New Rider Advice Needed - Cub Cadet, Husqvarna, or Other?

[Certek]

First and foremost, thanks in advance for your review and possible reply. I am in the market for a new rider lawn mower. My lot is pretty small, about a half acre. It has a lot of hills and the biggest one is about on a 20-degree slope. Lots of beds to trim around. Grass is very thick and I am getting tired of using my walk behind to cut it. Also, lots of clumping. Two other reasons for the rider - my live-in operator, son, is going to college in the fall and I also take care of a neighbors lawn down the street as he has MS. Same size lawn but flat.

I have visited dealers and narrowed down my choices to two mowers. First is the Husqvarna YT42DXLS (42") tractor. It has the locked differential in order to handle the hills. Second is a totally different style, Cub Cadet RZT S42. It is a zero turn but has a steering wheel that controls the front wheels for better performance on hills. Lots of reviews state is does very well with them. Pricing for the two are pretty similar. The Hus tractor has a better deck and seems built a bit better in total. The same engine is used in both, Kohler 22HP/725cc Kohler 7000. I like the zero turn and lower center of gravity of the CC. On the other hand, I like to heavier deck and build of the Hus. I do mulch beds on hills and around the house and plan on getting a cart to help with this activity. Can the CC handle this load? Dealer said it should not be a problem but I am a bit concerned. I am really struggling to make a decision. If it is your $2,500 which would you choose or is there another I should be reviewing? Fire away if you have any questions.

Just found our the lower cost Husqvarna YT 42LS, retail for $2,100 has the locking differential and comes in two engine sizes - the above mentioned Kohler 22HP engine or a Kawasaki 18HP engine. Seems the main difference is the reinforced deck of these mowers as compared to the fabricated deck above. I don't know if the extra $600 is worth a fabricated deck. Would you pick the Kawasaki engine over the Kohler?

Thanks again for your time.

 

[whelch1]

I am still a newbie to the site, but I will give you what input I can. You already pointed out that the husqvarna has a better deck than the cub cadet, I like the thicker welded deck vs the stamped deck of the cub. I have however used the cub cadet where I haven't used the husqvarna. My father in law owns the cub, as well as my neighbor. Although the hills I tried it on probably were not 20% grade, they were around 15 and damp and it did surprisingly well. It also has the same ability as any other zero turn to mow around obstacles and be able to stripe which I always found hard to do on a lawn tractor. Best of all for me since I always hated cutting grass is that it makes it fun. This brings me to what I do know for sure. I have used lawn tractors and walk behinds in the past and I've never enjoyed cutting grass more than I do now with a zero turn. I find any excuse I can to go out and play on my new toy. I never had the same experience on a traditional lawn tractor. $2500 doesn't get you the best zero turn, but I feel that if you take care of it, it should be fine. Some will tell you to keep an eye out for a used mower and that is a good idea, Craigslist has some good finds.

 

[Shughes717]

I am still a newbie to the site, but I will give you what input I can. You already pointed out that the husqvarna has a better deck than the cub cadet, I like the thicker welded deck vs the stamped deck of the cub. I have however used the cub cadet where I haven't used the husqvarna. My father in law owns the cub, as well as my neighbor. Although the hills I tried it on probably were not 20% grade, they were around 15 and damp and it did surprisingly well. It also has the same ability as any other zero turn to mow around obstacles and be able to stripe which I always found hard to do on a lawn tractor. Best of all for me since I always hated cutting grass is that it makes it fun. This brings me to what I do know for sure. I have used lawn tractors and walk behinds in the past and I've never enjoyed cutting grass more than I do now with a zero turn. I find any excuse I can to go out and play on my new toy. I never had the same experience on a traditional lawn tractor. $2500 doesn't get you the best zero turn, but I feel that if you take care of it, it should be fine. Some will tell you to keep an eye out for a used mower and that is a good idea, Craigslist has some good finds.

Great post, I totally agree. Mowing with a zero turn is about as much fun as you can have on a mower. I have not used the cub, but it looks like a good design for hills. Typically ztr mowers don't do as well on hills as a tractor.

 

[dhd]

There are a couple of terms being used on this thread to describe the steepness of a slope.
Degree of slope and % grade, but they don't equal the same. A 20-degree slope is about 36.4% grade and a 20 % grade is about an 11.31 degree slope.

It is easy to calculate degree of slope with a protractor.


I have a few 15 degree slopes and a 19 degree slope that I use to have traction issues with my Wheel Horse garden tractors.
I have even flipped the WH over and been pinned underneath a couple of times, when they lost traction then suddenly gained traction again, and flipped over backwards.
Recently I went to the Husqvarna R322T AWD. It is an all wheel drive rider which has excellent traction and it's very stable on those same steep slopes, I can even make turns on the 19 degree slope (but I do that slow and cautiously)
The R322T is not an inexpensive unit at $5400 but it is the least expensive AWD riding mower I could find, and I wanted to make sure I did not have a lack of traction again.

