Crapsmen lawn tractor

[chi-indian]

I own a sears 2200 yard tractor it is terrible, it will not cut evenly, scalp the lawn, parts that came with did not fit, the tubes in the tires have slow leaks in them, poor traction, I should have spent the money on a kubota or a john deere.

 

[bakerg]

I own a sears 2200 yard tractor it is terrible, it will not cut evenly, scalp the lawn, parts that came with did not fit, the tubes in the tires have slow leaks in them, poor traction, I should have spent the money on a kubota or a john deere.

My mom has a L1000 Craftman, same problem with cutting uneven. Just use it for trimming now.:frown:

 

[BKBrown]

I guess some people like them - it may depend on the model. About 15 years back I purchased a Craftsman Garden Tractor with belly mower deck. It came Freight Express on a shipping pallet with deck not mounted - took about 3 hours to assemble all the parts and mount the deck - Mowed ONCE and it scalped every spot that was not level (and it was a 1/2 acre flat lawn). It was Purchased at local Sears and drop shipped. Called the store and told them to come get their junk - I had it 2 days. Went out and got a Gravely - loved it - Got Dads' Deere 318 when he passed away - loved it - Got the VENTRAC 6 years ago when we got 10 acres of uneven ground - LOVE IT !

 

[JDgreen]

I guess some people like them - it may depend on the model. About 15 years back I purchased a Craftsman Garden Tractor with belly mower deck. It came Freight Express on a shipping pallet with deck not mounted - took about 3 hours to assemble all the parts and mount the deck - Mowed ONCE and it scalped every spot that was not level (and it was a 1/2 acre flat lawn). It was Purchased at local Sears and drop shipped. Called the store and told them to come get their junk - I had it 2 days. Went out and got a Gravely - loved it - Got Dads' Deere 318 when he passed away - loved it - Got the VENTRAC 6 years ago when we got 10 acres of uneven ground - LOVE IT !

Have had a lot of their push mowers but never a tractor...I am sure they sell many of them because people are more concerned about low payments on the tractor than about how well the tractor is made. What I cannot understand about all these gripes about the tractor scalping the grass is this:

Practically every mower deck I have ever seen has gauge wheels, and if the wheels are set properly they should prevent the blades from scalping most reasonably level areas. When I got my new 318 home, my dad saw me mowing with it and he pointed out the gauge wheels were not touching the ground, to him and probably many other people those wheels are supposed to ride on the ground. NOT SO.

 

[chi-indian]

this is not a matter of adjustment, you look at your yard after and you see lines of uneven cuts, there is no way I can adjust this to cut evenly, occassional scalp, my fault, no matter how you try to adjust... staff at sears, they part time casual employees, they don't know the product, helpline... you get some from bagladesh or pakistan, reading from a book, service depot, they were closed years ago, they contract out warranty work, so there you are.

 

[twall]

I had a '94 Craftsman LT 12/38, and as others here, I detested the uneven cut, and the scalping. No matter what I did, it wouldn't cut even! My lawn is terribly uneven (yes, add that to my list of complaints about my yard...:laughing: ), and I used the Craftsman one month before I sold it. It was a good cart-puller, though. My new old Craftsman is for show, nothing more.

The only mower I've had that didn't scalp (besides walk-behinds) was my snapper LT1241. That's because of the gauge wheels. Why'd they ever stop putting those on mowers again? Oh, yeah......it's cheaper to produce!

The JD I'm on in my avatar? Didn't get it back together before the grass stopped growing for the year. I'll let you know. There's no gauge wheels on THAT, either (although my RX75 DOES have them, and the deck from it would fit with very little mod.....)!

BTW, Welcome to LMF!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[BKBrown]

If I remember correctly - The Gravely had the deck suspension connected to front axle and the rear of the deck had a full width roller. The 318 had gague wheels, but they rarely touched the ground.

What I cannot understand about all these gripes about the tractor scalping the grass is this:

Practically every mower deck I have ever seen has gauge wheels,This Craftsman had no gague wheels and if the wheels are set properly they should prevent the blades from scalping most reasonably level areas. When I got my new 318 home, my dad saw me mowing with it and he pointed out the gauge wheels were not touching the ground, to him and probably many other people those wheels are supposed to ride on the ground. NOT SO.My Gravely did not scalp and My 318 did not scalp the same lawn that was scalped by the Craftsman.

 

[twall]

My simplicity has a full-length roller in the rear of the deck. There is no 'floating' notch in the lift arm for the deck raise/lower, as there are on most mowers with adjustable gauge wheels. It HAS to ride on them.

In our Wheel Horse owners' manual it says it can be done either way. My dad and I got into an argument when I was 16, about letting the deck float, or riding on the gauge wheels. He said the latter, I said the former, and WH said it could be done either way.

My snapper (and the RX75) are the only two mowers I've owned that have gauge wheels.

Not everybody uses a CUT for a mower, you know. Most smaller stuff today has no wheels on the deck. It's optional at Sears for all but the biggest stuff. I have the brochure.