Riding Mowers

[tfosterjr]

I need to purchase a new riding mower and would like some recommendations. Anyone own one that they really like??

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Yeah. Mine is a Ford 4610 w/ a 7' Rhino. Just kidding. I bought one of those commercial Yazoo zero turns a long time ago and I've kept it going for half my life. If I had to get a new one, I'd scope out the John Deeres.

 

[dun]

We got a cheapo Murray 12hp 42 inch 5 years ago. Changed blades every year (mowing rocks) and a spark plug each year. Last year I drained and changed the oil. We only cut about 3 acres of lawn once a week from late March till October. Then I use it to blow/shred leaves over the same area.
Amazingly good value for the money

dun

I need to purchase a new riding mower and would like some recommendations. Anyone own one that they really like??

 

[txag]

Yeah. Mine is a Ford 4610 w/ a 7' Rhino. Just kidding. I bought one of those commercial Yazoo zero turns a long time ago and I've kept it going for half my life. If I had to get a new one, I'd scope out the John Deeres.

i vote for john deere too.

i can tell you what not to get.......swisher. we bought one from our neighbor. about the only thing i liked about it was the zero-turning radius. no clutch, just one pedal which you used for your speed and brake.......push down to go & when you let off, the brake kicks in......kicks in so suddenly you get whiplash! thank goodness we no longer have it. we now have some cheapo hand-me-down from my parents who bought a new deere.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

Dun I hate to say it, but Murray is the worst thing I've ever experienced. My dad bought a new one several years back, and he called me to work on it every time he wanted to mow. The deck was made of very thin metal so it was always bent. Belts always had mishaps. Deck leveling system never worked right. Steering linkage wore out after three years. Must of been built on a Friday.

 

[dd]

Regardless which brand you choose things that I'd look for are: Zero or at least real tight turning radius, floating deck, and hydrostatic drive. Those things are what will really save you the time.

 

[jt]

Dun I hate to say it, but Murray is the worst thing I've ever experienced. My dad bought a new one several years back, and he called me to work on it every time he wanted to mow. The deck was made of very thin metal so it was always bent. Belts always had mishaps. Deck leveling system never worked right. Steering linkage wore out after three years. Must of been built on a Friday.

i guess there are good ones and bad ones in every breed (mower), but one of the best mowers i ever owned was a murray. gave it away after 10 years of hard use. but i would recommend changing the oil a little more often than once in 5 years. lol

i am in the market for a mower too, but it has been so long since i bought one i am not sure what i will buy. i worked on small engines for a while after the murray, and always kept someone else's junker going. hadnt bought a new riding mower in over 20 years, but the wife is hollaring that she wants one and keeps saying dear. i would like to think she is sweet talking me, but really down inside i know she wants one of them green mowers. lol

jt

 

[dun]

I had expected about the same thing as the problems you had. Never had them. A friend of mine repairs mowers, chainsaws, etc., etc. for a living. He sees mostly Torro and Snappers. Maybe the folks with the Murrys just throw them away.

dun

Dun I hate to say it, but Murray is the worst thing I've ever experienced. My dad bought a new one several years back, and he called me to work on it every time he wanted to mow. The deck was made of very thin metal so it was always bent. Belts always had mishaps. Deck leveling system never worked right. Steering linkage wore out after three years. Must of been built on a Friday.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say go with the Murry. I have an 8 yr old 12hp 42 inch cut mower. I cut about an acre a week. It still runs well, I change the oil every three months(during cutting season, which is almost year around in south La.), clean the air filter and grease every couple mowings. The only parts I've changed aside from belts and blades, are two idler pullys.It has the hydrolic foot feeter so you don't have to shift and it gives you a free hand to hold your can of coke.
I would not recomend the Murry 46" cut. The extra 4" isn't worth another blade and belt. My neighbor had one and had alot of belt and pully problems. 42" is the largest deck they make with two blades. The newer version of mine has a 17hp engine and sell for just over $1,000 at Wal-mart.
So do the math, a John Deer that size will run you around $3,000. Do you think that mower , as good as they are, will outlast three murrys?
I'm sold on them, for my needs I think they're the best mower for the money.
I never owned one, but If you have alot of trees, those zero turning radious mowers look like the way to go.

 

[D.R. Cattle]

I'll take the Deere. At least while I'm window shopping.

 

[MrBilly]

I have a Woods riding mower- zero radius turning, hydraulic lift of the blades, adjustable seat with weight compensation knob and a 25 horse Kohler engine. It is awesome and very expensive! I love it.

 

[Anonymous]

20 HP 52 " Murray, 8 years, one idler pully, numerous blades and pilot shafts (yard is full of stumps, but far less now than before the Murray
Oil and filter yearly.
Don't owe me nothing

 

[skip]

I guess I'll be the odd ball on this issue. I've had a Craftsman 42" riding mower for years. It's cheap like the Murray. Parts replacement is relatively painless. I'm like most others when it comes to the Deeres. My wife says I look like a kid in the candy store.

