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scott100
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2021 01:10pm
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I bought a Wheel Horse brand new in 1985. I sold it in 2019 after 34 years if mowing and snow blowing with it. I even mowed a 10 acre horse pasture with it for a couple of those years. I had very little trouble with it. During that time I went through 3 used snow blower attachments (gravel driveway) and 2 mower decks. Most of the Wheel Horse mowers locally lasted similar amounts of time. Can't go wrong with a used one if you find it.
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gcrank1
Moderator
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2021 02:09pm
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Many of the old reliable brands have gone under/sold out and aint the same company for a long time now.
I was very surprised a couple years ago to take a look online what 'brands' then were made by MTD. Look it up and see when that take over happened.
Ime it is getting hard and expensive now to find parts for the old models, they only made just so many of them, some got junked (sad) when it would have been so much better if they had been parted out.
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rpe
Member
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# Posted: 20 Apr 2021 02:51pm
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I've been running a JD 318 at my home property for over 20yrs. It is a mid 1980's model, and still works hard all summer and winter mowing and blowing. My next-door neighbour is on his third MTD-class riding mower in that same time period, each purchased brand new. I hope with continued maintenance this 318 will still be going strong 20 yrs from now!
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gcrank1
Moderator
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# Posted: 23 Apr 2021 03:51pm - Edited by: gcrank1
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I may have lucked out (or got another project with 'issues'...), was just given a 15ish yo JD lawn tractor with a 48"x3 blade deck, a newer replacement B&S V twin, all up to date on servicing and has mostly been stored in the garge between uses. The traction drive 'slips' going uphill when hot, the owner bought a new mower because he doesnt want to mess with it any more (and he doesnt work on stuff much, he'd have to pay somebody to do this job).
I'll get it Sunday aft, drop the deck and see what the drive belt looks like, though reading up it sounds like an internal hydrostatic trans thing 
We will see......
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 22 May 2021 09:39pm
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Good article link below. Some of the warnings about protecting the spindles, bearings etc. likely apply equally to both zero-turn and riding mowers.
If buying used, it might be interesting to see if the previous owner will brag about cutting tall grass, brush etc. If so, it might be wise to then take a pass on that mower.
Mowing Tall Grass, Pastures, Paddocks And Fields With A Zero-Turn Mower - TodaysMower.com
https://todaysmower.com/mowing-tall-grass-pastures-paddocks-and-fields-with-a-zero-tu rn-mower/
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Astr
Member
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# Posted: 31 Oct 2026 09:11am
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Avoid anything with a Peerless transaxle or plastic transaxle, youll be fixing it instead of mowing. L100 series Deeres, entry level Husqvarnas, basically anything that was cheap new is gonna be cheaper to haul to the scrapyard later.
Older Deere X300 series or a decent Cub Cadet with a cast iron front axle wont let you down on trails.
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gcrank1
Moderator
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# Posted: 31 Oct 2026 09:33am - Edited by: gcrank1
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Yeah that
The JD LT130 I mentioned back in 2021 turned out to have a non-serviceable hydro tranny. IF it had been supplied with a drain plug or two and a fill port it could have lasted far longer. They were bad enough back when that mower was new, then the price escalated then they became unavailable (but if you could find one the price so high you should buy a new MTD made mower). I pulled the tranny, was going to try the 50/50 chance I could pop the top, drain, flush 2x, refill with a premium oil, etc and have it work But....life happens and it is still sitting. I bought a 30+ yo Simplicity from a neighbor (he bought a 0t) for $450. After all the old school mowers Ive had and been around this simplicity is pretty impressive.
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DRP
Member
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# Posted: 31 Oct 2026 09:45am
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I had to give up on the old L100 this week and bush hogged the yard. The deck is mostly weld and had pretty much self destructed. That has been the death of the last 3. I still have the old Simplicity sans deck. I was slowly in the process of making it a woodgas utility hauler.
So is Astr human or a bot? Seems to keep dredging up old posts but pretty sophisticated AI. The 1st aid post below this morning from fisher is spam.
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philpom
Member
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# Posted: 31 Oct 2026 10:38am
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Just when I thought there was an interesting topic to chime in on.
For what it's worth, name designations have meaning, LT, GT, etc. GT is Garden Tractor and is designed for ground engagement, will have a real transaxle with an actual tow rating. Look for 25 HP, cast iron front end, rear wheels with actual lugs, and a slanted rear. These are good signs. A Briggs and Stratton I/C Gold engine is nice to have ( Industrial/Commercial ). Look for an 8 Guage or better deck.
I have a 40 year old Yard Machine I keep up at the cabin, gave $300 for it, what a deal, it's been mowing rocks for a long time. It reminds me of driving a really old Ford. Here in town I have a 10 year old Craftsman garden tractor that I would haul up and use. It's nice, cruise control, automatic transmission, etc but it's had a few repairs, the tie rod design is press fitted, they give out. It lost a front wheel once. Makes for a bad day and spilled beer. It is a rebranded Husqvarna.
Whatever you get put agg tires on it with tubes.
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gcrank1
Moderator
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# Posted: 31 Oct 2026 11:43am - Edited by: gcrank1
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We retired our MTD made branded Husky 42" mower, 1 cylinder B&S (bought new in '09?) to the cabin, it just keeps going! Not bad for a $1k LT that was meant to last maybe 5 years. New versions are now $2k and with lawn season ending they are end of season sale items. Rebuilt the steering rack 1x and new tires (stinky China made), a couple batteries and belts 1x. It has been satisfactory enough that I think I will start looking for a slightly used cheap one that someone has had for a city lot or upgraded to a 0t.
Yeah, Astr is ? but the info solid, just leaving (4 now)
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 1 Nov 2026 06:39am
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I have been through about 5 lawmowers in the last 15yrs. Mostly craftsman but also a husqvarna. It was so bad that I would have to stock a spindle, blade and deck belt for every mower. That was 5yrs ago. I have since switched to (green) bobcat commercial Mowers. I stock no parts and haven't changed a thing. I buy them used for not much more than a used residential grade unit. Now I dont have to fix the mower every time I try to mow...I just make the tall grass short.
After the first season of mowing with a used commercial ZTR il never own another lawn tractor ever again. O and my mowing time went from 3.5hrs to 1hr now..and I mow more area now.
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KinAlberta
Member
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# Posted: 10 Nov 2026 11:22am - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Yes, I understand that the zero turns are the way to go for most lawns.
However for mowing the trails at our cabin (5+ km plus areas of old overgrown pastures) I ended up buying a used 54” Husqvarna with a fabricated deck. Cheaper and it can better straddle or float over the rough trail terrain and an undermount less likely to drop the deck down onto rocks, etc. So the riding mower was needed mostly for just lots of straight line mowing but rough with loads of small shrubs to hack off. The mower worked flawlessly until this year but now it won’t start (a repair task for next year).
We also have a little Kubota B diesel bought new in the 1970s and still going strong. We use it on the few acres of lawn around the cabin and for pulling logs, rocks, etc. Babying the mower deck now though, since parts will impossible to find.
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offgrididaho
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2026 11:52am
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I have been very pleased with our Husqvarna TS 354XD, very robust. -- Bass
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