The Troy-Bilt TB30R is essentially the least expensive riding mower you can buy new. Does that make it a poor choice for consumers? Absolutely not. Cutting grass isn’t a complicated endeavor. And smaller, flat properties don’t need a zero-turn mower that can do .5 past light speed. Sometimes the best answer is the simplest. If you can resist the temptation to buy a more expensive tractor, the TB30R can probably fulfill your needs just fine.
The path that lead to the Troy-Bilt started several weeks ago when dad finally decided to part ways with the person who had been cutting our lawn for the past five years or so. The self-propelled walk behind we used in the past no longer functioned, which meant a replacement was necessary. A quick visit to all the major retailers quickly revealed an interesting little tidbit about the current state of the lawnmower industry: while still dominated by gasoline engines, a few battery electric models have made some serious inroads. The thought of owning a cool looking, trendy, less noisy mower that didn’t require gasoline got me excited.
The apotheosis of this fever dream led me to the Tesla Model S of riding mowers. Given its price, there is no way it would ever see the inside of our garage. But one can dream.
The realistic choices seen here start at a little over $1,000 and climb fairly quickly. And these are all 42 inch tractors with at least 17 horsepower.
Our desire to spend as little money as possible on a riding mower led us to this 30 inch Troy-Bilt unit sold at Lowe’s. 30 inch tractors seem to be falling out of fashion these days, as Home Depot doesn’t sell any variants at all, likely due to many companies opting out of the small segment entirely.
It’s logical for households to spring for the 42 inch tractors since the extra cost is essentially negligible. But 30 inch mowers justify their existence not just for their value, but with their smaller dimensions and lighter weight too. Although we have a shed, storing a mower inside the garage makes its retrieval easier, and its the more secure option as well. The more compact Troy-Bilt allows us to park both our cars inside the garage with the mower and have enough room to walk around all three vehicles as well.
A 42 inch tractor wouldn’t have been able to fit in the spot I carved out for the Troy-Bilt. Obviously the other objects in our garage are the real reasons why a bigger mower wouldn’t work for us, but based on my observations, the vast majority of our neighbors don’t have enough space to fit even one car in their garage, so given that context I’d say our decision to buy the mower based on its smaller footprint is justified.
The smaller dimensions of the 30 inch also help when cutting around our numerous trees and shrubs. Before we made the decision to buy our Troy-Bilt, I borrowed my neighbors’ 42 inch Craftsman, and it hard a hard time getting between the trees and the fence. The TB30R tackles those situations just fine.
These two pictures of our property are just screenshots of Google’s Street View camera from 2012, but nothing has really changed since then, except for the new stop sign. That entire area around the rocks is where the 30 inch really shines, as its able to cut a substantial portion of the grass near the rocks and fit between them and the fence.
As far as quirks go, the Troy-Bilt has quite a few. The six speed shift-on-the-go transmission doesn’t really let you shift while in motion. Not a big deal. The real issue is the transition between shifting into gear and the initial take off after letting your foot off the combination brake/clutch. No matter how slowly you lift your foot, the mower will abruptly jump into gear, which jerks the rider around. At first this was very disorienting, but after two full rounds mowing our property I’ve learned to live with it.
The Troy-Bilt also prevents mowing in reverse unless a special ignition mode is activated. It seems all modern riding mowers come equipped with this feature, as my neighbors Craftsman also required you to do the same exact sequence if you wanted to cut some grass while backing up. If your property requires a lot of reverse mowing, you may want to avoid a riding mower because of this feature. Or supplement your riding tractor with a push mower.
With limited real estate for the PTO unit, speed selector, and cutting height lever, the forward/neutral/reverse lever had to go somewhere. That place? Right between your legs. Again, it’s just another thing to get used to, but I could see someone having to adjust the seat simply because of where this thing rests. Other than that, its pretty easy to use.
Another minor inconvenience pertains to the location of the fuel cap. Since it partially rests under the seat, filling the tank is a little awkward. The oil dipstick is on the opposite side and it is similarly annoying to use, especially because the seat is bolted to the body.
The fuel level indicator is also a joke. This isn’t a terribly big deal because the fuel efficiency of the mower has so far allowed me to mow our property in one sitting provided the tank is full. And you can see how much gas is in the 1.3 gallon tank by simply opening the fuel cap.
