One old guy's opinion: If you can forego the snowblower/snow blade requirement, you will be well-served by a Snapper rear-engine rider with the 32" or 30" cut. Simple, sturdy, reliable, been around in the same basic configuration for at least 30 years, takes up less space than many lawn tractors, easily serviced, parts readily available. It's even designed to stand up on its rear end to service the blade or for storage. Prices start well under $1500.

I would agree with 12guage on the RER recommendation. I bought a used Toro RER in 1999 for $300 and ran it for 10 years with just a spindle bearing and battery replacement. When we moved to a larger place in 2008, the Toro was starting smoke some after 22 years of service. Sold it for $100 and bought a used John Deere GT225 for $1700 in the spring of 2009. New tractor comparable to the GT225 are $5,000+. Minus the $100 for Toro, it cost me $1600. With the low hours on it, I wouldn't doubt it would last me 20+ years.

Personally, I wouldn't spend $2K on a new tractor, I just don't think you get much at that price point. I had a about a $2K budget when I bought the used JD GT225. Not to say you wouldn't get something OK. There are probably others who would have recommendations at that price point. Unless you're set on a rider, $2K would buy you a nice self-propelled walk-behind and a snowblower. Much better quality units than a tractor at $2K in my opinion.

$2K is going to buy a pretty basic LT with some cosmetic or "cutesy" upgrades that really don't do anything to the function or longevity of the machine. You mention snowthrower or blade, you're talking a bigger machine, a GT, plus chains and weights. I know Craftsman has "snow blades" as opposed to "dozer blades" for their tractors which I suppose could be used on a LT. Keep in mind that an LT is light duty and when you start pushing snow the trans probably won't hold up, plus have read many posts about frames bending due to stresses they are not designed to take. Bent frame means the deck either won't hook up or will result in an uneven cut. Also with either option, you have to remove the deck and mount the snow removal unit. That gets old after a few years.

Also, most of us who have riders also have a push mower around for trimming. So your walk behind will be staying around.

IMHO, I'd stay with the walk behind and invest in mulching blades so the bagger/sweeper isn't needed, Gators are good. For snow removal, you can get a decent walk behind snow thrower for under $1K. You didn't mention where you live and how much snow you fight with? A walk behind thrower will do stuff even a larger GT with chains, weights, Ag tires, etc. can't do.

An LT can pull a lawn sweeper and you can get them with baggers also, so there your price point fits with reality. I just bought a lawn sweeper, 42" from Amazon for $229 delivered, FYI.

You mention "good even cut," keep in mind that the mower HANGS off the tractor and if you have any bumps, as the wheels go over it, the deck rides along. Walk behinds don't have the even cut issues tractors do. With tractors, you have deck maintenance, cleaning, painting the underside, etc. Not one blade to sharpen and balance, but at least two. There are literally hundreds of posts "out there" regarding cutting issues and they all come back to tire inflation pressure, is the deck leveled left to right, and front to back. That's something you'll have to address every time to pull the deck. Do you have an accurate tire gauge so you can measure 12PSI on the front tires and 8PSI on the rears? The numbers may vary slightly, but the 4PSI differential is pretty standard across the industry.

Maintenance, are you "handy" as any riding mower has many, many more "shiny pieces" than a walk behind and there's much more adjusting, etc. to deal with. Also, belts, you will now have two belts or perhaps three on a rider, all different lengths. Again, are you handy and do you have common tools available? Sears, etc. will sell you a machine and a service agreement so you don't have to deal with that.

I totally agree with the two previous posts on the RER's, both Toro and Snapper are really class machines and they will pull a sweeper.

I wish I had a half acre to deal with and could just get a good walk behind and a snow thrower.

Let us know what you end up with.

Good luck,

Ev

X2 on a separate snow thrower. If you have a lot of snow to move, you can't beat the Toro 421Q single-stage - it has a recall on it right now, but it is still king of the mountain.

If you regularly get snowfall greater than twelve inches, then you might need a two-stage thrower. Check out the Honda and Ariens units.

I went out yesterday, started up my really ancient Snapper rear-engine rider, 30 inch cut, no bagger, and mowed for the first time this year. The deck is rusted thru in spots, the engine is one that laid in the driveway for several months, and it looks like crap, but i wouldn't trade it for a lawn tractor for anything you might offer! I haven't needed the bagger, which is on the other rider, a 33 inch deck, and 12 h,p,. Might as well wait until the ruff spots get hammered down some. Or, shaved off!

Thanks all for the advice. Sorry its taken me so long to post a reply. I bought a Snapper RER 12.5hp / 28" deck a couple days ago. Fit perfectly in my truck, so I was able to just bring it home myself (and not have it delivered). Mowed for the first time yesterday and I have to say that it was quite a different experience than mowing with the walk behind.

My mowing pattern clearly has to be adjusted. The turning radius of the Snapper doesn't allow me to just mow up and down, one pass right next to the other pass. I also set the mowing height too low, so ended up having to rake and bag the clippings.

After having mowed this first time, I do have some other followup questions:

1. ~ how much gas does your snapper use? I put in about 1 gal - 1.3 gal in the RER and by the time I finished, had used almost all of it. My walk behind used almost exactly 1/2 gallon.

2. Whats the best way to take the blade off? I have a Ninja blade that I want to put on the Snapper. I tilted the Snapper up so that it was sitting vertically on the rear stands and attempted to loosen the bolts on the standard blade, but had trouble getting any of them loose. Am I doing it wrong, is there another way I should do it?

3. What is your mowing pattern with the Snapper? Do you just go down one line, make a 180 and come back down right back along the path you just mowed? Or do you go over about 10 ft and come back down? Or do you just do concentric circles like the aliens out in the fields?

Any other advice you might have in RER mowing technique would be appreciated!

Sorry for the basic questions. This is my first riding mower and I'm finding what worked with my walk behind doesn't necessarily work with the RER.

Thanks!

Joo

Well, of course--there are different patterns to use for mowing when you use any brand of rider. The walk-behind, you just tilt the front up and turn it around and go down beside where you just cut. You could do that with your rider, but whats the point? After about a dozen times of horsing the rider around, by hand, to enable you to mow right beside where you just mowed, sounds like an idea that has to be deemed as?????!
Yeah, walking behind a mower is hard work, but as you get older, that hard work becomes VERY hard work.
I have a half acre of grass, and in the fall, many leaves, but my riders do a great job of mowing and grass picking up. And, leafing, too. I've had a bunch of free lawn tractors given to me, but i have sold all but one, and i use my Snappers for all grass mowing. My lawns are slanted some, but i never get a tippy feeling like i do with a lawn tractor on those slopes! by: Rusty J.

Rusty,

Thanks for the comments. What pattern do you use to mow your lawn with the Snapper?

It's easier to mow in a circle, starting with the outside perimeter of the section you are mowing, say the front lawn, and working your way inward. The downside of that is that the clippings all get blown to the middle. I have done it starting from the center and blowing my clippings to the edges under my shrubs.

elaineycabaney,

Thanks for the reply! What do you do when you get to the very center and you can't make the turn anymore? Do you just go a littler further so you can turn around and come back over the center piece?

I rather liked the stripes i got with my walk behind and I'm not sure if the stripes from the circular pattern would look odd or not.

Joo

You could do like the farmers do, and just mow up one side, turn as sharp as you can and mow down the other side right next to it. When you're finished, make a couple passes around the border to 'clean up' the ends.

The other technique is to guesstimate and leave a mower's width between passes - farmers do this during harvesting to eliminate tight turns on the ends of the fields - then cover that gap during the next pass. You will still get striping if you do it right, except your stripes will be twice as wide as your mower.

If your new mower can handle it I would recommend getting a tow behind cart. Mine gets used quite a bit. It is a nice way to transport ALL of your tools out to the garden or the place you are working in the yard. When your wife buys a "couple" of extra flowers or shrubs, it is nice to haul them all to their final position in one trip. After you have planted all of the flowers, you can use it to take care of the extra dirt. In the spring when the yard is covered with debris to use the cart to pick up the piles. When your wife decides she wants a path in the back of the yard it is get to carry all of the stones and edging to where she wants it, and carry it some where else when she changes her mind mid project. It is like a Dremmel, you only know how much you need it as you find new uses for it.

To: JCHUNG: I just mow in large squares, and finish up on the inside of them, although there are places where that can't be done easily. I just mow along then go back and finish the places i missed. Any weeds, etc. to trim--i use a weed wacker! I sometimes have to use a rotary walk-behind for some areas. And if it doesn't rain tonight, i'll be out there mowing grass again!

Thanks everyone for the comments on mowing patterns. Regarding some of the other issues I had with the first mow...

I did manage to get the blade off. Just had to think about it a little bit. Not too hard once I realized I should put a wrench on the nut behind the blade and a wrench on the bolt on the bottom of the blade and just push the two apart. So now I have the Ninja blade on there. :D

I checked the level of the deck and the tire pressure.

The Deck was off both side-to-side and front-to-back. I adjusted the deck. Now the deck is within 1/8" - 1/4" side-to-side and the rear is ~ 1/2" higher than the front. I think this should be about right for the deck.

In the troubleshooting section of the manual, it says that the tire pressure should be 12psi front and rear. I checked the tire pressure on my snapper and it was 25psi front and rear all the way around. Not sure if this will be an issue or not. I'm not sure if I can do 12psi as my pump starts off at 10psi. Think its a problem leaving the front and rear both at 25psi?

Thanks!

Joo

P.S. I would have thought the shop would have at least leveled the deck for me prior to selling it to me. Is this too much to expect from the shop?