I shopped hard prior to making my Craftsman PGT 9000 purchase at Sears. I specifically needed an entry level Garden tractor that could not only do more than a typical Rider / Lawn Tractor, but have the necessary power available to pull the steep 2 acre hill on our property... The 28HP PGT 9000 with added Carlisle Heavy Lug rear tires and Sears Craftsman 55lbs rear wheel weights (for a combined $200+ dollars) help this tracotr do it well. -- My dissapointment is in the overall quality & design of this tractor for the $$ and in light of its status as being their "Top of the Line" Professional Garden Tractor, or (PGT).
The PGT 9000 is essentially a Cub Cadet GTX1054, but rather than a 26HP Kohler, you get a 28HP Briggs... By the way, if you need interchangeable parts, you can visit the Cub cadet site and type in GTX1054 for a detailed breakdown of items that will adapt directly to the PGT9000. -- Unfortunately, some of the short comings with this tractor (like the Cub Cadet) lag well behind lower competetive models within its class... For example:
The Deck Lowering System was engineered and designed very poorly. The cables over "plastic" pulleys are just a sorry excuse for a tractor supposed level, again as being offered as "Top of the Line"... The deck is heavy and basically suspended on cables over roller pulleys (what they call: adjustment cable pivots... or what I call Junk!). - The purchase of steel pulleys (approx. $20) will help matters, but even at that, the lowering / raising system on the 54' deck is cumbersome at best, particularly when considered against other brands that use a counter balancing style leverage system which makes the deck all most seem weightless and smooth by comparison (see Husky LGT 2554)
Additionally, the Front Wheels are not even equiped with Roller Bearings! This set up is clearly a cheap short cut. The tractors full weight rides over a greased shaft (axle) through, what best can be described as a wheel barrow rim. (for lack of a better decription). If you do not keep this routinely greased, the axle will wear hard in the underside of the shaft, as well as within the rim, which will inevitably create allot of play and result in needing replaced prematurely. - I tried to find a bearinged replacement, but the cheap shaft design that it rides on has made this very difficult. It would seem that both the axle (shaft) and rim togeter woukld need changed out, but I'm not sure what model/make would fit it, as the Cub Cadet has the same sorry design. -- John Deere LT170 & Husky LGT2554 both have Front Wheel Bearings.
The headlights do not have a seperate on/off switch. - Radio Shack fix w/ connectors ($8)
The steel & plastic hood (John Deere & Cub Cadet have heavy Plastic) tends to flip forward when descending a steep bumpy hill... The loose hood can be firmly secured with Rubber Hood Closures (NAPA $12) and hold down all of the vibration.
Decals routinely come off.. This is yet another cheesy feature. Other mowers/tractors have the decals molded or bonded into the plastic. The PGt 9000 has stickers which pull away from the dash or side rail and will not adhere to the plastic surfaces. - I might also add, depending on where you find this tractor on-line, you will notice images with and without the brush gaurd... I'm told that this is optional, but the adds do not detail this... After weeks of arguing with different the on-line sales reps, they finally agreed that this was an add error and decided to send me one. (not pictured).
It would seem that there are trade offs with every tractor within this class... If you need the extra HP's, this is probably the tractor for you... Many of the short comings can be addressed with a little more ca$h and effort, but others cannot.... If you can afford it and plan on using your tractor more heavily and for more than Lawn Care and Gardening (Tilling, Snow Removal, Hauling) year round, then I would suggest stepping up to a Kubota, John Deere X300 (or greater), or a Cub Cadet 2500 (or greater). These are nearly twice as much, but you get a huge jump in quality and craftmanship for the $$$.
The John Deere LT170, Husky 2554, & Cub Cadet 1054 all have plusses, minuses and trade offs between them too. Study them well before you make your purchase to decide what you feel you can live with or without for your needs. Make sure you can live with it's short comings and in many cases, poor design. I would also recommend going over the unit closely, as those who've assembled it may have jipped you out of a handful of nuts & bolts... trust me on this one.....
The PGT 9000 is essentially a Cub Cadet GTX1054, but rather than a 26HP Kohler, you get a 28HP Briggs... By the way, if you need interchangeable parts, you can visit the Cub cadet site and type in GTX1054 for a detailed breakdown of items that will adapt directly to the PGT9000. -- Unfortunately, some of the short comings with this tractor (like the Cub Cadet) lag well behind lower competetive models within its class... For example:
The Deck Lowering System was engineered and designed very poorly. The cables over "plastic" pulleys are just a sorry excuse for a tractor supposed level, again as being offered as "Top of the Line"... The deck is heavy and basically suspended on cables over roller pulleys (what they call: adjustment cable pivots... or what I call Junk!). - The purchase of steel pulleys (approx. $20) will help matters, but even at that, the lowering / raising system on the 54' deck is cumbersome at best, particularly when considered against other brands that use a counter balancing style leverage system which makes the deck all most seem weightless and smooth by comparison (see Husky LGT 2554)
Additionally, the Front Wheels are not even equiped with Roller Bearings! This set up is clearly a cheap short cut. The tractors full weight rides over a greased shaft (axle) through, what best can be described as a wheel barrow rim. (for lack of a better decription). If you do not keep this routinely greased, the axle will wear hard in the underside of the shaft, as well as within the rim, which will inevitably create allot of play and result in needing replaced prematurely. - I tried to find a bearinged replacement, but the cheap shaft design that it rides on has made this very difficult. It would seem that both the axle (shaft) and rim togeter woukld need changed out, but I'm not sure what model/make would fit it, as the Cub Cadet has the same sorry design. -- John Deere LT170 & Husky LGT2554 both have Front Wheel Bearings.
The headlights do not have a seperate on/off switch. - Radio Shack fix w/ connectors ($8)
The steel & plastic hood (John Deere & Cub Cadet have heavy Plastic) tends to flip forward when descending a steep bumpy hill... The loose hood can be firmly secured with Rubber Hood Closures (NAPA $12) and hold down all of the vibration.
Decals routinely come off.. This is yet another cheesy feature. Other mowers/tractors have the decals molded or bonded into the plastic. The PGt 9000 has stickers which pull away from the dash or side rail and will not adhere to the plastic surfaces. - I might also add, depending on where you find this tractor on-line, you will notice images with and without the brush gaurd... I'm told that this is optional, but the adds do not detail this... After weeks of arguing with different the on-line sales reps, they finally agreed that this was an add error and decided to send me one. (not pictured).
It would seem that there are trade offs with every tractor within this class... If you need the extra HP's, this is probably the tractor for you... Many of the short comings can be addressed with a little more ca$h and effort, but others cannot.... If you can afford it and plan on using your tractor more heavily and for more than Lawn Care and Gardening (Tilling, Snow Removal, Hauling) year round, then I would suggest stepping up to a Kubota, John Deere X300 (or greater), or a Cub Cadet 2500 (or greater). These are nearly twice as much, but you get a huge jump in quality and craftmanship for the $$$.
The John Deere LT170, Husky 2554, & Cub Cadet 1054 all have plusses, minuses and trade offs between them too. Study them well before you make your purchase to decide what you feel you can live with or without for your needs. Make sure you can live with it's short comings and in many cases, poor design. I would also recommend going over the unit closely, as those who've assembled it may have jipped you out of a handful of nuts & bolts... trust me on this one.....