The mower also has some exposed wiring, at least more exposed than your average 42 inch unit. And if you don’t like the idea of a plastic body on a riding mower, the Troy-Bilt definitely isn’t for you. I did make it a point to touch the areas near the engine after a cutting session and it didn’t feel hot at all.
Minor complaints and annoyances aside, the fundamentals of this mower are strong. The 10.5 horsepower Briggs and Stratton engine runs smooth and has more than enough power to cut thick grass. You might think a 42 inch unit is automatically better at cutting grass, but all that extra heft makes a bigger engine necessary. A little research indicates the TB30R is at least one hundred pounds lighter than its bigger siblings. That obviously adds up. And another benefit of its lightness is the relative ease at which it can be pushed while the engine is off. A heavier mower would require you to drive it into storage, which wouldn’t be good for your ears. That’s not necessary with the Troy-Bilt.
Demerits? Taking a turn too fast generally locks the steering up, which means very tight turns need to be executed very slowly and with the brake. It’s also pretty easy to get one tire in the air even with relatively minor elevation changes. I chalk that last one up to the short wheelbase. These traits are easy to mitigate once you get used to how the Troy-Bilt operates, but nevertheless those characteristics might surprise new owners.
As one of the cheapest riding mowers currently on the market, the Troy-Bilt TB30R naturally invites comparisons to its automotive equivalent, the Nissan Versa. Despite its unrefined take offs, this is an insult to the Troy-Bilt, mainly due to how well the mower cuts grass. Based on my experience so far, I’d say the Troy-Bilt more closely resembles the Honda Ridgeline, because while it may not be as flashy as its competitors, it will serve the needs of the vast majority of customers who think they need a 42 inch unit. If you’ve got less than an acre of property, don’t want to spend a lot of money, and need a mower that can fit into tight spaces, look no further than Troy-Bilt’s TB30R.
Riding lawn mowers are wonderful machines. A while back I was at a dealer and learned electronic fuel injection is starting to emerge on riders. Interesting stuff.
I’m mowing just under an acre and have a 42″ Cub Cadet with the 18 hp Kawasaki engine. It, too, has a switch for reversing while the PTO is engaged; my yard has enough obstacles that I do have to reverse periodically. I’ve not had an issue with it being too wide. I do pull a sizable yard trailer with it which is often the bigger challenge.
What size lot are you mowing?
It’s just under half an acre. Apparently our lot was originally supposed to be reserved for a park, but the construction company couldn’t get the approval to build it and put another house there instead. They also buried a ton of rocks underneath our property from the older houses because they didn’t initially plan for a home to be built there. So our lot may look flat, but there are a ton of little bumps all over the place. That limits the max speed I can go on the mower. I’m currently using 3 (out of 6) to cut the meat of the backyard. I might try 4 in the future, but I don’t want tip the damn thing!
Electronic fuel injection is starting to show up on air cooled motorcycles as small as 250cc. It’s been around so long in cars and the technology is proven and reliable. AND it’s a way to bump the price up a notch.
As a mechanic for a landscape/hardscape company I service everything from hand held yard equipment to skid steers and 2-5 ton trucks. By the fall of 2017 the 30 plus mowing crews had finally reached the point where all the zero turn mowers and 48″/60″ walk behind mowers were now fully EFI. No carbs, no pull cords, no problem. Computer controlled and super easy to service and keep in the field making $$$.
Now we are phasing in EFI string trimmers and chainsaws from a certain German based outdoor power equipment company (think Orange and Grey color scheme…) An O2 sensor feeding info to a MAF sensor on a (tiny!) computer controlled weed eater mower? Simply amazing. Now my tool cabinet includes a drawer for a laptop and a few other programs to R&R equipment. Needless to say the first time I hooked up a chainsaw to a laptop was a bit funny, but the turn around time and $$$ saved paid for the program during the first winter service period.
EFI on this small equipment is a great idea and was happy to hear about it being incorporated. Hooking a laptop to a chainsaw would be a weird feeling
The salesman at the dealer i mentioned was really wanting my Cub Cadet with 70 hours on it!
I’ve been taking care of about an acre with 38″ MTD riding mower that’s over 20 years old. It has a 14hp Briggs & Stratton engine. I don’t know about newer models but on this one it was very simple to disconnect the reverse cutout – it came with a switch on the Forward/Reverse lever that would ground out the ignition if the blades were engaged while in the Reverse position. That thing went into the trash about 2 minutes after getting the mower running. Not a very exciting machine but it has needed very little other than normal maintenance over the years.
