SVTKate wrote:

Though you are thinking you may only use it to mow, I would like to
offer this suggestion. Think of buying a pull behind cart for it. I
bought a two wheel dump cart for mine and OMG it is the handiest
thing! Now I use my Husky to haul garden debris to the mulch pile,
brush from under the trees, rocks, soil, fallen branches... the
list goes on and on.

Absolutely!! We use our garden tractor more for moving stuff with the
cart - currently hurricane debris from the trees - than for mowing.
Actually, I got weary of mowing 10 acres and now hire it done.

--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________

(Wyatt Wright) wrote:

Considering that I can get an L110 with 42"
cut and a 17.5 hp kohler for $1800, and a LT150 with a 15hp engine and
38" for $2500, greasing the front axle everytime I add gas doesn't
seem like that much of an issue. I would appreciate other's opinions.

I don't see many people posting their opinions or experiences with
Toro riders. I have worked with the dealer near me and have been
satisfied with his service.

I would first recommend a tractor with a cast iron engine or at least
cast iron sleeves like the Kohler. They will last forever. Second, I
would recommend a brand with a local dealer and parts department. They
are easy to fix and there are accessories that one wants to add once in
a while. I have owned a Wheelhorse (pre Toro) for a long time, about 20
years and it does an excellent job and has proved very reliable. I have
the rear discharge mower and love it. It doesn't throw grass in the
road or in flower beds and can be used with an inexpensive sweeper. I
used a friends Simplicity once and think they probably do the best job
of mowing of any product on the market. They have very fine control of
the height and leave a manicured appearance that the others don't. My
neighbors have John Deere, Cub Cadet, and Husqvarnas. They do a good
job, but no better than my Wheelhorse and some don't have a read
discharge mower available. The new Toros are virtually identical and
have interchangeable parts.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

http://www.whatsthebest-lawnmower.com/index.shtml

Check the forum. There are many knowledgeable folks there who can
offer solid advice.

John

John Davies TLCA 14732
http://home.comcast.net/~johnedavies/
'96 Lexus LX450
'00 Audi A4 1.8T quattro
Spokane WA USA

S. M. Henning wrote:

I would first recommend a tractor with a cast iron engine or at
least cast iron sleeves like the Kohler. They will last forever.

Not quite forever...mine crapped out after 7 years. Kohler wanted something
like $1600 for a new one. I bought a Tecumseh for $600+. More HP too...

--
dadiOH
_____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.0...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
____________________________

"dadiOH" wrote:

Not quite forever...mine crapped out after 7 years. Kohler wanted something
like $1600 for a new one. I bought a Tecumseh for $600+. More HP too...

That is very unusual for a cast iron Kohler to fail if you changed the
oil and kept the oil topped up. I had a cast iron Kohler on a tractor
that I used in fields to chop brush and an occasional rock. I mowed 2
acres of grass for 20 years with it. I mowed an embankment where I had
to get off the tractor and walk on the flat so that I could hold the
tractor on the embankment so it wouldn't fall over. I plowed snow with
it. I even plowed the road in front of our house and the neighbors
houses with it. It was still going strong when I sold it. It had
replaced a Tecumseh that didn't even finish the second season before it
got a warped head and was junk. There are good cast iron Tecumseh's but
mine wasn't cast iron.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

(Wyatt Wright) wrote in message . com...
I'm in the market for a new riding mower/lawn tractor. I mow about
3/4 acre of grass in a flat yard with few obstacles. The only thing
that I will do with this mower is cut grass and pick up leaves in the
fall. I may buy an airator in the future and possible a cart, but
that's it.

I may buy a cheaper model from a box store, but prefer to go with
something a little better built from a dealer that can service and
repair the unit in the future. For me, that means Toro or John Deere
- I'm not sure if there is a Cub Cadet or Simplicity dealer in my
area. I know many people love their Deere's, but I'm not sure that I
want to spend the $$ to get into the LT series and am unsure of the L
series' quality and general "Deereness". The Deere dealer told me
that the biggest issue with the L series is that the front axles need
to be greased frequently. Considering that I can get an L110 with 42"
cut and a 17.5 hp kohler for $1800, and a LT150 with a 15hp engine and
38" for $2500, greasing the front axle everytime I add gas doesn't
seem like that much of an issue. I would appreciate other's opinions.

snip

I've expressed my concern with the price of the L series.. JD seems
to have this line to compete with the big box store offerings, and I'd
be concerned about, as you put it, the 'Deereness' of the product.

