Which Cub Cadet would you have?

Board shortener Tom

Board shortener Tom

Well-known member
Hello all!

I've got no experience with Cub Cadets but am considering getting a vintage one to mow some grass around our place where it will be cumbersome to use a larger tractor. I have no interest in owning a bunch of these tractors so I'm asking for opinions on what model you feel is a reliable one to have with a reliable mower deck on it? I won't be using it for anything but mowing grass.

Thanks in advance!
 
If, and I mean IF I were going to own an older Cadet, it would be a red member of the 82 series, like a 782.

That said, I tried this several years ago. It did not go as planned, partly my fault, because I ended up with one that had various problems that would come crawling out from under the hood every time I tried to use it.

In 2018 I bought a new JD X580. It was the best decision when it comes to mowing I've ever made! If you buy one from an actual dealer, not a big box store, there's just no comparison between a modern mower and something vintage.

Al
 
Super A said:
If, and I mean IF I were going to own an older Cadet, it would be a red member of the 82 series, like a 782.

That said, I tried this several years ago. It did not go as planned, partly my fault, because I ended up with one that had various problems that would come crawling out from under the hood every time I tried to use it.

In 2018 I bought a new JD X580. It was the best decision when it comes to mowing I've ever made! If you buy one from an actual dealer, not a big box store, there's just no comparison between a modern mower and something vintage.

Al
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Thanks Al!
 
Never be a JD on my place... I bought a 680 Cadet many years ago from a fire, rebuilt and used for more than 20 years. Had to retire her a couple of years ago and found a sweet 3235 Cadet with power steering, hyd lift and 3 point. What else could you wish for? The only thing green on my farm are the antique Lawn Boy's which I use for trimming.
 

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I have a older Cadet for about the same purpose. To mow where I don't want to use the "good mower" I think the number is a 2186. That said any brand mower IMHO would be considered, condition and price. Do you have a favoriate (sp?) engine. I'm not much of a fan of green and yaller but considered one a couple of years ago (wife could not get on it) JD uses a lot of proprietary parts and JD has never been bashful about pricing. My answer is any that will do the job, condition and price. Vern
 
sdurnal said:
Never be a JD on my place... I bought a 680 Cadet many years ago from a fire, rebuilt and used for more than 20 years. Had to retire her a couple of years ago and found a sweet 3235 Cadet with power steering, hyd lift and 3 point. What else could you wish for? The only thing green on my farm are the antique Lawn Boy's which I use for trimming.
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When I went to buy I swore I didn't want a JD. Growing up, we had a JD 214 that was a lemon from day one. I looked at new Cadets for about 10 seconds. There's no comparison between the Cub Cadet line and JD. Even from a dealer, modern Cadets are about a half-step above a big box store mower. And, to be honest, everybody's over-priced these days when it comes to parts, etc. I paid more up front but got a better machine.

I figured out quick that I would rather pay up front and be able to crank up and mow whenever I wanted rather than buy a collectors item that I had to work on for an hour or two between every other mowing session.

Al
 
If you're looking for a vintage Cub Cadet just understand they require routine repairs, just like a Cub. The early Cadets were over engineered and tough, simple to work on and parts are reasonable to find and purchase. The transmissions are basically the same as in the Cubs. And the Kohler engines are proven work horses!
Narrow frames are a little harder to work on than wide frames, but I'm partial to the narrow frames, love their style!
I have several 102's at my place in Nebraska, which my son now lives there. He regularly mows about an acre with minimal issues.
They can cut some thick stuff, but honestly not as good a finish cut as a more modern mower, or especially a zero turn. He also prefers the nostalgia of using an older Cadet.
Nice Cadets, requiring minimal work, can be found as many people don't like to do any repairs anymore. They just head to the big box stores a buy a shiny new model, that won't last a fraction of the time.
There is a difference in the quality of a garden tractor vs a riding mower, so choose wisely 😉
I guess it comes down to your mechanical abilities and willingness to maintain, how much you plan to use it.
Good luck,
David
 
Thanks for your input all of you. I've had 3 somewhat modern lawn tractors in the past. None lasted and 2 of them had cracks in the decks before they ever showed any rust. 2 were Simplicity and one was red.....I don't even recall the brand. I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I recall the JD110 we had when I was a kid. It was a reliable machine and was probably bought new late 60's or 1970 by my folks. I recall a new Case 446 that they bought new around 1976. It was nice with a hydro drive, 2 speed rear end and large mowing deck. I found out the hard way those big rear tires made for exciting roll-over's in reverse. After I got chucked off as it flipped over backwards and saw the front wheel fly past my face I decided no more on that thing. It was basically totalled although my dad put it back together and we used it for a few more years. The thing was always problematic after that backwards trip down the hill going end for end a half dozen times.

I guess my look into vintage mowers are the durability I recall them having. As with anything new these days, the quality and durability is nothing like it used to be. Lots to think about. 🤔
 
ANY and i mean ANY vintage mower will NOT meet your requirements!!!!! -- TRUST me on this!! sounds like you are expecting "new" performance from a worn out mower and it aint gonna happen!!! the old mowers have to be worked on every time you try to use them and thats what you do IF you use them! It can go as far as rebuilding the motor,---welding or replacing things that break --- and they do all the time---so in your case i would recommend saving yourself the grief and pass on the idea!!!!!
 
Board shortener Tom said:
Thanks for your input all of you. I've had 3 somewhat modern lawn tractors in the past. None lasted and 2 of them had cracks in the decks before they ever showed any rust. 2 were Simplicity and one was red.....I don't even recall the brand. I wasn't overly impressed with any of them. I recall the JD110 we had when I was a kid. It was a reliable machine and was probably bought new late 60's or 1970 by my folks. I recall a new Case 446 that they bought new around 1976. It was nice with a hydro drive, 2 speed rear end and large mowing deck. I found out the hard way those big rear tires made for exciting roll-over's in reverse. After I got chucked off as it flipped over backwards and saw the front wheel fly past my face I decided no more on that thing. It was basically totalled although my dad put it back together and we used it for a few more years. The thing was always problematic after that backwards trip down the hill going end for end a half dozen times.

I guess my look into vintage mowers are the durability I recall them having. As with anything new these days, the quality and durability is nothing like it used to be. Lots to think about. 🤔
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This is in a nutshell why I said to go with a new JD. One from a dealer, like my X-580 is a 20 year machine.

Al
 
I paid $600 for a CC RZT 50 inch deck cut 6 years ago that is a 2005 model, spent about $100 on service, maintenance and minor repairs which I did myself and with regular annual service and maintenance it has provided good service. It's running a twin B & S 22hp engine and now has a little less than 1000 running hours on the meter. I'll continue to use it as long as it does the job. JMHO Stan
 

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I have a lot of experience with using older lawn and garden tractors. My experience tells me, if you're planning on using an old mower, like an IH made Cub Cadet, you better have a couple of them so you have a backup so you have one to use while you're fixing the other one. The grass doesn't quit growing just because your old mower isn't working and you need to be pretty handy and willing to do all of your own repairs as well.
Myself, I'm a fan of John Deere garden tractors. Once I went down the rabbit hole buying a zero turn mower, a Grasshopper with a front mounted deck. I used it for a few years but never really enjoyed using it. I sold it and went back to a good used John Deere garden tractor.
I find a garden tractor much more pleasant to drive and way more useful than a zero turn mower. A good garden tractor can be used to mow your lawn, till your garden, push or blow your snow and pull heavy trailers while doing yard work and maintenance. A zero turn mower is only good for one thing and that's cutting grass.
John Deere garden tractors are very well built, parts are readily available, aftermarket support is strong and online support on various websites like My Tractor Forum and Green Tractor Talk is amazing.
My current mowing tractor is a John Deere 335 that's over 20 years old and has well over 1000 hours on it and it still looks and runs like it was new. I love the power steering, hydraulic lift and hydrostatic transmission. It's a joy to use.
John Deere also makes some cheap lawn tractors, built to a price point to be competitive with the throw away mowers that MTD sells too. My suggestion would be buy a good used JD garden tractor with as low hours as you can and enjoy it instead of working on it.
 
