New Mower Advice

[sschradle]

Let us know what you went with. Very interested to see how the brands handle different terrain. Just noticed I misspelled awd. I hate the auto spell check on these iPads lol.

I will. I'm going to see if I can find someplace that will let me demo that Husky.

 

[LazerZLandscaping]

I would get a ZT.

What is your budget?

 

[Nwatson99]

Have you considered the husqvarna wad r322t? Should handle hills great and has a front mount deck.

The problem with this mower is if a operator has to turn on a incline it slips the way the unit turns "semi jackknife" you could have more problems that you want, the AWD X Series sschradle is looking at would be a better application for the terrain he has indicated.

 

[Carscw]

I would just keep using the craftsman.
What makes you think the transaxle will not last long?
I have a k-46
And I know I abuse it more then you ever thought of.

The only time people have problems with this transaxle is if the fan on top gets broke.

Now junk Deere uses this same one and had problems on the L130 and the X300 because of sitting to close to the frame and not letting enough air pass threw the fan.

 

[Carscw]

Always mow a hill side to side.

What you need is a four wheel turn ztr.
Like the cub cadet rzt s54. It will handle hills othe ZTRs won't.

Remember a ztr will not hold a hill as good as a rider.

 

[Shughes717]

The problem with this mower is if a operator has to turn on a incline it slips the way the unit turns "semi jackknife" you could have more problems that you want, the AWD X Series sschradle is looking at would be a better application for the terrain he has indicated.

I don't know that it would slip. I would like to hear from someone who owns one. With all four wheels pulling I wouldn't think slipping would be a big issue. If you turn on a hill that is too steep any mower may slip.

 

[sschradle]

I would just keep using the craftsman.
What makes you think the transaxle will not last long?
I have a k-46
And I know I abuse it more then you ever thought of.

The only time people have problems with this transaxle is if the fan on top gets broke.

Now junk Deere uses this same one and had problems on the L130 and the X300 because of sitting to close to the frame and not letting enough air pass threw the fan.

I hope you're right. That K-46 just isn't rated for a lot of torque, and I know they generally only advise it for "mostly flat" ground with no ground engaging implements. I'm glad to hear yours has taken a bunch of abuse. Gives me more hope. My dad has the same Craftsman that I have and he's run it for probably 6-8 years without a problem. It's been a damn good mower for him. They put a good motor in it, I just wish they wouldn't have used the smallest trans tufftorq makes. A k-66 with a little bigger rear wheels and that tractor would be a lot better.

The one reason I keep thinking about replacing it is that I can still get some money out of it if I sell it now. If I wait and do end up blowing the rear-end it won't be worth much.

 

[Shughes717]

Are you planning to do anything other than mow with the machine you are looking to purchase sscrhadle? I see that you are pretty far up north, and I assumed you would have more than one purpose for it. I suggested the husky because There are options for other attachments for the front, such as a flail deck, a snow plow, and a snow blower.

 

[sschradle]

Are you planning to do anything other than mow with the machine you are looking to purchase sscrhadle? I see that you are pretty far up north, and I assumed you would have more than one purpose for it. I suggested the husky because There are options for other attachments for the front, such as a flail deck, a snow plow, and a snow blower.

I saw that. I could probably use just about all of those. I'm going to talk to our local Husky dealer before I buy something. I'd really like to Demo one of those. Not sure if they do that though...

 

[sschradle]

I borrowed my buddy's 445 last night and put it through the paces. Two things stood out; 1 - the distance from outside tire edge to outside tire edge in the rear is considerably wider than mine, probably close to a foot which makes a huge difference on side hills. 2 - the trans has enough torque to control the tractor on steep down slopes, mine doesn't. The diff lock is a really nice feature. I used it a couple of times, but could probably live without it. I believe the 445 is almost twice as heavy as my craftsman too and that likely makes it more stable on side hills. Power steering is a sweet bonus.

My craftsman is a 26hp with a 54" deck. The 445 is 22hp (I think) with a 54" deck. Usually when I mow I have to plan my route to tackle the hills a certain way. Last night I just started going around the outside and worked my way in and didn't deviate. That cut my mowing time from 2 1/2 hours to 1 1/2. I think another difference is the 445 has considerably larger rear tires which seem to roll over the rough ground a lot better which meant I could go faster. You wouldn't think it'd make that much of a difference, but it seemed to. That's one concern I have with that husky. It has pretty small wheels. I'd like to try it though.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a machine similar to a 445.