I bought a 38″ MTD 22 years ago too. And quickly disconnected the safety reverse switch after the first time out with it. I can’t imagine not being able to mow backwards as well as forwards. Obviously one has to turn and look, but it’s very obnoxious to not be able to do so.
May well be the same model mower! Went with 38″ rather than 42″ since it was easier to fit in the shed.
The only real problem I’m having with this mower recently is that it is a 1996 model and for 1997 MTD changed their blade attachment. Therefore blades are getting to be a little less commonly available. Have not been able to find mulching blades to fit for a while now, though Tractor Supply still had standard type blades last time I checked.
Simple fix for this problem: buy spindles for a later-model machine which will bolt right onto your existing deck. I use and maintain a few MTD riders for my neighbor’s field from this vintage.
An interesting mower. My lot is between 1/3 and 1/2 acre and is a mix of flat and hills, and with plenty of trees to go around. I have alternated between a 21 inch self-propelled and a checkbook as my grass cutting strategy.
I am currently paying a guy and enjoy the time not spent on the job. Something like this might be the attractive middle way. The added mowing width would probably bring the job down to an hour (from 90 minutes with current equipment) and would save money over 2 years or more. Something to think about.
Is Troy-Built paying you for this extended review? If not, they should!
Years ago my uncle gave me his Craftsman 30″ rider, and although it was almost worn out, it served sell for several years until 1999 when engine went ka-blooey one day as I was cutting the grass. Fortunately, I had a push mower, too.
In 2001, a friend sold me his 4-year-old 42″ Craftsman tractor for $400.00. I still have it, but it’s almost shot, as well.
I am debating whether yo go back to a rider or stick with a tractor. I do have a self-propelled walk-behind Craftsman too, just in case!
One last item: Wifey got me a Troy-Bilt leaf blower/vacuum, and I could never get it to start – the primer bulb wouldn’t prime – so I eventually removed the air filter and dumped in about a quarter ounce of gas into the carburetor, set the choke, pulled the cord a couple of times and it started! Now it works just fine every time.
Not sure about the Troy-Bilt, but many of the big box store brands are manufactured by MTD these days.
We bought a new (MTD-made) Yard Man rider (42″) when we moved to the farm, and the B&S engine threw a rod after two seasons. The plastic hood broke and fell off after three seasons. The front axles pivot on plastic bushings, which wore out after about four seasons. The main cross axle articulates on a stamped protrusion riding in a comparable hole in the main chassis, and that wore out at around five seasons, so the front end dropped an inch or two and no longer articulates.
I finally gave up and bought a commercial zero-turn at an auction. It was ten years old at the time – I paid about $1200 and put another $500 in it. Lasted about six years before the Kohler Command 20 and the hydro pumps finally gave out. Replacing those was going to run over $2500, so I bit the bullet and bought a Kubota 60″ commercial zero turn (1 year old and about 30% off list). I can mow my ~3 acres now in about 2.5 hours if I don’t bag. We’re mostly flat, but have a number of trees, so the zero turn makes that easy.
By comparison, Dad’s old Sears Craftsman SS12 (purchased in 1967 – my younger brother shown not long after Dad bought it) is still running and usable for mowing, etc. Doubt any modern mowers will last that long!
Not to quibble, but WallyWorld is selling three different Murray riding mowers with the 30″ deck for less than $899. Not having any experience with riding mowers since my family’s 1978 Crasftsman, which schemed to break down at every opportunity, I can’t attest to the intrinsic goodness or crappiness of the Murray brand…but knowing how Walton’s House of Cheap Crap will dicker and force manufacturers to decontent their products, I would say you got a terrific deal!
Craftsman, Murray and Cub 30″ all appear to be versions of this same machine. The only difference is the stickers and the body color in the case of the Cub.
Craftsman’s are built by Poulon. Not sure about the other two.
MTD owns Troy Bilt and Cub Cadet and quality has predictably declined greatly. They are no longer premium brands. Craftsman doesn’t make any of their own yard equipment. Kind of like Kenmore.
from my limited (<1 year) lawn tractor owner experience, you'll always need a standard 20 inch conventional mower to get into the places (or slopes) that even a 30 inch tractor wont go. My 46" Craftsman pro is great so far for the bulk of my 1+ acres, and a 20" EGO electric gets the rest. Love the EGO. Battery wore out after one year, called EGO, they sent a new one, no questions asked, no receipt even, very impressed.