I have older cubs (129,1250,1650), older JD 212 and then more modern JD x320 and x300 and a Cub Cadet 1527. The 129 is fun, the 1250 is the quietest of the older Cubs, the 212 is nice and quiet as well. I like the older Cubs for speed, they are heavily built and can pull what I pull. I like the hydro better than the 212 gear's variator. If I need to mow, and get the job done with the most comfort, I'm going to use my Ferris ISX800 or the x3xx JD and Cub 1527.
 
ricky racer said:
I have a lot of experience with using older lawn and garden tractors. My experience tells me, if you're planning on using an old mower, like an IH made Cub Cadet, you better have a couple of them so you have a backup so you have one to use while you're fixing the other one. The grass doesn't quit growing just because your old mower isn't working and you need to be pretty handy and willing to do all of your own repairs as well.
Myself, I'm a fan of John Deere garden tractors. Once I went down the rabbit hole buying a zero turn mower, a Grasshopper with a front mounted deck. I used it for a few years but never really enjoyed using it. I sold it and went back to a good used John Deere garden tractor.
I find a garden tractor much more pleasant to drive and way more useful than a zero turn mower. A good garden tractor can be used to mow your lawn, till your garden, push or blow your snow and pull heavy trailers while doing yard work and maintenance. A zero turn mower is only good for one thing and that's cutting grass.
John Deere garden tractors are very well built, parts are readily available, aftermarket support is strong and online support on various websites like My Tractor Forum and Green Tractor Talk is amazing.
My current mowing tractor is a John Deere 335 that's over 20 years old and has well over 1000 hours on it and it still looks and runs like it was new. I love the power steering, hydraulic lift and hydrostatic transmission. It's a joy to use.
John Deere also makes some cheap lawn tractors, built to a price point to be competitive with the throw away mowers that MTD sells too. My suggestion would be buy a good used JD garden tractor with as low hours as you can and enjoy it instead of working on it.
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I was just telling Karla today that I need 2 mowers if I go the vintage route. 1 to mow with and 1 to fix for when the other one breaks down. 🤣

Thanks for your input on zero turn vs garden tractor. I have a 140 for all the heavy gardening stuff and the like. She has a Cub to haul around trailers and such. I'm currently looking into a larger tractor that can lift 3,500# with forks and loader as well as winter snow removal. I'm in Baraga County in the UP now so the snow blade isn't going to help much. 🤪
 
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I think the key when looking at anything older is the condition and the owner. You can tell a lot about a piece of equipment based on the owner, how they describe the equipment, what their garage/shed/pole barn looks like, if the equipment is clean or all dirty, etc. Regardless of the brand, look for something that's in excellent condition coming from an owner that appears to care for the equipment. You're better off spending a little more for something that's in great shape than something that's mediocre or needs repairs. Just my two cents.

I found an old Cub Cadet 383 Hydro last year for free. It wouldn't start. I replaced the head gasket and cleaned the carb and it fired up and ran great. Used it occasionally for the rest of the year and sold it to my buddy this spring. Still was running great.

As long as you're somewhat mechanically inclined, an older good condition Cub Cadet should work well! Older stuff will need a little maintenance now and then but nothing is overly difficult on older stuff as it was well designed and easy to work on.
 
One thing I haven't seen is "why is the owner selling?" The one I bought had not been used in a couple of years and was part of an estate. It was in running condition and runs strong. What I put thru it is anything. This spring I had an issue with the Mott and used it to mow asparagus fern. Had to go over it twice. I paid $450 for it a couple of years ago. Using $$$$$$$$$$ per year this isn't too bad. I am not brand loyal but do prefer Kohler or Kawasaki engines. Vern
 
My dad bought a 1974 model 128 Cub Cadet. It runs perfect today. It has the 12 HP Kohler Cast Iron engine and a 3 blade 48" deck.
A modification I made was to move the muffler to be "underslung" like on the later Cubs. The exhaust is now behind me and the engine can run cooler since the muffler is not mounted up front on the engine.
 
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