simplicity lawn/garden tractors

[porthos]

i have a cub cadet riding mower that was made in hell. probably going to upgrade. any thoughts on a simplicity? trying to find a site they gives the $; but impossible for me to find. and, what is the line of progression cheapest to best. i can't even find that!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Simplicity is a good brand, made in USA, but just like everything they offer Budget level mowers and Premium level mowers...you get what you pay for. If you want a real good one and can afford it, go to a dealer, as opposed to a Big Box store. Big Box stores will order batches of Budget level models, and even specify options to make them cheaper.

[porthos]

i know better than to buy something like that at lowe's or home depot. on this note any other reccomedations excluding john deere and cub cadet?

[ascast]

Not sure your budget or how much grass you cut. Ferris is the best you can buy. They are not cheap crap. Highest resale/trade in value. In fact, what other brand has a "trade-in" value.

[RickinTN]

A friend had a Simplicity a few years ago. It broke a belt. The belt was unique to their mowers and they wanted over $150 for it. He learned his lesson quick!
No Simplicity for me.
Take care!
Rick

[Mk42gunner]

Several years ago I a needed a belt for the Woods belly mower on my first Kubota. Woods wanted somewhere around a hundred dollars (been a few years).

I ordered one from these folks, https://www.vbelts4less.com/ for $34.00. Got it quick and it has lasted better than the NIB Gates belt that came with the tractor. The belt was made in India, but I have been completely satisfied with it.

No idea on the recent Simplicity mowers. Decades ago they were a good brand.

Robert

[farmbif]

some of the older simplicity mowers were built like tanks much like the older cub cadets before MTD took over most everything in consumer homeowner riding lawn mowers.
ive got an early mtd cub cadet and previous owner did some jury rigging I guess that put mower belt out of alignment and it eats a new belt in about 20 minutes.
found a dealer that had the correct belt, $107. I got one 2/10" longer, the same material, kevlar or equal to kevlar, from belts for less, $40, ii still didn't get adjustments corrected properly. it lasted about 1/2 hour. then I found off road belts in Iowa, the same belt from them was only $20. yeah, I wish I could afford a new scag turf tiger, or a grasshopper or one of those commercial quality bad boys. if you need belts of any sort I highly recommend off road belts or vbelts for less.
it will probably be another summer of using tractor bush hog for big areas and walk behind sarlo for the edges

[porthos]

price wise, i would like to stay under $6000.00. thanks for the heads up rick. i am going to look at a simplicity and question them about that issue.

[psychodad]

I have a Simplicity 52" Zero Turn I bought in '05. The blade drive belt broke several years ago. $129.....I sized a Gates heavy duty belt for maybe $35 and it lasted about half the yard. So I cried and bought the Simplicity belt which was a much heavier belt. I run hi-lift blades and that probably doesn't help my belt life. I mow several acres and have had no other problems beyond routine maintenance. Would I buy another one?? You betcha, only a bigger one this time. She's built pretty tough, a lot heavier than anything you see at the box stores. I thought at one time Simplicity was a sister to Ferris, but I wouldn't put any money on that.

[waksupi]

I've had one for several years, and it has worked well for me.

[firefly1957]

A lot depends on your use I use the lawn tractor as a tractor also and use it to pull a trailer around for moving wood and even my boat .
I had a Craftsman 42" cut the transmission kept losing go I found there was water in the oil (20-50 W motor oil). I bought a new John Deer 54" cut I cut the lawn in half the time and just over half the gasoline .

The old tractor is still in use I put a manual transmission in it and gave it to my son to use .

[Finster101]

A lot depends on your use I use the lawn tractor as a tractor also and use it to pull a trailer around for moving wood and even my boat .
I had a Craftsman 42" cut the transmission kept losing go I found there was water in the oil (20-50 W motor oil). I bought a new John Deer 54" cut I cut the lawn in half the time and just over half the gasoline .

The old tractor is still in use I put a manual transmission in it and gave it to my son to use .

I guess the question is how did water get into it on an air cooled machine.

[wildwilly501]

I think he meant the water was in the transmission. I know of some older Craftsmen IIs that if they sat out in the weather or you weren’t careful washing them it could happen.

[Thin Man]

Over 10 years ago I bought a Simplicity riding mower from an estate. It has a Kohler 14 HP engine and 38" cut, does all I need for the yard. The engine began giving me issues with poor fuel delivery to the carb. I replaced the fuel pump with an expensive Kohler brand pump and that one lasted about a year but went down. Bought a second Kohler fuel pump and got 6 months out of that one. Disappointed with the quality and cost of their fuel pumps I bought a cheap import (Chinese) fuel pump for the mower. That was 3 years ago and it is still working well. Other than fuel pump issues the mower has served us well. Would I buy another one? Yes, only larger cut.

[firefly1957]

I did on occasion drive the tractor in deep puddles but water should not have got in that way Condensation is my next guess ?????

[compass will]

I bought a big box deere, and transmission went out in 6 months on my hill of a yard. While dealer was fixing it he offered me a trade to get into the size I should have bought. Never had another problem.

[Finster101]

I did on occasion drive the tractor in deep puddles but water should not have got in that way Condensation is my next guess ?????

My guess is you have/had a seal leaking. Used to see it all the time on 4WD. Water in the diffs or transfer case from leaking seals.

[brass410]

used to have a simplicity, it cut acres and acres of grass, my own lawn was just shy of 3 acres, and the crew regularly used it to cut customers lawns as well. Only thing that gave any trouble was the blade rotors, they would pretty much self destruct after multiple ground strikes ( large stones, survey bars, telepghone pole anchors and such) was a great little mower. But we moved and now have a kubota 3450 and a smaller kubota about 17 hp.

[gc45]

My Lx280 is 10yrs old now and still like new with one belt replacement. I mow an acre or more around the barns and house but use the tractor with flail mower in the fields. My LX has the Kawasaki engine.
Why anyone buys Big Box mowers I can't understand unless having postage stamp lawns; they just don't hold up very long. When my 280 runs out, I will get the X380 or bigger, if gasoline is still available...

[Misery-Whip]

Gotta ask what it takes to back up with the blades running.

A neighbor has a huskavarna with a fabricated deck. He loves it. My 20 year old deere purchased from deere (low end) has treated me well.

[OS OK]

None of these models are going to run maintenance free...you have to do that or even the most expensive, most desired units will self destruct from lack of attention.
I've got a 12 year old (I think 12, it's been a long time ago I got her) Deer Z425 that has been worry free all those years but it's had proper maintenance and constant blade dressing to keep it sharp & balanced.
I've had to replace the main belt twice & the hydraulic belt once, it gets an oil & filter change every spring, new air filter & I keep it blown out all year, the mower shows it's age with a cracked plastic POC yellow seat and the paint is faded and scratched but it keeps on going and doing it's work.
Buy from a dealer, not a big box store...no matter the deal you find to save a $ today, you ain't gonna get no deal by a long shot. You have waited too long for that now. Everything from mowers to a loaf of bread is about double to three times inflated...maybe wait till after the banks collapse and the new depression is in full swing.
There will be good deals everywhere you can get for a song! :bigsmyl2:

[Hogtamer]

I just bought a Husqvarna with heavy duty deck and 23 HP Kawasaki 48” cut from a dealer, $3600. That’s the best value I could find. Maintenance is the ticket

[jonp]

Dixie Chopper

[firefly1957]

My guess is you have/had a seal leaking. Used to see it all the time on 4WD. Water in the diffs or transfer case from leaking seals.

I did replace seals in my Craftsman transmission the first time I tore it down trouble came back pretty fast and it was winter use at the time as I also used it to throw snow . I tore it down second time and tried a higher vent into a glass jar that did nothing for me so I bought a new tractor then installed a Manual transmission off a much older tractor .

[Apple Man]

i have a cub cadet riding mower that was made in hell. probably going to upgrade. any thoughts on a simplicity? trying to find a site they gives the $; but impossible for me to find. and, what is the line of progression cheapest to best. i can't even find that!

Simplicity as other have said is a good brand, but the price ranges greatly. The garden tractor forums would have better advice.

https://www.simplicitymfg.com/na/en_us/products/lawn-tractors.html

Simplicity does cut better due to the manner in which the deck has full contact rollers and follows the terrain much better and gives the "striped look".

Stay away from any machine with a K46 hydro.

[porthos]

well, it seems that the simplicity regent that i am going to buy (when they get it assembled) has the K-46 transmission. i guess that i will just have to take my chances.
i'm using a cub cadet now; it ate the transmission at 36 hours. i won't say what that cost. the hours were under warranty, but it had surpassed the years (3). needless to say no more cub cadets

[wildwilly501]

I bought a regent a couple weeks.Can’t say anything about the longevity but it does mow very nice.My wife’s going to use it I mow with a zero turn.I have 11 acres some of its wooded so I don’t mow it all.But I mowed with the tractor for a couple hours I sure wouldn’t want to have to mow it all with it. It would take a whole day.