Riding Mower: Cub or Deere? 4-ish acres, bumpy terrain, hills, many trees.

[bertsmobile1]

We are getting way off topic here however when I open up a vertical shaft engine and see a lipped ball race on the lower bearing rather than a thrust washer taking up the end float sitting on the bare case, I will change my opinion. Or even a radial roller / ball carrying the weight of the crank with a roller on the top to take the latteral load levered through the crank.
Remember the crank is being pulled by the drive belts and this force acts as a lever on the crank with the fulcrum at the lower bearing and the resistive load at the upper bearing.

Horozontal cranks can & many do have the crank case joint along the line of the crank which allows for self aligning ball baring to take up the end float rather than doing things like fitting thicker gaskets to adjust end float.

And yes Honda used to make a lot of vertical engines which were the top line but they only do the small push mower engines now.
Kawakasi moved in to take Honda's place but they are doing what Honda refused to do , downgrade their product to a price level that the "market" will pay.
Talk to any one who repairs engines and they will tell you the quality is on the decline.

 

[RudyP]

Greetings. I'll be needing to buy a new mower soon. My primary dilemma is between John Deere and Cub Cadet, both of which have a dealership in a nearby town. I need a garden tractor that does well on hills and bumpy terrain. Though there are many trees on the land I'll be mowing, the hills and bumps pose the greatest issues -- as such, a decent turning radius is a bonus rather than a necessity. Ridding the gravel driveway of snow is also a tastk I'd like my mower to be capable of. I'm budgeting this purchase "in the ballpark" of $3,000, phrased as such because Cub's only garden tractor is the XT2 GX54", which sits at $3,300.

Elaborating on the details of the terrain, the main hilly offender is a steep slope that meets the road. At its worst, the slope may be (very rough guess) six yards from bottom to top along the slope. At best, maybe two or less. (I'm not sure what the worst incline is, but it threatened to throw me off the old mower.) The side-to-side length, however, is quite a stretch, probably 250-300 feet. The few other hilly areas on the property are somewhere in between the above two extremes, but far from the worst, and none of them stretch very far.

I know little about how to choose a quality mower. I've heard bad things about Cub Cadet's warranty servicing, but only rumors at this point. John Deere's website isn't very informative as far as distinguishing lawn vs garden tractors. Any assistance with making my decision is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I have been following this thread and wanted to know which machine you decided on. I too am looking to purchase a new lawn tractor soon, although my old Cub is still going strong. I only mow 2 acres but it is has some slopes and a few challenging areas and I definitely will not drop down to the weaker K46 trans offered in either the Cub XT2 or JD X300 series. The Cub XT3 fits my wallet better than the higher priced JD X500 or JD X700 series albeit they would accommodate a hitch for plows, discs, etc. that I could use, where as the Cub XT3 will not. Thanks for any responses or advice.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

With all the available information on the slope angle a specific tractor is capable of safely mowing it is kind of ridiculous tractors are still being rolled and injuring or killing people. Measuring the slope of your terrain to compare it to your tractor's capability, well that's grade school math, just do it.

 

[RudyP]

I totally agree. Negotiating slope angles is a piece of cake with my old shaft drive Cub, I just move the cold beverage from the cup holder and park my butt on the high side fender then let'r rip tater chip.:laughing: