3PedalMINI Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Well i am going to give Craftsman ONE MORE TRY. i am in need of a lawnmower for some mowing But, the main reson for purchase is i need to tow my Jetski off the road into my shed about 250ft and over a very small hill. The trailer tongue is perfectly balanced so there isnt going to be much if any weight on the lawnmower its self (will be for pure pulling) I am in between these two: Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more The Red one is on sale on Friday for $999.99 so they will be the exact same cost. Im a little worried about the hydro static transmission for pulling my jetski. The grey one is manual but it is also belt driven. My old Murry lawnmower was a tank until it fell in disrepair. Do i take a risk on the Hydro static transmission or go with the trusty belt drive manual. From reading on line the hydro trans offer more ft.lb torque then the belt drive trannys, im just not sure about gearing (if you can call it that), especially over a small hill/bump. My old Murry was 16.5hp and would easily pull loads of 500-800lbs up a hill and over this little bump behind my shed. I beat that thing, i bought it for my lawn company when i was 12 years old. Always changed the oil But i did alot of pulling with it. (it was the cleanest ride on lawn mower you could imagine for being my age:banana:) Anyway Anyhelp is greatly appreciated:thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-V8V Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Those belt drives have been around for a long long time for one reason, THEY WORK I have the 18.5 HP model from 2004, I've pulled a few hundred pounds of firewood around with it and you would never know it was there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcss383 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 It might work pretty well for pulling a trailer, Craftsman mowers suck at mowing unless you like crooked cuts and scalping with every turn. They do a wonderful job of that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFairbanks Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Buy a Deere. John Deere that is. Some of them can be pricey however. The neighbor across the street has a riding Craftsman and it is dead in the water. I have a lower end JD and have had not one problem with it. I however don't do anything with it but mow the lawn and pull an aerator or move a load of topsoil with. Nothing extreme. Another neighbor had a high end JD and that thing was a beast. Just my 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3PedalMINI Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Buy a Deere. John Deere that is. Some of them can be pricey however. The neighbor across the street has a riding Craftsman and it is dead in the water. I have a lower end JD and have had not one problem with it. I however don't do anything with it but mow the lawn and pull an aerator or move a load of topsoil with. Nothing extreme. Another neighbor had a high end JD and that thing was a beast. Just my 2 cents. I would love to be able to get a john deer. The only thing is i cant find them this time of year and they are $600 more then the trashmans. Tobe honest i need it to pull my Jetski, the mowing is only for the LONG parking strip. The yard isnt big enough to support the lawnmower so level mowing isnt the biggest concern:lolsmack: Ive tried pushing the jetski back there and i just cannot get it up over the little hill. Right now its sitting in storage and is costing me 125/month so in the long run its cheaper for me to buy the lawnmower to pull then it is to let it sit in a storage bin. So you guys would go with the trusty belt drive rather then the Hydro tranny? i need the most Ft. LBS of torqe i can get, i cant find the ft.lbs the belt drive is rated for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcss383 Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Got any need for an ATV? You could buy a 3 or 4 year old one for fairly cheap that would absolutely pull the jetski plus give you something else fun to ride. We use our 10+ year old 300cc Kawasaki atv's to pull trailers with no problem. My dad has had the hydro trans and belt trans craftsman. I don't know that I would trust the hydro trans for pulling with Craftsman's lack of QC and using the cheapest components possible to build things. The belt drive loves to throw belts, but I bet it would hold up better for your purpose. BTW the hydro drive one lasted pretty well and makes mowing MUCH easier and more enjoyable. When you are mowing over 2 acres of land with lots of trees, buildings and other obstructions to go around it makes a big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3PedalMINI Posted November 24, 2011 Author Share Posted November 24, 2011 Got any need for an ATV? You could buy a 3 or 4 year old one for fairly cheap that would absolutely pull the jetski plus give you something else fun to ride. We use our 10+ year old 300cc Kawasaki atv's to pull trailers with no problem. My dad has had the hydro trans and belt trans craftsman. I don't know that I would trust the hydro trans for pulling with Craftsman's lack of QC and using the cheapest components possible to build things. The belt drive loves to throw belts, but I bet it would hold up better for your purpose. BTW the hydro drive one lasted pretty well and makes mowing MUCH easier and more enjoyable. When you are mowing over 2 acres of land with lots of trees, buildings and other obstructions to go around it makes a big difference. I was going to do that but i cant find a used one for anything less then 3200. Ive found some that dont run for 1300 but aside from changing oil and some other minor engine work i dont know the first thing about motors. I dont know, from what it seams is that no one is too kean on trashman, Maybe i should wait until i run across another brand? i wish i had caught the john deer mowers on clearance, HD only has one left and its 2800 bucks. Every single trashman i have is currently being held together with zipties, duct tape and pipe clamps:lolsmack: seriously...... maybe, a lawn tractor isnt the best thing to buy from trashman:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug123 Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Yeah, the Deeres have a good rep. Pricey, but good machinery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFairbanks Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 mcss had a good idea. And I found a cheap one, at the below link. Comparable to the money spent on a riding lawn mower. But probably a more appropriate piece of equipment for what your wanting to do with it. The starting price is listed in the top left corner under "Outlaw 50". Hope this helps. 