Lawn mower and bagger recommendations

[itsbob]

When I looked at some of the Deers, they had the same motor as my Craftsman and the hoods were plastic. Wasn't that impressed.

Which Engine?

If you looked at them at LOWE's or Home Depot, they are ALL the same tractor, made by the same company..

Craftsman, Deere, Kubota.. Yardman.. TroyBilt If you look close enough at almost all of them, you'll see other then the 'skin' they are identical lawnmowers/ tractors...

We discussed this last year in a thread, but I don't recall the name of the Company.... AYD? MTD? Something like that.

All the big companies sell their name under license to them..

That's why you have to go to a dealer to find a 'true' Deere, of Cub Cadet, or Kubota.. and wouldn't guarantee that some of them at the dealer aren't the same as the ones at the BoxStores.

I'm betting you aren't going to find a Yanmar diesel in ANY of the tractors at Lowe's, Best Buy or Sears.

 

[itsbob]

Deere's 2305 (not mine) with the front loader, and "rotary cutter"

 

[kom526]

MTD is your answer Bob. OBTW-That's a bush hog on the back of that 2305 or does Deere cal it a "rotary cutter".

It was posted earlier in this thread that you should not buy a "John Deer" from a big box, but that you should go to a "John DeerE" dealer. The big box Deers are just licensed by John Deere which creates income for the corporation and its stockholders BUT does a disservice to the nameplate.

 

[itsbob]

American Yard Products, Inc.
Makers of several brands of light-duty mowers and lawn & garden tractors. 104 Warren Rd., Augusta, GA 30907-3755, (706) 860-2290. An ELECTROLUX company.

MTD is an AYP company..

 

[kom526]

An ELECTROLUX company.

MTD is an AYP company.

So what you are saying is that they suck. Right?

 

[itsbob]

So what you are saying is that they suck. Right?

Ed ZACHARY!!

 

[barncat]

Our new house has at least 2 acres of lawn and a lot of live oak trees on it. After 3 weekends filled with raking and bagging and trying to mow with a push mower we have decided to bite the bullet and get a riding mower with the bagger attachment.

The live oaks here have the smaller leathery leaves and drop tons of acorns, this is really hard to pick up with a rake or even a mulching push mower. Any recommendations for a mower that has enough suction to get up this kind of thing? I was looking at a big 3 compartment bagger attachment and the sweeper attachment too. Any experience with something like this?

Craftsman Mower

That's the mower we bought for our 2 acres and while it works fine, I wish I had invested in a tractor that could do more ground engaging work because our lands needs a lot of work before we will have a decent lawn. We paid someone to bring in top soil and level it and are completely unsatisfied with the work they did and now have to figure out how to fix their mess.

We bought a push mower at first and after about a month bought the riding mower. It took half a day to mow with the push mower, with the riding mower, 2 hours.

 

[huntr1]

Which Engine?

If you looked at them at LOWE's or Home Depot, they are ALL the same tractor, made by the same company..

Craftsman, Deere, Kubota.. Yardman.. TroyBilt If you look close enough at almost all of them, you'll see other then the 'skin' they are identical lawnmowers/ tractors...

We discussed this last year in a thread, but I don't recall the name of the Company.... AYD? MTD? Something like that.

All the big companies sell their name under license to them..

That's why you have to go to a dealer to find a 'true' Deere, of Cub Cadet, or Kubota.. and wouldn't guarantee that some of them at the dealer aren't the same as the ones at the BoxStores.

I'm betting you aren't going to find a Yanmar diesel in ANY of the tractors at Lowe's, Best Buy or Sears.

AYP American Yard Products. They make all the big box store riding mowers. The problem is not so much the engine. Briggs makes a darn good engine. So does Kohler and Honda. Tecumseh motos are not nearly as good (I have 3 of them on differnt pieces of equipment). The frames and axles aren't built to last. The hydrostatic transmissions aren't very robust. The frame on my 2002 Craftsman twists like a bucking bronco as I ride around the yard cutting the grass. The hydro tranny on it doesn't work right when going up hill, it sometimes gives up and I roll back downhill. The gray Craftsman mowers are heavier duty than the green. I would never buy another green one.

My current inventory:
1969 Sears Custom 10, no mower deck, not currently running, needs rewiring
1972 Sears Suburban garden tractor. 42" deck This thing ROCKS! 1/4" steel frame. Only plastic is in the dash trim.
199? JD rear engine riding mower, 36"(?) deck Father-in-law replaced the motor (hole in the block) by combining parts from original motor and parts from a barn motor to make 1 good one. Giving this to my friend in Waldorf with the flatter yard.
1994 Sears Lawn Tractor (gray) This thing is heafty, but not up to the standards of my 1969/72 tractors. Father-in-law welded up the busted frame and rebuilt the mower deck. This one is going to be my principle mower until the deck rusts out the rest of the way.
2002 LT1000 Sears Lawn Tractor. AYP piece of junk.

Plus 3 push mowers, one being a 2-cycle lawnboy that is currently out of commission (probably needs the carb rebuilt).

 

[itsbob]

AYP American Yard Products. They make all the big box store riding mowers. The problem is not so much the engine. Briggs makes a darn good engine. So does Kohler and Honda. Tecumseh motos are not nearly as good (I have 3 of them on differnt pieces of equipment). The frames and axles aren't built to last. The hydrostatic transmissions aren't very robust. The frame on my 2002 Craftsman twists like a bucking bronco as I ride around the yard cutting the grass. The hydro tranny on it doesn't work right when going up hill, it sometimes gives up and I roll back downhill. The gray Craftsman mowers are heavier duty than the green. I would never buy another green one.

My current inventory:
1969 Sears Custom 10, no mower deck, not currently running, needs rewiring
1972 Sears Suburban garden tractor. 42" deck This thing ROCKS! 1/4" steel frame. Only plastic is in the dash trim.
199? JD rear engine riding mower, 36"(?) deck Father-in-law replaced the motor (hole in the block) by combining parts from original motor and parts from a barn motor to make 1 good one. Giving this to my friend in Waldorf with the flatter yard.
1994 Sears Lawn Tractor (gray) This thing is heafty, but not up to the standards of my 1969/72 tractors. Father-in-law welded up the busted frame and rebuilt the mower deck. This one is going to be my principle mower until the deck rusts out the rest of the way.
2002 LT1000 Sears Lawn Tractor. AYP piece of junk.

Plus 3 push mowers, one being a 2-cycle lawnboy that is currently out of commission (probably needs the carb rebuilt).

We have the new(er) 2305 JD - diesel, and an older small ride on JD - gas.

What's REALLY nice is Carroll's is only 1/2 mile away, they pick up, service and drop back off at the house.. with no extra cost for pick up and delivery.. I wasn't sure they dropped my tractor off this year, they had cleaned it, and it looked brand new.

 

[Oz]

Carroll's Equipment!

 

[czygvtwkr]

If all you are doing is mowing grass a yard tractor from lowes is just fine. If it only costs half as much it really only needs to last half as long.

 

[Sonsie]

If all you are doing is mowing grass a yard tractor from lowes is just fine. If it only costs half as much it really only needs to last half as long.

We're gonna hit the road Saturday and do some comparison shopping. There is a Deere dealership not far away and quite a few places out here that cater to the homeowner with large lots and lawns. Hopefully we can talk to someone how knows his stuff. I'm sick of dealing with dummies who know less than we do everytime we go to a big box store of any kind.

 

[Beelzebaby666]

I just cut my yard for the first time and boy, it's a PITA!!

I should have bagged up all those dried up corn stalks but opted to mulch em up instead.

I :heart: my riding lawnmower!! No more hills to mow the old fashioned way

I used to have a Husquvarna rotary mower.. Beaver Cleaver style

 

[Christy]

Don't know anything that will suck up the acorns except a vacuum. I've got the same problem and end up raking them. 10 wheel barrow loads under just one tree.

I've got two pigs that can take care of that acorn problem for ya.