My advice on the John Deeres is to make sure you buy what you want;
with the possible exception of the L series, a John Deere in a
residential setting will last for decades, if it's taken care of.

We have a 214 that I bought in 1990 used.. had to put a couple
batteries in it (because it uses car sized batteries I usually pick
which car has the oldest battery in it, replace that battery, and
install the take-out in the 214). Couple of belts, other than that
haven't even tuned it up.

Currently having some problems with the belt tension system for the
mower deck drive, and as I am currently out of commision with double
hernia surgery we asked the daughter to take care of the lawn this
time around. Mentioned daughter tried to mow with the push behind, but
gave up and called her boyfriend, who brought over his family's old
mower, a JD 430. Watercooled 22hp diesel, 60" deck, Hydrostat trans,
differential lock, full hydraulics front and rear. Looks a little
rough, but mowed the yard without a problem.

They just bought a new mower to replace this one.. got a nice zero
turn radius JD. I asked what they planned to do with this one (the
430). They planned to sell it.

For $300

I took some pain meds, went and looked at it and told the wife, who
told him to unload it, we'll take it.

Sometimes you've just got to be in the right place at the right
time..

Regards,

Jim

"Jim" wrote in message
**snip**
| Sometimes you've just got to be in the right place at the right
| time..
|

Mark THAT a bargain!
Kate

| Regards,
|
| Jim

Bill B wrote in news:10juoct3ptru320
@corp.supernews.com:

A lot of the newer Cub and JD stuff
is made with a lot of the same parts as MTD and Craftsman----you're
going to pay a lot for that Yellow or Green paint. Sears parts are both
available and reasonable in cost, not very hard to fix.

I'm going on 5 years with my Murray, 17 horse 46" 3-blade cut. No
problems. Paid $1250 for it at Wally World. I'd buy one all over again.
(Please not right now, I can't afford it.


---
Never trust a computer that you can lift. (from the Mainframe Forum)

"SVTKate" wrote in message
link.net...

"Jim" wrote in message
**snip**
| Sometimes you've just got to be in the right place at the right
| time..
|

Mark THAT a bargain!
Kate

| Regards,
|
| Jim


Hello group,
Been reading everyones posts about the driving tractor mowers. We are
building a house in the country with a huge front lawn(not our idea, it's
required by the community), and we are trying to decide how to handle it
(lawn service or mower) After reading some posts regarding these things
having "automatic transmissions" and how they make the job easier, I am
curious..I am sure they don't have transmission like a car which shifts
gears and such, but was wondering how they work? Can you slow down, stop
and go without having to disengage the gears and such? My guess is a
standard one with a clutch you would be clutching and going to get around
flowerbeds and such...Seems the auto is the way to go if your gonna have
one..But just curious as to how they actually work...

Thanks so much!
John

John wrote:

"SVTKate" wrote in message
hlink.net...


"Jim" wrote in message
**snip**
| Sometimes you've just got to be in the right place at the right
| time..
|

Mark THAT a bargain!
Kate

| Regards,
|
| Jim




Hello group,
Been reading everyones posts about the driving tractor mowers. We are
building a house in the country with a huge front lawn(not our idea, it's
required by the community), and we are trying to decide how to handle it
(lawn service or mower) After reading some posts regarding these things
having "automatic transmissions" and how they make the job easier, I am
curious..I am sure they don't have transmission like a car which shifts
gears and such, but was wondering how they work? Can you slow down, stop
and go without having to disengage the gears and such? My guess is a
standard one with a clutch you would be clutching and going to get around
flowerbeds and such...Seems the auto is the way to go if your gonna have
one..But just curious as to how they actually work...

Thanks so much!
John

I don't know how the others work, but my previously mentioned
Agway/Murray garden tractor has a Hydrostatic Automatic drive.
It has a throttle handle on the dash that stays in whatever position it
is set. An L shaped rocker type foot pedal on the right operates the
mower's speed either forward or in reverse. Push more, faster. Push
less, slower. It does not have cruise control, so the foot has to be
kept on the pedal when moving, like a car. The mower engine speed is not
affected by the foot pedal. The engine's rpm stays at whatever the
throttle is set at, no matter what the foot pedal position is. When
going down hill, lifting the foot from the foot pedal causes the mower
to go into a sort of braking mode, so the mower does not freewheel down
the grade.
There is no shifting of the mower transmission that I can hear. A brake
pedal is on the left side.

