Today my self-propelled push lawnmower started acting up so it may be time for a new one. It sounds and feels like a bearing has failed, if I grab the blade I can move the shaft up & down about an 1/8 inch or so. I'm not sure if its worth fixing so if I buy something new I'd like to get a riding lawnmower. My question is what brands are best? So far I looked at John Deere, Husqvarna, Cub Cadet and Poulon. HP ratings range from 17-22 and runs between 1500 for the Poulon up to 2000 for the 22hp John Deere. I have a decent size yard and I'm not getting any younger so it may be time for a lawnmower I can sit on instead of walk behind. What say the hive?

I have a Craftsman LT1000 that I bought 17 years ago. 19.5hp Briggs and Stratton. 42" deck. Automatic transmission. I have changed the oil every year. I am on the 3rd set of blades and 2nd Battery. I had to replace the gas tank when a seam cracked 4 years ago. I replaced the front two tires. The thing just keeps running...

My advice, The Craftsman has been great but the best thing I did was get the automatic transmission. YMMV but I have been very happy.

You'll get lots of opinions re which brand is better. So I'll just mention that when I bought my JD 140 I didn't realize how much gas the thing was going to use thanks in part to its 3 blades.

Really not necessary given the size of my yard, plus it's a pain to access the middle blade when removing/installing. Two blades would have been enough.

FWIW the tractor lift at HF has made that job a lot easier.

Hustler Raptor is a durable well built residential zero turn.

~$2k for a husq 48" tractor is the going rate around here. My stepdad had one for 4-5 years & did fine for his acre, just upgraded to a ZT like my hustler, but you're looking at $5k then.
I never understood buying something 'self propelled' that you had to wrestle around corners, but I've never mowed <1 acre.

MTD makes the vast majority of the lawn tractors, then sold by dealers under there own brand name.

I bought a Toro LX460 tractor over 10 years ago, does its job without much trouble. I also use it to plow my sidewalks.

Look used on Craigs list.

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
MTD makes the vast majority of the lawn tractors, then sold by dealers under there own brand name.

The man speaketh the truth. I am with these guys every day. Brands at the big box stores almost all come from MTD. Honda and Toro are their own manufacturer, but all others I can think of are an MTD product.

MTD makes many brands. Local Wallyworld has a couple 38" murrary's for $ 874.plus tax. Looked nice. 12.5 HP. Briggs.

When I shop for parts for my Toro MANY cross reference to MTD.

Take a look at Bad Boy mowers. Extremely well made in the USA and packed with features.

Pretty much everything at Lowe’s and Home Depot is made by MTD except husqvuarna. Even the John Deer/cub cadet. I went with husqvuarna and I am very pleased with it. It’s made well and always starts easily and is pretty fast. Also you do not need to push any buttons to reverse like on a JD.
If you want a real cub cadet or a real John Deer you will have to go to a dealer and pay damn near twice as much.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Pretty much everything at Lowe’s and Home Depot is made by MTD except husqvuarna. Even the John Deer/cub cadet. I went with husqvuarna and I am very pleased with it. It’s made well and always starts easily and is pretty fast. Also you do not need to push any buttons to reverse like on a JD.
If you want a real cub cadet or a real John Deer you will have to go to a dealer and pay damn near twice as much.

As usual I'm getting great advice from the members of Sigforum and I appreciate it. More than likely I'll have to buy from Lowes or Home Depot because they give 10% military discount.

I don't know if you're considering zero-turn vs steering wheel, but keep in mind that with a zero-turn, you cannot drink coldbeer while mowing. Even with a cupholder, the motor vibration rattles the coldbeer into a flatbeer in seconds.

quote:

Originally posted by calugo:
As usual I'm getting great advice from the members of Sigforum and I appreciate it. More than likely I'll have to buy from Lowes or Home Depot because they give 10% military discount.

Not just that but I use the HD card and the 12 months of interest free financing is very useful. I guess that's why they always raise my limit since I wait until month 11 to pay them their money in full.

quote:

Originally posted by armored:
MTD makes the vast majority of the lawn tractors, then sold by dealers under there own brand name.

I bought a Toro LX460 tractor over 10 years ago, does its job without much trouble. I also use it to plow my sidewalks.

Look used on Craigs list.

Is MTD any good or just a watered down version that's built cheap and won't last long? Is Troy Built any good?

quote:

Originally posted by mrmoneybags:
I don't know if you're considering zero-turn vs steering wheel, but keep in mind that with a zero-turn, you cannot drink coldbeer while mowing. Even with a cupholder, the motor vibration rattles the coldbeer into a flatbeer in seconds.

True with soda as well.

ZT mowers also don't do well on soft ground.

How important are longevity and quality of cut? You’ll rarely get much of either with the MTD rebrands. You can usually tell a yard cut with an MTD mower because the decks never stay level and they look like hell. If you’re interested in something cheap to knock the grass down to a manageable height once a week and are willing to replace it every 3-6 years then save some money and get a Yardman from Walmart.

Edit: Or the cheapest thing at Lowe’s if the discount makes it cheaper there.

Here's a link to who makes what under which brand names, as of 2017: https://todaysmower.com/2014-l...actor-manufacturers/

I mow about 4 acres on a weekly basis and I use a Husky and a Cub Cadet. They are both great mowers as long as you keep them maintained. The Husky is the older of the two and I find that I go through belts faster on it than I do the Cub.

I'm getting older myself and one consideration, if you do your own maintenance, is how easy is it to get the deck off. Some riding mowers can be a real chore. Belts, pulleys, spindles, blades are just a few of the things that will need replacing over time.

As other posters have mentioned, MTD makes a lot of different mowers, under many brand names, and you want to buy a mower that you can get parts for and can be repaired locally, if necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by limblessbiff:
Pretty much everything at Lowe’s and Home Depot is made by MTD except husqvuarna. Even the John Deer/cub cadet.....

Cub yes but MTD doesn't manufacture for John Deere.