Yep, you’ve got to have a real wide open yard to be able to do everything with the riding machine. I found it too much of a pain to switch back and forth from the tractor to the walk-behind, so I ended up dumping the tractor.
I had a Snapper rider 25 or so years ago. It gave me many years of good service. Eventually it started to use oil, but, no problem, just checked and filled it after each use. Eventually I retired from mowing and gave it to my son who just bought his first house in CT. Of course I instructed him on the oil thing.
I think it was the following summer when I heard through the grapevine that he was looking for a new mower. Eventually he sheepishly admitted he forgot about that oil thing!
He’s now all grown up with a family and he takes excellent care of all his machines. So it was worth it!
I use a 28 inch Snapper, bought used for $375 twelve years ago. It was 7 years old when I bought it. Repairs have been minimal. Oil changes every year, and last year a new blade, axle boots and a coil. Labor was mine. It uses some oil but I keep an eye on it. They’re a tough, old school machine.
In 2013 I bought an Ariens 42″ rider for my one acre lawn. It was made by Husqvarna, I believe and has a 17hp B&S. It has a old fashioned gear transmission with a clutch/brake pedal. And yes, the clutch takeup is very abrupt. The reviews on the Home Depot website all said the same thing, if you don’t want any fancy stuff like hydrostatic drive, get this machine. And it has worked flawlessly. It has a separate key position for reverse mowing. It also has a very tall lever on the right side of the engine to set the deck height. It all seems a little old fashioned, but that’s fine with me.
I’m jealous- land out here is sold by the sq. ft, not the acre. I’m on a hillside, so a riding mower is out of the question. I did just pick up a Ryobi cordless yesterday, so we’ll see how that works out.
For those looking for a deal on a mower or other lawn equipment, go to Home Depot and pass by the displays inside and head out to the garden center. Somewhere, normally near the back, they will have the “refurbished” yard equipment. For the most part they are units that someone used once and returned. They typically ship them off to a local mower dealer to have them checked out and then put them up for sale 30% or more off of the normal price. The first one I bought 15 or more years ago and it had a copy of the repair order. It appears that the person bought it then turned it on its side, carb side down, to wash off the underside. That soaked the paper filter with oil and then it didn’t start the next time he went to use it. Still going though it has been taken out of lawn duty and is used for brush, blackberries and other non-lawn areas. While I have 3 acres the vast majority of it is woods with just a relatively small patch of lawn surrounding the house.
Or buy at the end of the mowing season. Lots of good deals then.
Definitely been a yard tractor owner for the past few decades, started with dad’s Wheel Horse (from before the Toro-Wheel Horse days). Used it for years until I got t-boned by a pickup truck sliding downhill on my driveway while plowing it out after a good snow. Bent the tractor in half.
Dad also left me a Studebaker-era Gravely that I was never comfortable with. Sold it to a collector. Actually, when I advertised it in the local paper, I found myself wishing he’d had about a half dozen Gravely’s, such was the interest.
Replaced the Wheel Horse with a freebie Craftsman, picked up at the local county transfer station, as I was lucky enough to pull in to drop the week’s trash just as the owner was about to unload it. He was nice enough to drop it off at my place (three miles down the road from the transfer station). I had to rebuild the mower deck after he had nailed a rock/pipe/something hard with it, picked up a aftermarket plow (for winter use), and got five good years out of it.
Until i discovered that, at the current house, I could cut the lawn using only my Honda self-propelled in not too much longer than using the Craftsman on the big open areas an switching to the Honda for the areas where it was too cramped for the big machine. The Craftsman got sold shortly after for about what it cost me to put it back in service, fix the mower deck, and buying the plow.
Troy-Built’s have always impressed me as being cheap, crude, well-built machines. Not a lot to look at, but they seem to do the job very well. I’ll admit, I’ve been spoiled on Honda engines, used to their service availability (from work, we’re not just a motorcycle/ATV shop), and support. Figure I’ll just keep walking behind the Honda until my age/health says I’m not going to anymore. At which time i just hire some young buck to get the job done.
Your old Wheel Horse would have been another product built in South Bend, Indiana.
