Who buys all the lawn tractors?

[Beap52 811]

We live in a town with a population of 10,500.   I am amazed every spring how many lawn mowers/tractors are sitting for sale at stores.  We've got an ACE, Tractor Supply, a locally owned farm and home, a tractor dealer, one fairly large small engine dealer, just outside of town a family that sells mowers probably others that I'm not thinking of. There has got to be more than 200 mowers that will be sold in our town this year.  If a person drives 25 miles there's a Lowe's with all of their mowers parked in front of the entrance doors.   I've never bought a new mower in my 71 years.  Our 520H was a 930 hour barn find that had sat for ten years.  I spent about 600 dollars in getting it running again including new tires, seat, battery and etc.  I see a lot of mowers sitting outside, uncovered so I assume they don't last so folks just break out the credit card and buy another. 

[wh500special 2,184]

I’ve wondered the same thing many times. 
 

The rates of consumption for consumer goods is truly astounding.  If your town of 10500 people averages 4 people per household and a quarter of those households need a riding mower and replace it every ten years, that accounts for 65 of them right there.  If the area is growing with more homes being built and there is a surrounding area also shopping there it adds up to a surprising number of new mowers being sold.   And if they don’t last even ten years…geez. 
 

I used to work at a place that made, among other things, handles for the big trash cans you wheel out to the curb that the automatic truck grabs to dump into the hopper.  We made 6000 handles per day and there’s only one handle per can.  And our customer wasn’t even the biggest maker of those big trash cans.  
 

Also heard a story on the radio about a mattress recycling business in New Jersey. I wondered how that could possibly be a viable business.   Then they mentioned that in the US over 50000 mattresses were thrown away every single day.  And each contained about 20 lbs of steel in the springs.  So that’s 1-million pounds of scrap steel.  Per day. 
 

It seems impossible and it still makes me wonder where all this junk - including mowers - goes.  I guess it could illustrate the point that even small changes in consumer habits applied across the board do indeed make big differences. 

For a time, Wheel Horse was the largest purveyor of lawn and garden tractors.  They must have made gazillions of them back when they were really cranking them out in the 70’s.   

 

Steve

Edited March 20, 2023 by wh500special

[ri702bill 8,323]

41 minutes ago, Beap52 said:

We live in a town with a population of 10,500.   I am amazed every spring how many lawn mowers/tractors are sitting for sale at stores.  We've got an ACE, Tractor Supply, a locally owned farm and home, a tractor dealer, one fairly large small engine dealer, just outside of town a family that sells mowers probably others that I'm not thinking of. There has got to be more than 200 mowers that will be sold in our town this year.  If a person drives 25 miles there's a Lowe's with all of their mowers parked in front of the entrance doors.   I've never bought a new mower in my 71 years.  Our 520H was a 930 hour barn find that had sat for ten years.  I spent about 600 dollars in getting it running again including new tires, seat, battery and etc.  I see a lot of mowers sitting outside, uncovered so I assume they don't last so folks just break out the credit card and buy another. 

 

Sad, but true. Some folks have NO CLUE what it takes to keep a piece of outdoor equipment safe from the elements and ready to wake right up next spring. These Maroons think "Oh, it's outdoor power stuff, so it can sit all winter outside".Same folks that think a "Screwdriver" is a mixed drink...... THOSE are the ones the Big Box stores love the most........ Not me...

[pacer 3,171]

Yep, I stopped into the H depot last week and they already had them lined up, probably ...... 50+? then theres Lowes, etc who also have theirs out

[Achto 27,577]

I was at our local Fleet Farm this week and noticed a new trend this year. They had 12 push mowers on display. 3 of these were gas powered and were $300 or less. The remaining 9 were battery powered and not one of them was under $500, the most expensive one coming in at just under $1100. For a push mower!! 

[WHNJ701 4,165]

Back in 2005 I bought a push mower from Lowes, a week or so later my neighbor bought the exact same one.  I took great care of mine, kept it clean, inside the shed etc...

He did the exact opposite, ran the crap out of it and kept it outside all winter.

So about 8 years later I pull start mine notice the engine is wobbly, here the deck rotted under the engine.  I pulled the engine and junked the rest.  A few weeks later my neighbor was cutting with a new push mower.  We talked and he told me the deck rotted around the engine.  

 

[wh500special 2,184]

1 hour ago, Achto said:

I was at our local Fleet Farm this week and noticed a new trend this year. They had 12 push mowers on display. 3 of these were gas powered and were $300 or less. The remaining 9 were battery powered and not one of them was under $500, the most expensive one coming in at just under $1100. For a push mower!! 

A few years ago I bought a new $700 push mower (gas and self-propelled) with the intention of it being the last one I ever buy.    Time will tell.  
 

it replaced a twentysomething year old Lawn Boy two stroke with a worn out plastic carburetor and a shot ignition coil.  The guy I sold it to was going to fix it and is probably still using it.  As much as I loved that LB, it never did mow worth a darn and left the yard looking rumpled with clumps of clippings everywhere.  So it wasn’t hard for me to go a different way to try something that would do a nicer job. 
 

I’m hoping this will be one of those “buy once, cry once” deals.  And adjusted or inflation the nutso expensive push mowers aren’t out of line with the Snappers and Toros from 40 years ago before the mass

cheapening of all things.  
 

As an aside, I’m not sure if the higher end electric mowers are big enough yet to mow my lawn on a single charge.  But they are probably close.  If the battery platform can be also used on other tools (like the Milwaukee) then this might be an easy sell for me if my new mower dies a premature death. 
 

To continue on my relentless aside, the first cordless mower manufacturer who also offers a snow thrower, shop vac, and household vacuum cleaner that runs on the same batteries will really have a great product on their hands.  The trick is to make a durable base product and continue to evolve the batteries with backward compatibility to make them a sensible lifetime purchase.  Seems like an easy - and obvious - goal that would be easy to market and sell to the increasing numbers of people who don’t want to waste so much. 
 

Anyway, the amount of stuff we throw away is sickening.  I feel the availability of cheap goods and cheap oil has driven this more-so than cultural shifts of priorities and lack of interest in repairing things.  Hard to fault people for maximizing the value they get from a dollar, but it’s moved us toward disposable goods and excess packaging as we’ve shunned durable purchases.  hence the success of Walmart, Harbor Freight, etc. 

 

I’ve been in this house for 13 years.  Two of my neighbors are already on their second lawn tractors after having bought their first shortly after moving in.  Our mowing season is really only April through November and they have yards smaller than mine (I no longer use a WH to mow).  If they mow once a week for an hour that’s only 32 hours a season.  Figuring a ten year life, these machines have maybe 350 hours on them. I can’t imagine how they’ve worn them out in that time but here we are.  
 

Hard to understand these false economies…

 

Steve

[Lee1977 6,661]

Here is my walk behind mower used for ditches and banks. I have two one not operable right now, but it can be fixed. This is the other one. 1964 Eddleman  built local It was rusting away a couple of years ago when I bought it for $200.

Cast aluminum base, steel transmission with brass gears, chain drive with clutch. Will I cleaned it up greased the bearings, new tires on the back and new blade. Good for another 50 years.

I don't used the cart as my lawn is not level and I didn't ever have brakes, but I fixed it anyway,

I know a little about them I assembled them one summer back in 1962.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Lee1977

[8ntruck 7,004]

The scale of mass production is mind boggling.  I worked in the steel wheel industry for 40 years. 

 

One contract we had was the spare wheel for GM full size pickups.  The typical production lot for those was about 4000 parts per press setup on that part number.

 

That job used to run 3 or 4 times a week, meaning that 12000 to 16000 trucks were built per week.  

[Pullstart 62,889]

The green one is on sale!  $239!

 

 

[Achto 27,577]

10 hours ago, wh500special said:

If the battery platform can be also used on other tools (like the Milwaukee)

 

https://www.northerntool.com/products/milwaukee-m18-fuel-self-propelled-dual-battery-cordless-lawn-mower-kit-21in-deck-includes-two-12-0-ah-battery-packs-and-m18-dual-bay-rapid-charger-model-2823-22hd-111128?cm_mmc=Google-LIA&utm_source=Google_LIA&utm_medium=Lawn %2B Garden > Lawn Mowers > Walk-Behind Mowers&utm_campaign=Milwaukee&utm_content=111128&ogmap=SHP|LIA|GOOG|STND|c|SITEWIDE|||||856744489|42214678503&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxpn4u8Tq_QIV8CCtBh2yvATREAQYAiABEgKHs_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[SylvanLakeWH 25,562]

I have the Dewalt lawn mower - uses 2 of the same batteries as all their power tools... 3 seasons and no complaints... very nice cut...

 

[OutdoorEnvy 1,522]

I'm not complaining about folks buying lawn tractors.  Most just need it for a mower and they do that well enough.  I've flipped a few for some extra cash.  I actually had one pay for my first WH!  Got it for free not running.  Put about $100 in it.  Sold it for $550.  Used that to buy my 312-8 for $500 in normal working condition.  I joke that I got a perfectly running WH for $50 cost to me  

[Mike'sHorseBarn 2,998]

15 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

I have the Dewalt lawn mower - uses 2 of the same batteries as all their power tools... 3 seasons and no complaints... very nice cut...

 

 

I've actually been thinking about biting the bullet and buying one of these. I run the push mower in my yard for maybe 10 minutes when I mow to do some trimming and a bank along the road. My 25 year old push mower isn't gonna last much longer with deck rotting out and I've welded it enough to the point where I decided that when the deck gives up the ghost, it's time for another one. 

 

I also have a cheapie John Deere riding mower that came from the local JD dealership. It's fine to mow the grass, but don't do anything else with it. It has a little over 40 hours on it, I change the oil in it religiously and it still smokes on startup so I know it won't last as long as any of my horses. 

[oliver2-44 9,755]

2 minutes ago, Mike'sHorseBarn said:

I also have a cheapie John Deere riding mower that came from the local JD dealership. It's fine to mow the grass, but don't do anything else with it. It has a little over 40 hours on it, I change the oil in it religiously and it still smokes on startup so I know it won't last as long as any of my horses. 

 

I have one of those, 14 years old, smokes on startup and I too have maintained it well.  This is probable its last season as the "sealed" hydro transmission will barley climb the one small hill I have.  So designed obsolesce! 

The Green one did a good job mowing, so I keep using it to keep hours off my Wheel Horses until it one wore out.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,562]

21 hours ago, Mike'sHorseBarn said:

I've actually been thinking about biting the bullet and buying one of these. I run the push mower in my yard for maybe 10 minutes when I mow to do some trimming and a bank along the road. My 25 year old push mower isn't gonna last much longer with deck rotting out and I've welded it enough to the point where I decided that when the deck gives up the ghost, it's time for another one. 

 

I highly recommend it. Basically the price is "I got a free mower with purchase of two batteries and a charger..." I have the push style no self propelled.

 

I mow three 50' wide lot lawns each week with it and use only about 30% of the charge doing all three at once... Quiet, no maintenance... I love it.

 

Edited March 21, 2023 by SylvanLakeWH

[formariz 11,987]

I see them around here also lined up in front of the stores for  a $2600.00 average price. I really don't think they sell that many and eventually they go back into stock.One looks at the same lineup all Summer and never really sees anyone taking one,or even looking at them. For the person who buys one around here and is not fortunate enough to be resourceful and mechanically inclined, the future of such machine is decided in not too many years sometimes only a couple  as it is evidenced by the ones seen all rusty and abandoned on the back of properties as the professional landscapers do their lawns. Most who buy one do not even own a trailer to transport it. It will cost you $150.00 for the shop to pick it up (and not many do that) and another$150.00 to bring it back. Its again another $150.00 for them to look at it and give you an estimate. One is already $500.00 into it with nothing being done to correct actual problem. Many never make it back home already abandoned at the repair shop when the estimate is given. One only needs to observe how many used ones they are selling themselves.These people don't even change the oil on them. Soon after the thrill of riding around in a new tractor mowing the lawn while  sipping a drink is exhausted,  the fate of that shiny gaudy tractor is sealed. I only have to look across the street and to the sides to substantiate what I just mentioned. I get not only comments but also people driving by stopping to ask me about my old tractors. When they are close to them and find out how old they really are, one just sees mouths open and wide open eyes in disbelief. Even the landscapers hold little meetings around them.Those guys however are pretty observant and notice things like the welded thick steel frames, old Kohler engines and even original tires.

[squonk 41,118]

I love mowing out front of my house with my 857 and  gear drive deck and get stares, thumbs up and waves from passers by! 

[953 nut 55,243]

On 3/19/2023 at 10:48 PM, Lee1977 said:

Eddleman 

There is a fellow who I've seen at a few local shows that has a very impressive collection of Eddleman mowers. He can sit down and give you a history lesson on each one.

 

[The Freightliner Guy 1,327]

@Beap52 if you are wondering whos buying all the good ones/ Wheel horses i know whos responsible for hogging  @Pullstart has a variety @ebinmaine has all the c-160s @stevebo has most of the seniors left in the world @SylvanLakeWH has some black hoods @953 nut  has well 953s and @Lane Ranger Is hogging all the Rj's and suburban's Lol they are all great guys and are into wheel horses some a "little" more than others and are very nice and helpful .

 

Kollin

Edited March 22, 2023 by The Freightliner Guy

[ebinmaine 67,508]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:14 PM, squonk said:

I love mowing out front of my house with my 857 and  gear drive deck and get stares, thumbs up and waves from passers by! 

Very cool.  

 

We get that here from folks as we're plowing snow out by the road. 

 

[Handy Don 12,232]

On 3/20/2023 at 1:14 PM, squonk said:

I love mowing out front of my house with my 857 and  gear drive deck and get stares, thumbs up and waves from passers by! 

Explaining to folks that I’m mowing with a 1964 tractor, the usual response is “but it looks so new!?"

[Lane Ranger 10,968]

22 hours ago, The Freightliner Guy said:

@Beap52 if you are wondering whos buying all the good ones/ Wheel horses i know whos responsible for hogging  @Pullstart has a variety @ebinmaine has all the c-160s @stevebo has most of the seniors left in the world @SylvanLakeWH has some black hoods @953 nut  has well 953s and @Lane Ranger Is hogging all the Rj's and suburban's Lol they are all great guys and are into wheel horses some a "little" more than others and are very nice and helpful .

 

Kollin

 

No Suburbans - never owned one and never wanted one!  Their transmissions I have purchased for reuse in an RJ but I never owned a Suburban Wheel Horse !   Now I am fully guilty of hogging lots of RJs!  I have owned over a dozen !