[SouthPaw]

I'm new here. We just moved into a new house with a 1.2 acre lot. Growing up, my dad was always a Deere GT and Kubota CUT kind of guy. I don't have that kind of cash to drop in a mower. Anyway I have narrowed my choices down to the GT5000 or the Husky 2548 from Lowes. I have read that these tractor are pretty much cousins. I have not been to the showroom yet to get a look at them, but from the web, it looks like the 48" deck GT5000 has a B&S engine and the 2548 has a Kohler. Am I correct? Am I looking and the correct GT5000? Or is the 54" deck GT5000 more in line with the 2548? Can you get the Kohler GT5000 with a 48" deck? I know both are good engines, but if you had the choice would you pick the 26-HP B&S or the 25-HP Kohler?

Also is the auto tranny GT5000 better/stronger/faster than the 6-speed GT5000?


Thanks for any info!


SouthPaw

 

[Argee]

:hello:Welcome SouthPaw:hello:

The GT5000 and the Husky 2548 are pretty much identical machines. I have a GT5000 with a 48" deck and the 25HP Kohler, but it's a 2003 model..I understand now to get the Kohler you have to buy the 54" deck.

The B&S and Kohler are both reputable engines...I don't believe you can hurt yourself buying either one.

I have the 6 speed transmission....IMHO if your going to using ground engaging equipment, the 6 speed offers more low end torque. If your going to be just cutting grass with it, then the hydro is the way to go.

Again welcome to the forum and let us know what you decide

 

[Live Oak]

Let me offer my welcome to Tractor Forum as well SouthPaw.
:friends: :cheers: I think you will be happy with either machine. I agree with Argee on the transmission.

 

[SouthPaw]

Thanks for the welcomes!

So are these the 2 that are pretty much identical machines besides one having a 48" and one a 54" deck?

GT5000

2548


So if I hear you correctly, the differences between the kohler and b&s engines should not be the deciding factor between the two, correct?

So is both the 48" and 54" decks good decks? Is one better than the other besides the extra 6" of path?

SouthPaw

 

[Argee]

The Craftsman GT5000 and the Husky 2548 are identical, with the exception of a few cosmetic changes. They are both manufactured by American Yard Products.

The 48" and 54" decks are the best ones they offer with the GT series.

Kohler and Briggs are both reputable engine manufacturers who have been making engines a long time. It boils down to a matter of personal preference.

 

[Michael]

As the others stated either engine is really good but, it seems earlier this year Kohler had a run of bad engines where they had excessive oil useage, Most of these tractors had engines produced in April and May that had the problems. The other thing is the Hydro on these is a stick controled hydro and some folks do not care for the hydro control being a stick and like a pedal arrangement better in the fact you can drive the pedal arrangement easier and controling your speed around plantings,trees and flower beds. It all depends on what you like and how you will use the tractor on the yard.

I do wonder what you really need a GT for on a 1.2 arce yard? You might be better off with a lawn tractor unless you plan to use the tractor for having a garden and if you need to have a snow blower. I am also guilty in saying you can always overbuy for your current needs but you under buy and swear you will never do it again. So I guess I kind of already answered the question. But I do know when I was in the Air Force in the early 80's I bought a Murray lawn tractor with a snow thrower because I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD and rented a farm house off base and needed to be able to get out in all weather and thats what I used until 1998 and had moved 5 times to my current home in WAshington state. I had the Murray until last year and gave it my friend who is still using it. I do know I abuse the $hit out that machine and it just come back for more and took it.

 

[MR. T]

I would also like to say welcome.I'm pretty new here myself. I think it is wise of you to ask these questions before purchasing. I have the 5000 GT with the Briggs engine,48" cut and the hydro. Craftsman was not my first choice.But so far no regrets.To answer some of your questions,I have read far less complaints about the Briggs.My salesman also informed me AFTER the sale that Sears had a lot less complaints with the 48".Happy choosing!

 

[SouthPaw]

I do wonder what you really need a GT for on a 1.2 acre yard? You might be better off with a lawn tractor unless you plan to use the tractor for having a garden and if you need to have a snow blower. I am also guilty in saying you can always overbuy for your current needs but you under buy and swear you will never do it again. So I guess I kind of already answered the question.

No snow blower needed in Tennessee, but a garden is in the near future. But I have access to my dad's Kubota CUT with rear tiller and Kubota (I think it's a Kubota) large walk-behind rear tine tiller. A GT is probably more than I need but I also don't want to regret not getting a GT.

I know I want at least a 48" deck. If I decide a GT5000 is overkill, what YT should I consider? I have not researched any YT's yet.


Again, thanks for all the great info!



SouthPaw

 

[Argee]

If you want to get something heavy duty and require at least a 48" deck, then the GT would be your best investment. You can equip it with a sleeve hitch so you could pull a cultivator when the Kubota might not be available.

Hell, it's peace of mind knowing that you have a solid tractor to cut grass with.

 

[Michael]

Originally posted by SouthPaw
No snow blower needed in Tennessee, but a garden is in the near future. But I have access to my dad's Kubota CUT with rear tiller and Kubota (I think it's a Kubota) large walk-behind rear tine tiller. A GT is probably more than I need but I also don't want to regret not getting a GT.

I know I want at least a 48" deck. If I decide a GT5000 is overkill, what YT should I consider? I have not researched any YT's yet.


Again, thanks for all the great info!



SouthPaw

I would be inclined to look at the Cub Cadets, in the LT line as they have what seems to be a pretty good line up and also the L-series from John Deere L-120 and L-130 have the 48" deck and any of the Craftsman lawn tractors with the cast iron front axles. I tend to avoid the stamped steel axles only because I had a lot problems with the axles in the Craftsman I had (rough yard and I underbought for my lot) But these tractors are priced higher then then the Craftsman.

The one thing is by overbuying, the tractor will not even hardly work in your yard but the instance you do need the capacity it is there.

 

[SouthPaw]

Ok, after A LOT of reading, I've narrowed it down to the GT5000 26-hp B&S auto with 48" deck and the John Deere L120. The GT5000 is all around beefier and is a GT. The JD has foot pedal control tranny, cruise and a tighter turning radius. Both get great reviews and are $2200.

Decisions, decisions... Now to go sit on both of them.


Just curious, on average, how much gas does the GT5000 26-hp use per acre of mowing?


SouthPaw

 

[Michael]

SouthPaw, I cannot answer the question on gas usage on the Craftsman but the L120 I have uses a gallon per acre, on my lot and I would suppose the GT would be in the same or slightly worse on the gas use. To really test the JD go to a dealer and have him let you test drive it at the dealership.

 

[SouthPaw]

Michael, Thanks for the gas info on the L120! I did not ask about the JD in my post since this is the craftsman section. Glad to see this is a place that can see the real strengths and weaknesses of all makes without all the fanboy crap. I never read fanboy forums because you never get a real world answer.

From your avitar, it looks like you have access to other tractors besides your L120. If it was strictly for lawn mowing and you had to do it over again with $2200, would you still choose the L120? How many hours do you have on it? Any major issues? What do you see as it's strengths and weaknesses? I hope you don't mind me asking these questions in the craftsman section. You can answer me by PM if you need to.

Also if there is anyone else that looked at these two tractors and chose the GT5000, let me know your reasons as well.

One last question. Does JD have set pricing like Saturn? ie- the L120 is $2200 no matter where you get it from or when you buy it?


SouthPaw

 

[Michael]

Originally posted by SouthPaw
Michael, Thanks for the gas info on the L120! I did not ask about the JD in my post since this is the craftsman section. Glad to see this is a place that can see the real strengths and weaknesses of all makes without all the fanboy crap. I never read fanboy forums because you never get a real world answer.

From your avitar, it looks like you have access to other tractors besides your L120. If it was strictly for lawn mowing and you had to do it over again with $2200, would you still choose the L120? How many hours do you have on it? Any major issues? What do you see as it's strengths and weaknesses? I hope you don't mind me asking these questions in the craftsman section. You can answer me by PM if you need to.

Also if there is anyone else that looked at these two tractors and chose the GT5000, let me know your reasons as well.

One last question. Does JD have set pricing like Saturn? ie- the L120 is $2200 no matter where you get it from or when you buy it?


