Lawn Tractor Disease - Similar to Coal Stove Addiction

I started looking around about 2 months ago for a replacement riding mower. My Murray Select LT Widebody that I picked up off CL about 7 years ago owed me nothing and I was ready to move on to a hydrostatic.

After watching CL for a few weeks I came across a Cub 2135 with 500 hrs that needed some clean up & maintenance but had an engine that seemed strong and hydrostatic that was strong so I picked it up and started the re-hab. Thank you to Windyhill for some advice during the process. Got it running real good and cut the grass with it and was very satisfied even though it was a little smaller deck than the Murray and HP was a little less. I am set for another 10 years or so I thought!!

Anywhooooo.....Early last week I happened to click on the search tempest bookmark I have with the intention of trolling for a coal stoker to work on this summer for resell by fall. It still had the search data for mowers and up pops this sweet looking 2155.......uh-oh......42" cut like the Murray, more HP than the 2135......must resist urge.....

I successfully avoided it for a couple days but looked again on Friday and it was still there......I had to call......dang, it's still available......went to look at it on Sat morning and saw it was as nice in person as the pics indicated.......even better condition than the 2135, about half the hours, all maintenance records, original receipt and user manual, absolutely nothing needs to be done to it...... :surrender: .....brought it home since I didn't want the trailer to come back empty! This thing runs and cuts fantastic!! So now I am certainly set for another 15 years!!

So now I have the Murray and the Cub 2135 up for sale. This accumulating of tractors must be the summer version of accumulating coal stoves in winter. Gotta get back my play money and clear out space in the garage for that stoker project I haven't found yet! And I did clear out those CL search fields of all mower data so this won't happen again........I hope!

I'm not a big fan of MTD or Cubs, but those 2 models there are the last of the really good ones (unless of course you jump into the $4,000 and up range). That driveshaft and transmission are virtually bulletproof - I particularly like the spin-on filter on the tranny, so you can actually service it (unlike my G110 John Deere). The mower belt is an odd setup, but the belts seem to last, even with that goofy twist and multiple direction changes. The Kohler engines also seem to be bulletproof in those (again, unlike my J/D)

Some nice stuff ya got there!

I too got bit by the mower bug. Check this out!
I have a collection of junkers too that I may fix someday. One of them has a nice snowblower attachment. They've got trees and grass growing on the runniing boards, so will be a bit of work to get 'em going again. Sat in my buddy's yard outside, uncovered for like 10 years ... There's a 3rd one off camera - I'm gonna use that one to mow the rocky sections.

I saw that sweet looking husqy you got!!! Real nice machine!! You should be set for years to come with that thing!

I do like the shaft drive to the tranny on this cub series unlike the belt drive on their newer ones. That seemed to be the consensus on the discussion boards too. Ya know there is a whole stinkin' forum for people that are into tractors?!?!?!?!?! Whatta bunch o' crazies........talking 'bout tractors on the interweb, looking for good deals on them, comparing upgrades.....not like us at all!!!

Wow, good deal! Are you going to keep the 2135 as a Parts machine?

Hey Smitty! You need lights on that thang! Looks like you are mowing in the fog!

Good...Good...Wait till you get hit with the Original Troy-bilt GTX20 with the 2 speed Eaton11 Transaxle...After you get through that,it'll be on to the Case/Ingersoll Hydraulic Killers....You'll be poopin' yer pantalones when you realize you've arrived at that stage......http://www.casecoltingersoll.com/

My dad has 3 John Deere 318 tractors, and looking for another one. They just keep multiplying. And before that he had 5 210-214 tractors. He's down to 1 of them now.

His goal is to have a tractor for each attachment. One for: mower, snow blade, snow blower, and rototiller. That way he never has to mess with swapping them.

I let my son talk me into upgrading to a Toro zero turn without doing my usual internet research! While it's a great mower with great reviews with a Kohler engine it absolutely sucks on even a moderate grade! Come to find out, that is a serious fault of these buggers. Lose traction on one drive wheel and you're heading down hill no MATTER WHAT YOU DO! Those front casters don't give a crap where they are heading. They just follow Isaac Newton and his gravity and turn down the hill. Quite a shock the first time I ended up in the middle of the road!

