Q: FWD or RWD "Push" Mower

[phrog]

Looks like I may have to buy a new lawn mower. I live on a heavily-wooded and hilly lot. There are a lot of leaves to mulch in both the fall and spring. Now that I'm getting older I've decided to buy a self-propelled "push" mower. I know nothing about them and wonder what you guys consider to be the pros and cons of a front-wheel-drive vs a rear-wheel-drive?

[LCHIEN]

i always used a RWD, I could control the mower by leaning on the handle to raise the front wheels slightly to act as a clutch when making corners and stuff, without having to resort to a lever or throttle to control the speed.

[cabinetman]

My preference is RWD for the "walk behind" mowers. They are easier to control as it seems more of the weight is on the rear wheels.

.

[chris64]

I had a craftsman front wheel drive mower. After 1.5 yrs of fighting with it and the carb, I caved in yesterday and bought a Honda. I wish I would have saved my energy and bought the rear wheel drive honda 1.5 yrs ago. It is sweet!

[charliex]

Ditto what Chris said. I fought with my CMan for 6 years before I gave it away and went back to a RWD Honda. If you bag leaves at all, you want a RWD. As the bag fills, weight goes to the rear lifting the front end, losing traction on FWD mowers. Honda's double blade makes for very good mulching. If I do bag leaves, I first mulch them and then bag. Cuts the number of bags by a good 2/3.

[tommyt654]

Snapper RWD,made in America as far as I know, they used to have a manufacturing plant here in Ga.Here's my reasoning on this mower vs a Honda. Having worked in that industry for a number of yrs(lawncare and turf mgmt)I was amazed at the number of mowers sitting at the local repair shop. Most all were Honda's. I questioned my mech. about what was wrong with them as quite simply he stated the transmissions are junk, good for a few yrs and then they peter out due to junk casting and gear malfunctions. I always had an aluminum bodied Snapper for over 25 yrs with a 5 h.p. B&S engine on it that other than replacing the drive belt the only other service was 2 times a yr. changing the oil and sharpening the blades weekly(mower was used in a commercial atmosphere tho it was a residential mower). Now my understanding is that the Hionda's have tried over the past few yrs to get the trannys in order but are still having problems as its a hydrostatic pump driven transmission vs a belt drive Snapper, Do what you will and take whomevers advice you need, but if I was to purchase a new driven mower today it would be this period, http://www.snapper.com/push-mowers/ninja/

[RAFlorida]

Many years ago we had the walk-behind

rwd for the front yard. Have used the fwd and didn't like them for reasons given above by other posters. The control is much better on the rear wheels imho. Then we did away with the pasture and made it into a large yard. We have two yard tractors to cut the "yard" now,(what's a push mower??!! lol).

[LinuxRandal]

Around here, FWD is easier to find. I have had both (tend to get used mowers and fix them up) and if you have a flat yard, FWD works just fine. I have a hill on the front of my yard which has been made worse by the gas company and city digging in it (city property, utilities) over the years until the grass gets established (then you add dirt over time to raise it back up). RWD is the ONLY way to go on hills, unless you like picking up the back end of your mower, with a spinning blade. With a RWD, if you start to slip, you push the rear end down.

[JimD]

I had a front wheel drive Craftsman and it worked OK until the plastic gear teeth on the front wheels wore away. New wheels temporarily fixed it then it started to eat the cable that actuated the drive. My son now has it but doesn't use it.

I bought a Toro and I am very happy with it. It is rear wheel drive and belt driven. I bought it at the end of last year so this is it's first full year. The motor is a B&S (as was the Craftsman). Both the Toro and the Honda get good reviews for their mulching performance. The Honda has two blades but the Toro just has one. I decided one would be less to sharpen. My previous B&S motors have worked well so I saw no reason to change motors to a Honda.

The way the Toro self propelled works is nice. It has a second handle for you that pushes towards the motor. It also puts your wrists at a more comfortable angle. The harder you push this second handle towards the motor, the faster the mower moves. When you stop, it stops. The extra lever to regulate speed on the Honda didn't seem like it would be as natural or easy to use.

Jim

[pelligrini]

+1 on the Toro personal pace. I've had one for about 10 yrs now and it's still running pretty strong. I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

[frumper64]

I went to a RWD Honda three years ago and it has been great so far. I guess time will tell how it holds up, but so far it still starts on the first pull, is easy to "push" and control and does a really good job cutting my St. Augustine grass. Before this I had a RWD Lawn Boy "Personal Pace" mower and it was a disaster.