SouthPaw

I do have access to a 2nd machine, I own a 25 year old Kubota L185 that does the heavy work on my 5 acres. I have a front end loader and rotary mower for the pasture plus other tools.

My JD l120 is used strictly for lawn mowing of about 2 acres of my property, It has been the best $2200.00 I have ever spent. The tractors has had in its 145 hours use only had 2 minor issues under warranty (one on the hood and the 2nd the mulch plug rubber band broke) Its strength is the ability to mow my somewhat rough yard and make it look like a golf course in the smooth even cut. The weakness is the fact it is strictly a lawn mower and not a garden tractor. The other item is the limited amount of attachments for it from John Deere. One thing I highly reccommend is to buy the front bumper for it($39.00). I tend to have several times of the year the grass is really wet and I have skidded across the grass and hit a fence post. I do not want to buy a new hood just because I hit wet grass. The other thing s you can buy for the JD is a sun canopy for $89.00 (almost useless) the grass bagger is $320.00 (no powerflow available and if the grass is slightly wet just forget it) You also get a tow behind cart but are limited to 750 pounds for and a snow blower (I do not know the price of the blower but it all goes without saying that you stated you did not want one).

The pricing is set by JD on the L-series tractors and is like the Saturn on this series ONLY!!!, That way the dealer and Home Depot cannot undercut each other. I do highly reccommend that you buy from the dealer nearest to you as if you buy from Home Depot the dealer that services the tractor maybe further away and this makes it easier for you and the dealer.

I also did compare the 2 when I bought my JD a year ago last March but I had serious issues witht he local Sears in the warranty in the fact that no warranty repairs were made until they shipped the tractor 80 miles south to Seattle and then reship it back to the local Sears service center. The usual turn around was 2-3 weeks with the grass is still growing. On all the warranty work (or lack there of) On my JD tractor it has been 2 days.

 

[Argee]

SouthPaw....while I own a GT5000, I'm not a fan of either...Whichever one you buy, you'll have a good tractor when you bring it home...I would just like to reiterate, if you plan on getting ground engaging equipment you'll be farther ahead with a standard tranny...

I believe in that so deeply that I have a standard tranny in my Ford New Holland.

 

[SouthPaw]

Thanks again for all the info. I went to JD today and tested a L120. I had my mind made up that it was the one for me. Then I went to Sears to see the GT5000. They do not have any more of the 26hp B&S models but still have 2 of the Kohler 25hp 48" deck models. The Kohler version was 200 more but the sales guy said he can sell it for the same price as the B&S. Also he said come back tomorrow if I really want it because from 7-noon they are having 10% off everything. I can get the hydro auto 25-hp Kohler 48" deck GT5000 for $1980. I know others have had issues with the Kohler smoking but I think I am going to give it a try. The price is definitely right!


SouthPaw

 

[Michael]

$1980 is to hard a price to beat and I would grab it as long as the warranty issues are taken care of locally instead of what we have in the Seattle area. GO FOR IT. Thats really a good price for a GT and it will probably work great. Now where are the pictures I do not think you can go wrong for the size lot you have and there are tons of extras available for the Sears Garden Tractors.

 

[SouthPaw]

Well the last new GT5000 at my local Sears was such a great deal that the guy that got there this morning before me could not pass it up either. They had another one that the teenage sales guy was saying was brand new but it obviously had been used and returned. Even when I pointed out the grass clippings under the hood, the wear/rust on the underside of the deck, the obviously used deck gauge wheels and the dinged fender, he still said it was brand new. I just turned and walked away.

When I got home I looked online and it showed the GT5000 26hp B&S in stock. The store had told me it was not available for order. I called Sears.com and they said Sears.com has its own distribution warehouses that are different from the local stores warehouses. Sears.com's warehouses still had it but the local Sears stores warehouse did not. Sears.com also had it for $1979 today.
I pulled the trigger and placed the order!:driving: It cost $45 more for home delivery, but it's well worth it to have the tractor dropped off in my driveway.


Thanks again for all the great info! I'll post pictures when I get it!



SouthPaw

 

[MowHoward2210]

Looking forward to the pics of the new machine. You got a lot of tractor for the money. :thumbsup:

 

[Argee]

:thumbsup: Good choice SouthPaw...now we need to see pictures..pictures