lawn mowers

Im looking at picking up an additional mower. I currently have a JD L110 with a 42" cut and a Kohler 17.5 hp engine. It has been fairly good but it is getting worn out - had to weld the deck several times, steering is getting worn/ loose, cracked plastic, worn tires never holding air etc....
I mow about an acre of lawn ( 1 to two times a week), and a few acres of trees ( once every three weeks). The size and speed of the mower is fine - it could be a bit bigger but not much larger.

Home Depot is clearing out their mowers remaining. They have a Cub Caddet LTX 1045 with a 46" deck and a 20 hp Kohler on for about $1900. They also have a JD D140 with a 48"cut and a 22hp Briggs (I think) $2000.

For the same cut size 42" the Cub LTX 1040 and the Aries mower is $1600.

I think I would like the slightly larger mower width. I really like the Kohler engines compared to the Briggs, but not sure about the rest of the Cub Caddet.

Anybody have experiance with these machines and what do you think of them.

I will keep the old one to mow the roughest parts of the christmas tree field. I realize these are not "real tractors" but they get the job done, and I have enough big equipment to get everything else done.

Thanks in advance, Grant

Run away from the cub cadet, especially if it is a zero turn. They are junk, I spent 3 k on one and it was worn out after two years. The transmission is junk.

I would take my $1500-2000 and buy a good used better quality JD lawn tractor. Then you will have some thing that will last years without much trouble. You should be able to get a good GT275 or even a 325 for that type of money. They are the start of the garden tractor and would hold up well. Another very good model that would be in that range would be the LX 279 or LX 289. All of the models I have talked about have the Kawasaki motor and much heavier decks than your current mower.

Whatever you decide the JD decks will mow much better than the Cub cadet decks. I mow right beside a Cub every week. His yard does not look as good. His deck clumps any heavy juicy grass. Mine lays it out even.

I bought a Cub i1042 zero turn mower three years ago. I love it. Looks and drives like a regular rider, but will turn around on itself. I mow a half acre of grass about once a week or so. Have had one very minor problem, that"s it. Economical too.
I bought it in late august when everyone was looking to sell off their inventory for the year. I paid $1024 for it.

Shop around and get you a JD 430. Good dependable mowers. Cutting machine, I have run my brother's and I was amazed at how it made short order of and acre. My youngest brother is a service manager for JD and he says the are the best that JD has ever made. Keep it serviced and the blades sharp and it will last a long time. Also you can get a 3 point for them and it is even handier.

Not going to get into the price thing, but,I had a 16 hp 42 inch rider. took 3+ hours to mowmy lawn. when it died I went with a cub cadet 50 inch, 23 hp zero turn. on sale last year for 3000.00. I now mow the same lawn in 1hr 15 min.

Get a good used Deere 430 or 455 both are Yanmar diesel powered and will save you the cost of the
of the difference in a cheap gas mower in a few years plus they last a long time.

if you want it to last you will need to step up to the slightly larger garden tractor line, for personal comparing i bought a new 17 hp lawn rider from sears 23 years ago, [ it was the end of the season and sears had the only ones left in this county], in one year mowing only about 1/2 acre around the house,. it was worn out, now the grass around here isnt very hard to mow, its k31 fescue not field grass like the rest of the stuff here, it never did run right with the briggs,engine, it still doesnt, the wife still uses it when we can get it started, i mow the rest of the grass areas with either a farmall cub or the ford jubilee, whichever is handy, or not tied up doing other chores , i also have a john deere 260, with the 17 hp kawasaki engine,this one is used to mow 2 acres in a subdivision every other week,[ the deal i made was that the borad of directors there would buy me the machine i wanted, the machine would stay with me, not be left in the subdivision where it would be messed with,] this is a garden tractor which is larger and better made, it was bought new in 1994, it still runs and looks almost new, all ive had to do in 20 years is replace the drive belts and battery s, in '94 the jd cost twice what the sears did in 2010, but there is a night and day difference in the 2 machines these things are definitely you get what you pay for

must have hit 2 keys the sears is 2 years old, not 23 years old lol

not much of a sale look to me like,I have tractor style25hp kohler 48 in deck 1850.00 regular price in that quality of lineup. you have to realize 95%of all mowers out there have the same items under the sheet metal,it just depends on class you want into,yes you get what you pay for. I run the dixon and husqavarna line up,have had very good luck with the tractor units

Just looked at TSC ad that came in Sat. mail- Cub Cadet 19 hp 42" deck on sale for $1400, 22hp 46" deck is $1700 - both have hydrostatic drive. Sounds a little better than Home Depot sale , or they may honor the competitors price. I imagine width between trees may limit your choice but I would buy the widest mower you can use. It makes a differennce in time saved.

If you want something that will last, you need to go to a dedicated mower seller. Stay away from the 'big box stores'. That includes TSC. The stuff they sell is usually second rate junk that will only last a couple of years and is made to an inferior standard than the stuff you'll see at a dedicated mower seller.

No idea how good Cub Caddets are. Told most mowers today are made by MTD. When I purchase a mower, I look for hydrostatic, electric clutch, cast iron front axle, oil filters, oil pressure kill switch. I have both Briggs and Kohler commando. Like both. The Kohler commando has hyd valve lifters, oil kill switch, better bearings on crank and I think is built better than other brands of Kohler. Helped a friend replace a kohler on his sears mover, he ran it out of oil, no oil pressure kill switch, rod went out the side of engine, 375 hours on motor. Just my opinion on Kohlers, others may have a different opinion.

My 20 hp kohler commando has 1400 hours. Doesn't use any oil for the first 75 hours, then it starts using a little. I change oil and filter every 75 hours.

George

Do not know much about J deere but bought a Cub three yrs. ago 23 hp.Koller engine 46 in cut work great

Thanks guys, lots of good stuff to think about.
Regarding the price - I'm in Canada and even though the dollar is at par or we may even be ahead by half point, we get bent over on price for everything. Remember Lyle talking about $900 / ton tripple 19. He is along way from anywhere but my cost on that is still about $750+ / ton.
Grant