Cheap lawn tractors

[walkin jack]

Well I hope my Cubby lasts 20 years. Shoot, I hope I last 20 years....

 

[WuzzFuzz]

Here you go....which country do you want to support?

Where are Briggs & Stratton motors made?

Read on and it also shows where various other engines are made..


WuzzFuzz

 

[alwslate]

Kohler does claim that they manufacture their lawn tractor engines right here in the good old USA.

 

[alwslate]

Well I hope my Cubby lasts 20 years. Shoot, I hope I last 20 years....

Read the fine print on your warranty. It should guarantee that you will last as long as your Cubby

 

[BigBill]

I'm running a old cub cadet. It's $150 cub with 44" deck, $150 for a used 12 hp Kohler engine, another $150 clutch, upgrades, paint. 13 years later she quit. Time to change the engine again. Got a 14 hp Kohler $200.

 

[Golphin]

42" seven speed manual transmission, red, 17.5 hp Brigs and Stratton engine, Craftsman brand, $1549 at Lowe's. Tractor Supply has basically the same but with a 17 hp Kohler engine for $1599. MTD makes the Troy Bilt at TS while a different company makes the Craftsman model at Lowe's. Anyone have any experience with either one? Thanks in advance.

They will work fine for a small smooth flat lawn. If you want one that will work better for longer get a zero turn with a fabricated steel deck and preferably a Kawasaki motor. Here in Florida we don't have snow blowers or need firewood but mowers get a work out in hot weather with fast growing thick grass. I mow at least 10 months of the year and in the summer rainy season every 5 days to keep up with it. I also have a couple of acres to mow.

 

[terry_tr6]

I just wish they would either make the decks out of SS or sell replacement decks at some sane amount. My last JD deck got replaced once, then welded and rewelded until there was nothing to weld to. by that time there were no more to be had at any price but the motor and hydrostatic transmission was still going fine after 15 years

 

[mick1213]

The 7 speed transmission of this model is simply a variable speed belt and pully system, they work ok but can have belt problems. Not a particularly difficult job to replace but time consuming. Its a simple and cheap form of drive.
.

 

[JJEH]

In 2016 I bought a John Deere D130 for $1,699 and it's worth every penny. Stored outside and starts up right away every time. Few weeks ago I replaced the battery and now the seat starts cracking. But runs like a champ.

 

[WR Moore]

OP, for the money you're talking about, you can (or could) go to Tractor Supply and get a Cub Cadet 42 in deck. They don't give a HP rating but by checking the previous years specs, I expect it's close to 20 HP.

I grabbed one on special last year. Maybe the second new mower I've ever owned, all the previous riding ones were AMF/Murray. I'll never go back.

About the decks......if you wash the grass out of the deck at each use, the deck will last a long time. The Cub Cadet has a fitting on the deck for the flush. When my father broke down and bought a riding mower after I moved out (and he had to cut the grass himself), I pulled the deck and put 2 coats of Rustoleum red primer on the underside. Also discovered that I had to weld a 5/16 solid rod into the lip on the front of the deck to keep it from deflecting into the blades in heavy grass. Between the reinforcement, the paint on the underside and a flush after each use, the deck lasted as long as the rest of the mower. Yes, I painted the underside of the deck on the new mower.

 

[charlie sherrill]

Kohler does claim that they manufacture their lawn tractor engines right here in the good old USA.

Kohler has an engine plant not far from where I live in Hattiesburg, Ms.

 

[Sumpta]

I'm a fan of Wheelhorse. Picked this guy up (minus the blower), with a Honda powered leaf sucker last fall for 400. 48 deck, hyrostatic drive, 16hp Onan.

Also have an older WH C160 which has been a great machine, that was $300 if I remember right. High, low range.

 

[Alton]

I understand Dewalt is now in the Mower business. Like $6,600 at Home Depot for the 60".

 

[djohns6]

I'm not hearing anything good about the B&S engines right now . I have a Bad Boy with a Kohler that's been trouble free .

 

[len917]

42" seven speed manual transmission, red, 17.5 hp Brigs and Stratton engine, Craftsman brand, $1549 at Lowe's. Tractor Supply has basically the same but with a 17 hp Kohler engine for $1599. MTD makes the Troy Bilt at TS while a different company makes the Craftsman model at Lowe's. Anyone have any experience with either one? Thanks in advance.

I have a 19 hp Kohler in my Deere--no problems at all. Kohlers are pretty goo and easy to maintain

 

[len917]

There are two different tractors sold. The ones sold by the big box stores are manufactured with lesser quality. For example, the John Deere tractors sold by the dealer will have wheels with ball bearing but the ones sold by he big box stores will only have brass sleeve wheel bearings.

I found that with the Deeres, the "L" is for big box stores and "D" is for dealers--You are correct.
For longevity, the "D" will hold up longer. Engines are the same

 

[alwslate]

I was told by an employee at one of the big box stores that the JD lawn tractors they sell are not the same level of quality as the ones sold by JD dealers. The employee went on to say that the overall quality of the JDs they sell was absolutely no better than the store brands like Craftsman and Troy Bilt. The heart of any lawn tractor is the engine of course and they all seem to be the same regardless of tractor brand.

 

[BigBill]

My old cub cadets will last another 100 years.