Goodbye Les Baer purchase hello new Mower

[drumsscott]

Exmark best mower I've ever owned. Loves thick grass and still no rust after over 20 years.

 

[Trigger Time]

And if you get lonely... Wait, wrong part of the world. nevermind.



The dealer sourced models are solid. I grew up with them and they will easily last 10 years with proper maintenance. My mom swears by them. Not sure of the big box model quality.

They are of course nowhere what they used to be. But thats across the board.

maybe he lives in Carmel

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I've got a "Yardman by MTD" I bought used at a foreclosure auction 10 or 11 years ago. It's got a big "Big Blue" sticker on the back, so it was purchased new there and they've been out of business since the very early 2000s. I have no idea what their quality is like on a new one, but I've had no issues at all out of this one.

 

[mike trible]

I bought a Gravely ZeroTurn 6 or 7 years, very happy with it.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I've got a Scag going into its 14th year. It's more like a Wilson Combat than a Les Baer though...and that's for the ones with a Kohler engine instead of a diesel or liquid cooled engine. Still though, you might check the used ones. Unless it's been used by a commerical mowing company, chances are it's not nearly worn out yet. Our dealer seems to always have one or two used ones on his lot.

I'm convinced, I'll have to replace the engine on this thing long before the deck or any other body part rusts out.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I mow with a 1987 John Deere 185 Hydro, It was my dad's first mower when he and my mom built their house. It is 2 years older than me and still runs like a top. They just don't make mowers like they used to, With your budget I would try to find an older model John Deere before I bought a new cheap mower.

 

[Hop]

I have a 30 year old Craftsman (Murray) rear engine rider. It's a cantankerous old beast, but it gets the job done year after year.

I have one as well. I need to fix up a few things and sell the beast as my part-time-working wife cuts the grass with a push mower because she wants the exercise.

 

[SMiller]

How do the products know when the warranty expires? Riding mower took a ........today spent a few hours just cutting the front yard with a push mower. I have had a cub cadet that lasted about 5 years then the deck rusted out. Then a Husk varna lasted about 5 years.Maintenance done kept inside.

What brand have you had good luck with? Thinking about going with a zero turn this time. Torn between buying a cheapo and a decent one, we had a tractor supply low end one that lasted 10 years.

If you have a deck that rotted out in 5 years then you did NOT do maintenance and can expect the same from the next mower...

I would recommend a zero turn with a thick fabricated deck as they can stand up to having moldy grass never cleaned out of them.

A cheap TSC zero turn moweris just another throw away, you get what you pay for.

If you want a 3,000+hr mower you have to $$$

 

[thunderchicken]

Dad has had a Deere for about 18yrs. It's still going strong. It sees some pretty heavy usage as it is used to mow his yard, my brothers yard and grandmas yard since brother lives next door on one side and grandma live on the other side. Multiple people run his Deere sharing in the mowing chore but it has been beat up by mom and my sister in law. The two of them could tear up a steel ball in a sandbox. I have never used it but have been the go to mower repair service. Parts are easily available and repairs aren't too bad to do.
My only advise would be get something easy to get parts and that can be maintained fairly easily

 

[GLOCKMAN23C]

I mow with a 1987 John Deere 185 Hydro, It was my dad's first mower when he and my mom built their house. It is 2 years older than me and still runs like a top. They just don't make mowers like they used to, With your budget I would try to find an older model John Deere before I bought a new cheap mower.

Bingo. I have a '93 175 Hydro it runs great. It's hard to go wrong with a Kawasaki engine.

 

[ghuns]

Always been a Deere family. I have a 1969 JD 112, all original, still runs and mows like a champ. Just slow for the 3+ acres I have to cut.

Bought a 1999 JD 445 a couple years ago to speed things up. It had 1600 hours when I bought it. Between snow blowing in the winter and cutting grass in the summer, I'm over 1800 hours now.

Had the oil pump gear fall apart last summer. No idea how long I mowed with the little red oil pressure light on. It's hard to see in bright sunlight. I thought about a complete teardown/rebuild, but ended up replacing just the oil pump gear. Blew snow all winter, mowed twice so far this spring with no signs of any trouble. Those Kawasakis are great little motors. The only thing I'd trade one for is a little Yanmar or Kubota diesel.

 

[Cameramonkey]

On a related note, those QD garden hose deck cleaners are a joke of a feature. They don’t do squat except make a mess.

I followed the instructions the first time I used it. Sure enough. A big pile of nasty wet clippings under the deck.

Turned the deck over and it was still full of clippings that had to be scraped out. Instead of having a pile of dry crust to throw away, I had lots of sopping wet clippings to try to get rid of.

 

[rhino]

A female goat lives 12-20 years.

Or alpacas.

 

[ghuns]

On a related note, those QD garden hose deck cleaners are a joke of a feature. They don’t do squat except make a mess.

I followed the instructions the first time I used it. Sure enough. A big pile of nasty wet clippings under the deck.

Turned the deck over and it was still full of clippings that had to be scraped out. Instead of having a pile of dry crust to throw away, I had lots of sopping wet clippings to try to get rid of.

I prefer my technique. Lift, remove, scrape, sharpen...

 

[tjh88]

2000 Exmark Commercial zero turn bought used in 2002. Still going strong.

 

[ghuns]

A great resource for all things lawn and garden tractor related...

Welcome to the MyTractorForum.com

 

[Super Bee]

I have had deere riding mowers that have lasted over 20 years. These were garden tractors, and not the lawn tractors that they sell at home depot. The garden tractors are much heavier built.

This is very true.


I had a nice zero turn Deere, loved it, it was great. The 2nd. ex-wife now has it to mow my ex-lawn surrounding my ex-house.

 

[red_zr24x4]

I have a 30 year old Craftsman (Murray) rear engine rider. It's a cantankerous old beast, but it gets the job done year after year.

Im using a 1968 Bolens, same age as me, 50.
Original deck, snow blower, and roto-tiller. At some point the 10 hp motor was replaced with a 12hp

 

[halfmileharry]

I've got an old Ariens 16hp (Kohler cast iron) and it's built like a tank. I bought it in '89 used.
Best welded frame and deck I've ever owned.
IF I ever have to buy a new mower it will be an Ariens/Kohler. That or a Honda. My ex Mother in Law has a Honda and I love that thing.

 

[SMiller]

On a related note, those QD garden hose deck cleaners are a joke of a feature. They don’t do squat except make a mess.

I followed the instructions the first time I used it. Sure enough. A big pile of nasty wet clippings under the deck.

Turned the deck over and it was still full of clippings that had to be scraped out. Instead of having a pile of dry crust to throw away, I had lots of sopping wet clippings to try to get rid of.

But just think how many more spindle bearings they get to sell after you flush the bearings with water, really gets the deck rotting away, win/win for the manufacturer, it's as if they foundation way to sell you mowers more often...


Best thing for a deck is a putty knife and a grease gun.