Carl in CT
Active Member
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2011
- Threads
- 5
- Messages
- 56
Your deck choice comes down to preference vs. budget. I like a 48" deck but $700 is a lot to pay for the extra 6" and 2 hp (which you would want for the bigger deck anyway so that's kind of a wash). That said, there's nothing worse than buyers remorse, especially on a long term purchase. Trust me, when I bought my Toro/Wheelhorse 14 years ago it seemed great but the Kohler motor let me down after only 2-3 years and some minor repairs on the rest of the tractor made me wish I had paid a little more and bought either the John Deere or Simplicity I had also looked at. Just now I finally got a new Simplicity and I hope and pray it will be better than the Toro/Wheelhorse, I'm pretty confident it will be.
I have to agree with twall on the Kohler motors. Not to offend anyone but I've had two Kohler Commands, the top of the line Kohler commercial motor - both had serious problems almost immediately. Never ran right, especially in the cold, ran so hot the plastic coating on the choke and throttle cables melted into the cables which made them stick after the mower was shut off and cooled, bent push rods which I was told Kohler knew was a problem yet they refused to fix or even supply the new push rods for me to fix, etc. The dealers know it too so they shrug their shoulders and say, "That's Kohler for you". The old cast iron Kohlers were the best but the new ones are no better than anything else, just more expensive to buy and fix. Like twall said, they are heading the same way as Tecumseh if they don't start building quality motors again very soon. I suppose Kohler is no worse than the other low to mid level brands but they still charge like they are a premium motor, which they are not anymore. I hate to say it but the best motors are the Japanese commercial grade motors - Kawasaki, Honda and the Briggs v-twin Vanguards which are made in Japan by Diahatsu.
I have to agree with twall on the Kohler motors. Not to offend anyone but I've had two Kohler Commands, the top of the line Kohler commercial motor - both had serious problems almost immediately. Never ran right, especially in the cold, ran so hot the plastic coating on the choke and throttle cables melted into the cables which made them stick after the mower was shut off and cooled, bent push rods which I was told Kohler knew was a problem yet they refused to fix or even supply the new push rods for me to fix, etc. The dealers know it too so they shrug their shoulders and say, "That's Kohler for you". The old cast iron Kohlers were the best but the new ones are no better than anything else, just more expensive to buy and fix. Like twall said, they are heading the same way as Tecumseh if they don't start building quality motors again very soon. I suppose Kohler is no worse than the other low to mid level brands but they still charge like they are a premium motor, which they are not anymore. I hate to say it but the best motors are the Japanese commercial grade motors - Kawasaki, Honda and the Briggs v-twin Vanguards which are made in Japan by Diahatsu.
