Out with the old, in with the new.

[gcextreme]

I bought my first riding lawnmower, used, about 6 years ago. It was a CubCadet 1020 with a Briggs & Stratton 10hp engine with a small 32" deck.
It wasnt the prettiest, but it ran...for a while.
I paid $150 for it from a coworker. Within 2 months the engine broke a rod. I tore it apart and rebuilt it. Wasnt too hard. Its been a good mower, but now after buying a house with a larger yard, it seems it keeps wanting to have issues.
Its not running right, mostly when u engage the blades.
I think its got a governer issue.
It also needs more tlc. I haven't been able to mow with it for a few months now.
My inlaws gave me their old Simplicty mower with a 38" deck and a 12.5hp engine. But its tranny or clutch is shot and sucks to change gears.
Ive had enough dealing with these old handme-down mowers. I decided i deserve a brand new one.
I hitched up my enclosed trailer and drove 1 hour to HomeDepot and bought the XT1 LT46.
So happy with it.

[J-Mech]

Your happy with it for now. Should have researched more. Lots of issues with that el-cheapo. People on here every week with issues with them. Guess what, Home Depot doesn't have a service department either.

[gcextreme]

$1700 is hardly cheap in my book.
What issues are people having?
I could care less if HomeDepot doesnt have a service department...i dont care for others working on my equipment.
I just got done rebuilding a truck engine, and a jetski engine and pump. Im not afraid of tools and doing my own work...and id rather work on a newer cleaner mower than an older rust and grease pile lol.
I have maybe 1 acre to mow every week or so...this mower knocked it out in maybe 20 minutes as compared to almost an hour on that old 1020 with a 32" deck and 10hp engine that was slow asf.

But i did do research, watched many youtube videos and read reviews etc.
If theres any issues youre aware of, please feel free to let me know about them.

The only thing i hate about this mower is the deck lever doesnt lock, too easy to bump it out of the groove and drop it down. My old one you had to push the button before you could move the deck up/down, so it was locked in place.

[J-Mech]

Search the site. Everything from not starting, to running bad, to steering issues, to not moving, belts issues. $1700 is cheap compared to an XT3.

You can't mow an acre in 20 min. An acre is 43,560 square feet.

I'll keep my old dirty mowers that I never work on.

[Green stripe wide frame]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

I'll keep my old dirty mowers that I never work on.

Ditto

[gcextreme]

Home Depot doesnt make them, they just sell them, just like Tractor Supply Co and many other lawn tractor retailers all over the country.

I have about .89 of an acre..it took me 20-25 minutes to mow it.

Everything with an engine can have an issue starting and running bad...you know the saying, if its got tits or an engine, its bound to give you issues.
Maintenance is key on anything with an engine.
Shit i bought a 2005 Ford Expedition in January.and everyone told me online those are shit and have tons of issues..
Well i got it with 94K miles and i ran into someone at Walmart with the exact same rig and year and he had 246K on his with not one damn engine issue.

Didnt expect to come to a CubCadet forum and see everyone bashing the cubs.
Lmfao. Its like on the Seadoo forum where you got aholes that tell everyone they should have bought a Kawasaki or Yamaha instead of a Seadoo pwc.

[Vrobert]

GcExtreme,

You should read the service manual for your new tractor and keep it clean, dry, properly adjusted and well lubed. Otherwise it will fall apart like my $1500 troybilt did.

If you have good luck with it you won't have to ask these cranky cusses for help, but if you do have problems ask for help. Just take plenty of pictures.

For context the old cub I got for free cost $4500 back in 1986. They were built to last and if necessary repair. Not so much with the new cheaper mowers.

Come back every so often and tell us how you like your new mower.

[zippy1]

Home Depot, Home Depot?
Load it back on your enclosed trailer, and bring it back. I've read nothing good about them. BUT if you're determined to keep it, I wish you GOOD LUCK.
Isn't the reason for buying new, to not have to work on them? Check oil, fill the fuel tank, and mow.
Edit; you already used it, so you can't take it back. So GOOD LUCK.

[mkedzierski]

Originally Posted by gcextreme

I bought my first riding lawnmower, used, about 6 years ago. It was a CubCadet 1020 with a Briggs & Stratton 10hp engine with a small 32" deck.
It wasnt the prettiest, but it ran...for a while.
I paid $150 for it from a coworker. Within 2 months the engine broke a rod. I tore it apart and rebuilt it. Wasnt too hard. Its been a good mower, but now after buying a house with a larger yard, it seems it keeps wanting to have issues.
Its not running right, mostly when u engage the blades.
I think its got a governer issue.
It also needs more tlc. I haven't been able to mow with it for a few months now.
My inlaws gave me their old Simplicty mower with a 38" deck and a 12.5hp engine. But its tranny or clutch is shot and sucks to change gears.
Ive had enough dealing with these old handme-down mowers. I decided i deserve a brand new one.
I hitched up my enclosed trailer and drove 1 hour to HomeDepot and bought the XT1 LT46.
So happy with it.

Awesome purchase and a wise one that was purchased based on what the tractor was engineered for which is light yard work. I just bought the XT3 and love it, but I knew I would be doing some heavy duty work, pulling, going up/down step rough hills etc and it's the reason I bought a heavier tractor. I looked at the XT1 and XT2 models and I would buy them in a heart beat if I was only going to do mowing and light duty work with it. Don't let the others second guess your decision. I remember a time when MTD bought Cub Cadet and MTD switched out the old cast iron housed tranny for an aluminum one and you'd would think the world had come to and end because those "cheapo" aluminum ones wouldn't hold up and were not a "garden tractor" anyone. Guess what, they held up because they were designed to be used for that purpose and now those same tractors are almost god-like similar to how others view the IH cubs. Cub Cadet designs and builds a wide range of products to suite many needs. So why pay $5000 to mow a yard for many years if a $1,700 unit will do the same thing?

[gcextreme]

Yeah its just going to get used to mow my yard, and occasionally my neighbors yard, he is bad at not mowing and hes got a big area right in front of our house across the street that we gotta look at and i hate when it gets tall and he doesnt mow it lol.
I may get a small cart for picking up sticks to pull behind it, beats dragging the wheel barrow around the yard.

Right now i just had a few yrds of black dirt delivered that im filling in some holes and leveling off some bad areas of the yard. Then gonna do some more grass seed.

Not sure if im liking the floating deck or not. It doesnt seem to like unlevel areas, or im doing something wrong. Scalped the grass and ground in a few spots.