"John" wrote:

After reading some posts regarding these things
having "automatic transmissions" and how they make the job easier, I am
curious..I am sure they don't have transmission like a car which shifts
gears and such, but was wondering how they work?

A lawn tractor must run the engine at a constant speed to keep the mower
running at a constant speed. To change the tractor speed you use a
different gear. My garden tractor has 6 forward speeds (gear
selections). The highest is primarily for going from point a to point b
in a hurry. The next is slower for mowing under normal conditions. The
next is even slower for mowing around objects or in heavy growth. The
next three gears are really creeper gears for snow blowing, very heavy
mowing, etc. If your lawn has few objects, then the automatic
transmission won't be doing anything. The advantage of an automatic
transmission is it is easier to slow down when mowing around objects.
It acts more like the gas peddle on a car but is operated by your hand.
You push a lever one way to go faster and you push it the other to slow
down or go backwards. With the automatic you only have a brake pedal.
With the regular you have a clutch and brake. However, you don't have to
worry about how you let out the clutch like in a car. You just put it
in the gear you want to use and let the clutch out. Tractors are like
that. You stop when you want to change gears. With a little practice
you will get so it starts smoothly, but you don't need to master the
fine skills of using a clutch to use a tractor.

Mechanically, the regular transmission has metal gears that last
forever. The automatic transmissions have belts that can break. For
reliability a regular transmission is best. For convenience an
automatic transmission is best.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

I would have to dissagree on needing gears if you pull heavy loads. I
would be hard pressed to believe the gears in most typical L & G
tractors are all that much stonger than a good hydrostatic drive unit.
MOst consumer type L & G tractors are offered as baaaseline units with
minimal everything be it gears or hydrostatic drives. I had a JD317
with over 4000 hours on it when I finally got rid of it, and it was a
hydrastatic drive, and it was used hard and put up wet all the time,
and it was used to pull more than what it should have all the time. I
used to drag around a trailer full of firewood that weighted about 5
or 6000 pounds. It was used for ground tillage and breaking in the
garden I had back then, 1 1/2 acres and it never missed a beat.

I now have a JD GX335 with hydro and its just as good as the 317
was..You do not need gears to pull things with and they certainly do
not make it any more efficient or stronger. The JD lineup of the L
series is built for light pulling loads as are most other similar
units.

Nnnothing could be easier and more trouble free than the layout JD
uses with their twin touch pedals. Throttle it up and go.......push
harder on the pedal you have ore speed and torque. No need to come to
a complete stop before hitting the reverse pedal either, so cycle time
and fuction is a lot quicker with a hydrastatic drive with twin pedals
than anay setup using strictly gears can even think about being. More
andmore heavy dury industrial equipment is being suypplied with
hydrostatic drives each year. Its a proven fact they are just as
strong when it comes to use and pulling with and will last just as
long.
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

Ol' Duffer wrote:

In article ,
says...


Been reading everyones posts about the driving tractor mowers. We are
building a house in the country with a huge front lawn(not our idea, it's
required by the community), and we are trying to decide how to handle it
(lawn service or mower) After reading some posts regarding these things
having "automatic transmissions" and how they make the job easier, I am
curious..I am sure they don't have transmission like a car which shifts
gears and such, but was wondering how they work? Can you slow down, stop
and go without having to disengage the gears and such? My guess is a
standard one with a clutch you would be clutching and going to get around
flowerbeds and such...Seems the auto is the way to go if your gonna have
one..But just curious as to how they actually work...



The clutch and gear transmission type are not as bad as
you might think. Yes you have to stop, shift, back up
and turn, stop, shift, etc. You get used to it after
awhile if the ergonomics aren't too bad. You need the
durability of gears if you are going to be pulling heavy
stuff around regularly, but the "automatics" are nice
if you are going to use it just for mowing or maybe drag
a little utility cart around.


Really? My 10 year old automatic tractor can drag a big homemade dump
cart around, like a 4' W by 5' L with 1' H sides, and golf cart wheels,
carrying dirt filled to the top of the rails. I have a ball hitch
installed on the back of my tractor to pull the cart. The only problem
towing it up some grades when full is that the drive wheels sometimes
skid on the grass. My set of wheel chains helps in those instances.
Also, I have a 48" snow blower attachment that weighs a couple of
hundred pounds and requires that I weigh down the back of the tractor
with wheel weights and a US Military GI can, filled with water, strapped
to the back of the tractor. My driveway is sloped and I have no problem
snowblowing while driving uphill.
Did I mention that the tractor was 10 years old?

