Lawn Mower Advice

[-MG-]

Over the weekend I purchased a Toro 30" Timemaster push mower which has great reviews, however, I keep going back and forth about getting a riding mower.

My property is a little over half an acre, mostly flat and open but with some trees. I just moved into the house last fall and the previous owner neglected the property and it will need to get aerated shortly here and I need it to get dethatched because of all the dead stuff still around. I can hire someone to do this, but I think they will charge me around $100 for aeration (or close to it) and I'm not sure on dethatching, but I imagine its around the same. It looks like you can purchase tow behind dethatchers for ~$150 and you can get a aerator that's tow behind anywhere from $200-$400.

If I plan on aerating say twice a year, at some point having my own equipment would be nice.

At the same time if I do that I need a riding mower and I subscribe to consumer reports, but lots of the reviews on the big box store models are not positive and sounds like if you get one, definitely get the coverage plan for it. I don't have a budget to pay more than $2,000 for the riding more itself and would rather keep what I have now rather than pay for crap.

What do people think? Recommendations on a riding mower if I go down that route? I can take the Toro back to Home Depot easily since its still brand new.

It would also be neat to get a snow thrower attachment for it as well and sell my snow thrower I have.

 

[Zuljin]

Snapper with a Briggs and Straton or Robin engine. Damn fine mowers with quality attachments.

IMO, routine aerating and dethatching is rarely needed. Maybe you need it now. Maybe even once again. Too much just tears up the grass and the ground.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Over the weekend I purchased a Toro 30" Timemaster push mower which has great reviews, however, I keep going back and forth about getting a riding mower.

My property is a little over half an acre, mostly flat and open but with some trees. I just moved into the house last fall and the previous owner neglected the property and it will need to get aerated shortly here and I need it to get dethatched because of all the dead stuff still around. I can hire someone to do this, but I think they will charge me around $100 for aeration (or close to it) and I'm not sure on dethatching, but I imagine its around the same. It looks like you can purchase tow behind dethatchers for ~$150 and you can get a aerator that's tow behind anywhere from $200-$400.

If I plan on aerating say twice a year, at some point having my own equipment would be nice.

At the same time if I do that I need a riding mower and I subscribe to consumer reports, but lots of the reviews on the big box store models are not positive and sounds like if you get one, definitely get the coverage plan for it. I don't have a budget to pay more than $2,000 for the riding more itself and would rather keep what I have now rather than pay for crap.

What do people think? Recommendations on a riding mower if I go down that route? I can take the Toro back to Home Depot easily since its still brand new.

It would also be neat to get a snow thrower attachment for it as well and sell my snow thrower I have.

2k budget on a riding mower? You could always do what I did and pick up 3 riders, all for under $200 each on Craigslist and in the paper. All they needed was a few small repairs that cost very little. Now If one breaks down I have 2 backups. I keep a snow blade, snow chains and weights on one, a cutting deck on the second have have the third on standby.

No need to thatch, just give it a good raking then hit it with the aerator if desired. Over seed, water, fertilize.

You looking to get a snow thrower or snow blower attachment for the front? I wouldn't be so quick to sell your snow blower if you are considering a blade. The blower is still useful in tight spots and on sidewalks.

As for taking the lawnmower back, this is usually up to the manager on duty. Depends on the condition that you bring it back and how good of a day he or she is having.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Get a goat.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Get a goat.

Or you could get a goat...

 

[Cider123]

I bought one from Home Depot and would never do it again. They don't deal with any issues you might have. They wipe their hands of any responsibility and tell you to contact the manufacturer. I would buy from a dealer that services and backs what they sell.

I have a Deere and it has rarely let me down, but they are expensive and I don't know if I would go with one again if I needed to buy. I hear that most models are made by 1 or 2 companies and then everyone else slaps their label on it. I do have the 42 inch snowblower attachment and it has also be a good investment. It does an excellent job.

 

[dkwolf]

For 1/2 acre lot, I'd definitely get a rider. Keep the push mower for trim work or when you want a nice long walking workout. As for the aerator/thatcher, I thatch my yard every spring - get rid of all the old dead material, rip up the ground a bit, and overseed the yard. I aerate once a year at most (and once every other year is more accurate). Any more than that, and like has been said, you're just tearing up the ground.

