school me on riding mowers

[tulsa_sr5]

So, need to get something bigger than my little honda push mower for my 2 acres, and I'm really not sure what I should look for/avoid. I'm looking at the lower end ones, 42" cut, 17 - 20hp in the 1000 to 1200 range.

seems like everything has either a kohler or briggs & stratton engine - should I prefer one?
manual or hydrostatic transmission? manual seems cheaper up front & maybe cheaper to repair?
is their much difference between the brands? looking at MTD, craftsman, ariens, troy bilt
used ones on craigslist have me a little worried, seems like anything over 3 or 4yrs old needs something repaired so I'm leaning towards new, thoughts?
does it make me a redneck if my mower cost more than any other vehicle i own

[4runnerchevy]

I worked as a mechanic for a golf course, for a couple of years. I worked with alot of Kohler motors and B&S. I personally prefer the Kohler, they are easy to work on and are still made in america. The B&S is not made in america anymore. As far as drives, I prefer a hydrostat, but if your not familiar with them then they can be hard to troubleshoot. Since your getting a rotary then invest in a blade balancer (like 15 bucks), so when you sharpen your blades, keep them balanced. A sharp blade=healthy grass.

[4x4mike]

I get some goats.

My FIL goes through a riding mower every 3 years or so. He thinks it's fine but I thought that, especially for the price, that they should last longer. He has yard and grass. As in nice green sod type and grass that is irrigated but is mostly weeds. This grass is spotted with areas of light gravel and always sticks and such. He's had problems with drive mechanisms and belts. When one goes bad he usually heads down to Sears and gets another.

[DHC6twinotter]

We have a Craftsman riding mower with a 15.5hp Kohler engine. It's pretty much a normal run of the mill mower with a 42" cut and a 6spd. We purchased it in 2000 and with just normal maintenance, it has worked great. We used it out on our horse farm, and we mowed some pretty thick grass with it.

I have no experiance with other brands, but our Craftsman with the Kohler engine has worked great!

Just my $.02.

[Scuba]

Get one that has an optional 3.4

Then of course the supercharger is optional

[CJM]

crapsmen, no just run away. Same with MTD, or any of the cheaper brands.

If your gonna buy one mower and one mower only and its gotta last you have a few real choices:
cub cadet, VERY well built but $$$, simplicity (dunno if they make them anymore), scag (if you can afford one), bolens, toro, or a deere. All of those will outlast crapsmen and EVERYTHING else. However they are more $$$ even for older models.

Kohler engine if you can find one, the older B&S are good tho, deere even uses kawasaki engines . Hydrostatic (auto trans) or manual is your choice, i prefer manual. If you look at the better mowers vs the cheaper ones you will see that guage of sheetmetal is thicker on the beter ones, everything is better built overall.

Buy once, cry once. Had a crapsmen, never again.

[DHC6twinotter]

Anybody know if all riding mowers are belt drive? I know ours has a belt that runs from the engine to the transaxle, and it's not a feature I particularly like.

Our mower was a year 2000 special edition which included a heavier gauge deck and a red stripe.

Is Husqvarna any good?

[tulsa_sr5]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I've never had good luck with B&S engines in the past but it's been a long time. Wish I could get one with a honda motor.

[4runnerchevy]

Anybody know if all riding mowers are belt drive? I know ours has a belt that runs from the engine to the transaxle, and it's not a feature I particularly like.

Our mower was a year 2000 special edition which included a heavier gauge deck and a red stripe.

Not all mowers you ride on are belt drive. You'll just pay an arm and a leg to have hydraulic motors turning your rotors.

[hillbilly]

I'll 2nd the Simplicity suggestion. Coming up on the 11th season for my Simplicity Broadmor (16hp Kohler w/ 44" deck [three blades], Hydrostatic tranny). Cuts my 1.5 acre lot at least once week (many times more than that frequently during a wet spring/fall) with ease. And it was made in Wisconsin.

Not needed but one drive belt pulley ($10) replaced in the last 10 years. Hell, its so simple to operate I taught my 8 year old (now 9) how to operate it (with my close supervision of course).