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I was thinking about my business and how I would like to get a bigger mower. I might go the route of buying a used commercial ZTR, new residential ZTR, or new lawn tractor. Yes, I know standers or walk-behinds could also be an option. Over the summer I put up threads about the best ZTR, so now is the time for the best lawn tractor. If I was to go the lawn tractor route (I'm not saying this is what I'm going to do), which would be best? I know there will be lots of opinions, but if you say why you think that brand is better it will help me.

Cub Cadet: (Garden Tractors: Get the Perfect Mower for Landscaping with Cub Cadet's Garden Tractors)

John Deere: (John*Deere X700 Select Series Lawn Tractors JohnDeere.com)

Craftsman: (Shop for Lawn Tractors in the Lawn & Garden department of Craftsman.com)

Husqvarna: (Garden Tractor Mower - Lawn mower and accessories, reviews, buying guide and comparison charts | Husqvarna)

Snapper: (Tractors | Riding Lawn Mowers | Snapper Lawn Mowers)

lawn mower fanatic said:

I was thinking about my business and how I would like to get a bigger mower. I might go the route of buying a used commercial ZTR, new residential ZTR, or new lawn tractor. Yes, I know standers or walk-behinds could also be an option. Over the summer I put up threads about the best ZTR, so now is the time for the best lawn tractor. If I was to go the lawn tractor route (I'm not saying this is what I'm going to do), which would be best? I know there will be lots of opinions, but if you say why you think that brand is better it will help me.

Cub Cadet: View attachment 10148 (Garden Tractors: Get the Perfect Mower for Landscaping with Cub Cadet's Garden Tractors)

John Deere: View attachment 10149 (John*Deere X700 Select Series Lawn Tractors JohnDeere.com)

Craftsman: View attachment 10150 (Shop for Lawn Tractors in the Lawn & Garden department of Craftsman.com)

Husqvarna: View attachment 10151 (Garden Tractor Mower - Lawn mower and accessories, reviews, buying guide and comparison charts | Husqvarna)

Snapper: View attachment 10152 (Tractors | Riding Lawn Mowers | Snapper Lawn Mowers)

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I personally am a fan of craftsman and cub cadet. not saying the others are bad but i prefer those 2. Craftsman are usually easy to work on. they also have a really good parts website. cub cadets are also very powerful, and they are tough as nails. i would go with either one if your looking to buy something new but i would rather buy a decent craftsman or yard machines used. also buy a manual if your going to buy one. hydrostatics are not as much fun!

metz12 said:

hydrostatics are not as much fun!

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I disagree.
If your doin this for business you'll want a hydrostatic. They're much easier and faster to maneuver than constantly changing gears.

metz12 said:

I personally am a fan of craftsman and cub cadet.

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Those were the two I was thinking about buying! :thumbsup:

Based on the ones you have in the pictures, I would go with the john deere. It will be the most expensive the x700 series will, but you can mount loaders, they have 3 point hitches, Pto's, four wheel drive, four wheel steering, larger mower decks, Power steering, and 27 Horse engines. Compared to the others, well there's a reason the others are 2000 and the x700 series is 10000.

A_tank96

I would go with a craftsman mower because you can get parts at just about any lawnmower shop. they are very well built and easy to work on to everone has one so you know all the kinks are worked out of them. i have a shop here in vt and about 75% of the riders i fix is a craftsman it is just for maintence no major jobs other the rebuilding the motor because they have had it for years and it is worth putting money into. well i hope this helps you to make your mind up to figure out witch mower to buy

lawn mower fanatic said:

I was thinking about my business and how I would like to get a bigger mower. I might go the route of buying a used commercial ZTR, new residential ZTR, or new lawn tractor. Yes, I know standers or walk-behinds could also be an option. Over the summer I put up threads about the best ZTR, so now is the time for the best lawn tractor. If I was to go the lawn tractor route (I'm not saying this is what I'm going to do), which would be best? I know there will be lots of opinions, but if you say why you think that brand is better it will help me.

Cub Cadet: View attachment 10148 (Garden Tractors: Get the Perfect Mower for Landscaping with Cub Cadet's Garden Tractors)

John Deere: View attachment 10149 (John*Deere X700 Select Series Lawn Tractors JohnDeere.com)

Craftsman: View attachment 10150 (Shop for Lawn Tractors in the Lawn & Garden department of Craftsman.com)

Husqvarna: View attachment 10151 (Garden Tractor Mower - Lawn mower and accessories, reviews, buying guide and comparison charts | Husqvarna)

Snapper: View attachment 10152 (Tractors | Riding Lawn Mowers | Snapper Lawn Mowers)

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lmf,

WHAT......no Honda lawn tractor??????(I know how you love your Hondas:0)
But, again, does Honda "still make" lawn tractors??? My next-door-neighbor had a Honda that his dad gave him that lasted a total between them of 20-25 years before being replaced. EXCELLENT product!!! He replaced it with a Husqvarna(purchased from a dealer, rather than big box retailer so he could get one with the Kawasaki engine). I had a 54" Craftsman(made by Husqvarna) which was VERY good........except for the 24hp Briggs & Stratton Intek(now I know why my neighbor bought his at a dealer:0) My vote(bang for your buck) would be the Husqvarna(from a dealer!!!) with a Kawa engine. But I agree that the Craftsman(most of them are Husqvarna's) with the appropriate engine do have good reliability and good parts availability as mentioned. That would be my second choice.

