This tractor is a Dog. September 24, 2011

I bought this tractor this spring and I'm not pleased with its performance. It come down to 1 thing...No blade speed, or a lack in ability to maintain blade speed. Other than that it did everything else I expected but if you have a big lawn to mow and don't wish to drive 1/2 mile per hour or raise the deck and mow twice, consider something else. I wish I had gone 26HP 46" deck.

Craftsman GT54" Manual, Good Tractor July 16, 2011

I replaced my old Craftsman 42" lawn tractor with this one. Good move! It cut a little over one hour off my mowing time. I bought the front end loader for it and it works fine too. I have pulled my little riding lawnmower trailer full of sand or dirt with no problem, plenty of power. I didn't like the discharge chute sticking out so far so I cut it even with the deck and it sure does help. I can now see how close I can get to a tree or whatever without hitting them. I can just hear the lawyers squaking but, no one is EVER near my tractor when I'm mowing and as for getting a foot caught in the short chute, HOW when the engine dies when you get up because of the kill switch. The one thing that I can't keep from bending on it is the little, and I stress too little, stabelizer bar. It's really a joke. A piece of rod about the diameter of a cigarette that bends real easily. The quote "expert" on manage my life said it was better to bend it than break other parts. Bull, my old 42" didn't even have one and it worked fine on my 3 1/2 acres that I mow. Do they really think that little thing is strong enough to keep a 54" mower deck from moving side to side. That deck has to weigh over 100 pounds. Aside from the above, I'm real pleased with it and would recommend it.

My Craftsman Garden Tractor makes a lovely yard ornament. June 19, 2011

I bought this mower almost 2 years ago. I mow a little more than an acre of FLAT ground. The fuel cap now has holes drilled into it so the gas tank can breathe. The front axles had to be replaced because the front two wheels were pointing in different directions. Now, after 95 hours of use, the transmission needs to be replaced. All of this was warranty work by a Sears technician. Sears will not stand behind this lemon. I would not recommend this mower. Certainly not to be used with tractor attachments. Very dissatisfied with this product and Sears.

Residential/homeowner mowing only, 3/4 acre. May 25, 2011

Last fall, 2010, I bought the GT5000 6-speed because I've been completely satisfied with manually-geared Sears lawn tractors for nearly 2 decades, and haven't looked back. I kick myself for not getting it sooner. Keep in mind, I don't do any gardening, or professional lawn service, and I wanted one of the only powerful, wide cut, manually-geared lawn mowers available anywhere (for less than $4000). My yard is a sloped and rolling obstacle-course, and I had read that hydrostatic transmissions wouldn't provide reliable traction. I also bought: the 3-bin bagger (for the front yard, and dry leaves in fall), the 75# rear wheel weights, and a double-tube front bumper so I could attach a 40# cast iron dumbbell up front to keep the overall center of gravity down low. I disregarded the 'acreage recommendations' because the wider cut just gets it done quicker. I also liked the idea of the gas tank under the seat, instead of higher up and under the engine hood (where it gets hot), and battery-post accessibilty/proximity to the engine/starter motor.

So far, I've only had two issues with it. The first was the deck stabilizer bracket apparently wasn't installed properly by the (inept) retail staff (no surprise), so the two (too-short) 5/16-18 bolts quickly stripped out of the aluminum transaxle case (bad design), but I was able to easliy repair the threads with heli-coil-type inserts (even though they were blind holes), thank God. The second was the oil drain valve/plastic tube idea. This 'handy' feature needs to be more accessible, like on the end of about a 4" long 3/8 NPT pipe nipple to get it out from between the bottom of the starter motor and the top of the chassis surface. I'll probably wind up doing this but replace it and just use a simple pipe plug (or petcock) with an elbow, because it took a quarter hour to slowly drain two quarts (from a cold engine) through the restriction of this 'handy' valve.

Finally, since I've never had one, my only other concern is the life of the electric blade engagement clutch, but it's common to larger lawn tractors from any close competitor, and most of them (Husqvarna, Cub Cadet, JD, Snapper, Simplicity, Toro, etc.) were all hydrostatic drive/more expensive, and narrower cut widths, which I didn't want, anyway.