As for the mower, drop the money now and buy a GOOD rider, and you'll replace it 15-20 years from now. I bought a 42" John Deere (LX135) and have been incredibly happy with it. Had it 5 years now with no issues other than replacing the battery last summer. Keep in mind that oftentimes, the model you look at in a big box store is NOT the same one you buy at the dealer. I think at the time I bought mine, the dealer was selling the LX135, and Lowes/Home Depot was selling the LS135. Both 42" deck, hydrostatic drive, but when you start looking, the LX model had larger, wider tires, a better seat, front bumper, 5 gallon fuel tank instead of 2.4, etc..... for almost the same price.

A dealer will service the mower for you (any warranty work, etc.) The big box store... not so much. I'd have to look back to be sure, but I want to say that my mower WITH the bagging system (a $300 add-on) was right around $2,500 or $2,800 new.

ALSO, if you start shopping, keep in mind the deck width. The price difference between the 42" and 48" deck wasn't tremendous IIRC, but the 48" is a three-blade deck instead of two (more blades to sharpen/replace), and the tractor isn't any wider. This is really important if your property is at all uneven -- the 42" deck sticks out maybe 2-3" on the right side of the mower, and 5-6" on the left. You have to pay attention to which side is "uphill" when mowing cross-slope to prevent gouging, which would only be worse with a wider deck.

 

[dfc]

Thankfully, I haven't had to mow my lawn in almost 6 years. Arizona is great for avoiding grass.

 

[broadbill]

I bought one from Home Depot and would never do it again. They don't deal with any issues you might have. They wipe their hands of any responsibility and tell you to contact the manufacturer. I would buy from a dealer that services and backs what they sell.

I have a Deere and it has rarely let me down, but they are expensive and I don't know if I would go with one again if I needed to buy. I hear that most models are made by 1 or 2 companies and then everyone else slaps their label on it. I do have the 42 inch snowblower attachment and it has also be a good investment. It does an excellent job.

Came here to echo this sentiment. HD and Lowes are huge companies and can strong-arm the lawn mower manufacturers to build mowers to fit their price point structure. These mowers are typically built more cheaply than the mowers you find at the independent retailer. There is a reason why HD/Lowes can sell mowers for cheaper than anyone else.

Take a look at things like the steel thickness on the mower decks and you'll see. Sure, all the features are there its the component quality that gets skimped on.

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

I used to work for a company that made lawn tractor attachments like what you are considering here. Here is what I learned from the engineers.

1.) Dethatching is the best thing you can do for your yard. Primary dethatching period is early, early spring before things get too wet. Do not dethatch when it is really wet because it WILL tear your grass, root and all, out of the ground in several spots. Try to couple your annual seeding/overseeding with your dethatching if possible. broadcast your seed after your dethatcher has roughed up the soil. If heavy seeding is applied in an area that little grass has been growing then you are best off to roll that freshly broadcasted seed into the ground with a roller. Dethaching is also advisable during late fall after the mowing season has ended. Especially if you will be sewing grass seed at this time............. When dethatching be prepared for truck loads of thatch. You will be amazed at how much thatch you will pull off of your yard. It will really help you understand how important it is to pull this material off your lawn so that sun light can penetrate soil level. An ideal way to pick up this thatch is with a lawn sweeper. Agri-Fab makes some really nice ones but you will be able to find something on craigslist I imagine.

2.) Aerating is advised once a year. If possible aerate in the spring in conjunction with your dethatching. Try to dethatch, aerate then broadcast whatever grass seed you plain and putting out that year. You are opening your soil base, making it more accommodating to your seed.......... There are 2 types of aeration methods. One being plug aeration the other being spike aeration. Plug aeration actually pulls 'plugs' out of your yard leaving tiny holes all over it. Spike aeration uses a spiked roller and just punctures holes into the ground. It is commonly accepted that plug aeration is much healthier for your yard due to the fact that spike aeration simply compacts the soil in your yard making it more difficult for seedlings to take root and even damaging established root systems.

