Lawn and Garden purchase

99silveradoz71 · March 9, 2004

Well with the new house I'm kind of torn. I cut my grandmother's yard currently which is pretty good size, but able to be done with a 21" mower. Dad also just had lung surgery, so I'll likely be doing the folks place too. I'll end up doing mine sometime after some reseeding in a few weeks.

I have a lawnboy at Granny's to use, and 1 at mom and dad's as well. I'd like to purchase another piece of equipment for my place so I wouldn't have to haul Granny's mower over to the house here(been doing it for too long already to mom and dad's). I got an enclosed trailer from my uncle's estate a few months ago which sits in my garage, so whatever I would get will likely be stored inside.

Here are my thoughts, with the mower to be stored in the trailer, it would make sense for me to just hitch up and go knock out Granny's and the folks in 1 day. Thus I'm considering a Lesco commercial walk-behind in either 36" or 48". Those would be $2199 or $2299. Both would be gear drive, with a 14hp Kawa on the 36 and a 15hp on the 48. Also in consideration would be a lawn tractor...likely the John Deere Lt110 from Home Depot or the local retailer. It runs $1799 with a 42" deck, hydrostatic drive, and a 17hp Kohler. The bag kit on the Deere would be around $300. Finally, I'm tossing around the idea of just a new Lawnboy 21 or 22" for around $450. They come with a new 4 cycle Honda 5.5hp(I believe). Or a Honda HRX which allows you to slide a lever to choose anywhere between 100% mulch and 100% bagging. That would be about $699 for Hydrostatic drive and a 6.5hp.

Only advantage of the tractor would be being able to put a blade on to do the drive in winter, which would mean that I'd have to have the trailer pulled into the garage(not a pleasant thought)...so the tractor is kind of a last option. I also don't like sitting on my backside instead of walking to mow the lawn.

The bang for the buck winner would be the Lesco stuff. I've used commercial mowers from them in the past with no real problems...I preferred the Scag mowers we used at the county, but they're a bit too pricey for me for basically the same machine.

As for the lawnboy vs. honda, that'd be a toss up. That 4 cycle lawnboy does use a Honda motor. It would also have a steel deck vs. the polymer 5yr warranted Honda deck.

Your thoughts? Does anyone know of any rating sites for the residential or commercial mowers? Sorry about the length and as always, thanks for your help/thoughts.

Rookie · March 9, 2004

Myself I like a tractor because mine has a beverage holder As for speed and agility go with a walk behind. Which ever you decide go with a good quality one. You may also want to look into a used one from some guy that tried his hand at lawn care.

Just because we had 73 degrees on Friday dont go jumping the gun. I had to scrape my windows today as you to i would assume. i hate Northeast, Ohio

99silveradoz71 · March 9, 2004

Yep, the snow broom was out. Of course I ended up with a nice snow-covered cruiser to clean off last night. We'll see about tonight. I wrote my usual ride up for having a slow leaking tire about 2 weeks ago...apparently they found other issues to check out.

As for the lawn and garden, my yard will be somewhat soft for a bit yet, and like I mentioned, I'll have to reseed. I just figured now isn't a bad time to buy with pre-season specials. I used to do the oil changes and such on our Scag commercial stuff at the county, so I know how to care for a commercial walk-behind(basic stuff at least)...I'm leaning that way due to the long-term value. I believe I've got a relative of a relative who reconditions them, so I may go that route.

Rookie · March 9, 2004

the more i think about it walk behind. Im wishing i would have gotten one. I'm doing the reseed here in a week or two. I tried to use the roller this weekend that was a joke. i was thinkng i might have to pull the tractor out of the yard with the truck... That could have been fun

TROYROBO · March 9, 2004

go for the deere--i did and haven't regreted 1 second on the purchase

blue2kzr2 · March 9, 2004

Not even going to consider Toro? We have one that's at LEAST 15 years old. We just do the normal belts periodically, grease once a year, full oil change once a year. Battery never worked right, so it gets jumped from a vehicle when we use it. It burns/leaks some oil, so it ends up with a fresh fill of oil after a month or so anyway, what can ya say for a 15 year-old engine? Engine's never been opened (B&S engine), gearbox never opened, very few parts have been replaced. I'd go Toro again if I had the choice.

To show it's age, it's a 32" single-blade deck. 8HP rear-engine. The deck can only be configured for bag or shoot clumps out the chute, no mulch option, but I know the newer ones are MUCH better in that respect. Takes me 2 hours to cut about 3/4 - 1 acre, but I don't just go in circles, I try to make it look nice.

RAYS B4U · March 9, 2004

I've got an old 1972 Cub Cadet 149 14 hp w/hydrostatic drive that I use. Still works great! They don't make em like that anymore!

Greg · March 9, 2004

www.consumerreports.org rates residential mowers and riders, however you need to pay a subscription. I would avoid the MTD products that are sold under a number of brands including White and Cub Cadet.

A few years ago I broke my heel and needed to buy a tractor. I bought a 1985 John Deere 318 with about 400 hours on the clock (Onan engine, dual hydraulics) complete with 50" mower deck, tiller, snow thrower, weights, and chains for less than a less-capable new JD tractor with no attachments. Most residential users put minimal hours on their JD equipment and if they've kept up with the maintenance, it should be in good shape even after a number of years.

Shaners · March 10, 2004

The big disadvantage to buying a lawn tractor, is that you would either have to bower a trim mower from someone or buy one to keep at your house (the trim mowers are already available at Grams and your dads, so at least you wouldn't have to haul one with you).

Greg · March 11, 2004

The big disadvantage to buying a lawn tractor, is that you would either have to bower a trim mower from someone or buy one to keep at your house (the trim mowers are already available at Grams and your dads, so at least you wouldn't have to haul one with you).

Not a problem if you plan your landscaping accordingly. After mowing with the tractor, I have to only make a quick pass with the string trimmer.

bscottb · March 11, 2004

These guys know their stuff.

Try this

Wingnut · March 11, 2004

As far as sites go with ratings, I tooled around epinions.com, and found a bit of useful info.

I have a Poulan rider, and it serves me just dandy. It's overkill for my yard, but I'm the type to overkill anything, especially when it comes to tools, or anything with a motor attached.

Personally, I would stay away from the walk behinds. No beer holder.

Kidding, my buddy uses one (commercially), I've borrowed it to do my yard a few times, and it cuts amazing....Oh, and it's more of a "jog-behind" than a "walk-behind".

Walk behinds are a lot more maneuverable (exept for the high dollar "zero-radius" machines) than the riders are. As long as you aren't doing more than an acre here and there -and you have a lot of trees or landscaping to get around- it's probably the way to go.

.02

99silveradoz71 · March 11, 2004

Thanks as always everyone. I went back to Lesco today and took some measurements on their 48" walk behind. The only concern will be the weight on the trailer door/ramp. Other than that it'll fit in with no problem. That seems to be the best bang for the buck at this point. I have to contact Wells Cargo and check on the weight issue, then I think I'm going to make a purchase.