Need some tips for my next rider. I have a mower now that is going to be retiring. It's a Kmart brand(kgro). Bought it new in 1991 and mowed 3/4 acre with it plus pull around a wagon for yard work and what not every year since. Good old Briggs 18 horse and an american made tractor. I haven't done anything but grease it, sharpen blades and change fluids over the years. Question is, what brand will treat me this good now since they don't make the Kmart anymore? I'm keeping the Kmart as a conversation piece having 3100 hours on it and still running and all. Its getting pretty tired and the deck is about shot.
- Thread starter T.E.C.
- Start date
Russ from MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Bemidji MN
We have a Husqvarna that has been really good, a 15 hp v-twin Kawasaki. It has an excellent bagger, solid containers that are a lot easier to dump.
pete black
Well-known Member
expect a complete mix of answers form the highest priced ones to the intermediate priced ones. most will tell you to avoid the ones at lowes and home depot. personally for me i chose a cub cadet ztr from home depot and it has been trouble free for 3 years. now i am easy on equipment, use it for its intended purpose and maintain it well and for that reason all previous mowers,regardless of brand has served me well. 3/4 acre is not a lot and i suspect any well known product would do the same for your needs. might be a good time to look at the new mower from lowes called the raven, it is a mower, atv and mobile generator all in one package and seems to be highly spoken of. google utube for raven mowers to see one.
dr sportster
Well-known Member
If you have alot of stones and things you might butt up against don't get a Craftsman. It is a stamped steel axle and will bend. Mine has all kinds of brackets an welds on it to keep it from buckling under and it still cracks open at the end of the stamping. When looking at the Husky I see a much stronger [possibly forged ] axle.And it sits higher on the machine.
Dave8N in Pa
Member
Still running my 1974 Craftsman 18hp. She is getting loose in the gear box and I"m told those parts are not available anymore. I"m thinking about a knew cub.
Adirondack case guy
Well-known Member
The Raven is a very interesting concept. The GE Electrack's used to be popular, but the lack of a self contained charging system was a neg. It is a well known fact, that power can be transmitted very efficiently with DC current. The cross between a wheeler and lawn tractor makes sence. I am sure that it comes up short of being a trail machine, but it does look real usefull around a rural home with acerage.
I tried to find the price, but got lost in the multiple Lowes sights. Hope they don't catch fire like the Boeing Dreamliners.
Loren, the Acg.
I tried to find the price, but got lost in the multiple Lowes sights. Hope they don't catch fire like the Boeing Dreamliners.
Loren, the Acg.
We used to have a dealer of those in this neighborhood, I recall my father mentioning the line, one of the NYS troopers stationed at the barracks next to us, had a small engine shop with his brother, something he did on his days off.
There was a person advertising on CL locally, looking for these, seemed odd, but they must have had some kind of customer base, I had never heard of them until recent times.
Advice on the lawn tractor/mower, there are so many out there, I've had good luck with a '08 JD LA-135, limited edition. It has the high back seat, with lumbar support, 22 HP 2 cylinder B&S (JD Spec.) which has enough power and torque to cut thick grass at a reasonable speed, easy to work on, came with the front bumper, was from the JD dealer, for the 15+ times or so I cut the grass with it per year, about an hour or so each time, works for me. For many years I fooled with old ones, and we've always had them around the other place, my neighbor has one from H$ll, with odd problems, I figured my time is better spent on something else vs repairing these, which I have done since a kid, starting with a JD 110 which I still have and is 2/3 redone, stripped and painted.
There was a person advertising on CL locally, looking for these, seemed odd, but they must have had some kind of customer base, I had never heard of them until recent times.
Advice on the lawn tractor/mower, there are so many out there, I've had good luck with a '08 JD LA-135, limited edition. It has the high back seat, with lumbar support, 22 HP 2 cylinder B&S (JD Spec.) which has enough power and torque to cut thick grass at a reasonable speed, easy to work on, came with the front bumper, was from the JD dealer, for the 15+ times or so I cut the grass with it per year, about an hour or so each time, works for me. For many years I fooled with old ones, and we've always had them around the other place, my neighbor has one from H$ll, with odd problems, I figured my time is better spent on something else vs repairing these, which I have done since a kid, starting with a JD 110 which I still have and is 2/3 redone, stripped and painted.
Bill Radford
Member
For the Love of Pete dont get a MTD!!!!!(Includes Cub Cadet) a true POS.
Geo-TH,In
Well-known Member
Craftsman, poulan, Husky are all look the same to me. I look for a few thing, cast iron front axle, electric clutch for mower deck, and hydrostatic. That will eliminate the cheapies.
I have a 48 inch husky for a trim mower. Will take me 2 life times to put 3100 hours on it.
My main mowers are 72 inch woods, one on a ford and one on a farmall.
George
I have a 48 inch husky for a trim mower. Will take me 2 life times to put 3100 hours on it.
My main mowers are 72 inch woods, one on a ford and one on a farmall.