3.) Rolling your yard is about the worst thing you can do for it. You are essentially compacting all of the clippings/thatch that is already on the yard. Your suffocating your lawn. This company knew this yet they still sold rollers because they knew people would buy them and it would also drive the sale of their dethatching attachments. The only time I use a roller is to roll heavy broadcasts of grass seed into the ground.

You don't necessarily need a lawn tractor to pull these lawn attachments. I often pull mine with a 4 wheeler or a mule and it works out fine (just be careful making sharp turns or you will tear the crap out of your yard). As mentioned above you could also find a serviceable riding mower for a couple hundred bucks on craigslist to do your pulling with.

I think I picked up my dethatcher for $70 at Rural King. You can get a new lawn sweeper for $120. You can get an aerator for $120-$150. I also have a spike/split seeder which has been an awesome addition but is more of a luxury than necessity. If you take your time and are willing to travel a little bit you will find all of this stuff on craigslist at a fraction of the price.

Another option is to rent. You can rent commercial dethatchers and aerators at your local rent-a-center. I'm not sure on pricing but it should be top notch, commercial equipment.


This is information that I got from the engineers that design the attachments you are looking at for a living. I have followed their guidelines and my yard is the envy of the neighborhood every year. Hope this information is helpful.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Came here to echo this sentiment. HD and Lowes are huge companies and can strong-arm the lawn mower manufacturers to build mowers to fit their price point structure. These mowers are typically built more cheaply than the mowers you find at the independent retailer. There is a reason why HD/Lowes can sell mowers for cheaper than anyone else.

Take a look at things like the steel thickness on the mower decks and you'll see. Sure, all the features are there its the component quality that gets skimped on.

So are you saying that if I buy a D140 from Lowe's it will be constructed differently than If I purchased a d140 from a JD dealer?

Or are you saying that they produce specific models only for the big box stores?

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

I used to work for a company that made lawn tractor attachments like what you are considering here. Here is what I learned from the engineers.

1.) Dethatching is the best thing you can do for your yard. Primary dethatching period is early, early spring before things get too wet. Do not dethatch when it is really wet because it WILL tear your grass, root and all, out of the ground in several spots. Try to couple your annual seeding/overseeding with your dethatching if possible. broadcast your seed after your dethatcher has roughed up the soil. If heavy seeding is applied in an area that little grass has been growing then you are best off to roll that freshly broadcasted seed into the ground with a roller. Dethaching is also advisable during late fall after the mowing season has ended. Especially if you will be sewing grass seed at this time............. When dethatching be prepared for truck loads of thatch. You will be amazed at how much thatch you will pull off of your yard. It will really help you understand how important it is to pull this material off your lawn so that sun light can penetrate soil level. An ideal way to pick up this thatch is with a lawn sweeper. Agri-Fab makes some really nice ones but you will be able to find something on craigslist I imagine.

2.) Aerating is advised once a year. If possible aerate in the spring in conjunction with your dethatching. Try to dethatch, aerate then broadcast whatever grass seed you plain and putting out that year. You are opening your soil base, making it more accommodating to your seed.......... There are 2 types of aeration methods. One being plug aeration the other being spike aeration. Plug aeration actually pulls 'plugs' out of your yard leaving tiny holes all over it. Spike aeration uses a spiked roller and just punctures holes into the ground. It is commonly accepted that plug aeration is much healthier for your yard due to the fact that spike aeration simply compacts the soil in your yard making it more difficult for seedlings to take root and even damaging established root systems.

3.) Rolling your yard is about the worst thing you can do for it. You are essentially compacting all of the clippings/thatch that is already on the yard. Your suffocating your lawn. This company knew this yet they still sold rollers because they knew people would buy them and it would also drive the sale of their dethatching attachments. The only time I use a roller is to roll heavy broadcasts of grass seed into the ground.

You don't necessarily need a lawn tractor to pull these lawn attachments. I often pull mine with a 4 wheeler or a mule and it works out fine (just be careful making sharp turns or you will tear the crap out of your yard). As mentioned above you could also find a serviceable riding mower for a couple hundred bucks on craigslist to do your pulling with.

