First I would like to say "What a great forum !", sure beats listening to the dealers opinions.
I am retiring my 5 year old Craftsman lawn tractor, my back yard is about 1/3 acre of 30 degree hill. Lawn looks great, but my nerves cannot handle side mowing with the tractor any longer. In addition, the quality of cut and dependability of my Craftsman leave a lot to be desired (unlike the Craftsman my Grandfather owned).
I had been looking for a high end 21" self propelled, then I saw there were several wider walk behinds that may have change my mind.
I have looked at Snapper's 27", Simplicity 34", TroyBuilt, Cub, Ferris, etc. What I am wondering is will these mowers require a ton of horsing around to mow my hill ? I need to make sure my 14 year old son can help out. The dealers claim it shouldn't be a problem, but none of them will let me DEMO one. Most of the units I have seen have "differential steering", is that a good or bad thing ?
I would like to keep the price under $2500 and I would like to keep this mower in my shed (46" door). Mulching would be my first priority, seldom bag.
Thanks for your opinions !
