oifla

hello all

been looking into acquiring a more heavier duty tractor (making the jump from lawn to garden basically) and i'm researching options. i've run accross a few GT6000s and i'm curious about their capabilities.

here's what i need my new (new to me because i can only really afford used right now): i need it to mow (duh), haul a 1/4 ton trailer around (mostly for hauling firewood), possibly plow the driveway, and, every now and then, drag larger logs with a choke chain. a sleeve or 3 pt hitch and rear end gear selection (on a manual or hydro) would be nice.

on the one hand, minus the towing, i've seen youtube videos on everything else so i'm fairly confident the GT6000 would be able to do what i ask of it... on the other, there were several comments about the GT6000 and a weak rear end and frame. i haven't seen that many here on the weak rear end but it would still be nice to know if i am asking too much of these models. any ideas on towing limits?

i've read enough on the engine debate to know not to ask () but i would like to know if there any visual clues (especially useful when looking on CL) into what kind of GT6000 one is looking at. take this one:



can you tell from the pics what kind of engine? what sort of trans (am i correct that these came in hydrostatic and gear drive?)? all i can make out is that this is a 6 speed (the ad doesn't specify), any other clues i'm missing?

are there any differences in terms of frames and/or chassis across GT6000 models over the years? i ask because i've only seen pics of the rear end with a sleeve hitch though i thought i read something about a 3 pt hitch for these (lotsa tractors in my head these days, could be i'm confused)

how does the GT6000 rank among the heaviest duty craftsman / sears models?

wjjones

Welcome to the Forum!..oifla.. I think it would do everything you mentioned, and then some the geared tranny is the way to go for towing, hauling, etc.. A v-twin engine would be good but with these hi-lo geared trannys they do pretty good with the smaller hp engines..

tractor beam

I'm not for sure without looking in my manual, but my John Deere 316 which is really well built, will haul a 700 lb trailer, but then the unit itself is nearly 900 lbs. I'd say if you were careful with it, it'd do all you ask of it as Wjones mentioned. Welcome to the forum!

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bolillo_loco

I am no Craftsman expert. The tractor you’ve provided photos for would fall somewhere around a 1987-1992 ish Craftsman GT 18 garden tractor.

I have a 1989, and it’s identical to the one pictured. It should have an opposed 18 hp twin cylinder Briggs & Stratton engine. Mine has a lot of hours, was bought new in June 1989, and hasn’t had any major issues so far.

The one in the photos looks like it’s in rather nice condition. I’d guess that it’s well taken care of far better than the average one. Take a look at that seat… It looks original because it’s got the red piping along the outer edge. I’ve never seen a replacement seat that matches how the factor ones looked. On the left side (portside) of the tractor. The lower engine panel looks like it’s missing a screw, but I could be wrong. The hood does look a little twisted though. It’s rather hard to tell due to Craig’s List’s rather graining photos. It’s probably just cosmetic though…

That tractor will have a 44 inch cut, it’s got the six speed gear drive transaxle, which is notoriously stout. The only problems I’ve had with mine would be starter gears. They’re plastic, and my tractor gets used hard. The OEM Briggs gears are better, and I solved my problem by shimming the starter forward. It no longer uses gears regularly now. Prior to my fix, if the tractor only cut grass, one acre in Central Pennsylvania, a starter would generally last at least one year, but not more than two.

I have R-1 agricultural tires on mine, and they’re filled with RimGuard, which has done a lot to make the tractor useful.

As the tractor you’re inquiring about sits, it should pull around rather heavy objects without any trouble. Before the ags and RimGuard, mine pulled around a middle 1980s 17’ aluminum boat with an 85 HP engine like it’s nothing if the trailer had air in the tires. After the ag tires and RimGuard, which added 150 total pounds of ballast inside the tires, it would drag the boat around with great ease, which had flat tires.

I’ve hauled around a 17 cubic foot dumb cart, which has a 1500 lb capacity that was filled until the dirt spilled over the sides and a huge mound rose from the middle with the tractor you’ve asked about. The trailer was so grossly overloaded that the tires looked flat. I took it down the steepest hill in my yard, about 9 degrees, 150 feet long, and it was fine. Just a word of caution about going down steep grades. I worked up to that to make sure it was somewhat safe to do, and I always stopped at the top, selected first gear, and idled down the hill letting the engine bake the load. I’d never trust the factor brake with the load and grade I’m speaking of.

The biggest trees that I’ve bucked across the yard so far were at least 12 inches thick at the trunk and at least 35 – 40 feet tall. I don’t know how heavy they were, but they were absolutely too heavy for two large men to move because we tried. The tractor pulled them around, but I knew something was attached to the tractor. Even through the woods as the limbs smashed against other trees. The dead and green limbs that were 2 inches thick simply snapped off like they were nothing. I’ve done this without chains and no additional weight added to the tractor. They pull quite a bit. Especially with heavy weight and chains, they pull quit a lot. I think I can add 600 something pounds of cast iron to the wheels. It bolts onto the rim, but I rarely need it with exception to rare huge jobs or a lot of deep snow.

For comparison, we’ve got a 2011 Craftsman 6000GT. It’s a nice grass cutter. It turns a lot better, has a 54” deck, and it’s also significantly faster. I haven’t done anything to the new one because I don’t need to. We only need one dedicated garden tractor. I can say this, the old tractor’s frame is significantly heavier. I checked it with venier calipers, and the old tractor’s frame is 50% thicker over the entire frame. The old tractor’s frame is much taller as well.

The only complaint about the old tractor you’ve pictured is that the steering system wasn’t the best. The bushings can still be had from Sears Parts Direct, there are two bushings, and they cost about thirty dollars with tax and shipping included. It’s an easy fix. The old tractor has a stamped steel axle, but it’s good enough for any job you’ll do other than putting a front-end bucket on it. A cast iron one would have been nice though. They’re much easier to repair when the bushings go bad.

In my area, used tractors identical to the one you’ve pictured run about 300 – 400. I’ve seen a few that are asking 500, and beyond, but I’ve also seen ones going for 400 complete with the larger 48” dozer blade, plastic weights, and chains. Again, 300 – 400 seems to be the going price, anything above that, the seller has an over inflated view of his private possessions.

I’ve got quite a few photos of what I’ve pulled around if you’d like to see some. I’m sorry, but no videos…

I hope my rather verbose post helped you. Take care and cheers!
Bolillo_loco

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dangeroustoys56

I have one similar to that one- mines a 18HP horizontal briggs twin 86 GTII , has 3 hi/3 low transmission ( side input trans) , 44" deck and 5 lug rear wheels and 8" rims on the front.

It looks like that onein the pics is a verticle shaft ( my chassis is wide open at the back of the motor for the belt) and a lighter trans ( top input trans)- that tractor doesnt seem to have the 5 lug wheels( its a bit blurry pic- hard to tell).

I have a parts 90's GT6000- virtually identical to the GTII- same trans, same 44" deck , same wheels, differences are a 20HP onan twin horizontal and has all the bells and whistles ( electric deck lift, loads of gauges) - and that one doesnt run either .....

I have to say my GTII is a beast - plenty of power , towed trailers around easily, hauled loads of stone and dirt with no problems - i plan on getting a dirt plow and sleeve hitch for it eventually . 3 low is pretty slow ( basically a crawl) , while 3 hi is pretty fast for a stock tractor.

bolillo_loco

The tractor in the above photo has a horizontal shaft engine. Look at the top right photo, the horizontal pulley and belt is visible. All the tractors that I’ve seen like this have a rather thick plate that the engine sits on. Since the Briggs & Stratton has an aluminum block, they put a .200 thick plate steel support underneath the block to give it support and prevent the frame from twisting too much in order to stop the mounting ears on the block from snapping off. The plate continues beyond the tractor towards the rear, and they had to cut a slot through the plate so the drive belt could operate. With this last bit I’ve talked about, the hole in the plate is visible in the second photo on the top right.

The tractor above has the 3 speed Hi/Lo aka 6 speed transmission. The knob on the right side (Starboard side) is visible. In the top left photo, there’s light glinting off of the round knob. In the second photo top right, the pixels are darker there photographically supporting the fact that the glinting knob in the first photo is also in the second.

It also has the five lug rims, which is consistent with all of the mid through early 1990s Craftsman II 18 HP Briggs & Stratton horizontally opposed twin cylinder 6 speed transmission.

While it’s true that they’re big box store tractors, for the price they’re going for lately, the 200 – 500 dollar purchase is a lot more tractor than one can find in any of the box stores today.

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dangeroustoys56

Its possibile - Ive seen some GT sized tractors with plain c clip wheels ( mostly murrays) - mine has clips holding the hubs on, but the wheels bolt on - hard to tell from those pics if theres lugs or not is all - back then they built alot of strange combinations of tractors- i have a 80's LT12 and a 80's LT11 and they look nothing alike cept for the hood - the LT11 has a rear discharge deck and the LT12 had a side discharge - after i last posted i did notice the hi/ low knob tho in the pictures.

Its possible the PO removed a plate across the chassis on mine- i noticed it has a couple holes drilled in the chassis , he did beat the heck out of it and redneck engineered it - i dont recall it having one with the size of the belt and retainers it didnt look like there was any room - the motor sits on a plate bolted to the chassis, but it stops right at the flywheel . With the 'firewall' and other stuff so close to the motor on mine- there really wasnt a whole lot of room between the motor and dash with the battery box .



Heres the chassis on mine w/o sheetmetal:



Heres the trans :



The rear wheels are original- the fronts were just to move it around the shed while i was painting it - the originals wouldnt hold any air.

The front axle on the GTII is stamped steel, the one on my GT6000 is cast iron.

Another odd fact is the rear 5 lug wheels off my 69 wheelhorse are the same pattern as the GT rims - only difference is the GT's hubs have fine thread bolts while the wheelhorse hubs are coarse threads.

ftorleans1

The tractor pictured should serve you well. The hi/lo tranny is almost indestructable... I have a 14/6 and outside of rear seals being a little worn, the trans has performed flawless!!! Don't go with the hydro drive if you really need to work the tractor. I also have a GT5000 with the hydro drive. Forward is fairly strong however, reverse is a much different story. As far as pulling trees, I use my 14/6 along with the custom hitch assemblies I build. Google, Cedar Mill Bumper and Hitch. On the home page, you can see one of the hitch units I use. It works really nice for pulling a variety of things.
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