I think I picked up my dethatcher for $70 at Rural King. You can get a new lawn sweeper for $120. You can get an aerator for $120-$150. I also have a spike/split seeder which has been an awesome addition but is more of a luxury than necessity. If you take your time and are willing to travel a little bit you will find all of this stuff on craigslist at a fraction of the price.

Another option is to rent. You can rent commercial dethatchers and aerators at your local rent-a-center. I'm not sure on pricing but it should be top notch, commercial equipment.


This is information that I got from the engineers that design the attachments you are looking at for a living. I have followed their guidelines and my yard is the envy of the neighborhood every year. Hope this information is helpful.

Great advice! I would like to add that in some regions, such as where I am at in NC, core aerating is typically done in the fall, followed by seeding.

I live in a transitional area with hot often dry summers. Grass planted in the early spring typically does not have enough time to develop a strong root system before the summer arrives. Some grass will survive but most will not.

 

[broadbill]

So are you saying that if I buy a D140 from Lowe's it will be constructed differently than If I purchased a d140 from a JD dealer?

Or are you saying that they produce specific models only for the big box stores?

That one might be the same, as it have the same model number. Another poster mentioned a LX135 at a JD dealer versus the LS135 at home depot....I would bet there is some quality differences there.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

That one might be the same, as it have the same model number. Another poster mentioned a LX135 at a JD dealer versus the LS135 at home depot....I would bet there is some quality differences there.

Gotcha

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

Great advice! I would like to add that in some regions, such as where I am at in NC, core aerating is typically done in the fall, followed by seeding.

I live in a transitional area with hot often dry summers. Grass planted in the early spring typically does not have enough time to develop a strong root system before the summer arrives. Some grass will survive but most will not.

must suck to have that early spring warm weather . Heck we had over 10 inches of snow on the ground less than 3 weeks ago!

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

must suck to have that early spring warm weather . Heck we had over 10 inches of snow on the ground less than 3 weeks ago!

Down here we don't know what spring is. We go from the 50's to 85 degrees. If we are lucky there is a week or so in the 70's

 

[Airplanedoc]

I spent a summer working at a mower shop.

There are only a couple companies that make lawn mowers today AYP, and MTD. They both put whatever color and branding they want on the thing and send them down the line.

John Deere Mowers can really only be serviced by a John Deere Dealer. Which in our area don't want to deal with them. We could not get parts, or any service information for harnesses electrical components etc accept thru a Deere dealer 60 miles away. The parts we then marked up over Deere's prices. So Keep in mind your service bill for a Deere Mower will be high.

As for a big box deere vs a dealer one I doubt there is much difference in the quality of the 2 mowers, just more money. There might be a extra feature on the dealer model, it costs a ton of money to set up a second line of production and tooling for essentially the same mower.

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

I spent a summer working at a mower shop.

There are only a couple companies that make lawn mowers today AYP, and MTD. They both put whatever color and branding they want on the thing and send them down the line.

John Deere Mowers can really only be serviced by a John Deere Dealer. Which in our area don't want to deal with them. We could not get parts, or any service information for harnesses electrical components etc accept thru a Deere dealer 60 miles away. The parts we then marked up over Deere's prices. So Keep in mind your service bill for a Deere Mower will be high.

As for a big box deere vs a dealer one I doubt there is much difference in the quality of the 2 mowers, just more money. There might be a extra feature on the dealer model, it costs a ton of money to set up a second line of production and tooling for essentially the same mower.

So scag, exmark, ferris, badboy, hustler, dixie chopper.................. are all made by the same 2 companies?

 

[dkwolf]

So scag, exmark, ferris, badboy, hustler, dixie chopper.................. are all made by the same 2 companies?

No, but Poulan, Weed Eater, Husqvarna, Craftsman, Yard Machines....

Odds are if you can pick it up at your average farm & home store, it's one of those two parent companies.

MTD builds: Bolens, Yard Machines, Yard Man, Remington, MTD Gold, MTD Pro, and MTD

Husqvarna AB builds: Husqvarna, Gardena, McCollough, Diamant Boart, Jonsered, Poulan, Weedeater, Dixon, Klippo, Flymo, Zenoah, and Bluebird.

Go to your average farm & home store, look at a Poulan mower, and then a Husqvarna. They're exactly the same, just different colors (usually the Husqvarna will have some added features/upgrades)

 

[Airplanedoc]

Considering the OP's budget is less than $2K and It doesn't appear he is going into the lawn mowing business, then yea, for the most part mowers are made by the same 2 companies. There are a few other as you mentioned making commercial mowers.

 

[dkwolf]

Considering the OP's budget is less than $2K and It doesn't appear he is going into the lawn mowing business, then yea, for the most part mowers are made by the same 2 companies. There are a few other as you mentioned making commercial mowers.

John Deere D130. List price $1,899.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

Or you could get a goat...

I like the goat idea ... and they come with attachments ...

Dump Cart

Bagging Attachment

Rider option

Goatthrower

(yep, too much time on my hands today)

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

Considering the OP's budget is less than $2K and It doesn't appear he is going into the lawn mowing business, then yea, for the most part mowers are made by the same 2 companies. There are a few other as you mentioned making commercial mowers.

a lightly used exmark walk behind would be perfect for half an acre of mowing and would fit in his price range

 

[dkwolf]

Just remembered, I wanted to touch on the snowthrower comment as well. If your $2k budget is important to you, forget that idea from the very start. Adding a 48" thrower to my lawn tractor when I bought it would have added $1,200 - and that does not include the recommended wheel weights and tire chains.

For the cost of what I would consider to be a mediocre at best snowthrower attachment for a riding mower/lawn tractor, you can buy a DAMN nice walk-behind snowblower, with money left to spare.

 

[-MG-]

Ya, I decided maybe down the road, I'll buy a quality version of probably Deere.

I decided to stick with my 30" Toro TimeMaster and going to have someone come in and dethatch for me so I can get working on the lawn. I have a 24" snowthrower already that did a nice job last year.

 

[autobaun70]

I can't say enough good things about my Deere X300. Great performance for the price, and parts prices are very reasonable, even at the local dealer. Secrete to the Deere line is that the HD/Lowes mowers are the same thing sold at the dealership under the same model designation. That said, there is a huge jump in quality when you go to the "Dealer Only" models, which currently start at the X300.

This weekend I have been fighting it out with my in-laws craftsman rider. Needless to say, you will never see one in my yard. Most of the Craftsman line is made by Husqvarna currently, however they change just enough features to make replacement parts proprietary. You can find them aftermarket for reasonable prices, just not on the shelf locally. On my in-laws, the blade mounts got eaten up by the sand in their yard, and our choice for replacement was to drop over 200 bucks at the local sears, or pay about 85. Either way we have to wait on shipping. I pulled up comparable parts for my X300, they were less expensive, and more than likely available locally at one of the 4 dealers within 30 minutes of my house/work.

 

[Homercidal]

I can't say enough good things about my Deere X300. Great performance for the price, and parts prices are very reasonable, even at the local dealer. Secrete to the Deere line is that the HD/Lowes mowers are the same thing sold at the dealership under the same model designation. That said, there is a huge jump in quality when you go to the "Dealer Only" models, which currently start at the X300.

This weekend I have been fighting it out with my in-laws craftsman rider. Needless to say, you will never see one in my yard. Most of the Craftsman line is made by Husqvarna currently, however they change just enough features to make replacement parts proprietary. You can find them aftermarket for reasonable prices, just not on the shelf locally. On my in-laws, the blade mounts got eaten up by the sand in their yard, and our choice for replacement was to drop over 200 bucks at the local sears, or pay about 85. Either way we have to wait on shipping. I pulled up comparable parts for my X300, they were less expensive, and more than likely available locally at one of the 4 dealers within 30 minutes of my house/work.

Odd. I've owned a Crafstman 42" rider for about 15 years now. I've replaced the battery twice and last summer I had to patch the deck with my little welder, cause it was rusting through. That's about the only work I've done on it, and it's sat outside all summer long for most of those 15 years and rarely got a deck washing. So the cut grass sat on top of it for months.

On the other hand, my FIL owned a JD rider and had to replace or repair several things in the 5 years he owned it. What I recall off the top of my head was the spindles for the deck. He replaced them TWICE in that time and had other minor problems as well. I never preferred to drive his either, but that's probably just me. It wasn't any smoother or quieter as most people say JD riders are supposed to be. And it's a pretty good sized rider. Almost big enough to be a yard tractor.

Just this year I will have to replace the spindles in my Craftsman and put tubes in the tires. It runs like brand new. Oh, I did replace the muffler last year as well. I don't think I did too bad considering.

 

[OrdinaryAvgGuy]

Odd. I've owned a Crafstman 42" rider for about 15 years now. I've replaced the battery twice and last summer I had to patch the deck with my little welder, cause it was rusting through. That's about the only work I've done on it, and it's sat outside all summer long for most of those 15 years and rarely got a deck washing. So the cut grass sat on top of it for months.

On the other hand, my FIL owned a JD rider and had to replace or repair several things in the 5 years he owned it. What I recall off the top of my head was the spindles for the deck. He replaced them TWICE in that time and had other minor problems as well. I never preferred to drive his either, but that's probably just me. It wasn't any smoother or quieter as most people say JD riders are supposed to be. And it's a pretty good sized rider. Almost big enough to be a yard tractor.

Just this year I will have to replace the spindles in my Craftsman and put tubes in the tires. It runs like brand new. Oh, I did replace the muffler last year as well. I don't think I did too bad considering.

My FIL gave me his Craftsman rider that he purchased brand new around 1970. It is similar to the one pictured below. He has since upgraded to a JD. He plowed snow, pulled a dump trailer and cut grass with it for 40 years and only had to replace a couple steering parts that wore out in addition to the regular belts and battery.

I'm not sure about the ones built today but know they were great many years ago.

On a side note, I use to have a new craftsman chainsaw that was not at all dependable. After fixing it almost every time I needed it, I went out and splurged on a Stihl MS250.

Best decision ever! I soon bought a MS250 for my FIL and convinced 2 of my friends to buy one. Its been a few years and everyone loves theirs.

 

[Edb7]

And run a landscape business;

1. NEVER buy a mower from the big box stores, no matter what brand it is. They have a special line built just for their stores and they are cheaply built so you can pay a lower price.

2. The brands we sold and never (or rarely) had customers return on were; Ariens, Ransomes (Bobcat), Scag, the premium Toro line, John Deere. Shop from authorized dealers for John Deer, Toro, and Ariens so you can get the well-built line.

3. Consider a zero turn- the maneuverability of these machines will be a time and headache saver, especially on a lot with trees and landscape.

4. Consider buying used; a Ransomes or Scag zero turn that is two years old and has been taken care of will last you a long time and save you a lot of money.

5. For engines, aim for (in this order); Kawasaki, Kohler, Honda Commercial, Briggs Commercial.

6. DO NOT buy craftsman, Home Depot / Lowes/ Menards versions of brands that are commercially known to be good, yard machines, mtd, poulan, scotts. I'd also avoid Snapper as they are overpriced for an OK product. Return your current mower as it probably has a 2 to 4 year life.

7. My top pick (based on personal experience) would be a Ransomes zero turn rider with a Kawasaki engine. Mine is the original mower I purchased for my business in 1998. After using it commercially for 11 years and residentially for 4, I have replaced one bearing and a set of blades. I will probably do brakes and tires this year. The design is so excellent that it hasn't changed much in all of this time.

8. The best way to maintain your mower is to run it completely out of gas at the end of the season and change the oil every year (but twice the first season, once after about 6 weeks and again at the end of current OR start of new season).

Good luck and feel free to ask questions.

Over the weekend I purchased a Toro 30" Timemaster push mower which has great reviews, however, I keep going back and forth about getting a riding mower.

