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I see several brands featured in this forum. I wonder which of these you would consider your top three brands for ride-on mowers? Please consider ability to handle hot tropical climate and durability.

Thanks in advance!

:smile:

I'm curious to know the answer to this as well. I just bought a sweet John Deere for a steal and its really the only mower I have ever bought, my late husband used to do all the buying.

my fav 3 mind you i am talking older ....are the Cub cadet ,JD,and Jacobsen/Homlite and i know you said 3 but i have to list Simplicity to

My three favorite brands would be Cub Cadet, Honda and Husqvarna and were talking ZTR's with the exception being the Honda push. Will not own another tractor.

Older; John Deere, Cub Cadet, Wheel Horse.

Newer; John Deere, John Deere, maybe Husqvarna. New Cb Cadets are just MTDs!

Thanks for all your replies! I truly appreciate them. I just get a bit disoriented by the terms "older" and "newer" and "MTD" What do those terms mean?

adan said:

Thanks for all your replies! I truly appreciate them. I just get a bit disoriented by the terms "older" and "newer" and "MTD" What do those terms mean?

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I would classify "older" as being 10 or more years old, which is what I prefer! :smile:

Newer means the "less than 10 years" models, including new from the dealer! ~~ grnspot110

adan,I see you live in the Phillippines so not sure what brands you can get there,there may be European models available to you that we do'nt have here in the states but my top three would be Grasshopper,Ventrac and Kubota..I perfer diesel but that's just me.If Yanmar made a mower ,which I don't believe they do then it would be up there too. russ

grnspot110 said:

Older; John Deere, Cub Cadet, Wheel Horse.

Newer; John Deere, John Deere, maybe Husqvarna. New Cb Cadets are just MTDs!

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What does that mean? New Cub Cadets are just MTDs

Ric said:

What does that mean? New Cub Cadets are just MTDs

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MTD bought them..I use to love the old MTDs ..But then they started to make them very cheaply they own alot of stuff now ...Most of there stuff is sold in the big box stores ...

John Deere, John Deere, and John Deere... no seriously I own a Gravely but that is only because the Johnny's are out of my price range. My dad owns a couple of them.

173abn said:

adan,I see you live in the Phillippines so not sure what brands you can get there,there may be European models available to you that we do'nt have here in the states but my top three would be Grasshopper,Ventrac and Kubota..I perfer diesel but that's just me.If Yanmar made a mower ,which I don't believe they do then it would be up there too. russ

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Hi Russ, the brands I see here are John Deere, Massey Ferguson (not mentioned anywhere in this forum but they sell tractors here), Kubota and Honda (they sell mostly cars and motorcycles, but I'll check if they have mowers).

Is Kubota a European brand? All the while my understanding is it's Japanese

briggs said:

MTD bought them..I use to love the old MTDs ..But then they started to make them very cheaply they own alot of stuff now ...Most of there stuff is sold in the big box stores ...

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According to what you're saying about CC, that Most of there stuff is sold in the big box stores ... and they're made cheaply I would have to assume that John Deere would be the same then because they too are sold at Big Box stores, is my thinking correct on this?

Ric said:

John Deere would be the same then because they too are sold at Big Box stores

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I think like most all the other brands, JD also makes a line of lower end mowers to catch their share of that market...
CC use to be International Harvester untill around 1981... after that it has been MTD.
MTD makes a lot of mowers, some of them labeled with older standard names... KennyV

hi adan,Kubota is Japanese,and I should say Yanmar engines are used in some of the high end ZTRs like Dixiechopper and JohnDeere.Also CubCadet and Yanmar merged and are making CUTS,however I don't think they are making mowers.If I was living in the Phillipines I would buy something that you can get parts for asap if you break down because you proabley need to mow 12 out of 12 months. russ

It appears that, in my case, it's a case of either John Deere or Kubota. They're both popular where I live, and they're being discussed in forums like this. I'll continue scouting for other brands here though. Honda, for instance, is mentioned here. But I still have to find out if they sell mowers here too.

KennyV said:

I think like most all the other brands, JD also makes a line of lower end mowers to catch their share of that market...
CC use to be International Harvester untill around 1981... after that it has been MTD.
MTD makes a lot of mowers, some of them labeled with older standard names... KennyV

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ty kenny i didnt get a chance to reply to him i was away lol ....I heard that MTD is making some of The JD stuff now is this true or a myth ..I have seen a few threads in other Forums that say they are .But i have also seen threads that say they are not ..Just curious to know

briggs said:

...I heard that MTD is making some of The JD stuff now is this true or a myth ..I
..Just curious

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I'm not sure ... I have heard it was AYP...

Whoever it is John Deere is not saying. BUT I feel it must be someone else for all the comments there are that the JD dealers will not service a lot of the new JD riders...
Someone out there has to know for sure what the deal is??? :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

I'm not sure ... I have heard it was AYP...

