Joe,

Where ever you heard that tractors are more prone to need repairs - disregard that information. There are several brands of lawn and garden tractors that are very reliable - John Deere, Simplicity, Kubota, Wheel Horse to name a few. These tractors also give a very nice, clean cut.

Tractors built by MTD do not have a great tract record, though some will disagree with me on this point.

You have only mentioned mowing. How much acerage will you mow weekly? Is this machine only going to mow or are you going to be hauling a cart with wood or other material? Is you land all flat or do you have hills to climb? These are all questions you need to answer before deciding on a machine.

I would also suggest that you search this forum for Slammer's Rules to purchasing a tractor.

Husquavarna's are decent tractors. They are the same as Sear's tractors - made by the same company. The rollers on the deck do not necessarily mean a smooth cut.

Simplicity tractors are known for the great cut - compare the two decks first. The Simplicity is a floating deck.

Best of luck in your search.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT

Thanks for the response. My yard is a little less than 1/2 acre, and speed of mowing isn't important to me. My primary concern is quality of cut. The yard is slightly sloped, but not much. I don't plan to use the tractor for anything other than mowing.

Are the Husqvarna tractors manufactured by another company?

Thanks again.

-Joe

spiders- before you worry about the quality of cut I suggest you familiarize yourself with blade knowledge,proper deck balance , proper cutting techniques, and tire pressure,.If you follow your manual on these suggestions,you will get a good cut whatever tractor you buy.IMHO,it is the driver,not the tractor that gives bad cuts. good luck docrx

The Husqvarna is the same as a Sears Craftsman.

I beleive the manufacturer is AYP-Electrolux.

eal51 in western CT

There is something to be said for keeping things simple. I won't say that I'm familiar with the Simplicity RER that you are looking at. I can tell you that the single blade decks seem to have less quality of cut issues. For a small yard, that may be the ticket. In my experience, the more blades the more QOC issues there have been. Some people just simply like the openess of the small rear engines and wouldn't want anything else. Multiple rollers on the big decks are best used to keep the world happy in rough terrain. I don't feel that using the deck gauge wheels to support the deck (floating) gives a better cut than a properly leveled and supported deck. The quality between a basic FER and a RER may or may not be compatible. If you do any of your own service, you may look into which one is more easily serviced tho. My 2 cents

Electrolux no longer owns the factory where Husqvarna and Sears are built. All of this has been spun off into the Husqvarna Group, a separately publically traded company. Technically, Husqvarna Group now builds tractors under contract for Sears. AYP/EHP are now dead terms. You can buy stock in the Husqvarna group if you want. Technically I think the headquarters is still in Sweeden tho the big plant is in SC.

Husqvarna bought there self sounds to me like?They bought the company that made there own product.They still build the Sears Craftsman on contract.Yep Husqvarna and Craftsman are the same.

A Husqvarna/Craftsman should fit your needs just right if you don't plan on doing any snow removal or ground engaging. Electrolux/AYP equipment is a little better made than MTD equipment and is a better vlue in the entry level price bracket.

For those stating that Husqvarna and Craftsman are the same? Not quite. Most everything but the Briggs engines are the same (unless they are twin cylinders). The single cylinder Briggs engines used on the Sears tractors are not the same.

I confronted the Husqvarna dealer here and he didn't believe me until he called Briggs and talked to a tech there. The dealer here was told by Briggs that Briggs makes 2 different engines, (both having oil filters). But a true Husqvarna from a dealer uses a full pressurized oil system but those from Sears uses the older splash oiling system. Briggs informed him that Sears buys most of the splash engines they make for use on the equipment they contract while other manufacturers go with the bit more expensive pressurized systems. I guess a penny saved is a penny earned.

As mentioned above this does not hold true for tractors Sears sells which use Briggs twin cylinder engines. They are fully pressurized engines also. And I believe Sears tractors using the Kohler engines are also pressurized.

Hmm wonder how an oil filter does any filtering on a Briggs splash oiling system?

"Hmm wonder how an oil filter does any filtering on a Briggs splash oiling system?"

Hmm, maybe you're only partially correct?

"Hmm, maybe you're only partially correct?"

Not according to B&S and Craftsman's own web site. Even on their own website they state (for models using single cylinder B&S engines) under specifications:
Oil Filter .. Yes
Lubrication system .. Splash
Oil Filter Type .. Splash
This is what got me currious in the first place so I asked and came up with the information posted above.

Now according to some, the verdict is still out as to whether full pressure systems are lasting that much longer/better than splash system engines so please don't read that I'm trying to say that. I'm mearly suggesting that the mowers aren't the same based on the fact that Sears uses a bit cheaper engine to save a few bucks. I run an OLD Craftsman that has probably got a zillion hours on it and it's still doing good engine wise. I just need to replace it because of other problems.

Splash worked for about 65 years. Pressure lubs have about 50 more years to prove there equalability.

I had an old white briggs back in the 70's that I tied a rope too and mowed a bank about 70 degrees and about 30 foot long. Why I got tired of swing that weed cutter. Everybody said that the briggs would blow up after two or three passes. Three years later it was still running strong. I would take about a minute or two up and down if the grass wasn't over 2 foot tall. again, So whats wrong with spash lub???

Husqvarna makes really great T.V. commercials..As far as LT's, well ya get what ya get when ya buy a...

love my sears husq. but i have had a bunch of problems.year 1 was fine but had problems year 2. 3 batteries replaced under warranty was told by sears tec.that if any problems occured of this exact nature happened after warranty they would take care of it. Teck left sears,made no notation of this so,i was told it was just out of warranty. turns out it was always the starter. trying to get help[ from any of these companies sears husq and briggs is like pulling teeth. After all this I love the tractor, It mows beautiful

I have owned a husqvarna for 4 years, model YTH2454. It has the 2 cyl b&s engine (pressurized oil delivery) and a hydrostatic transmission. 54" cutting deck setup to mulch. The tractor has about 280 hours of use, nearly all mowing but I do have a cart that I use to move grass clippings or small loads of mulch. Since I bought the tractor I have had to replace the transmission three times, 2 spindles, 2 pulleys, too many belts to count and the electronic PTO clutch. I bought the tractor from a dealer, not a big box. I did this so I would not have to deal with a different kid if I had problems. I am glad I did this because I have had nothing but problems since day 1.

The first season I replaced the transmission after 4 cuts. Now please take into consideration that I have 2 acres of grass that is almost all hillside. However the husqvarna website and the dealer both said this was the tractor for my yard. The dealer also was familiar with my property because he drove past it everyday to and from his shop. Later that season the transmission was replaced again. From that point on I pressed the dealer to replace the lemon that I bought. I still have the lemon in the shed. The dealer has been great in the customer service realm but not in the replacement category with husqvarna.

In the 4 years the dealer has gone through 3 reps at husqvarna! Not one of which has any knowledge of my tractors issues. Not until a few weeks ago when I suggested to the dealer I should retain legal representation against them or husqvarna, (childish I know, but my frustration was boiling over) however a husqvarna rep called me back within the hour. Now all of a sudden my tractor was 4 years old and 2 years out of warranty and he had a detailed history of everything replaced by date and every conversation held with the dealer. Even thought they told me they would keep taking care of the transmission they decided this was it, no more. The worst part about it was the last rep told me "I had probably gotten a Friday tractor" and that husqvarna should replace it, no record of these comments.

I did all of the research up front. I read all of the tractor reviews I could find and husqvarna was the comer and was highly recommended. I did not visit any other dealers, big mistake. Very big mistake. After the reviews I went on what the husqvarna site said was the right tractor and what the dealer reinforced.

I have visited several other manufacturers dealers in the few years since my purchase and have found that this was the absolutely wrong product for my cutting needs. I found that this tractor is not made for the hills of western Pennsylvania. Nor is it made to handle more than 1 acre of grass per week! Not even close to my conditions.

There are a lot of horror stories out there about the wrong purchase when it comes to tractors and lawn equipment in general. Mine is no different than many of these and it is not specific to one manufacturer. They all have them. My next purchase will be a commercial unit with the correct transmission for the hills that I cut. I figure that I just don't have a choice to go with something non commercial. Unless I am fine with dealing with an inferior product from a company that will not support the product correctly from the start nor support the dealer, which I am not willing to do any more then my path is clear.

To anyone who reads this post: this is not sour grapes but a warning to make sure you know what you are buying. Caveat Emptor means more today than ever and I wish you the best of luck with your tractor purchase!

Just over a month ago I purchased a Husqvarna 52" "enforced deck" (heavier; welded) tractor mower with a Kawasaki engine, as per receipt: GTH24V52LS ($3530). Today I started mowing the grass and it won't start easily. Took a few minutes to start, a brand new tractor, with just 0.2 hours on it. Then it started after I started worrying that the battery will be dead. I drove less than a minute and it started smoking heavily like a chimney with a huge smoke screen in front of me. I know, that smoke is not healthy to breathe (can cause heart problems). So I stopped and tried again, again same problem and while I kept mowing it would shut itself down sometimes, something really evil. The engine would sound "up and down" noise as if a chain saw was used cutting wood. NEW TRACTOR! So after driving it only for ~6 minutes (now 0.3 hours on the meter) I returned home and called the dealer. They told me to check the oil entry (sorry not English native, I am from Sweden), and there it is all white stuff in that tube. Then they told me bring it to the dealership they will easily fix that. I must also note that the top of the FLYWHEEL is all RUSTED and when I bought it it was the only tractor left, so I bought it anyway. I trusted them on the engine. Now they say it was in and out a lot and probably got moisture or water in the engine or the oil or whatever. I told them I want a new tractor but they wonlt give oe to me in exchange, but he told me the BEST they can do is come to my house and fix it for me in my house. Should I trust them or should I still demand a new tractor or the engine replacement?

Thank you in advance for your great help, please answer by tomorrow afternoon if possible. I will definitely follow up with you after being helped.