My property is a little over half an acre, mostly flat and open but with some trees. I just moved into the house last fall and the previous owner neglected the property and it will need to get aerated shortly here and I need it to get dethatched because of all the dead stuff still around. I can hire someone to do this, but I think they will charge me around $100 for aeration (or close to it) and I'm not sure on dethatching, but I imagine its around the same. It looks like you can purchase tow behind dethatchers for ~$150 and you can get a aerator that's tow behind anywhere from $200-$400.

If I plan on aerating say twice a year, at some point having my own equipment would be nice.

At the same time if I do that I need a riding mower and I subscribe to consumer reports, but lots of the reviews on the big box store models are not positive and sounds like if you get one, definitely get the coverage plan for it. I don't have a budget to pay more than $2,000 for the riding more itself and would rather keep what I have now rather than pay for crap.

What do people think? Recommendations on a riding mower if I go down that route? I can take the Toro back to Home Depot easily since its still brand new.

It would also be neat to get a snow thrower attachment for it as well and sell my snow thrower I have.

 

[JUST_BREW_IT]

And run a landscape business;

1. NEVER buy a mower from the big box stores, no matter what brand it is. They have a special line built just for their stores and they are cheaply built so you can pay a lower price.

2. The brands we sold and never (or rarely) had customers return on were; Ariens, Ransomes (Bobcat), Scag, the premium Toro line, John Deere. Shop from authorized dealers for John Deer, Toro, and Ariens so you can get the well-built line.

3. Consider a zero turn- the maneuverability of these machines will be a time and headache saver, especially on a lot with trees and landscape.

4. Consider buying used; a Ransomes or Scag zero turn that is two years old and has been taken care of will last you a long time and save you a lot of money.

5. For engines, aim for (in this order); Kawasaki, Kohler, Honda Commercial, Briggs Commercial.

6. DO NOT buy craftsman, Home Depot / Lowes/ Menards versions of brands that are commercially known to be good, yard machines, mtd, poulan, scotts. I'd also avoid Snapper as they are overpriced for an OK product. Return your current mower as it probably has a 2 to 4 year life.

7. My top pick (based on personal experience) would be a Ransomes zero turn rider with a Kawasaki engine. Mine is the original mower I purchased for my business in 1998. After using it commercially for 11 years and residentially for 4, I have replaced one bearing and a set of blades. I will probably do brakes and tires this year. The design is so excellent that it hasn't changed much in all of this time.

8. The best way to maintain your mower is to run it completely out of gas at the end of the season and change the oil every year (but twice the first season, once after about 6 weeks and again at the end of current OR start of new season).

Good luck and feel free to ask questions.

Sounds like a guy that knows what he's talking about. One minor change though (and I mean no offense)

5. For engines, aim for (in this order); Kawasaki, Vanguard, Kohler, Honda Commercial, Briggs Commercial.

 

[Edb7]

Having never owned or worked on a Vanguard product, I could not comment one way or the other. What mower brands use this mill?

Did the OP ever buy anything?!

 

[T_Baggins]

Thankfully, I haven't had to mow my lawn in almost 6 years. Arizona is great for avoiding grass.

Haha...AND, there's nothing like seeing rocks and cacti all decked out at Christmas!

 

[northcal]

My advice, you will do better with the walk behind mower. Save some $ and don't need to maintain two machines (if you keep the walk behind for detail work around your trees and tight spots). Also, less storage space needed without the riding mower and you'll get some exercise!

good luck,

 

[onthekeg]

Having never owned or worked on a Vanguard product, I could not comment one way or the other. What mower brands use this mill?

Did the OP ever buy anything?!

Vanguard is a Briggs and Stratton Trademark.

 

[-MG-]

Having never owned or worked on a Vanguard product, I could not comment one way or the other. What mower brands use this mill?

Did the OP ever buy anything?!

I did buy the original product I settled on. The 30" Toro, I felt it was a good mix between size and speed and it appears to be a quality product. We are finally starting to see 60 degree days so I expect the lawn to start to germinate and start moving.

I couldn't buy a riding mower because if I buy something I want to buy a quality product, and that doesn't appear to be case at my price point. Plus, my current snow blower does a good job and don't need to get rid of it.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Toro-30-...-50-State-Engine-20199/203068788#.UXqCsbVwrYk