Craftsman Lawn Tractor/Ride on mower??

[Titanite]

Hello,
I am moving to a small acreage and looking for a small tractor/ride on to mow lawn (3.5 acres) and blow snow. I've looked at the green ones and they look nice, but at twice the price, do I need one? Anyone have a craftsman (stage 1 or 2) and blow snow? Im sure the mower works fine. Being that it is a 2WD Im guessing wheel weights and chains are a must (for any smaller 2WD unit I would imagine)??
Any comments are greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

[nimrod]

I have had a craftsman ;awn tractor for about 6 years now, 24 horse, great machine, mow's great and you can even get a snow blower for it, best investment for a average owner, and cheaper than the green ones, and Husqvarna carries some parts for them.

[mxz1997]

I would much rather buy Husqvarna. They are still way cheaper than the green ones and you can actually get parts for them. As for snow blower, I tried it for a while but a quad with snow blade is way faster and works a lot better.

[SuperCub]

I bought a used JD D170 this year. Only had 20hrs on it as the seller was buying a larger JD for plowing.

I like it and won't probably ever to buy another in my lifetime.

http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/...170/d170.page?


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[kritz]

Just be aware and of course people will be brand loyal. but a lot of the smaller tractors are built from the same factory and logo'd out to brand names. Of course the commercial series in the bigger brands are built by the specific brand but the smaller ones are farmed out ( some not all).

The craftsmans can be the same as the orange, and the green and just brand named.

The craftsmans have been good to the people I know who have them, with snowblowers and mowing. I have owned one for just mowing and it worked fine for a lot of years, I just upgraded to a commercial series.
Just know that when you buy one of these it is not for mowing hay fields, and then complain the mower is not good enough.

[Slash8]

I almost bought another green on last year and didn't. I did a lot of research and heard a ton of horror stories about the transmissions being crap which makes sense when I replaced two trans axles on the JD 160 I had. In the end I bought a Craftsman with a 26hp Kohler (or Kroler as my Dad calls it) for cutting the grass. I had a 38" deck on the JD and went up to a 56". It made a big difference in both time and cost. I cut the grass an hour and a half quicker than I did before and I Burn half the fuel. I have no complaints with it. I also blow snow with it. I have a 44" 2 stage and it works great. You will defiantly need chains and weights though and I only use it when we get big dumps. I use a quad if its just a few inches.

[curtz]

When we moved out to our acreage I bought a 24 hp craftsman. Mower and the snow blower worked good, had to sell the snow blower because it was so heavy that it dug in and was pitching rocks everywhere. Quad and blade works better for me. Mower have been good for 7 years.

[4thredneck]

Husqvarna makes Craftsman, if you don't believe me go sit on them. All the parts on the mower decks are supplied by Oregon.

[Springerman]

I have a 98 craftsman with briggs and stratton engine on my acerage. Just use it for grass and picking up leaves. Iam amazed who good it has been. I have only had it tuned up once and have a very big yard. Iwoouldnt hesitate to buy another one and the price is right?

[heybert]

Had a craftsman when I was on an acreage. Had an old 1987 17.5 hp for a few years, then upgraded to the 24 hp. Great machines and priced well.

[Titanite]

Thank you everyone!

[bison]

A 3 and a half acre lawn!!
You don't need a lawn mower bud,... you need a haybine!

[Bushmaster]

Is it grass or a lawn ? If its a lawn, I would recommend a zero turn mower. It will cut your cutting time in half!

[lopinyote]

If your looking to blow snow you should go with a garden tractor. They have a better and tougher rear end..opposed to the lawn tractor.. You can attach a snowblower to both but the g.t is a better option.

[260 Rem]

I've had Craftsman ... It was a decent machine... And have since had a couple of JDs. The features that are important to a large acreage include: power steering, power lift for mower and other attachments, decibel level (two cyl much quieter), and weight (you can never have too much for snow).