J P Cavanaugh, Have You Used Neuton Mowers In The Past? Because I have used one and my main complaint is the batteries cost $100 and that’s not cheap and you have to buy NEUTON parts and I have used a 2010 NEUTON CE 6.4 to mow my grandparents lawn and the first one we had was a 2008 CE 6.2 and one day in 2010 we were done mowing our yard and the lawnmower would not shut off so, we returned the piece of shit to DR Power Equipment And Wouldn’t You Know? They Gave us another NEUTON This Time A (2010 CE 6.4) and the one thing I did not like was the handle, they changed it to a button and two triggers as opposed to the orange knob and the orange control bar on our 2008 NEUTON and they got rid of the safety key and mower auxiliary switch and other than that it was the same mower my pap had two batteries one was our new one and one was the old and the NEUTON worked fine for a couple years and my gram had to have the ignition coil repaired on her Toro In Spring 2013 so the NEUTON was our only working mower and then the batteries on this piece of shit stopped holding a charge so, we got rid of them and now we have a non operational Neuton Mower and it’s now an $500 paper weight and a piece of shit
The fuel level indicator is also a joke.
My lot’s too small to have any use for a riding mower, so I haven’t kept up with the features they have now. Riding mowers have fuel level indicators nowadays? Even the cheapest ones? The 30″ John Deere I used to mow my family’s lawn when I was a teenager in the mid-1990s didn’t have any sort of fuel level indicator whatsoever. The only way to tell how much gas was left was to take off the gas cap and look inside the tank. *Mumbles something about walking to school in the snow uphill both ways*
Interesting review — I’m still at the point of dreaming of buying a riding mower someday, but should I ever reach that point I can see getting a modest-sized affordable model like this one.
Incidentally, right now I have a battery electric (Neuton) push mower for my 1/3-acre lot. The folks who owned my house before me left it behind, and though I was skeptical of a battery mower, I decided to give it a try. Not bad, in my opinion. This is my third summer of owning this house and I still have the mower. Overall, it seems to be somewhat too easy to get choked up on high grass, but otherwise I’m pleased, and it sure is nice not to have any of the maintenance associated with gas-powered mowers (or the need to store gas somewhere).
Eric703, What Model is Your Neuton?
It’s a Neuton CE6. I think it’s about 6-7 years old.
Eric703, When I think of NEUTON I Think of the original EM 4.1 That Was Introduced in 2004 and went all the way to January 2006 and the EM 5.1 That Replaced The 4.1 in 2007
and then the CE 5.2 That Took it’s place in 2008 and the 5.3 Which Replaced The 5.2 in 2009 and I have used a Neuton CE 6.4 it was a 2010 Model and the battery lasted a few years and then it crapped out kind of like the A604 (Ultradrive) That they used in the old Grand Caravans and then we got rid of the battery but we still have the mower and we also had the 2008 version of the same mower. and it wouldn’t shut off so we sent it back to DR And They gave us the new (For 2010 CE 6.4 ) and You Should Do a Lawnside Classic On Your NEUTON because it would be an interesting story as to how you acquired your NEUTON and email me a picture of the mower to [email protected]
Eric703, The Reason Why We Stopped Using Our Neuton Was The Fact That The Batteries Were $100 and we did not want to pay $100 For A New Battery For Our NEUTON
It appears Troy Bilt is owned by MTD, so this will be similar to other mainstream riding mowers. The original Troy Bilt only made rototillers, heavy machines with a cast iron transmission case powering both the tines in the rear and the wheels. The smallest “Pony” model could tear up sod pretty well. Apparently, Troy Bilt sold all of those they were going to sell, and the necessary quest to expand into other gardening implements was unsuccessful, at least until MTD came along.
Another advantage of the 30-inch riding mower is that it can be driven through most gates, if, for example, your back yard is fenced in but the front isn’t. A bigger unit probably won’t fit. The author’s father’s yard looks to be the sweet spot for a machine like this, the time saving in going from a push mower to a rider is probably greater than that of going from a small rider to a big one, with that amount of turf to take care of.
I bought a 38″ MTD riding mower in 1996, since I have to mow the common areas of my rental cluster, and I generally do the front yards too. Plus I own some lots, and for a while, i owned a 2 acre parcel.
I got it for $699 at the end of the summer, and it’s still running, despite being the cheapest riding mower that size available from that manufacturer of cheap lawn equipment.
I tossed the “hood” early on, as the plastic-bowl carb has been an endless source of annoyance, but I’ve learned just where it plugs up and can fix it quickly now. Other than that, it’s held up remarkably well, and still going in its 22nd season. The drive and mower belt are still original. I did replace one starter, and amazingly enough, only one battery. I don’t know why they last so long.
