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Lawn Tractor Questions

And I can assure that after using a $1,000 Craftsman (15.5 horse B&S motor)
hydrostatic lawn tractor for almost 10 years now (Michigan) with the ONLY
maintenance being oil changes, one blade set change, periodic blade
sharpenings, every other year battery changes, and annual air-filter
clean-outs, it still works great. Starts immediately EVERY time.
Transmission works great. Engine works great. No problems. Still on the
original plug, too. This RIDICULOUS prejudice some people have against Sears
Craftsman equipment is laughable. There is precisely nothing wrong with
Sears lawn tractors for typical homeowner use. Nothing. It saves you a ton
of money, too, compared to the pretty hat brands.

- GRL

"It's good to want things."

Steve Barr (philosopher, poet, humorist, chemist,
Visual Basic programmer)
"Tim Fischer" wrote in message
news:MPyQa.51860$OZ2.9254@rwcrnsc54...
"Peter H" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
Back to the original question. I don't know anything about the Sears
model,
but I hear people swear by the Deere's.

I can assure you, hundreds and thousands of homeowners swear AT their
Crapsman.

Buy the Deere.

-Tim

Lawn Tractor Questions

"GRL" wrote in message
...
This RIDICULOUS prejudice some people have against Sears
Craftsman equipment is laughable. There is precisely nothing wrong with
Sears lawn tractors for typical homeowner use. Nothing. It saves you a ton
of money, too, compared to the pretty hat brands.

Sorry, GRL, but my "ridiculous, laughable" prejudice against Crapsman is
based on real, concrete experience with owning one of the beasts, and
enhanced by many stories, both from folks I know personally and others I
don't but have heard here on the 'net, that have had the same results.

You can locate my Crapsman woes via a google groups search with a little
legwork. But I assure you, I don't have a "blind prejudice".

-Tim

Lawn Tractor Questions

"Tim Fischer" wrote in message news:hpnSa.101741$N7.13339@sccrnsc03...
"GRL" wrote in message
...
This RIDICULOUS prejudice some people have against Sears
Craftsman equipment is laughable. There is precisely nothing wrong with
Sears lawn tractors for typical homeowner use. Nothing. It saves you a ton
of money, too, compared to the pretty hat brands.

Sorry, GRL, but my "ridiculous, laughable" prejudice against Crapsman is
based on real, concrete experience with owning one of the beasts, and
enhanced by many stories, both from folks I know personally and others I
don't but have heard here on the 'net, that have had the same results.

You can locate my Crapsman woes via a google groups search with a little
legwork. But I assure you, I don't have a "blind prejudice".

-Tim

With the number of units they sell, it is inevitable that a small
number of people will get a lemon. (Hell, even Lexus gets off a
groaner every now and then.) The great majority will not. Since Sear's
stuff is mostly oem'd by major suppliers like MTD, Ryobi, and so on,
you basically get the same level of performance you would expect if
you bought the branded flavor. What that means is that you can expect
the stuff to hold up well in the kind of use a typical homeowner would
provide. I personally have never had any trouble with my Sears branded
lawn tractor, leaf blower, string trimmer(s), and snow thrower. That's
all the Sears power equipment I have. And that is over 10+ years of
use with most of it. I was not impressed with the cordless drill I
bought long ago, because the batteries gave out after about four
years, but other than that Sears stuff has always held up well for me.
The Craftsman hand tools are simply excellent.

Sears would not sell the volume they do if the complaints seen on the
usenet represented any significant number of cases.

- GRL

Lawn Tractor Questions

I have a John Deere Sabre model 1438 HS with a 14.5 B&S engine on a 38-inch
deck with high lift bagger blades, and bag kit installed that I purchased
back in July 2001, and it has worked flawlessly for me since. I've mowed
foot high grass with it, and that 14.5hp B&S motor had no problem dealing
with it while going up a hill with my 285 pound butt parked in the seat.
Now the bag unit does need for the grass to be dry and not too thick, and
high lift bagger blades installed in order to work well.

Now I've never had a problem with the deck clogging up on me even after
mowing soaking wet high grass. I was shocked the first time I went to drop
the deck for cleaning fully expecting the usual thick heavy built up, but
found it nearly clean as a whistle somehow even after mowing wet and thick
grass for weeks. Well that was back in the fall of 2001, and I've not had
to ever clean it since. I check it, but it stays clean. It should be
clogged to beat hell, but it never has. Now I've only ran it with the high
lift bagger blades installed, and perhaps that could have something to do
with it, but I don't know since I have yet to try it with the standard
blades installed. I really like the little 14.5 hp B&S motor, its twist to
open oil drain makes oil changes as simple as one could expect. Yet to have
to replace the air filter thanks to somebody designing a foam rubber filter
that fits around it, that has kept all the dust and dirt from getting to it,
and checking last week, it still looked as good as the new one I bought just
in case.

Like you I was checking out all my options, and looking at brand, price and
all of that, and talking with my neighbor when a friend of his drops by who
just so happens to have owned and ran his own lawn care business for over 30
years. After introductions I told him that I was really wanting to buy my
first riding mower and with him being in the business, what brand of mower
would he suggest, and he instantly said, "Get the John Deere!!" Then he told
me why. Yes you will pay a little more, but they really are solid built
machines, John Deere really stands behind and supports their products, and
know how to solve just about any problem you might have. A John Deere mower
will hold its value like no other brand, so if you want to sell or trade it
in that can be a big plus, but best of all 20 years from now John Deere will
still have parts, support and service for it. That was his #1 problem he
encountered with all the other brands, 4-5 years down the road getting parts
just became a nightmare. Also once again, no other brand seemes to hold its
trade in value like a John Deere will.

Me, I'm pretty sold on John Deere, and also bought one of their snow
blowers, which has yet to fail me, and blows snow higher and further than
any of the brands my neighbors have.

Now what brand of riding mower you go with is up to you, but if you only
have a .6 acre sized yard, you might save a little money with a 38-inch
cutting deck over the 42-inch one, and a 14.5 hp motor should be plenty. My
neighbor just bought a Craftsman 42-inch with a 24.5hp motor, and side by
side in foot high grass, at the same speed & height his left a ridge of
uncut grass, and my 14.5hp motor chugged a bit, but it cut the grass without
leaving an uncut ridge. Now he was running standard blades, and I had high
lift bagger blades, and that could have been why mine didn't leave an uncut
ridge, but all that extra power didn't get the grass cut better than mine.

As for that DLT 3000 model at Sears, just go to Google, and type "DLT 3000
problems", and do the same with the John Deere, and judge for yourself.

Next find a friend who owns one of their mowers that is say maybe 5 or 10
years old. Write down its info, and then go to Sears and ask for a part..
But before you do that, go back and ask that salesman this question. If I
need a part for this mower say 10 to 15 years from now, how would my need be
handled, and what could I expect? Then after he has spoken, walk away for
about 5 minutes, and then go right back up to him and tell him that you need
this part for this make and model of mower, and see what happens.

Now go find any old John Deere mower, and go ask them for a part or whatever
for it, and see what happens. Then sit down and judge for yourself based on
the results of who was better able to help and assist you, make your choice.

Also try the other brands as well, do some Google searches about problems
and parts, and see for yourself. Take your time, don't rush, check and
double check everything, and go for it.

"M. Osborn" wrote in message
...
I'm getting ready to buy a new lawn tractor for our .6 acre lot in
Charlotte, NC.

Initially, I thought for sure I'd buy a new John Deere L110 at Home Depot
for $1799. It looks like a good unit, and they are advertising their mowing
deck to be better for reducing the grass buildup underneath it. It's a 17.5
HP mower.

Then, I stopped at Sears to see what they had. The salesman there was
touting their DLT 3000 tractors as better than the John Deere units.

A couple of questions he

1. Any opinions on the quality of the Sears DLT 3000 tractors vs. the John
Deere L110?

2. I see the DLT 3000 tractor comes in 3 "flavors"....(a) 25HP B&S V-Twin,
(b) 20HP Kohler Pro, and (c) 16.5HP Honda V-Twin (which also has cruise
control). Oddly enough, the smallest engine (Honda) costs more than the
largest engine (B&S). Any opinions on which of the three is best?

Thanks....

I bought a Craftsman LT1000 20HP V-twin about 2 years ago. We had just
bought a place with 2 acres of grass. I had really no previous
experience with riding mowers, so I went with Sears because the price
was not too bad and hey, their hand tools were good. I also had heard
that they had good service if you have problems. The grand total was
about $1950 after tax, 3 year service plan, and dump cart. So how did
it fare over the last two years? Well.... If I had a time machine and
I could jump in it, set it for July 2002, and go back to Sears on that
day, I would tell myself:

1. Don't do it. It will run great for the first season, then its
downhill from there. You'll have the carburetor replaced, the throttle
cable sticking and finally replaced, the blades stop engaging, and
every time you mow you will have to get on the ground with a wrench to
level the deck, or else your yard will have grooves in it. Oh, and
that popping and backfiring? Get used to it, the service guy won't
hear it.

2. Speaking of the service plan, it looks good on paper, but during
the peak of summer when grass is mowed every week, and you will
actually need it, they are so backed up that if you need service you
have to wait 2 weeks. By then you will have already fixed the problem
yourself out of desperation or had to hire it done. Also, if you call
them out and the problem is not there, they charge you 80 bucks. So,
you will end up with always having problems with it not quite "bad
enough" to call the van, but bad enough to wish you had a better
mower.

3. You will find yourself looking at other lawns and wondering how
they cut it so smooth.

4. Spend your 2K on a good used John Deere or other high quality
mower.

Also, in my opinion Sears somehow overrates their mowers when it comes
to horsepower. There is just no way that thing is 20 HP.

My John Deere is my pride and joy. 5...10....15 years down the road John
Deere will still have parts and service for it. I also have a TRS-26 John
Deere Snow blower that I love as well. You walk into a John Deere
dealership and the person behind the counter knows the product, and can
answer you questions. Also a John Deere mower actually holds its trade in
value like no other brand. This has even caused a funny little problem for
me every time I clean out my garage, cause if I don't hide and cover them
up, just about every other person driving by that sees them will stop, back
up and come ask me if I'm selling them. I don't think any other brand causes
that sort of reaction in people. Also they stand behind their product. The
2nd year I had my mower the battery went. I took my old battery up there to
make sure I bought the same one, and they gave me a new one "NO CHARGE" I
said it was my fault for leaving it in the mower during our entire -30'
below winters we have here, and I even said, isn't that only covered for the
1st year? He said no problem, regardless that battery should have lasted
longer than that. Now that's SERVICE!!!

I'm not well off, and I had to save a little while longer to pay the extra
amount I did for my John Deere, but I have found it was worth it.

Welcome to the club.

1. Don't do it. It will run great for the first season, then its
downhill from there.

2. Speaking of the service plan

3. You will find yourself looking at other lawns and wondering how
they cut it so smooth.

4. Spend your 2K on a good used John Deere or other high quality
mower.

Also, in my opinion Sears somehow overrates their mowers when it comes
to horsepower. There is just no way that thing is 20 HP.