Whoever it is John Deere is not saying. BUT I feel it must be someone else for all the comments there are that the JD dealers will not service a lot of the new JD riders...
Someone out there has to know for sure what the deal is??? :smile:KennyV

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Humm i wonder who it is ..Makes it hard to give good info if we dont know who it is ..I have had people bring there deers because the dealer wont touch them ..I had a self -propelled lawnmower come in it was 2 years old .It broke the front axle deer would not touch it .it was a box store special .I could get the parts threw deer tho ... AYP they make yard pro and poulan right

The VENTRAC is by far the best machine I have had - Great mower AND it does much more than just mow. http://www.ventrac.com Plus made in USA. :thumbsup: also had Deere 318, Graveley and older Allice Chalmers garden tractors all good, but Ventrac is best for my needs.

173abn said:

adan,I see you live in the Phillippines so not sure what brands you can get there,there may be European models available to you that we do'nt have here in the states but my top three would be Grasshopper,Ventrac and Kubota..I perfer diesel but that's just me.If Yanmar made a mower ,which I don't believe they do then it would be up there too. russ

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briggs said:

... AYP they make yard pro and poulan right

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AYP (American Yard Products) they make CRAFTSMAN, POULAN, POULAN PRO, SEARS, RALLY, ROPER and A LOT of other names everyone would be familiar with... It is possible that MTD & AYP both make some of the JD's ... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

AYP (American Yard Products) they make CRAFTSMAN, POULAN, POULAN PRO, SEARS, RALLY, ROPER and A LOT of other names everyone would be familiar with... It is possible that MTD & AYP both make some of the JD's ... :smile:KennyV

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Wow am I :confused2::confused2::confused2::confused2::confused2::confused2::confused2:

KennyV said:

AYP (American Yard Products) they make CRAFTSMAN, POULAN, POULAN PRO, SEARS, RALLY, ROPER and A LOT of other names everyone would be familiar with... It is possible that MTD & AYP both make some of the JD's ... :smile:KennyV

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wow i didnt know they made that many diff mowers ty for the info ...

briggs said:

wow i didnt know they made that many diff mowers ty for the info ...

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Actually I don't believe American Yard products make lawn mowers. AYP manufactures parts and equipment for leading brands in the industry. Some brands that American Yard Products supplies parts to include Craftsman, Poulan Pro, Poulan, Roper, Sears, Rally, and many more. American Yard Products also has the most extensive line of attachments for lawn and garden tractors in the market today.

@RIC forgot to quote your post here is some info i found about AYP

American Yard Products manufactures parts and equipment for many leading homeowner brands in the lawn and garden industry. Some of the more popular brands that American Yard Products produces and supplies parts to include Craftsman, Poulan Pro, Poulan, Roper, Sears, Rally,Wizard, Roper, Woodwards, Yard Master, Sears, Roper, Chraftsman, Kgro, Rally and many more. American Yard Products also has an extensive line of attachments for lawn and garden tractors for the homeowner DIY market.



Electrolux Home Products, Fridgidair home products, Frigidair home products. AYP, EHP, FHP Mowers tillers lawn mowers lawnmower and accessories. American Yard Products, Rally, Roper, Weed eater & Poulan, and Poulan-Pro Lawn Mower Parts
Craftsman Lawn Mower Parts.

American Yard Products also makes mowers and other power equipment for :
Bradley, Caldor, Hechinger, Lawn Keeper, Meijer, Rickles, Wizard, Roper, Woodwards,
Yard Master, Sears, Roper, Craftsman, Kgro, Rally,Weedeater, and others
PL
Ayp / Roper / Craftsman lawn mower parts



This is some of the info i found on line from a site i will post link


http://www.outdoordistributors.com/ayp/ayp_main.html

i was just reading also that John Deer low end mowers are still made by JD just a cheaper model for the box stores which is sad to see them sell out like that ..So my info was wrong about who made them .I apologize for that ..Here is the article i found about it

John Deere Mowers | Should You Buy From Big Box Stores? | Home Construction Improvement

I had read that article several mts ago... It is still not an actual statement from JD about manufacture of the less well built models...
I have read further that MTD and AYP were actually building some of those models and that is why JD was not authorizing their dealer network to do any service warranty work on those models...

There in lies the confusion... WHO is authorized to do the warranty service, AND by whom is this authorization made? If not JD then who directs the in warranty repairs?


The licensing out of their name JD to anyone who will turn out inferior equipment is a big mistake... because in the long run the general public is not going to see that models XXX and YYY were inferior ... They will see Green & Yellow tractors mowers are not well made. ... Bad way to wreck a long history of quality and top notch service...
JD needs to make a statement about this ... and the responsibility for abusing their name... KennyV

KennyV said:

I had read that article several mts ago... It is still not an actual statement from JD about manufacture of the less well built models...
I have read further that MTD and AYP were actually building some of those models and that is why JD was not authorizing their dealer network to do any service warranty work on those models...

There in lies the confusion... WHO is authorized to do the warranty service, AND by whom is this authorization made? If not JD then who directs the in warranty repairs?


The licensing out of their name JD to anyone who will turn out inferior equipment is a big mistake... because in the long run the general public is not going to see that models XXX and YYY were inferior ... They will see Green & Yellow tractors mowers are not well made. ... Bad way to wreck a long history of quality and top notch service...
JD needs to make a statement about this ... and the responsibility for abusing their name... KennyV

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well said kenny ...I do agree ...Just hard to figure what is myth or fact anymore there so much out there. plus i dont want to give the wrong info ..I do know that the cheaper ones are not very dependable at all ..

KennyV said:

I had read that article several mts ago... It is still not an actual statement from JD about manufacture of the less well built models...
I have read further that MTD and AYP were actually building some of those models and that is why JD was not authorizing their dealer network to do any service warranty work on those models...

There in lies the confusion... WHO is authorized to do the warranty service, AND by whom is this authorization made? If not JD then who directs the in warranty repairs?


The licensing out of their name JD to anyone who will turn out inferior equipment is a big mistake... because in the long run the general public is not going to see that models XXX and YYY were inferior ... They will see Green & Yellow tractors mowers are not well made. ... Bad way to wreck a long history of quality and top notch service...
JD needs to make a statement about this ... and the responsibility for abusing their name... KennyV

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The licensing out of their name JD was most likely a decision of there corporate headquarters, I would think they would be the only ones that could do that and it has nothing to do with there dealers and they probably don't care what the dealers think. As to WHO is authorized to do the warranty service that would be the dealers and they're some JD dealers that do do the warranty work on those mowers sold from lowes the same as Cub Cadet does for mowers that are purchased from Home Depot at least the dealers here locally do. The dealers that do not do the warranty work are coming out on the short end.

Ric said:

The dealers that do not do the warranty work are coming out on the short end.

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I agree with that... service work IS service work... :smile:KennyV

My personal favorites are Cub Cadet, (now owned by MTD since 1985), Honda (they stopped making riding m.owers a long time ago, at least for the US market) and the high-end John Deeres. That being said, I'd call up two or three lawn maintenance companies where you live and ask them what they've had good luck with. There's nothing like using something commercially to give a good idea of what kind of durability, performance, and service support you can expect from your local vendors. Good luck!:smile:

KennyV said:

I agree with that... service work IS service work... :smile:KennyV

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The only way I could see a dealer coming up short is if the customers blamed the dealer for the same repairs needing to be done repeatedly. :frown:

adan said:

I see several brands featured in this forum. I wonder which of these you would consider your top three brands for ride-on mowers? Please consider ability to handle hot tropical climate and durability.

Thanks in advance!

:smile:

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John Deere. I had a John Deere 212 back in the 70's and I beat the tar out of that thing. The only thing we had to replace was the body parts that I ran into stuff with. Other than that she ran like a champ.

This is a photo of my Wheel Horse C175 that I bought in 1981 with 75 hours.
--- Realize that this tractor is 90% original, I have taken great care of it and the hour meter stopped at 300hours. I would guess it has well over 2K
Absolutely the best Lawn Tractor I have ever owned.
Maintenance makes a difference--never set in weather either:thumbsup:

Don't know if this has been said, but I believe that Roper is now under Husqvarna. MTD makes the Craftsman pro series in the same factory that makes the CC. The pro series has a better rep than the CC. This is accrding to what I have read on the internet. All of the tractor name brands have a ton of models. You really have to do your homework to ensure your getting the most for your money.
Engines are the same, each company makes models that are not known for longevity. They are good for a few years and then their junk. I don't know about you guys, but when I buy something I surch for the product that will last as long as possible. I hate to think that when you pay a few or more thousand dollars it considered though away.

any one that runs:laughing:

Top three current? (in order of preference) Snapper, JD, Cub Cadet.

Top three regardless of whether in production or not? (again, in order of preference) Snapper, Wheel Horse (AMC ownership era), JD.

Giles said:

This is a photo of my Wheel Horse C175 that I bought in 1981 with 75 hours.
--- Realize that this tractor is 90% original, I have taken great care of it and the hour meter stopped at 300hours. I would guess it has well over 2K
Absolutely the best Lawn Tractor I have ever owned.
Maintenance makes a difference--never set in weather either:thumbsup:

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Wow - that is fantastic.

I have more than three to pick from. One the older John Deeres or the higher end modern Deeres. The older MTD garden tractors and the older Sears garden tractors.

