soopa

What do ya'll think of the Cub Cadet i1046
Zero-turn w/ 20 HP* Kohler® Courage™ V-Twin OHV Engine

http://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/s...62754_43275_-1

Local Home Depot has two on sale for $1099.

Looking for a tractor to mow a 1.25 acre lot, semi-hilly (check photos here). I'd also like to use it for snow-blowing, maybe light plowing? driveway is about 600-700 linear ft of asphalt.

I don't know jack about tractors so I'm open to all opinions.

Do I need more power? Is Cub Cadet any good? Would I be better off with a wider deck?

How does this i1000 zero-turn series compare to Cub's 1500 series tractor? They seem to have more power and a bigger deck for the money (although I am lookin at a sale item here). Is zero-turn worth the premium?

soopa

where are all the lawn junkies today?

doopstr

^ I suspect that tractor is going to be an orphan and I would avoid it. It just came out this year and to see them now selling it for $1100 can't be good. The main concern about it being an orphan is that zero turn capability is specific to that machine.

For small tractors there are two general classifications; lawn tractor and garden tractor. Lawn tractors are good for cutting grass and pulling around a cart. They aren't recommended for blowing snow, plowing, or other ground engaging activity. Garden tractors are built heavier and have stronger transmissions for doing heavier stuff.

Examples of lawn tractors are Deere L or 100 series and Simplicity Regent or Broadmoor. In the older messages above I said it wasn't getting a tractor but I ended up with a Regent .

Garden tractor examples are Deere X series and Simplicity Legacy.


With all that said, here are my suggestions to you:
1. Figure out if you really want to move snow or do other heavy stuff with with it.
2. If the answer to #1 is no, figure out if you want a tractor or a ZTR rider. A ZTR will have even less over all capability then a lawn tractor but they have faster ground speed and you will get your grass cut faster. By less capability I mean that I don't even think that you can pull a cart with a ZTR, they are exclusive grass cutting machines.
3. I don't think you should get anything with a deck smaller than 50", you have a good amount of grass to cut. I have a 38" but I only have .5 acre.

In your search you will ultimately get hung up on what type of engine you want. In my limited experience, they all have enough power for home use. 2cyl may run a bit smoother and make less noise than the 1cyl. I have a 1cyl Kohler in mine. It doesn't shake at all, very smooth, plenty of power. The tractor snobs over at gardenweb will tell you that Kawasaki makes a better engine than Briggs or Kohler.

I found shopping for a tractor to be more complicated than shopping for a car. So enjoy that.

GreenMonster

Doopster pretty much covered it...

Cubs are good, but they aren't like they used to be (that can be said about everything tho')...

The 1500 series is fine for mowing and towing a small trailer. 600 ft is alot of driveway, and is going to be alot of wear and tear on a lawn tractor. Might just be easier to get a small walk behind snowblower to clean up the spots that the plow guy you hire misses

Some people prefer the V-Twin OHV Engine on hilly yards. I've heard that they don't get oil starved as easy as the single pumpers do when driving on bigger hills... but they do comsume more fuel than a single cylinder motor.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/tractor/ has some decent content (but the worst format ever)... You can find alot of threads on just about any make/model of tractor there.

Zero-turn is great if you have alot of small obstacles (trees, etc) that you have to mow around in the yard. I've got 2 trees an a mailbox our front, so it's not really something I'd really value, but it can be a great time saver on some yards.

If you are serious about using the tractor to plow or blow a 600ft driveway, you definitely will need to step up to a garden tractor ($3K on up). While they do sell blades and blowers for the smaller lawn tractors, I'd probably only consider using a lawn tractor to remove snow on a 50ft or so driveway. Anything from one of the box stores (lowes, hd, sears) probably isn't going to get the job done without needing to be replaced after a few years.

You'd probably be better served with a Cub 2500 series (similiar to the one that was parked in the garage in your "rust" thread) or Deere x300 series (or other comparable garden tractor).

