Need more data.....
I know what a lawn tractor is lol
But we call them ride on mowers
(Very creative name)
I wouldn't have thought anyone would have bothered engineering an all wheel steer one
Not pick on u Americans
But I like how our john deer one and a few of our friends American Made mowers have features like cup holders and an addition for a roof
Yet there's still all manual controls for everything ( they go great in salt air) the seat is just vinyl covered
And has no ability to collect grass clippings
All the covers are plastic and the paint is pealing on the metal work after 3 years
What other brands are you talking about? Have you glanced at the tags to see where it was actually built/ and/ or assembled?
I refuse to say you're wrong, but your market must be skewed out of all recognition for MTD to be able to ship "Yard Man" plastic bodied junk to your shores and still be able to make a profit (not to mention having people who say "I'll take it!!!").
As for JD's stuff, all their small equipment that I've gone thru over the last 15 years or so is just a slightly more advanced form of badge engineering than what Caterpillar uses on the fork lifts they sell here in N.America; in that case, Cat just buys them from Mitsubishi. The contract is so thorough that they show up on our shores with all the manuals even printed to Cat specs.
As for JD, my Dad bought a 'Gator last year; while they did build the frame, the front suspension and steering look suspiciously like the same parts as the higher end Club Car line of industrial vehicles; the Engine is a US built 17HP Kawasaki, and the H/L/R rear axle sure looks like a heavy duty Peerless, and the sales brochure listed it as being made in Wisconsin. Cudo's to JD for doing a great design/ integration and assembly, but still...
The markup on one of those is several times that of a lawn mower. The reason they carry them is two fold; A] there is good money to be had peddling them, and B] they can now claim to be a "Full Line" MFR....
Where as the new Husqvarna has electronic clutch electronic hand brake and a box on the back to collect grass
grease nipples on all the bearings and removable covers to get at service points
Also has full metal construction powder coated
Sounds like they're giving real value for the money; what has me acting suspicious is the fact that a lot JD's US lineup of mowers have all of that as standard.....
I wouldn't have picked john deer to be as a disposable company
Paticularly as the john deers are more expensive when comparing classes
Again not trying to start an argument but from a wide range of stuff we have purchased from all kinds of manufacturers globally
It may be Chinese products that are ao disposable
But even some of their stuff is improving drastically
It appears to be stuff made for American company's that **** the tin so offern
The European stuff is mostly great
The Japanese stuff is mostly great
The Australian stuff is mostly ok
The Chinese are learning real quick
The stuff made in America is ok
But so much stuff branded US ends up over here
And most of it is ten foot pole stuff
Where there's smoke, where there's smoke..... How did the rest of that go?.?.?......
'Sid, in your above photo, the assembly has quick disconnects on the ends of the actual shaft; the outboard hubs are to be mounted separately...
You could use a rear transaxle out of a AWS lawn tractor for the front. Might have to turn it upside down for the right rotation.
'Sid, you're on the same list as Kelly; people I hope I get the chance to hoist a beer with some day.
Fowler, it's most likely not your fault; here in North America, the lawn care industry is just as cut throat as the automotive industry. I may be wrong, (because I only follow these things when I can't escape them), but I belive Cub Cadet, Kubota, and JD have all launched LAWN TRACTORS, (you know, it looks like a tractor, but pretty much is useless outside of mowing the lawn) all wheel steer models in the last couple of years.....
Pat