2012 Polaris Outlaw 50 Youth ATV : Overview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-V8V Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 mcss had a good idea. And I found a cheap one, at the below link. Comparable to the money spent on a riding lawn mower. But probably a more appropriate piece of equipment for what your wanting to do with it. The starting price is listed in the top left corner under "Outlaw 50". Hope this helps. 2012 Polaris Outlaw 50 Youth ATV : Overview You are trashing Craftsman but telling him to get a Polaris :lol::lol: I'm guessing you've never had a Polaris, I've had several, spent more time fixing them than riding them :willy::willy: Going on 8 years with my Craftsman mower and have never had an issue with it. And my friend bought a John Deere at the same time I bought my Craftsman, it sure is nice to look at too bad he doesn't get to do much mowing with it, it's always broken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFairbanks Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 You are trashing Craftsman but telling him to get a Polaris :lol::lol: I'm guessing you've never had a Polaris, I've had several, spent more time fixing them than riding them :willy::willy: Going on 8 years with my Craftsman mower and have never had an issue with it. And my friend bought a John Deere at the same time I bought my Craftsman, it sure is nice to look at too bad he doesn't get to do much mowing with it, it's always broken I guess it is all in how you maintain and treat your equipment. I actually have 2 Polaris and have not had one issue with them. Have had them for about 11 years. And my riding lawn mower hasn't given me any grief whatsoever. The only problem I had with the lawn mower was a spring broke, 10 years later. I however am a maintenance freak when it comes to everything I own. Iam very selective on what oils, and replacement parts I use. I guess that is the big difference. The best equipment abused and not maintained is going to generally fail before the worse equipment properly maintained, and not abused. I did also notice that the example that I posted is a "youth". I just used that as an example to show that you can find them cheap if you look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-V8V Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Excellent point, it really is about how you take care of your stuff and what products you use to do it. Kind of like your cars finish But I for one would pay good money to see Brandon riding a youth ATV up a hill with his jet ski hitched to the back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeonSRT-4 Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I push my cars around my driveway with my Craftsman. Also, it cuts the grass in the summer (almost 1 acre lot) and it plows the driveway in the winter. I've had it since 2005 and besides routine maintenance I've only had to replace a broken belt once. Finding that belt was a PITA but I bought a couple of them just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3PedalMINI Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 But I for one would pay good money to see Brandon riding a youth ATV up a hill with his jet ski hitched to the back :lolsmack: I too would pay good money to see that too:loser: I ended up going with the trusty 7speed belt driven model. I have no doubt something on there will be held together with a zip tie or duct tape somewhere after a few uses. Thanks for your opinions guys!...It will be adamized when it gets delivered on wednesday:banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFairbanks Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I know you already purchased a lawn mower to move your jet ski, but I thought about this today. There are a lot of different concepts that all work the same way and different prices as well. Not sure if this concept crossed your mind. It is probably cheaper than what you paid for a lawn mower too. Perfect for trailers up to 2500 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-V8V Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 :lolsmack: I too would pay good money to see that too:loser: I ended up going with the trusty 7speed belt driven model. I have no doubt something on there will be held together with a zip tie or duct tape somewhere after a few uses. Thanks for your opinions guys!...It will be adamized when it gets delivered on wednesday:banana: Did you get the Z06 model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3PedalMINI Posted November 28, 2011 Author Share Posted November 28, 2011 Did you get the Z06 model ] Whoa, im already buying a trashman. I didt want to jinx it/my chances any more with any type of GM parts I know you already purchased a lawn mower to move your jet ski, but I thought about this today. There are a lot of different concepts that all work the same way and different prices as well. Not sure if this concept crossed your mind. It is probably cheaper than what you paid for a lawn mower too. Perfect for trailers up to 2500 lbs. Yeah i saw that, was going to red neck one together but figured it wasnt worth it. Shipping is also $145 on them too and im worried about traction since there is no weight on the tonge, and i ahve to go over a hill. We have a reallly long parking strip that my old lawn mower worked good on, when that kicked the bucket we've been doing it with a push mower and it takes forever. Also, my neighbors house is in foreclosure and wont be sold for another couple years. I cant stand weedy/un manicured lawns so i might as well use the ride on to mow that grass too:willy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc2hill Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I know it's a little late, but did you ever think about a small farm tractor? They are made for that type of low speed towing, and you could add some type of mower attachment if you needed to do the lawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.