I don't entirely like the term "automatic" as applied
here. I guess it's a sales thing, and who can understand
the murky workings of their minds ;-)

The best, IMO, is hydrostatic. These use a variable
displacement hydraulic pump driven by the engine and
a hydraulic motor geared to the wheels. The pump
displacement control usually connects to a single
lever or pedal which gives you continuous range from
forward thru stop thru reverse. Usually so reliable
you could just drive it for years with no attention
at all, although transmission fluid and maybe a filter
should be freshened up at relatively long service
intervals, and are easy to do.


My auto transmission does not have to be refreshed with fluid and there
is no filter.

Some of the cheapos use another approach with variable
width v-belt pulleys to get adjustable drive speed.
These work well enough new, but get "funny" with age
as the belts wear valleys in the pulley faces. Most
implementations have an in-line "shifter" with notches.
It is also possible with two belts or with a belt and
gear combination to get a single pedal or lever with
continuous range from forward to reverse, but that's
more engineering and most of them don't bother since
they are designing for low price. The belts wear out
and have to be replaced, and are usually not very easy
to do. Some even call it a hydra-something-or-other
drive to make you think you are getting a hydrostat,
when in reality it is something else not nearly as good.

Caveat emptor, you get what you pay for, etc.

I have all three, but the biggest drawback on mine (New Holland LS-55) is
that you can't use more than one at a time. Of course that isn't a problem
with the snowblower, but it is a pain to have to remove the mowing deck to
use the rototiller and vice versa. If I had it to do over, I would make
sure I could either use both at once OR that the attachments came off and on
really easy. In fact, have the dealer demonstrate what has to be done for
each implement to get them off and on, rather than taking their word for it.

DWW

"cb" wrote in message
news:XrK%c.159910$X12.89274@edtnps84...
Just a question to the group - does anyone use the rototiller option wit
their tractor? We'd like to invest in the tractor/mower, snowblower and
rototiller - don't really want 3 machines to house!

Thanks
Cathy

I thought I would throw my two centavos in here. I have 3/4 acres that I
have been cutting for about five years with a $300 MTD 12.5HP, 38" cut. I
have had to work on it quite a bit, especially at the beginning of this
grass season. It is in damn good shape now after replacing a support
bracket to the deck and rewiring it and replacing a bearing in the deck. I
think it was worth the price and I learned how the darn thing operates
rather well. So, I guess if you don't like mechanics, it would be the best
to buy new one. I am really impressed with the Cub Cadet. They are always
the winner's at the tractor pulls around here. The direct drive can't be
touched by the belt drives. For the HP, I think they are the best value.
If you can find a used one, I would jump on it in a heartbeat.

"Wyatt Wright" wrote in message
om...
I'm in the market for a new riding mower/lawn tractor. I mow about
3/4 acre of grass in a flat yard with few obstacles. The only thing
that I will do with this mower is cut grass and pick up leaves in the
fall. I may buy an airator in the future and possible a cart, but
that's it.

I may buy a cheaper model from a box store, but prefer to go with
something a little better built from a dealer that can service and
repair the unit in the future. For me, that means Toro or John Deere
- I'm not sure if there is a Cub Cadet or Simplicity dealer in my
area. I know many people love their Deere's, but I'm not sure that I
want to spend the $$ to get into the LT series and am unsure of the L
series' quality and general "Deereness". The Deere dealer told me
that the biggest issue with the L series is that the front axles need
to be greased frequently. Considering that I can get an L110 with 42"
cut and a 17.5 hp kohler for $1800, and a LT150 with a 15hp engine and
38" for $2500, greasing the front axle everytime I add gas doesn't
seem like that much of an issue. I would appreciate other's opinions.

I don't see many people posting their opinions or experiences with
Toro riders. I have worked with the dealer near me and have been
satisfied with his service. The only model that he carries in my
price range is the 16-38HXL. It is on sale for $1900 right now.

This is from the Toro website:
http://www.toro.com/home/tractors/xl/1638h.html

Please advise.

~ Wyatt