I have a cart, which I hook up and toss in my ancient 60s Sears gas push mower and my top-line Stihl trimmer, and drive the 8 blovks to my rentals, and back. I’m a fixture in the neighborhood, needless to say.
Because of our Mediterranean climate and no watering of the grass, mowing season is intense but short. This year it started in late April, and since we haven’t had any rain in 3-4 weeks, and probably won’t until October, mowing season will end before long.
This picture was taken in 2007, when we were both a bit younger.
Mean Machine! You look ready for the lawn mower races. Heat, vibration and deep cycles are the enemy of the lead-acid battery. I figure, if yours is tied down well and away from the motor it doesn’t experience any of these. When I lived in Florida, there was no battery that would last longer than three years, no matter what the hype or how many red circles it got in Consumer Reports. Now that I am back North, 5-7 years is the norm. Apparently, batteries can’t take the heat any better than I can.
Have to laugh at being a fixture in the neighbourhood.
We are moving house and for the last 16 years I have messed around with cars on the street outside the house. Most recently I changed the timing belt on my wife’s 2009 Audi A6 tdi which involves removing the bumper and pulling the front of the car forward. The car was like that for around a day in total.
One of our neighbours said to me that she’d miss us as I “provide some colour”
Interesting reading all the comments. Having mowed yards professionally for over two decades, with all due respect, I wouldn’t be caught dead on most of the equipment mentioned here. The last “tractor” style unit I owned was a Bolens hydro unit with a (I think) 38” deck back in ‘89. Paid $1800 for it from a retired small equipment wholesaler, who in retirement would buy up overstock from dealers in the region. A good, not great, quality machine that lasted not quite two seasons. I did own a rear engine Snapper (30” I think) and a rear engine Honda. Those type mowers were okay, but I sold them as they were not very efficient, and to be honest, if it has a “steering wheel”, it’s an obsolete design in my opinion. Most of my properties were suburban type in nature, some in the “inner ring” suburbs, so generally I found a quality 21” Snapper did the trick; as mowing only accounted for half of my curb time. By the early 90s many pros were using “mid-size walk behinds” which varied in size from 36” (some were as small as 32”) all the way to 60”. I couldn’t justify the cost of a 36” unit at about $2500 compared to my $500 21”, as I only anticipated saving 10 minutes per hour of curb time. However, a colleague explained in simple mathematical terms how, at $25 an hour, that extra 10 minutes would pay for itself in six months, with the balance of the estimated life span of three years being gravy. Cha-Ching! My concerns about loss of cut quality were tempered by the advice that each yard would get “trained” to the wider deck I found a used Toro Pro-Line 36”, and after a short stint of scalps and such, found the cut quality was superb. The only thing I ever used a 21” on after that was for narrow gates and ascending stairs, no matter how “small” the yard. . I bought that “pistol grip” ‘91 model Toro 36” for $1700 in ‘93 and used it daily for nearly ten years until I bought a new one in ‘03 for $2700 and relegated the old one to back-up duty. The new one had “T-Bar” steering controls, which I didn’t like; after a day or two I asked to return it, the salesman said okay, but as it was a Friday, please give it a couple more days and if I still wasn’t happy Monday he’d arrange something. By Monday I was a convert. Hahahahaha. He knew. I was fortunate in that I bought a Toro, as they were “Cadillac” quality mowers. I finally bought a 44” (still trying to fit thru most gates) Exmark Lazer (a Toro essentially) zero turn rider in ‘06. Picked it up for $5000 from a client for whom I mowed his business. He bought it new for $6500 for his lake house downstate, but his wife wasn’t comfortable without the steering wheel and hood of a tractor style unit, so I got it with only 20 hours on it. I should note that my mid-size walk behinds had no hour meters, so I have no real record of “mileage”. That Z-rider lasted about five years, which was about 2500 hours. No real problems, but I was never happy about the weight of the machines and the resultant “rutting”, the initial cost and ROI, nor the fact that quality suffered simply because you were sitting rather than walking. The simple fact is in order to cut grass thoroughly without stragglers means you really can’t ride much faster than you can walk. I sold that unit in ‘11 for $1800. The guy that bought it has rebuilt the motor twice since, and is still cutting with it daily, the hydros and wheel motors are still original.. For the record, I’ve never rebuilt an engine on my Toros; they and the Exmark were powered by Kawasaki engines. I kept my air filters clean, and changed the oil…hardly