I mow ditches and side hills with my zero turn, no free rides yet. Maybe it depends on the weight of the machine or the tires?

Cub Cadet has solved the free down hill ride with their steering wheel zero turn units,both in the lawn tractor version & the mid-mount unit .They have also solved the turn & burn,1 wheel pivot that most units do.Their system adjusts the speed of each wheel as the steering wheel is turned,when the steering wheel is turned all the way one wheel goes forward &the other wheel reverses.That system allows a very nice turn,much easier to maintain a straight line since the front wheels are steer wheels , not caster wheels.

Rob R. wrote:I mow ditches and side hills with my zero turn, no free rides yet. Maybe it depends on the weight of the machine or the tires?

For sure, tires can make a big difference in traction. My Toro has the smooth turf tires when knobbies would help a lot on hills but you'd dig the crap out of the lawn in turns even more that USUAL. I'm thinking along the lines of a way to lock the casters in a straight ahead direction.

I wonder how many others have had the disappointment I've had. I bet a lot! I won't let my wife on this thing for sure!

We hear many of our customers gripe about their "residential" zero turn doing the downhill dive.Many of them have the turfsaver 2 tires & do benefit by installing the turfsaver tire or remove the wheel,break 1 bead loose & fill with windshield washer fluid for weight.

windyhill4.2 wrote:We hear many of our customers gripe about their "residential" zero turn doing the downhill dive.Many of them have the turfsaver 2 tires & do benefit by installing the turfsaver tire or remove the wheel,break 1 bead loose & fill with windshield washer fluid for weight.

Besides price and gauge of the steel, what differentiates the 'residential' from 'industrial' versions? Anything that prevents the downhill dive? Knowing that they do that, how do the companies avoid law suits? Or the retailers?

Weight of the unit,hydro unit are built lighter with less pressure capability.Most residential units have an integrated unit.... hydro pump,wheel motor are 1 unit. As stated b4,tire tread design matters too.Customer can hardly sue because their under $2500 unit won't do what the over $4000 unit will. Most retailers will inform a customer that the residential unit will not mow across slopes of more than a certain percentage. To do certain jobs in life you have to use a unit with enough weight to handle the job. You would not hook a Farmall Cub,John Deere 318/400/420/445/455, Cub Cadet super tractor or even the biggest & best zero turn unit to a 5 bottom moldboard plow & expect to do any plowing

Do they all still put that goofy cartoon diagram at the end of the user manual with the guy standing and eyeballing a slope holding his manual page up for comparison?? The notes say something like if the slope is more than the page then stay off it for fear of rolling over - or some such BS!! Maybe that is just from back in the day and I am carbon dating myself.

@009.... no.. that 2135 is way too nice for me to hold onto as a parts machine. Somebody will want it as soon as I get a couple of plastic bushings in the mail to fix the reverse pedal (hopefully).

The Murray already sold after only two days by the road with a for sale sign on it. Had two people call about it via the CL ad the same evening it sold and I told them about the 2135 & both want to check it out after it gets the bushings. If I get what I am hoping for the 2135, then the 2155 will just about be paid for between the sale of the other two.

This seems to be the time (right after Fathers Day) to look for tractors and tools on CL. Apparently some Dads out there get major presents and sell off their old stuff pretty cheap!

I sell all kinds of stuff on Craigslist .. but nothing moves faster than lawn equipment. My new favorite thing. I get stuff for free, spend a half hour on it cleaning the carb and the unit itself, and walk away with a minimum of $100 in my pocket.

009to090 wrote:Hey Smitty! You need lights on that thang! Looks like you are mowing in the fog!

The ROPS is gonzo! I won't mow again with that stupid thing on there. My fruit tree branches are just too low to get close. You should've seen the 6' wheelie I did! And that was with the thing folded down! Wish someone got that on video ...

Yeah .. the fog. Some things get bought new, while others languish for years providing shitty service ....

What I notice with the zero turns is, the smaller the rear tires, the more complaints I see of hill sliding and an overall shitty ride quality. The bigger wheels help with all of that. I mowed a short, near 45° section between mine and my neighbor's property. I was a little to aggressive with the controls, and laid a patch diagonally across the hill with one tire ... but the front wheels stayed right where they were supposed to. The front tires are slicks too.