-03-2005, 10:54 PM

Have him check around at small engine or mower repair shops for a good rebuilt. I’m always looking for people in a little tight or in a moving, divorce, type situation and am able to pick up some pretty wild deals just by carrying some cash for a quick sale. I got one of these MTD’s with a little trailer, less than a year old, for $250 this fall. It may be a POS but seems fine – there is a wild belt and pulley system to run everything, and I can see you need to be careful with it, but really how often do you use something like this? These B&S motors should be fine with any care for 700/1000 hrs. , and that’s about 30 years the way I use it. I got a wild hair and bought 20 tons of small boulders for landscaping – I load the little trailer up and use it to haul the stuff around where I want them. These toy tractors with a mower underneath aren’t really that good as straight mowers. Check out a real riding mower with a zero turning radius. At any rate I still need a push mower for getting under the few mesquites I trim around, and for that I’ve got a Craftsman I gave a guy $85 bucks for. If he just wants to blow money on a little tractor, tell him to get a little old Ford and fix it up, pull a wagon in a parade or something. I Think Murray, MTD, and several $800-1200 range brands are really the same, but if they’re not abused or left to sit idle for months on end they will be fine for non commercial use.

TX76513 · #20 01-04-2005, 09:16 AM

I feel bad about not giving MTD some credit and waving the Gravely flag. I have had an MTD since 1988 and it still works fine. I actually had to put a new set of tires on it a couple of years ago. It's been all over the country with me and for years mowed 6 acres in Oregon (all day job). I have rebuilt the engine twice and it's been repainted. The deck was removed last summer and it spends it retirement pulling a 4 wheel wagon.

kott · #21 01-04-2005, 04:30 PM

Paid $300 for a used (maybe 10 years old) Murray from a guy's front yard collection in 1989- small 5HP rider...... lasted 14 years with no maintenance except oil addings, with a fairly large yard. Replaced it with the 13.5HP/ 46in cut(?) Murray you probably saw at H Depot- I think it was $699 at the spring sale. Enjoying it so far- much easier to mow fescue and Bermuda with the extra HP and a bigger mower frame.

#22 01-04-2005, 04:32 PM

I have had good luck with the Husky brand sold at Tractor Supply. 18hp B&S, 44" cut around $999.00 this time of year, if they have any.

#23 01-04-2005, 06:30 PM

Heres what CR reports

HYDROSTATIC-DRIVE MODELS
1 John Deere L110 Automatic CR Best Buy $1800 42 17.5
2 Cub Cadet 19016 13AL11CG $1600 42 18.5
3 White Outdoor LT1650
Outdoor LT1855H $1700
$2000 42 16.5
4 John Deere LT160 $2600 42 16
5 Simplicity Regent 16hp 44" $2800 44 16
6 Toro Wheel Horse 16-38 HXL $2150 38 16
7 Kubota T1670 40" $3000 40 15
8 Kubota T1670 44" $3400 44 15
9 John Deere L120 Automatic $2200 48 20
10 Craftsman (Sears) DYT 4000 27364 $1700 42 18.5
11 Husqvarna YTH1542XP $2000 42 15
12 Simplicity Regent 16hp 38" $2500 38 16
13 Craftsman (Sears) 27350 $2150 42 14.5
14 Murray Select 465600x8A
Select 465306x8A $1200
$1400 46 21
15 Husqvarna LTH1742 $1400 42 17
16 Snapper LT180H42IBV2 $300

engatwork · #24 01-04-2005, 06:40 PM

I wish I had read that CR report way back when I bought my Snapper

. I thought I had a good mower until I saw that.

#25 01-04-2005, 06:51 PM

One thing that CR does not consider is the pricing, the Sears 4000 for example can be purchased for $1100 if you shop, while getting a deal on a Deere is tougher than getting a free lap dance at a popular strip joint.

Zeitgeist · #26 01-04-2005, 06:55 PM

Both my Craftsman RLMs were given to me ('96 15hp single and '9x 18hp twin). The weak link for these units is the transaxle (Spicer). I had to replace the input shaft bearings on the '96 two years ago and they're toast yet again. These bearings are nothing more than two clutch pilot bearings--way undersized for the job. The trannies are easy to work on though. The engineering of the rest of the mower reminds me of US made bicycles; crude and needlessly heavy.

rbn3 · #27 01-04-2005, 07:10 PM

I just got rid of one of these after 3 years of use. I had a 44' snow blower attachment (~$1k!) that made the beast about 20' long. PIA to switch over from mower deck, and a tractor mower is not as good as a zero radius rider. But a good machine basically and it would blow the snow onto my neighbor's roof. I just bought a new $1200 walk behind 2 stage toro blower - we are supposed to get a foot of snow here in Illinois - I'll let you know in a day or two how it works. I plan to get a Toro mower in the spring a zero radius "z" =>but it's $3k! I've only got 1/2 acre to mow, but I have a disability so a walk behind is not an good option. I do have a self propelled toro walk behind for trim wek that is 10 years old and flawless (starts on first pull every spring so far) Is there a better or equal zero radius riding mower for less $$??

Southern · #28 01-15-2005, 11:38 AM

I my opnion the older lawn tractors, with the heavy metal frames, are built much better than the newer models. I have a 1974 Sears garden tractor with a 16HP twin Onan engine given to me by a neighbor who didn't want to fix it. I rebuilt the carborator, redid some wiring, replaced all fluids, greased, cleaned out the rusted metal gas tank and put a new battery in it. It has been very reliable and rugged machine. The tractor has a three blade 48" cutting deck that has greasable hubs. I believe the newer Craftsmen tractors have non-greasable "throw away" hubs. The tractor also came with a 42" snow blade which doesn't work well in heavy snow - I use my 20+ year old Ariens 8HP snow blower which has a locking differential and grease fittings.

My dad has a 1970's vintage Cub Cadet 8HP lawn tractor which was my grandfathers. I don't know how they rated HP from the 70's but that Cub Cadet appears to have more power then a newer 18HP lawn tractor.

I tried out a newer Cub Cadet lawn tractor. The build quality seemed better than the Murrays but not as good as the 70's models. The one thing I did not like about the newer Cub Cadet was that the levers were mounted on the fenders which alway got in the way when I went to get off the tractor.