I have owned quite a few. My list would go something like this. Old and new, John Deere has been and probably will be, for the forseeable future, #1 for ride on mowers. They're not cheap, but you definitly get what you pay for. Honda also makes a great machine, but no longer available in the states, that I know of. My 3rd choice would be Cub Cadet. Although I have never owned one, I have only heard good things about them. Stay away from sears and big box store look a likes, they are just not worth the money. Just my opinion, but like I said, I have owned quite a few.

#1 Cub Cadet #2 John Deere #3 Husqvarna, all the rest built from left over parts!:laughing:

Seems like there need to be some parameters, otherwise if price is no object then I'm going all Ventrac! But if we're talking simple ride-on lawn/garden tractor and not CUT, and leaving out ZTRs...

JD
Kubota
Craftsman


(honorable mention to Cub Cadet, but ONLY if it has HID headlamps :biggrin

LOL....u phunny! Craftsman? Are you kidding:laughing:.....over the Legend :biggrin:"Cub Cadet"?

CajunCub said:

LOL....u phunny! Craftsman? Are you kidding:laughing:.....over the Legend :biggrin:"Cub Cadet"?

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Neighbor had a Cub Cadet. That thing went to the dump looking like it just came off the showroom floor (probably because it nearly did!). I have nothing against them, just don't have much experience with them except for THAT tractor.

I absolutely LOVED my old Craftsman GT5000 and also love my new PGT9000. Mostly because they tackle my field with absolutely no problem. Neighbor's Cub and Husky couldn't do it.

Funny thing is, your Cub and my Craftsman probably share 90% of their parts, including frame. It would be fascinating to "source" all the parts to see how they came together.

Anyway, I think it all comes down to model.

Your right you got a good looking machine. They do share alot of stuff too.

WTH are you talkin' about?

CajunCub said:

WTH are you talkin' about?

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I was thinking the same thing. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

So often on these forums I want to ask the same question. Glad you did:thumbsup:

CajunCub said:

WTH are you talkin' about?

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Carl Bert said:

I was thinking the same thing. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

So often on these forums I want to ask the same question. Glad you did:thumbsup:

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FTW? What'd I miss?

some one under the user name "sarahing" was giving some kinda sales pitch in the post between mine & yours, so I reported it....and now it's gone! Like magic man....

My picks are John Deere, Sears, and Murray (I know they don't make them anymore but I have two that with new batteries start and run great, they just don't steer as politely as the Deere and the blade engagement is a lever not a button.) And if cost is a factor just reverse the list.

Toro,exmark,scag

For tractors - #1 Simplicity if you get one of the models with the Briggs and Stratton Vangaurd motors, close #2 John Deere (not the box store ones, the real Deeres with Kawasaki motors) for tractors. Stay away from Kohler motors, every one I've had has been junk. Kubotas are supposed to be great, especially if you want diesel instead of gas but very very expensive for a lawn mower. Cub Cadets look tempting, lots of bang for the buck there but MTD scares me. I had a very expensive MTD built Cub Cadet in the 80's, awful piece of junk, maybe better now, I just don't know.

For zero turns - I'm not sure. I know the John Deere and Skag ZTRs are excellent, my brother-in-law is a landscaper and uses and abuses both with no problems but there may be other good ones too, like maybe the pro level Toro ZTRs (not the box store ones).

Good luck!

Ric said:

What does that mean? New Cub Cadets are just MTDs

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MTDs are a econimical manufacture, ( cheep cheep )

This is again a silly question.
just about every maker has outstanding mowers and total crap.

I love the Husqvarna Pro Rider series but would not walk across the road to pick up a free Husqvarna tractor.
My landlord runs 3 Cub Cadet 2000 series ( Horizontal motors ) and he really punishes them. I could not fault that series, but the 1000 series is junk.
John Deere makes some excellent mowers but again the 100 series is cheap garbage that is lucky to stay together for warantee period.
Never seen a Simplicity that I did not admire, but not the finest cut in the world , really robust but over complicated & difficult to work on ( expensive )
Cox ( local made ) can not be killed I service a lot of them that are 20+ years old.
Greenfields same story both are fully fabricated and can not be stopped, simple to use , easy to work on , cheap to run and again the oldest one I regularly work on is 1968.
Deutcher are another premium brand with a belt run even more complicated than the early Bowlens but again have to throw them off a cliff to kill them, almost no maintenance.
Toro have taken the local professional market off Deere with an excellent range but the smaller tractors arer not much chop.

Even worse now days is that most mowers are made for a brand not buy the brand.
The small JD's ZTR are bough in & made at the same factory as the Craftsman 2000 series , Neither are particularly goos mowers but the JD is twice as good as the almost identical Craftsman

How did you guys get into a discussion from 2011 in 2015/

possum said:

How did you guys get into a discussion from 2011 in 2015/

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Because it comes up automatically as a new post.:confused3: