I have $1300, an acre, and a trailer.

[lawn mower fanatic]

To put less stress on the mower what you could do is buy a blower (you would probably want a backpack blower) to get all the leaves into a pile. The reason I say backpack and not handheld is because your arm would get tired! My handheld Echo blower is plenty powerful to handle the job, but it would be difficult to hold it for an hour straight (if you still wanted to be able to raise your arm the next day! :laughing. But maybe you have strong arms and you could buy a handheld blower.

 

[slammed]

Hey guys. Been doing a lot of reading, searching, etc. I am looking to buy a new riding mower. I've got $1300 (really can't go much higher), an acre of gently sloped land, a trailer (350lb empty, 1500lb rating), and leaf problem.

So if you were in my situation, what would you recommend? I mow once a week, but I will be using this for moving that trailer around every now and then, and clearing/chopping/bagging leaves, so it's important it have that feature. I get the feeling that $1300 won't get me top of the line. What kind of reliability/longevity can I expect? I do take care of my belongings, and have a good enclosed place to keep it, so let's assume best case scenario as far as the mower's care goes.

Also, I've been seeing a couple things over and over. 1, stay away from MTD, and 2, stay away from big box (Lowe's, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, etc.). Can someone expand on that a little bit as to why people don't like the mowers at the BB stores? Is it quality? Warranty?

EDIT - And if any of this is in the FAQ's, let me know. I looked at them, but I did kind of skim.

Any help is appreciated! I searched through the

Well now that I have had time to think about it. My dad used a sears craftsman lawn mower for about 15 years. He used it for everything as you want to and most of the time he would let my brother us it too. They would cut some where around 3 acres a week and all the other stuff you talked about using one for. So I would say that for the old stuff out there it was built good but the new stuff I have no idea what to say. He finally up graded to a JD last year and was much happier. You will just weigh the odds and see what you want. I would say you would be fine with the little use it would see to just buy a BB store mower just don't buy the cheapest thing they have unless it is a sale item.

 

[hitmanharleyk]

I was in my local Cub Cadet shop last week

They had brought in some Troy-Bilt tractors for $1298 to compete with the big box stores like Lowes and Home Depot. Doesn't that help with the service/cost issue of the shop vs BB store?

These mowers should be fine for a acre as long as you understand you aren't not getting a commercial mower for $1300.

I see a lot of folks saying buy a good used mower most of the time, but you are also taking a chance of getting someone else's problem or lemon without a warranty. Gotta ask yourself, why are they selling it if it is such a great mower? The problems more than likely won't surface until the check is cashed!

 

[KennyV]

There should be a better word to use rather than good... When saying good used...
My use of good is not necessarily the present operating condition... It is more of the type of machine.
A new low end mower, may operate perfect... but I would not ever think of it as a good piece of equipment.
The top end commercial or Industrial line of mower, even with a Major problem, will almost always be worth repairing... and once repaired will be a great used mower.
Almost Every mower I have bought in the last decade are industrial machines, that cost over 25k to 35k when new. and were and still are low enough hours that they will easily double or even quadruple their run hours... This type equipment will continue for decades. For private use you will never reach a point when it is not worth keeping. Folks generally sell them Only when they are down sizing their equipment inventory or are moving to much smaller acreage.

Even stepping up to a commercial line, with proper maintenance a Good used piece can easily out last 3 or more low end machines....
So when looking for used .... Look for Good used, (or even OLD). If done right it will always be worth maintaining.... :smile:KennyV

 

[hitmanharleyk]

One thing I do hate to see is when you ride by the big box stores, they have there mowers chained together out from rain or shine. I'd never buy one just based off of that, weather is a killer.

I think if the OP was to buy the $1300 Troy-Built from a dealer it would give him a good 6 to 8 years if maintained, anything above that would be a plus. Buying it from the shop would get him better service when and if he needed it. Is it a JD no, but he only has $1300 to spend and people like new stuff.

 

[possum]

Problem is the money he has to spend will not buy the suggested new lawn tractors set up with leaf pickup and that type of tractor does not lend itself well to trailers, esp. loaded trailers. Slightly more heavy duty late model tractors are as often as not used up by heavy duty work from the previous owner. Commercial types even well used are hard to find ready to use for 1300 bucks at least around here. Looks to me like one choice would be to use the 1300 bucks for a down payment on a new more heavy duty machine with the bagger set up on it and find a dealer that will finance the rest. Another is to just use a regular lawnmower with a bagger on it and forget the trailer for now until a real good used unit can be found or more money is available. A decent blower is another good idea. Renting a real leaf vac is an option. Hiring the leaf work done is an option. There is just to many options and not near enough solutions at least short term I guess lol. I rake a heck of alot of leaves, but I also shatter them up good with a lawn tractor at times and bag them up with a regular lawnmower at times. Sometimes I wonder why I even do it since on my block almost no one does.

 

[lawn mower fanatic]

Yeah, as said in the last post, I would suggest doing something else, because you won't be able to buy much with your budget, especially of you want a bagger attachment. Here are your other options (user possum said some of these):

• handheld OR backpack blower
• walk-behind blower
• leaf vacuum
• hire someone
• renting a leaf vac

If there is a mower that you could use to do the mowing, some of the options above might be good for the leaf cleanup part, because your budget won't let you buy a mower AND one of the above things (or just a mower w/ bagger). Good luck! :smile:

 

[mkamin927]

I would recommend looking into the 100 series jd tractors. my grandpa bought a 116 two years ago, and uses it quite a bit. he paid 800 for it i believe. he also uses it to pull Chris craft wood boats. it wont go up hill with them, and you do wheelies at the start, but it is a solid machine. honestly i wouldn't even try for new with a 1300 budget, and wanting something to pull a trailer. i got my 317 for 750 from a family friend, but good luck finding that deal. just keep your eye out, check craigslist, and wait. just cause the new mower in the bb store has 25 hp, does NOT mean it will out pull my 17 hp 1979 jd. i prefer the older jd's. they are much more solid then newer ones.