[AT] Yard Man mower 1 year update

[Larry D. Goss]

FWIW, one of the things I never found the time to do when I was working
as L&G Service Supervisor was to actually count the number of brands
that are produced by MTD.  It's well over 100 -- probably closer to 500.
I'm sure that if you contacted them you could have your very own brand
and logo put on one, Farmer.  Hey, just think -- here's a good use for
those heraldry shields we all come across in genealogy.  Take the family
crest and have an MTD mower made for it.

You got the snow.  We just got the blow!  I lost a 30-inch cherry tree
in the back yard and am scrambling to see if I can't interest some local
wood people in clearing it for the lumber.  They lifted a "smallish"
limb off the neighbor's barn yesterday afternoon with a sky hook and I
heard the crane operator tell the rest of the crew that it weighed 1800
pounds.  At that rate, the main trunk of the tree has to be around 5
tons or better.

Larry 

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
[mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Indiana
Robinson
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 9:33 AM
To: at at lists.antique-tractor.com
Subject: [AT] Yard Man mower 1 year update

	Weather note: I recall a wooden (with glass tube) thermometer
that my folks had that 
said (from memory) "What a blamed infernal thing this pesky weather is.
First it blew, 
then it snew and now by jing its friz"... Its been that kind of week
after being quite 
warm for a while. Raining at the moment.

	I thought a few might be interested in a one year update on the
Yard Man (MTD built) 
lawn tractor I bought new last spring. Some may recall that I said then
that as a past 
lawnmower / small engine mechanic I had been a long time non believer in
the stuff like 
MTD, Murry etc. stamped out cheap mowers. I had gotten to looking and
decided that MTD 
had grown up a lot especially if you moved up a few models from the
bottom of the pile. I 
had talked to several owners that were quite happy. I last bought a
brand new mower back 
about 1966 and had since been buying older better line tractors and
fixing them up. Last 
spring when the deck on my old Wheel Horse was having a total nervous
break down due to 
the patches being 4 patches deep and still coming apart I bit the bullet
and bought a 20 
HP Yard Man from Wally World. I wanted something ready to go out and mow
without 
repairing it first. I started looking at the $999 special and moved up a
couple of steps 
to the 2 cylinder with the cast iron front axle model. IIRC I paid about
$1300 for it.
	We have used it very heavy now for a year and I am happy to
report that it has been 
absolutely great. It has been almost completely trouble free. I said we
used it heavy... 
We mowed about 6 - 7 acres with it and last year we were cutting a lot
of tough old stuff 
that had only been bush-hogged in the past. There were some areas and
lots that last 
spring were as tall as the hood of the tractor and a lot of the yard was
over the front 
tires before we bought the tractor. That kind of mowing was really tough
on the deck belt 
and I wore one out last year. I also replaced one tiny spring on the
deck. I must buy it 
a set of blades this year as we have about worn the originals to a
frazzle. The cutting 
edges are not all that bad but running all of that rough material
through it has worn the 
paddles off of the top of the back edge so it does not throw out the
grass quite as 
aggressively in this wet weather. Everything else seems to be just like
it was when we 
bought it. I forget how many "name brands" are now produced by MTD but
it is a lot of 
them. Troy-Bilt for one. I think Cub-Cadet too. Lots of store brands too
like Huskee 
(TSC) etc.
	I had planned to just keep this one one year then buy a new one
and sell this one. I 
looked it over this spring and can't find a reason to replace it. Maybe
next year... At 
this point I would buy another like it in a flash. I recently looked at
the model that 
replaced this one and I believe it has 2 more HP and an improved seat
adjustment. My 
daughter in TN just bought a new one (with the Troy-Bilt name) last
week. Hers came from 
Lowes.
	One note. I do not consider this a load pulling/snow plow
tractor except for maybe a 
small cart. If pulling is in your needs give that careful consideration.
	I know some will never buy an MTD built product (though a few
may have and not known it) 
and others are stuck on one brand or one color. That is fine. I just
posted this for some 
that have maybe been looking and wondering and maybe don't have quite as
deep of pockets 
available to them as others...

	What else can I say, I'm happy with it.   :-)

-- 
"farmer", Esquire
At Hewick Midwest
      Wealth beyond belief, just no money...

Paternal Robinson's here by way of Norway (Clan Gunn), Scottish
Highlands,
Cleasby Yorkshire England, Virginia, Kentucky then Indiana. In America
100 
years 
before the revolution.


Francis Robinson
Central Indiana USA
robinson at svs.net

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