George
todd hamilton
Member
Hadda a cousin that put a 25HP Onan on a 60 inch John Deere - it mowed REEL good! 
pat sublett
Well-known Member
probably 90% of regular lawn mowers are built by either AYP or MTD. They paint them and brand them every which way. They also put different engines in the same mowers. I personally avoid B& S engines unless it is their Vangard series which is made in Japan by Mitsabishi.I don't think Techumseh is in business any longer, if they are, avoid them at any cost. Kholer is the best american made small engine. Your mower was probably made by MTD which is not super but if it lasted you so well you can probably do well with another. If you will look past the paint and plastick you can pick out the duplicates. JD and Kubota makes a cheap line but if you get past that, you can find some great machines in either brand. I don't want to start a controversity but the really good heavy machines of either brand are not made here. You pay a big price for any really good machine.
John Deere's premium line (X300, X500, and X700) are built in Horicon, Wisconsin.
Deere's consumer line (D100) are built in Tennessee. I believe it is the old Homelite plant.
MTD builds under about a dozen brands.
Husqvarna (formerly AYP) builds under their name, Craftsman, and a few others.
Snapper, Simplicity, and a few others are Briggs brands.
In my opinion, you get what you pay for. If you go to a big box store you'll be getting a cheap mower. It won't last nearly as long as your KMart did.
Deere's consumer line (D100) are built in Tennessee. I believe it is the old Homelite plant.
MTD builds under about a dozen brands.
Husqvarna (formerly AYP) builds under their name, Craftsman, and a few others.
Snapper, Simplicity, and a few others are Briggs brands.
In my opinion, you get what you pay for. If you go to a big box store you'll be getting a cheap mower. It won't last nearly as long as your KMart did.
ALL KUBOTA mowers even the zero turn are built in Gainsville Ga. now some do have components from Japan , ie axel and engines but BUILT NO assembled in Georgia.. If he is pricing K Mart stuff KUBOTA or JD will not be in the mix. KUBOTA did just introduce a home owner (ie cheaper) zero turn to compete with cub cadet.
Four year warranty and is selling like hot cakes)
Four year warranty and is selling like hot cakes)
Will cost you a little but a Deere x500 series is about what you need. Kaw engines and will last lots of years. Go to a dealer and stay away from the box store throw aways Lots of changes since you purchased your dependable tractor. Just my opinion from 35 years of Deere garden tractors I've owned and still use.
Mark, would you enlighten me about how the big box mowers differ from the dealer models? Specifically, the John Deere brand. I bought my mower, a JD 445 zero turn with Kawasaki, from the JD dealer. I intuitively believe that the dealer product is somehow better, but I see what to my eye is the same mower sitting out front of Lowe's. Just curious.
Texasmark1
Well-known Member
Having a big box store and a JD dealer a couple of miles apart, the dealer said the BB sells the same mower for the same price. He said we are the authorized warranty shop for their mowers. But if you check the five print on both, you will probably come up with Murray.
Nothing wrong with Murray, just like Cadillac and Ford Pinto. Cadillac was built for one market and Pinto another. If they are built to the specifications they are a quality product. Simple as that. We used to call it "Design to Cost" in industry and the customer is ALWAYS right because with him you do not exist!!!!!!
Murray builds for a multitude of badges. Sorta like BS engines. You can get an economy unit or a deluxe one. Just depends on the market price range it is supposed to occupy and what the customer specifies.
Mark
Nothing wrong with Murray, just like Cadillac and Ford Pinto. Cadillac was built for one market and Pinto another. If they are built to the specifications they are a quality product. Simple as that. We used to call it "Design to Cost" in industry and the customer is ALWAYS right because with him you do not exist!!!!!!
Murray builds for a multitude of badges. Sorta like BS engines. You can get an economy unit or a deluxe one. Just depends on the market price range it is supposed to occupy and what the customer specifies.
Mark
The big difference between the mowers and other power equipment sold in the box stores and those sold by the dealers is that the dealer is the service center for both. If I buy from a dealer and you buy from the box store and we both have an issue and show up at the dealer at the same time guess who'd going to get theirs back first!
About 2 years ago I took my chain saw in for a tune up. The guy in front of me was told for a tune up on his saw "about 10 days, we are real busy right now". Didn't matter to me. Wasn't planning on using my saw anytime soon. That guy left and the guy tells me and this is a direct quote "it will be done tomorrow afternoon, you bought yours here". This was at a Husqvarna/Toro dealer. When I picked my saw up and ask what I owed I was told 7.50. They adjusted the carb and sharpend the chain. The mechanic told me he wasn't charging for the carb adjustment as it only took a couple of minutes.
Rick
About 2 years ago I took my chain saw in for a tune up. The guy in front of me was told for a tune up on his saw "about 10 days, we are real busy right now". Didn't matter to me. Wasn't planning on using my saw anytime soon. That guy left and the guy tells me and this is a direct quote "it will be done tomorrow afternoon, you bought yours here". This was at a Husqvarna/Toro dealer. When I picked my saw up and ask what I owed I was told 7.50. They adjusted the carb and sharpend the chain. The mechanic told me he wasn't charging for the carb adjustment as it only took a couple of minutes.
Rick
Model-for-model, there is no difference between the JD at Lowes and the JD at the dealer. That D120 is the exact same tractor. The dealer may have done the setup for Lowes.
The catch is that Lowes (Home Depot, etc) only carries the consumer line (the D100 series).
Your 445 is the same as an X700 today. They don't sell the X700 (or X300/X500) at Lowes.
The catch is that Lowes (Home Depot, etc) only carries the consumer line (the D100 series).
Your 445 is the same as an X700 today. They don't sell the X700 (or X300/X500) at Lowes.
Similar threads
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.
Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy