I've got a huge spreadsheet of many of the current new mowers ... Recommendation?

[extrapolator]

My current rider is a 42" hydro Craftsman I bought new around '94 to mow approx 1/3rd of my 1 acre. It has served me very well; no mechanical problems, only occasional maintenance, and even then I probably didn't keep up as well as I should've :ashamed: But she's been kept in my enclosed garage 100% of those years, and I generally treat my 'stuff' gently. Well, her sealed hydro tranny has started leaking, and I've decided to sell her while she's still running, operating and mowing fine. I'd also like a little wider cut and possibly something a little heavier duty. Prob no interest in a zero-turn as I want to bag the clippings and haven't yet seen a bagger kit on a ZT that wasn't huge. I just prefer the standard front-engine riding mower format.

So I've made this rather long spreadsheet of new 42" = 54" riding mowers ... not complete yet still looking ... with all of the traits that I think matter to me: Cut, HP, Hydro or not, hydro operate my lever or pedal, will it mow in reverse; length & width, weight, etc etc.

In another post I asked about the weird 'hook' corner on the front-left of Craftsman's new Pro series (20442), one I suspect I would snag on fences and trees, which would either jar me, stop the tractor, break the thing I hit, or break the mower :thumbdown:This mower seems to rate very highly, and with it being readily available at my local Sears, I had just about decided go for it, until I spotted that mower deck corner.

Let me say, I love bells, whistles, and quality, and I typically lean toward buying a 'thing' that has all those, if the bells & whistles are logical and desirable, even if the item costs a lot more ... I know myself well enough now that I know if something is available with an option(s) I was intrigued by, and I don't buy it ... well, I'm sorry later and then lose money when I sell the first one and get the better one I really wanted in the first place. So, better to pony up now and get the good one to start with.

All that said ... can you name what you consider to be a mower (or 2 or 3) in the 42" - 48" range (54" prob too big) that's medium- to heavy duty and has all the bells and whistles? Let's call it the 'Cadillac' of mowers :smile: Oh, I've checked Kubota's site ... holy crap are their riders' MSRPs expensive, and I'm just not seeing it being justified(?)

Thank y'all in advance ...


Edit: I live in N Cent FL, so hills / traction are of no concern.

 

[eric102]

My current rider is a 42" hydro Craftsman I bought new around '94 to mow approx 1/3rd of my 1 acre. It has served me very well; no mechanical problems, only occasional maintenance, and even then I probably didn't keep up as well as I should've :ashamed: But she's been kept in my enclosed garage 100% of those years, and I generally treat my 'stuff' gently. Well, her sealed hydro tranny has started leaking, and I've decided to sell her while she's still running, operating and mowing fine. I'd also like a little wider cut and possibly something a little heavier duty. Prob no interest in a zero-turn as I want to bag the clippings and haven't yet seen a bagger kit on a ZT that wasn't huge. I just prefer the standard front-engine riding mower format.

So I've made this rather long spreadsheet of new 42" = 54" riding mowers ... not complete yet still looking ... with all of the traits that I think matter to me: Cut, HP, Hydro or not, hydro operate my lever or pedal, will it mow in reverse; length & width, weight, etc etc.

In another post I asked about the weird 'hook' corner on the front-left of Craftsman's new Pro series (20442), one I suspect I would snag on fences and trees, which would either jar me, stop the tractor, break the thing I hit, or break the mower :thumbdown:This mower seems to rate very highly, and with it being readily available at my local Sears, I had just about decided go for it, until I spotted that mower deck corner.

Let me say, I love bells, whistles, and quality, and I typically lean toward buying a 'thing' that has all those, if the bells & whistles are logical and desirable, even if the item costs a lot more ... I know myself well enough now that I know if something is available with an option(s) I was intrigued by, and I don't buy it ... well, I'm sorry later and then lose money when I sell the first one and get the better one I really wanted in the first place. So, better to pony up now and get the good one to start with.

All that said ... can you name what you consider to be a mower (or 2 or 3) in the 42" - 48" range (54" prob too big) that's medium- to heavy duty and has all the bells and whistles? Let's call it the 'Cadillac' of mowers :smile: Oh, I've checked Kubota's site ... holy crap are their riders' MSRPs expensive, and I'm just not seeing it being justified(?)

Thank y'all in advance ...


Edit: I live in N Cent FL, so hills / traction are of no concern.

For a John Deere garden tractor/mower the "Cadillac" would be one of the X700 series which are ultra heavy duty. The next step down in size and price would be the X500 series which are medium to heavy duty. Then when you step down again into the X300 series I think some of those (but not all) may have sealed transmissions which can't be serviced.