On Tue, 13 Apr 2004 21:10:37 GMT, "RogerN"
shouted from the rooftop:


I recently purchased a home a few miles out of town with ~4-1/2 acres and
it's getting time to mow some grass. There is approximately 1-1/2 acres for
the yard and another 3 acres of brush & small trees. I recently bought a
backhoe for the brush cleanup but haven't decided what to do about the
mowing yet. One idea is to get a lawn tractor for the lawn and later on
come up with a tractor & bush hog for the field. I've been looking at Sears
lawn tractors at the local store. They have one with Automatic
transmission, 17.5hp Kohler, cast iron axle, for $1399. There is a similar
unit with a Briggs engine for around the same price. They also have some
higher priced mowers with ~25hp engines for $2100 to ~$2500. What I don't
like about the larger tractors is that it would probably be more difficult
cutting around trees & bushes with the larger turning radius and all.

Hi. We sell both commercial and consumer lawnmowers:
If your thought is to expand the current lawn, then a cheap garden
tractor isn't going to be up to the job- anything over an acre is
pushing it.
You need an LCE (Landscape Commercial Equipment) type mower- like a
Toro Z Master zero-turn rider or a Proline walk behind with a 52 inch
deck. See www.toro.com for more details. They are not cheap, but will
last forever in single-lawn service.

I'm trying to decide on just buying a used tractor, bush hog, & perhaps
finish mower or get lawn tractor now and tractor/bush hog later.

Also, if I get a lawn tractor, should I get one with a Kohler or Briggs
engine?

Realistically, there's not a lot of difference. The Briggs Vanguard is
one tough engine. So is the Kohler.

Is the Craftsman mowers a good value

No.
Sears, Kmart, John Deere, and most other garden tractors are
lightweight toys built by either MTD or American Yard Products (owned
by Electrolux). The product label will tell who built it.
Cub Cadet and Toro (Wheel Horse) are heavy-duty machines built to work
hard. They cost about twice as much as the 'home owner' tractors and
are worth every penny.

-Carl

"An honest man doesn't need a long memory"- Jesse Ventura