ever. Absolutely bulletproof engines. Heck, the first Toro didn’t even need a carbeurator rebuild for fifteen years. After selling the Exmark, I found a used Toro Pro-Line 44” walk-behind for $1000. It needed spindles and some TLC, but $500 later it was like new. I sold my business in 2012, but I still have the 44” unit, though I have replaced the spindles once since, bought new tires, and did have the engine’s sump gasket replaced, a pricey repair. I sold the ‘03 36” unit for $800; and the old ‘91 unit went for $500. I always said that old 20 year old mower was so good to me for so long I’d never sell it or scrap it, but rather I’d have a memorial service and burial for it; but it still ran and cut, and $500 is $500! Sold! I should add that mid-size walk-behinds are available with hydro-drive, I prefer gear-driven belt drive due to lower acquisition cost, and theoretically, the drive system can be rebuilt relatively cheaply practically forever. You can also attach a “sulky” to them, allowing one to ride standing behind it, but I don’t care for them; although some operators swear by them. When I sold my business, the main draw was the accounts, which I sold to another outfit. Most of the equipment was sold piecemeal. Like I said, I kept some, just enough to go back if I had to, if this reinvention of myself in the car business didn’t work out (which it has, so far). I still do a few yards as favors now and then, just to “keep my toes in the water”. Sometimes I miss the freedom (if you can call it that) of the lawn business; but “getting my toes wet”. reminds me why I left. Attached is a pic of my Toro Pro-Line 44” gear drive, floating deck, electric PTO clutch, T-Bar handle, mid-size walk behind with a 15 hp dual cylinder Kawasaki engine. I’m not sure, but think it’s about fifteen years old, ten of which were daily commercial use, still running and cutting like new. Took this pic in March at a friend’s house (irregular 1 and 1/2 acre, lots of trees and leaves….55 minutes cutting time!) who was on vacation. It’ll cut my 20’ x 30’ front yard in about…three minutes. I know, it’s overkill.
Really interesting – thanks Frankster and thanks to Edward for the review.
Being a city kid, I’ve never had a chance to ride a lawn tractor. But growing up we had enough of a lawn to require a push mower, which in the early 90s I got to use as a high schooler. It was electric so I “accidentally” ran over the cord whenever I didn’t feel like mowing. I was the only one who knew how to solder so I got to spend time in the cool basement fixing the cord instead of pushing around the mower in the heat.
I like the idea of that Ryobi electric, but what may not be obvious is that it uses traditional lead-acid batteries. So not only is it expensive to buy, it will remain expensive when you have to replace the batteries every few years at over $600.
I’ve also looked closely at EGO push mowers as they seem to be well done. But despite their claims my calculations indicate their power still isn’t anywhere near a low-end gas mower, their batteries are also expensive, and the build quality is cheap. There’s no such thing as an electric equivalent to my Toro Super Recycler in performance and quality.
Still, if you don’t want to fuss with the maintenance of gas, they have gotten good enough to do the job.
This was a great read, thank you. There are some people who are really into lawn tractors, but to me they are just a tool. My FIL is one, and he bought a massively oversized Kubota Diesel for his flat 1 acre lot. Very nice machine (it even has power steering), but way too much money for cutting the grass IMO. I am okay with bare minimum to get the job done. My only qualification is I want something that is quality made and will last a long time.
My property is between 1 and 2 acres with lots of irregularities and slopes. I usually do it in three stages, the lawn tractor, followed by my little Honda powered Troybilt push mower and then finish up with my trimmer (Stihl). My lawn tractor is a 1992 John Deere LX178 that has taken much abuse over the years and keeps on ticking. It’s been pretty reliable although these last few years it usually needs some repairs. Most have been small, like wheel bearings, fixing a crack in the hood or replacing the dry rotted tires that the tire shop refused to put a tube into, Last year was the first time the tractor stopped working on me while cutting. I thought I blew the transmission, but it turns out the pulley on top of the transmission was shot. All the splines wore away so it was just free wheeling.. I was able to disassemble it all, and replace it without too much effort. I even cleaned up the years of grass and dirt build up and changed the hydrostatic transmission oil while I was at it.
Here’s a picture of it from a couple years ago when I fixed the crack on the hood. I am hoping it keeps on running for a while yet.
Who has a 1994 Walker MTGHS 20 HP?
Leave a comment. because I’m surprised that nobody has done a Lawnside c?assoc on one of those mowers