might be best first to call sears to verify that subject bagger is the correct model for your particular tractor. Be prepared to give them your full "917.xxxxxxx" tractor model number - same with the bagger.

I hope your Sears model number for the bagger is a 24916, I believe that is what you need for a 48" mower and GT style tractor. Should be noted on the box and on a tag on the post that hooks to the back of the machine.

Have a look at this sears site that shows the manual, I hope it is what your manual looks like. You can see there are two different drawbar styles. Most of the big GT's have a angled drawbar which take a special frame mount, others have the straight drawbar. But the online manual shows that both are included with the bagger so unless they are missing for some reason you should have one that works. Good luck

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/partsdirect/part-model/Craftsman-Parts/Grass-catcher-Parts/Model-917249160/0247/1500115/P0908004/00001?blt=06&prst=&shdMod=

Yes, the bagger model number is 24916 and it has two mounts in the box.
However, neither one seems to fit the drawbar unless I'm doing something wrong.
My Craftsman is the big GT5000 (2005) and it does have the angled drawbar.
There are four illustrations in the manual showing the different drawbars.
The one under "C" (page 5) is my draw bar and the notation below it says,

"If your tractor in equipped with illustration call 1-800-633-3522 for a replacement kit."

Well, I called the 800 number and it was Husqvarna and the guy did not know anything about this kit.
I was wondering if you have to remove the existing bolts on the sides of the drawbar and install the two shoulder bolts that the attachment would hook up to?
Trouble is, they don't seem to line up.

I have a feeling that one of these attachments will work, but I was never very good with Rubik's Cube either.

UPDATE:

I called Sears Parts Direct and they told me I had the wrong Bagger for my 2005 Craftsman GT5000.
The Bagger Sears sold me would require a Kit from Husqvarna, #420974.
I looked under the Hood of the tractor and it calls for Bagger #24987.
Sears sold me #24916

I have looked under the hood many times for filter numbers etc, but some how didn't catch the bagger number.
So, this bagger goes back to Sears and I will have to order the other from Sears Parts Direct.

I paid $359.99 for this bagger that included a 10% discount for their Family/Friends sale. However, the proper bagger for my tractor is $469.99.
How can two almost identical baggers have such a price differential?
I think Sears should give me a break on that price for all the trouble and delay in getting my 2 acres mowed.

I asked Sears Parts Direct what shipping would be and they told me $15.99 to my house, and that's whether I ordered 1 or 10 baggers.
Another person I talked to at parts direct said shipping would be free.
Sears online charged me #94.99 shipping for the Bagger and Scraper with the Sleeve Hitch.
What a hassle.

You need to go higher up the Sears ladder with your problems (caused by Sears personnel).
The overcharge for shipping alone (based on the original quote) would nearly make up for the difference in the price of the correct bagger.

Outline a description of your entire travails and the ensuing frustration and wasted time you incurred.
Try to keep it as coherent as possible and attempt to reach department heads at the corporate level.

I finally got the situation solved, I think.
I took the bagger back to the Sears store and they refunded my money, however it took several hours and the help of the store manager to work through the system that Sears.com had created.
As previously mentioned I went to a Sears store to buy the bagger and instead of Sears ordering the bagger through the register, the clerk ordered it through the Sears.com terminal in the tractor Department.
Don't ever do this.

I ordered three items including the bagger and everything was fine until they shipped only the Bagger.
Apparently because the other item was being shipped from the manufacturer, Sears.com did not show the order as completed and therefore sears.com went into the spin cycle.
Luckily I had the printout from the store computer as it was the only record that existed at this point showing that I had paid for the merchandise.

Now that the store had taken care of the refund on the bagger I thanked them for their help and now it was off to Sears.com.
When I called Sears.com I figured I would just order the correct Bagger and that would be that.
Wrong again,
Sears.com did not have the bagger I wanted and said the Bagger I had ordered was the correct one and that I would just have get a kit from Husqvarna to retrofit the Bagger to the tractor drawbar.
The conversation was similar to sharing your computer problems with the software guy in Pakistan.

So I started searching the web for the number of the bagger I needed and it came up on Sears Parts Direct.
I then called Sears Parts Direct and told them my story and they said we have the bagger you need, but you will have to go through Sears.com.
I called Sears.com back and they said I would have to order it from Sears Parts Direct because they have one and we don't.
I said then why don't you get one from Sears Parts Direct and then ship it to me since I have already paid a huge shipping charge.
No No No, it doesn't work that way, you must order it from Sears Parts Direct.
So I called Sears Parts Direct and they said the Bagger will cost $469.99 plus $15.99 shipping.

Anyway, to keep this story from becoming a novel in paperback, I ended up ordering the right bagger from Sears Parts Direct.
They must have felt sorry for me and let me have it for $399.99, but I had to pay the $15.99 for shipping.
Well, so much for the Sears Family and Friends 10% discount promotion night where the bagger was $359.00.
I think I ended up paying as much for the merchandise as I did the shipping in this deal.

So, the next time I need tractor parts or attachments I will give Sears Parts Direct a call first as they were very professional and knew exactly what bagger my tractor took.
Now I will just sit back and hope the bagger shows up before the snow flies.

Dear Sears 9 Bushel 3 Bin Bagger problem:

My name is Susan and I am part of the Sears Social Media Escalations team. I am very concerned about what I have read here. I came across your post and I wanted to reach out and offer our assistance in getting this unfortunate situation resolved. We�re very sorry to hear about the problems you are having attaching your bagger to your tractor and we apologize for the frustration this has caused you and your family. Sears Social Media Escalations Team is a single point of contact for escalated concerns which means we step into a situation and handle it start to finish with one Case Manager.

At your convenience, please contact our office via email at smsupport@searshc.com so you don�t have to continue to be frustrated by this (so we can help). In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the tractor/bagger was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide the screen name (Sears 9 Bushel 3 Bin Bagger) you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.

Thank you,

Susan R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support

bames - should you decide to take sears' above invitation, surely would like to hear results of your ongoing experience with them.
For me, the jury is still out with that retailer.

Yes, I will contact them as I have been a Sears card holder for many years and this is the first problem of this magnitude I have experienced.

The store personnel were extremely helpful as was Sears Parts Direct.
It was Sears.com that put a kink in what could have been a pleasant transaction.
The delivery was on time and well handled and the warehouse people were great as well.

Heck, I'm a 3rd or 4th generation Sears shopper.
Kind a hated to see Wards disappear though.

Well, thought I had better check in and let you all know the progress on the 3 Bin Bagger from Sears.
The issue is still not settled even though sears Executive Office is working on it.

Being bounced from sears.com to Sears Parts Direct and several office personnel and a desperate after market search I still don't have the two acres mowed.
Seems the 2005 Craftsman GT5000 was a model change year and it has a different Drawbar then the rest of Garden Tractors. My tractor calls for model 24987.

Well, Sears Parts Direct shows them on there products list and they order them from the manufacturer, but the manufacturer sends out the 24916.

OK, in the manual it shows 4 different drawbars (that's the plate on the rear of the tractor that is the hitch) and if your drawbar is the same as Example "C" you need part #420974.
This is the part that attaches to the drawbar that the bagger attaches too.

However, it is my theory that if they sent you bagger 24987 it would have the correct drawbar attachment.
But they send bagger 24916 and they put in two different drawbar attachments and you use the one that fits and throw the other one away or use it as a boat anchor as its heavy enough.
Neither one of these parts fit the 2005 GT5000, so you must order Part #420974.
However, they are on back order and have been for a long time and some websites say there obsolete.

Tomorrow another bagger is being delivered from the manufacturer so I will see if its 24987.
It could come from either Husqvarna or AYP.
(I have heard that AYP (American Yard Products owns Husqvarna.)
If FedEx brings 24987 and the correct drawbar part is in the box then I'm home free.
If not, and its another 24916 with another two incorrect drawbar parts then I'm back where I started the day I began this Tour de Sears and I will have two more boat anchors.

Seems the 3 Bin Baggers are all the same and its the drawbar attachment that is the key.
Tomorrow I will call all the mower places around the world and see if I can locate a #420974 ,but I have a sneaking feeling there are none.
Oh, and they all come with soft bags now so I'm told, but I really wanted the hard bags that came with the 24987.

Sorry to bore you all with this, but if your in the market for a bagger and your Craftsman is a few years old you may be in trouble and if your buying a new tractor and you may need a bagger later on, don't hesitate, buy it now.

I might add that all the Sears folks I have dealt with so far are trying very hard to bring this to a happy conclusion.
It's the system that needs attention.

Just stumbled over this post. FWIW, for Sears/Craftsman specific questions you might try going to my(nospace)tractor(nospace)forum and search sears/craftsman and that'll take you to a forum which is populated by die hard sears tractor nuts. I've belonged there for years and these guys (and girls) have tractors going back to the 50's and are a tremendous source of info.

The "(nospace)" is an attempt to fool the GW site into allowing that site to be listed here. For some reason they don't like it?

If you have a Sears GT you should belong there anyway, I know I've read about stuff that just happened to someone else's GT that hadn't happened to mine yet.....

Good luck,

Ev

The Bagger arrived this afternoon and you guessed it, its another 24916 and not the 24987 that was ordered and of course it came with the same two drawbar attachments that don't fit.

The Correct attachment has been ordered (420974), but just try and find out when they will have them available.
Nobody has a clue and I have called so damn many 800 numbers I lost track of who I'm talking to anymore.

It Seems when you think your calling Husqvarna or AYP you get a distribution center and they all tell you "It's on Back Order."
One guy said maybe next month.

Bames - send a copy of the above postings to "searscares" via email and let her shake the sears tree - should be no reason for the goat rodeo you are experiencing...

Here is a link that might be useful: searscares

Hi All,

Sears came through with flying colors on the bagger and they couldn't have been more helpful.
Brian Smith from Sears Executive office contacted me and fixed all the problems.

The correct bagger was sent with the correct attachment and Sears felt that since I had gone through so much hassle sent me a check for $150.00 to make up for the additional shipping costs I had incurred and to honor the original sale price.

If any of you run into a situation that your local Sears store or sears.com can't handle be sure and call Sears Executive Office at 1-800-573-8431 or email smsupport@searshc.com.

They will assign you a case manager and they will do all the follow up work contacting you frequently with the progress of your case.

I couldn't have been happier with the results of my case and Brian was a joy to work with as were all of the case managers.

Same old problem,

I called sears parts to get a bagger for my DGT 6000, 917.275287, they sent the 24916, and like others i called for the attachment, and the attachment that was sent had nothing to do with the bagger. With assistance from the local sears manager i have sent for the bagger that suppose to be use for the mower back three times and always got the 24916, even told the parts direct department when they called that i needed the 24987 bagger, and the kit i sent for which came from husqvarna has nothing to do with a bagger attachment. I check the web and found this site. Only if I knew the problems people was having getting the right equipment from sears i may have bought different lawn mower. After three times with me and all the problems other people had with this, you would think they had it right by now.