 

[DRB]

I bought a craftsman 6 or 7 years ago...bought the maintenance plan and had the deck replaced just before the plan ran out...it still runs great...cut about 2-3 acres every week,,,pine roots and all...in the winter it pulls my yard sweeper..I even filled it with desiel once and ran it 30 min before it quit,...drained the tank refilled it and it is still running good...

 

[D.R. Cattle]

The decks are our biggest problem in Fla. Everything is so sandy down here. They get sanblasted while they are mowing. Decks just sort of crumble away after a while if it one of the cheaper thin metal decks.

 

[eric]

if moneys no object and you dont mind paying for the name, then get a Deere so you can impress all your neighbors! The quality of the deere product went down considerably when Home Depot started carrying them. Most Deere dealers wont even touch the warranty work on the Depot bought Deeres. If you look around on the web, there is a really lively forum on riding mowers / garden tractors, where we debate this subject pretty heavily. Really good guys but man are they passionate about their machines!

As for me, I checked them all out, and for my money I bought a Craftsman DGT 5000 2 yrs ago. 25 HP Kohler / 48" cut. they make a 52" cut, but it wont go through my walk gates around my backyard. I think Sears gives the most bang for the buck, and you cant beat their warranty service, if something goes wrong, you just take it back in the first 30 days and get a new one! One more thing, get an hydrostat (automatic) drive, and a cup holder!

 

[la4angus]

if moneys no object and you dont mind paying for the name, then get a Deere so you can impress all your neighbors! The quality of the deere product went down considerably when Home Depot started carrying them. Most Deere dealers wont even touch the warranty work on the Depot bought Deeres. If you look around on the web, there is a really lively forum on riding mowers / garden tractors, where we debate this subject pretty heavily. Really good guys but man are they passionate about their machines!

As for me, I checked them all out, and for my money I bought a Craftsman DGT 5000 2 yrs ago. 25 HP Kohler / 48" cut. they make a 52" cut, but it wont go through my walk gates around my backyard. I think Sears gives the most bang for the buck, and you cant beat their warranty service, if something goes wrong, you just take it back in the first 30 days and get a new one! One more thing, get an hydrostat (automatic) drive, and a cup holder!

What about after the first thirty dayl? How is the warranty then?

 

[eric]

not sure, never had one break down on me!

 

[dun]

When you have to ship/haul your mower 50 miles for warranty work it seems rather pointless to pay the extra bucks for the name.
So far with our murray I haven't had to replace/repair anything other noraml wear and tear, battery, blades, oil and filters. A neighbor has a very nice JD diesel, cut about 1/4 the grass that we do, you can't really refer to it as lawn around here. They're annual costs are way over ours since they have to fix something on the JD every year.
Murrays may be junk, but they seem to be pretty decent quality junk.

dun

if moneys no object and you dont mind paying for the name, then get a Deere so you can impress all your neighbors! The quality of the deere product went down considerably when Home Depot started carrying them. Most Deere dealers wont even touch the warranty work on the Depot bought Deeres. If you look around on the web, there is a really lively forum on riding mowers / garden tractors, where we debate this subject pretty heavily. Really good guys but man are they passionate about their machines!

As for me, I checked them all out, and for my money I bought a Craftsman DGT 5000 2 yrs ago. 25 HP Kohler / 48" cut. they make a 52" cut, but it wont go through my walk gates around my backyard. I think Sears gives the most bang for the buck, and you cant beat their warranty service, if something goes wrong, you just take it back in the first 30 days and get a new one! One more thing, get an hydrostat (automatic) drive, and a cup holder!

 

[jfont]

I would say go with the Murry. I have an 8 yr old 12hp 42 inch cut mower. I cut about an acre a week. It still runs well, I change the oil every three months(during cutting season, which is almost year around in south La.), clean the air filter and grease every couple mowings. The only parts I've changed aside from belts and blades, are two idler pullys.It has the hydrolic foot feeter so you don't have to shift and it gives you a free hand to hold your can of coke.
I would not recomend the Murry 46" cut. The extra 4" isn't worth another blade and belt. My neighbor had one and had alot of belt and pully problems. 42" is the largest deck they make with two blades. The newer version of mine has a 17hp engine and sell for just over $1,000 at Wal-mart.
So do the math, a John Deer that size will run you around $3,000. Do you think that mower , as good as they are, will outlast three murrys?
I'm sold on them, for my needs I think they're the best mower for the money.
I never owned one, but If you have alot of trees, those zero turning radious mowers look like the way to go.

I wrote this one but forgot to log in.

Adding to what dun said about the parts, my neigbor has a john deer too, and his parts cost more than mine. And after ten years he put it out to pasture, engine runs fine, but the hood fell off and he had transmission problems he said were too expensive to fix giving the age of the mower, and went buy a craftsman. He wouldn't dare buy a murry because he always made fun of mine. Wont give me the satisfaction.