Rating Summary
“Does everything I've asked of it.”
- Pros
- Comfort, Powerful
Craftsman YTS 4500 —
I've had my YTS 4500 with 48" mower for 3 years - both in Virginia and Ontario, Canada and it has done everything I've ever asked of it including cutting grass on very steep hills on a nearly 1 acre lot in Virginia (I'm 250 lbs) and cutting 3-4 acres of grass fields - half of that is coarse field grass - in Ontario. I've put a snowblower on it with no problem, pulled a large utility trailer full of materials and used it as a utility vehicle around the farm. It gets used every day except in winter when it gets a rest 3-4 days a week.
I tried using it to grade the indoor arena but even with my daughter (105 lbs) it was too much for it. The tranny struggled with that job. I've put 150 hours a year on it and it has never failed to start even on the coldest days.
The hydrostatic tranny with the foot controls is the best way to go. Don't buy a tractor with gear shifting as they are a pain in almost any job that requires back and forth motion. The HST uses a foot control for forward and backward.
I always use ear mufflers of some type but I do this with all running motors that I operate.
It's comfortable and I can run it for 2 hours at a time without getting cramped or sore.
For the price it's worth every penny. It's NOT a tractor but it will do what is built to do.
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