P.S.
Since you will be using the lawn tractor "commercially" user A_tank96 made a strong argument for investing a little more money and getting a JD(their lawn tractors have a reputation that's hard to beat). I guess this afterthought would skew my #1 & #2 choices:0)

djdicetn said:

lmf,

WHAT......no Honda lawn tractor??????(I know how you love your Hondas:0)
But, again, does Honda "still make" lawn tractors??? My next-door-neighbor had a Honda that his dad gave him that lasted a total between them of 20-25 years before being replaced. EXCELLENT product!!! He replaced it with a Husqvarna(purchased from a dealer, rather than big box retailer so he could get one with the Kawasaki engine). I had a 54" Craftsman(made by Husqvarna) which was VERY good........except for the 24hp Briggs & Stratton Intek(now I know why my neighbor bought his at a dealer:0) My vote(bang for your buck) would be the Husqvarna(from a dealer!!!) with a Kawa engine. But I agree that the Craftsman(most of them are Husqvarna's) with the appropriate engine do have good reliability and good parts availability as mentioned. That would be my second choice.

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Haha :laughing: If Honda still made riders I would buy one of them!! So NO, they don't make them anymore. :frown: And thanks for your input! :smile:

Parkmower said:

I disagree.
If your doin this for business you'll want a hydrostatic. They're much easier and faster to maneuver than constantly changing gears.

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Very true. it depends on what size of a lawn your doing or whats on it. if you have to maneuver around obstacles then the hydrostatics are good for that. but a bigger yard then a manual is fine. shift on the go manuals are really fun though! thats what my yard machines is.

lawn mower fanatic said:

I was thinking about my business and how I would like to get a bigger mower. I might go the route of buying a used commercial ZTR, new residential ZTR, or new lawn tractor. Yes, I know standers or walk-behinds could also be an option. Over the summer I put up threads about the best ZTR, so now is the time for the best lawn tractor. If I was to go the lawn tractor route (I'm not saying this is what I'm going to do), which would be best? I know there will be lots of opinions, but if you say why you think that brand is better it will help me.

Cub Cadet: View attachment 10148 (Garden Tractors: Get the Perfect Mower for Landscaping with Cub Cadet's Garden Tractors)

John Deere: View attachment 10149 (John*Deere X700 Select Series Lawn Tractors JohnDeere.com)

Craftsman: View attachment 10150 (Shop for Lawn Tractors in the Lawn & Garden department of Craftsman.com)

Husqvarna: View attachment 10151 (Garden Tractor Mower - Lawn mower and accessories, reviews, buying guide and comparison charts | Husqvarna)

Snapper: View attachment 10152 (Tractors | Riding Lawn Mowers | Snapper Lawn Mowers)

Click to expand...

The Best mower buy out of the five is the Cub Cadet 2000 series. It has the best warranty for the investment and I like the idea of the shaft drive with the fab deck for $3499 you can't go wrong.

Ric said:

The Best mower buy out of the five is the Cub Cadet 2000 series. It has the best warranty for the investment and I like the idea of the shaft drive with the fab deck for $3499 you can't go wrong.

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OK thanks. If I decide to go the residential mower route, would it make more sense to get a residential lawn tractor or residential ZTR? Can you get a better quality lawn tractor for the same price as a not-as-good-quality ZTR? :confused2:

My guess is that the ztr would be better for the money. You can get a nice one for the price of the premium cc, and you can mow a whole lot faster with it. One thing that confused me though on the cc we sight it said that the gtx2100 came with a 20 horse kohler then further down it says it comes with 23 horse kohler. Also it looks like you have to buy the deck seperate from the mower... Is that right?

lawn mower fanatic said:

OK thanks. If I decide to go the residential mower route, would it make more sense to get a residential lawn tractor or residential ZTR? Can you get a better quality lawn tractor for the same price as a not-as-good-quality ZTR? :confused2:

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I've said this before, I started with the LT 1045 and soon found out why others were using the ztr. You say you want to use it for your business and that's ok but remember when you're talking a 1 or 2 man operation time is money so the more lawns you can do the more you'll make. I found out that I could do 2 lawns in the same time frame that it took to do 1 with the LT. The price for the CC 2000 is $3495 and you can buy the CC Z Force 48" ZTR for $4199, which is a commercial mower Your productivity increase alone will pay the difference and I think you'll get a better cut with the increase in BTS.

Well I think a residential ztr would be your best bet fanatic. even though it kills me to say it:laughing: but since you have a snowblower already you dont need to put a plow to a garden tractor to do winter work. you just use the blower.

metz12 said:

Well I think a residential ztr would be your best bet fanatic. even though it kills me to say it:laughing:

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WOW...can you say that again so I can record it?!? I didn't think you would ever say that!! :laughing::laughing:

lawn mower fanatic said:

WOW...can you say that again so I can record it?!? I didn't think you would ever say that!! :laughing::laughing:

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I would rather see you get a used lawn tractor off of craigslist! then when you make more money invest in your ztr. get a craftsman, yard machines, something like that for 100-200 bucks. but in your case it would be better to get that ztr. (wow that hurts to say:laughing::laughing

metz12 said:

I would rather see you get a used lawn tractor off of craigslist! then when you make more money invest in your ztr. get a craftsman, yard machines, something like that for 100-200 bucks. but in your case it would be better to get that ztr. (wow that hurts to say:laughing::laughing

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OK thanks for the advice! :smile: