My property is far to large for an oldschool push mower...which is what I have. Not a self propelled, just a good old, gas mower. Once the Florida summer sets in, if I forget to mow one week (yes, you must mow weekly in summer here) the next week will yield a lawn that is way too overgrown for my machine. It becomes an unexpected leg workout. All told, it takes me three hours on average to mow, edge, and trim the entire property.

Obviously, this is not appealing and not very sustainable. So, I started seeking to fulfill a childhood dream of mine, that is, to own a lawn tractor. Now, these things are usually $2500 and I was not about to spend that kind of coin. I found a gentlemen on Offerup selling a Craftsman YT4000 for $300 along with a trailer and mulching motor. I reached out and asked what was wrong. He told me it doesn't run too well, but sent a video of it running and it also started right up the day I went to see it. Needless to say, I paid the man and loaded the thing onto my Tacoma. Best of all, his backyard is high above the street, so we just backed the Taco until the bumper hit the hill and then rolled the tractor in there.

Now, the mower did have a broken deck belt. I replaced that and tested the mower. To my horror, even on the highest setting, it was gouging my lawn and cut it so short it was insane. I realized that the deck has only one threaded mounting rod that can raise it and the other side just has a rod that free wheels. That means that if I raise the threaded side, the opposite side would not go up with it. I saw claims online that you can add a threaded mount on that side and then level the machine properly, so I hit eBay and got a used pair for less than a single new one. I also went to my local Big Box store and got a pair of new blades. Be aware that these machines are rebranded Husqvarna units and as such, use Husqvarna blades with a five point star mounting hole. Craftsman blades with a six point star hole will not work.

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