Doopster is right about shopping for a tractor being more complicated than shopping for a car... and it can be almost as expensive. Deere's top of the line residential garden tractors (x700 series) price out to about $15k without attachments

soopa

i said 1099, i meant 1999, and i was wrong anyway, i went back and they had rearranged the signs... they had the 1999 LT1050 signs on the i1046

soopa

ok, i guess no plowing/blowing. i guess it's hiring a plow guy all the way. its cheaper/easier then spending 3k+ on a tractor.

i definately want to at least be able to pull a cart, and im sure ill want to aerate/etc at times.

65 Fury Convert

Nice tractor and Cub Cadets are tough. It didn't look like a zero turn until I saw this pic:



My next tractor as to be a zero turn. I have an acre lot with trees, my septic tank covers, a ditch, and light posts to mow around and it takes longer than it needs to cut it all right now. Plus I have hills to cut and when I go down them I just slide down, even with my brake on. No good when I need to cut down the hill plus turn at the bottom or drive right into the ditch.

For now I have an old Sears 10 hp rear engine with a bagger attachment that I got for free so I'm not complaining.

ChrisKelly5

I know that this is way more then you need, but.. these are the best mowers you can buy:
http://www.walkermowers.com/index.htm1?section=mower

We have 3 of them, (we own a landscaping company)... and there isn't anything better.

soopa

those are hot.

i'm now trying to choose between:

Husqvarna LGT2654 $2299
John Deere LA150 $2799
Cub Cadet GT1554 $2999

doopstr

Well any of those will sure cut your grass. The Husq looks like a good value. You will need to figure out what makes the others worth more. Green paint is worth a few hundred dollars. I believe green paint also holds its value better than others on the used market.

Go talk to the dealers and see if you can take the tractors for a little spin in the parking lot. See if you "feel right" when you sit on it and take note of the location of all controls. One annoyance I know about the JDs is the blade override switch. New tractors have a safety feature in that if you attempt to go in reverse with the blades on the engine will die. The tractors all have override switches so that you can go in reverse with the blades on. The JD requires that you hit the switch before you go in reverse every time. Others usually only require you to hit the switch once. I hit mine on my Simplicity right after I engage the blades and I'm good to go. It is possible to completely disable the need for the switch on the JD by jumping the wire or something like that.

If you have a lot of obstacles be sure to consider the turning radius of the machine. Tighter turning radius = less amount of times needing to go in reverse to position the tractor around turns. Also consider availability of parts in your area. If the dealer is too far away then you may want to consider a different brand.

One nice thing about JD is the 30-day money back guarantee.

TBone2004

Who makes the smallest (but still good) riding mower or zero-turn mower? I really want to ditch the self propelled - but garage space is limited so was curious if anyone new of a good reliable brand that offers smaller sized ride mowers.

GSI

^ How large is your yard? I have a Cub Cadet 1046 that I used to cut about .5 acre and love it and the brand. It is overkill for .5 acre but it drastically cuts down on the landscape routine. It is a full size rider and I keep it in the garage in front of my car.

TBone2004

1/2 acre all grass.

I will check out the model you listed. No problems with the machine itself - reliable etc?

stright-(paint)balling

i got 2 John Deeres diesels.
I got a JD 955 I got that's my smaller rig with 6 ft deck 4x4 3 -cylinder turbo diesel,hydro and 2 rear remotes with PTO. it's like 27 hp.
I got a new last year JD 4120 6 Ft deck, front end loader, 4x4 4 cylinder diesel,2 rear remotes with PTO. nice rig but it was 40 grand.

GSI

No problems at all with my machine. I have owned for 1.5 yrs and the only thing to go wrong was the battery died over the winter. It cuts nice and level and is well built. On the hardcore tractor forums some poo-poo it because it is made buy MTD (they build some low-end mowers & rebadge ala Chevy Avalanache & Caddy Escalade) but it performs well for me and my yard. I bought mine from a Cub Cadet authorized dealer as they have a 1 year no payment finance option which is pretty cool. I paid around $1900 for it.

GSI

Man! You have some heavy duty gear. You run a farm or something?

Crazy88

I'm on the university grounds crew and we have 3 of those too, one of them is a diesel. We use them for the smaller areas on campus where the 72" and 15' mowers can't get to. The walkers cut the grass so neatly and also pick up the grass. I would definitely recommend Walker.

stright-(paint)balling

my family owns 600 acres.