Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Does anyone know or have used a small articulated tractor?  There are so many different types to choose from. 4x4, front wheel drive, 4 wheel steering ect. Who makes a quality tractor. I'v looked into John Deer, Ventrac and Steiner.  I never see a regular lawn tractor with a roller on it to allow me to cut lines and patterns like baseball field.  What do you guys think is best?

Simplicity has a nice roller system on their mower decks that allows you to do the criss-cross pattern you're describing. I'm a member on MTF and the Simplicity guys swear by the quality of the cut they get from the Simplicity mower decks with the roller system. Can't comment on articulated tractors as I have not heard much information about them either way.

Simplicity is the tractor to use if you're after striping.  The biggest item diffentiating tractor quality is probably the transmission.  Most 'lawn' tractors use a hydrostatic tranny, and the TuffTorq K46 is ubiquitous among them.  However, if you do any towing, use ground-engaging equipment, or work around steep hills a lot, then you will want to seriously consider a tranny upgrade, to something like a K66.  To get one of those, you have to step into a higher-priced tractor ($2500+), one that is typically referred to as a 'garden' tractor.  Much more expensive, but worth it in the long haul.  If you can't afford that, consider that a good used 'garden' tractor (GT) can often be had for the similar price of a new 'lawn' tractor (LT).  If you're just mowing a flat lawn and not towing anything heavy or ground-engaging, then the K46 tractors should serve you just fine.