Here is a link to another thread I recently posted about.... A good mower for sloped lawns
There are a couple of youtube links showing how it performs on a steep slope.
http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/husqvarna-dixon-forum/31735-good-mower-sloped-lawns.html

 

[Certek]

I am still a newbie to the site, but I will give you what input I can. You already pointed out that the husqvarna has a better deck than the cub cadet, I like the thicker welded deck vs the stamped deck of the cub. I have however used the cub cadet where I haven't used the husqvarna. My father in law owns the cub, as well as my neighbor. Although the hills I tried it on probably were not 20% grade, they were around 15 and damp and it did surprisingly well. It also has the same ability as any other zero turn to mow around obstacles and be able to stripe which I always found hard to do on a lawn tractor. Best of all for me since I always hated cutting grass is that it makes it fun. This brings me to what I do know for sure. I have used lawn tractors and walk behinds in the past and I've never enjoyed cutting grass more than I do now with a zero turn. I find any excuse I can to go out and play on my new toy. I never had the same experience on a traditional lawn tractor. $2500 doesn't get you the best zero turn, but I feel that if you take care of it, it should be fine. Some will tell you to keep an eye out for a used mower and that is a good idea, Craigslist has some good finds.

Thanks for your insight. I understand where you are coming from and at the CC dealer I took one for a ride and it was fun drive. I believe you have the CC along with knowing others with them. Can you tell me if you have ever pulled a cart of mulch or alike with the CC? One of my concerns with the CC is not being able to pull a card up hill with mulch, maybe just too much to be asked of the Cub. I will not do this often, maybe once or twice a year. 95% of the time will be mowing.

 

[1striper1]

My vote is "other".....maybe. The hydro drive is usually among the first things to fail, so if you can find a unit that has replaceable hydro fluid you will be well served. I don't know the Cub's and Husky's you are looking at but I would be checking if the fluid is changeable. If not, look for a good used unit that has this feature.

Many John Deere 3XX series LT's have this feature and the JD 5XX do as well. Check on Simplicity's as well as Toro's.

 

[whelch1]

I personally bought a scag but I sent my father in law to the dealer I bought mine from because I was impressed with them and felt very comfortable there. He had been looking at cub cadet lawn tractor at a big box store and I convinced him into going to the dealer I used who also carried cub. He came out with the cub cadet zero turn with steering wheel. I honestly couldn't tell you about pulling a trailer, my father in law does not own one and I haven't seen my neighbor with one either. 1striper1 brings up a good point about the hydros. I don't believe they are serviceable.

 

[1striper1]

I personally bought a scag but I sent my father in law to the dealer I bought mine from because I was impressed with them and felt very comfortable there. He had been looking at cub cadet lawn tractor at a big box store and I convinced him into going to the dealer I used who also carried cub. He came out with the cub cadet zero turn with steering wheel. I honestly couldn't tell you about pulling a trailer, my father in law does not own one and I haven't seen my neighbor with one either. 1striper1 brings up a good point about the hydros. I don't believe they are serviceable.

If it has the Hydro-Gear EZT's the fluid can be changed.

IMO - if you buy a lawn tractor with sealed hydro's you might as well get the cheapest one that has the deck size you want. The hydro's will likely start to fail (won't go up a hill when it's been running for a while) before the engine will.

 

[Certek]

Well the Husqvarna rep came out yesterday to survey the hills and beds in which the mower would need to deal with. I wanted to make sure he had no reservation regarding the terrain prior to make a purchase like this. The Cud dealer is coming on Monday. Unfortunately, Hus rep had some concerns over the back hill grade. After talking more, I really think I should be looking into a 36-inch commercial walk behind. Lawn is very thick and does not mulch well. It will be interesting to see what the Cub dealer says but I expect the same. He is bringing out the mower. We will see. Any thoughts or recommendations on a commercial walk behind. Money will be an issue as I know they can be very expensive, especially the hydro-static drive models. Can I get away with gear drive with the hills? Checking craigslist and not much out there in my area.

 

[dhd]

Well the Husqvarna rep came out yesterday to survey the hills and beds in which the mower would need to deal with. I wanted to make sure he had no reservation regarding the terrain prior to make a purchase like this. The Cud dealer is coming on Monday. Unfortunately, Hus rep had some concerns over the back hill grade. After talking more, I really think I should be looking into a 36-inch commercial walk behind. Lawn is very thick and does not mulch well. It will be interesting to see what the Cub dealer says but I expect the same. He is bringing out the mower. We will see. Any thoughts or recommendations on a commercial walk behind. Money will be an issue as I know they can be very expensive, especially the hydro-static drive models. Can I get away with gear drive with the hills? Checking craigslist and not much out there in my area.

Are you just discussing the Husqvarna YT42DXLS (42") tractor with the Husqvarna rep ?
Was the Husqvarna R322T AWD considered ?
I realize it's not a machine for everyone, but it you've got steep slopes it's hard to beat, and it maneuvers well in confined areas.
It not inexpensive at $5300, but it is AWD, and it is designed to last and does have serviceable transmissions (oil changes and filter replacing)
The R322T is made in Sweden and it's not something you're going to find in a big box store.
Mowing decks for the R322T are the 48" side discharge, and the Combi 103 (40.5") that can be either a mulching deck or rear discharge.
Some folks use the rear discharge configuration and tow a lawn sweeper to collect the clippings.
At present Husqvarna does not offer a bagging collection system for the R322T.