The Garden Tractor Thread

[bad news]

I see a number of the guys on here have garden tractors and thought it would be fun to start a thread to share pictures and discussion. Everybody likes pictures, right?

Here's my wife's 1974 Case 446. The 16 hp Onan still does ok and it's got the three point hitch with hydraulic pto.

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[Corey]

Neat. That is a pretty good optical illusion... for a second, I thought that pile of logs was on the trailer... I said, "Woah...where ya gonna sit to drive?!?"

 

[mustash29]

Not a garden tractor, only a crappy LT 1000 w/ 6 speed, but the 21 HP Briggs does not flinch in heavy grass, heavy loads, or when plowing uphill on a 10% grade. Lack of traction is the big issue.

 

[coaly]

JD 400 glorified wheel barrow brings in the manure.

1950 Ford 8-N spreading the love.

Chick Chick ; co-pilot / navigator / hood ornament.

 

[HybridFyre]

I see a number of the guys on here have garden tractors and thought it would be fun to start a thread to share pictures and discussion. Everybody likes pictures, right?

Here's my wife's 1974 Case 446. The 16 hp Onan still does ok and it's got the three point hitch with hydraulic pto.

View attachment 160248

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Yeah buddy! I have a '71 444 and a '74 224. These guys are tanks!

 

[bad news]

Yeah, they're a rugged machine and the look bad A as well. If I found another at a good price I'd grab it just to set it up for different jobs. They're fun to mess with and can do some work.

mustash29 - "my" tractor is a 15 hp Craftsman lawn mower, so we're in the same boat.

coaly - that's a remarkable hood ornament. It'll sit there and let you drive it around?


I know there's some more garden tractor guys on here. Let's see them.

 

[DoubleB]

Ok, I'll toss mine up...

1989 JD322. Smooth and quiet as can be. 18hp 3cyl gas Yanmar engine, cat 0 3pt, lots of attachments. Treats me well, does most everything I ask. Definitely a little tractor, not a lightweight.

 

[Ashful]

Those ain't garden tractors, coaly!

Traded mine for a CUT, but I did have a 1965 IH Cub 123 in very good shape.

 

[Jags]

Two in one shot of the old Case VC and the Allis Chalmers doing their thing.

 

[Ashful]

Geez, Jags... why don't you just mount a Laz-Boy on that old VC? That thing should have a proper stamped pan seat!

 

[Jags]

Geez, Jags... why don't you just mount a Laz-Boy on that old VC? That thing should have a proper stamped pan seat!

You kidding me? Those old butt slappers are horrible.
That air ride, lumbar adjusting, weight compensated seat with arm rests is the cats meow.

 

[John S]

1966 Wheel Horse 856, Kohler 8hp, real 3 speed transmission. First photo is the day I got it last April - big smile. Since then the engine and trans seem perfect, always starts and runs. I didn't buy it for mowing but I did get the PTO mess (which the original owner told me about) straightened out and tried it a couple of times. More of a field mower than a finish lawn mower. I may work on the deck this winter - spindles, bearings, who knows. Meanwhile, I've removed the deck. Today's project was improving the path around the back 3 ac woods - those two photos are a little fuzzy but you get the idea.

 

[begreen]

Not a garden tractor, only a crappy LT 1000 w/ 6 speed, but the 21 HP Briggs does not flinch in heavy grass, heavy loads, or when plowing uphill on a 10% grade. Lack of traction is the big issue.

View attachment 160320

Put chains on the wheels. I have the same mower with a Kohler 18HP and we have sloping property that is a bear to mow when the grass is fresh green or wet. Chains have made a world of difference on the mower. I never get stuck now.

 

[bad news]

There's the man who might have the best looking of the bunch. That 66 Wheel Horse is a cool machine.

 

[gzecc]

My 420 with 3point, MMM and front blade. Gets used year round. Does a lot of work for its size. Even in the snow.

 

[Fred Wright]

It's not much to look at but it serves. Old Murray Widebody GT saved from the scrapyard some years ago. I've worked the heck out of it in the woods, it just keeps pulling.

 

[mustash29]

Put chains on the wheels. I have the same mower with a Kohler 18HP and we have sloping property that is a bear to mow when the grass is fresh green or wet. Chains have made a world of difference on the mower. I never get stuck now.

Mine has the larger 20 x 10 rear tires. I mow in the top notch (highest setting) and can't run chains with the deck mounted, the RR chain will occasionally catch the deck.

 

[begreen]

My bad, we have the LT2000. I too field mow in the highest setting. Our stock rear wheels are 20 x 10 too. Maybe they moved the deck on the LT1000 or it has a smaller chassis?

PS: I just checked and the LT2000's deck is a good 4" in front of the rear tires. Lots of room there.

 

[bad news]

Couple of those green ones still doing it on here - that diesel 322 is real cool and the 420 is a pretty stout garden tractor. It has the 20 hp Onan, doesn't it? How do you like it? Our Case is my first real Onan experience and overall it's been pretty good.

 

[DoubleB]

Thanks for the comment, yep I like my 322. Just to clarify; I have the gas engine whereas the 332 has the diesel. Same tractor, almost the same number, even the same engine (block, cooling system, etc.) just different fuel.

I really like your 446. In fact, I was going to get one but then I was visiting my buddy (in fact with a Honda repower in his JD420) who happened to have a 444 in the corner and said he found the turning radius to be too large to make mowing convenient for him, and I have lots of trees, so that kind of pushed me towards the 322. Otherwise I might be sharing 446 stories with you right now.

Thanks for starting this fun thread.

 

[Ashful]

Garden tractors are not great machines for mowing, anyway. I've mowed with lawn tractors, three different garden tractors (Bolens, Wheel Horse, IH Cub Cadet), a compact utility tractor (72" deck!), and now... a zero turn.

Based on all that experience, the garden tractor is my absolute last choice for mowing, as it has many of the same disadvantages of the CUT, but without a good size deck to make up for its inefficiencies. In fact, my CUT tears up less turf in sharp turns than the rear wheels of most of my garden tractors, especially the Wheel Horse.

What I did like about the garden tractors was their heft and power in such a small footprint. Very handy for heavy jobs where the CUT is cumbersome, like grading dirt around my wood stacks or pulling a trailer of firewood thru the woods, where the damn CUT ROPS always catches low branches.

 

[bad news]

Oops, my bad - I misread. I think I'd rather have your machine than a 332 to be honest. It seems that the diesel repairs can get expensive quickly.

I love the 446 for a lot of uses, but your buddy wasn't fooling - it takes about an acre to get that thing spun around. Mowing in and around obstacles is honestly a hassle, and the wheels on the mower deck like to dig in and leave gouges on very sharp corners so you do a lot of back and forth, raise and lower type antics. We actually do very little mowing with ours and use our 15.5hp Craftsman riding mower for the bulk of it. I got the Craftsman for free from a relative who couldn't get it running and replaced it with another machine. He told me if I wanted it, come get it so I grabbed it hoping it wouldn't be too much hassle. I got it home and found out that it was simply out of gas. The guy had spent all day trying to figure out the problem before going and dropping $600 on a used Deere. I haven't had the heart to tell him what was wrong, haha.

 

[HybridFyre]

Oops, my bad - I misread. I think I'd rather have your machine than a 332 to be honest. It seems that the diesel repairs can get expensive quickly.

I love the 446 for a lot of uses, but your buddy wasn't fooling - it takes about an acre to get that thing spun around. Mowing in and around obstacles is honestly a hassle, and the wheels on the mower deck like to dig in and leave gouges on very sharp corners so you do a lot of back and forth, raise and lower type antics. We actually do very little mowing with ours and use our 15.5hp Craftsman riding mower for the bulk of it. I got the Craftsman for free from a relative who couldn't get it running and replaced it with another machine. He told me if I wanted it, come get it so I grabbed it hoping it wouldn't be too much hassle. I got it home and found out that it was simply out of gas. The guy had spent all day trying to figure out the problem before going and dropping $600 on a used Deere. I haven't had the heart to tell him what was wrong, haha.

Maybe you'll be getting a used Deere in a few years too...

 

[DoubleB]

Garden tractors are not great machines for mowing, anyway.

Yea, I'd agree. My coworker is trying to convince me to get a zero-turn, although I can't justify purchasing another machine yet. I have 2 acres of mostly obstacles, and figure I could cut my 2+ hrs mowing in half, and that does add up to value in the long run.

I think I'd rather have your machine than a 332 to be honest. It seems that the diesel repairs can get expensive quickly.

I agree with that too. I haven't owned a diesel and I'm not bashing them, but since I'm not familiar with servicing them like I am for gas, since they are more expensive, and especially since I found the 322 when I needed one but didn't find a 332, that's what I got! Have fun with your fleet.

 

[Mike M.]

Just the back of my Case 646 with loader. This is one old tough machine. Handles every task I throw at it with ease.