Cub Cadet 1000 Series SLTX 1054

Big ride on mower. Good value – Purchased my 1054 Cub Cadet as i was in need of a bigger unit to replace the old Rover. I purchased this machine with price in mind. I was unable to afford what I wanted and when this came up for under 5 grand I drove 300kms to get it. The big deck was the appeal and it is quite good. I have 400m2 of manicured lawn and in mulch mode it really is… Read more

great. It mows this in about 10 minutes. Impressive.

The rest (5 acres +) is average lawn to paddock conditions which can be rough. I usually do this without the easy change mulch plug. The deck is a pressed deck but it is suitably reinforced. Well made really and yes I keep it clean top and bottom. With 3 x blades you have to be careful not to go into heavy grass too hard as the last blade set (right) gets overloaded.

The big 25 h.p. Kohler courage motor does it easily and surprised me with its fuel efficiency.

In 3 seasons it has now done 120 hours and has been serviced myself.

Problems being 1 x faulty hydro drive idler pulley. Had to replace battery and whilst the blades are good quality (only on second set) you need to keep them sharp.

On mid range grass with long bits like wild oats it will leave some of these long thin bits behind. Go over it twice though and it is fine. This didnt seem to be a problem at first so I might invest in a new deck belt and inspect the deck spindles. These have all been greased via grease nipples provided every 40 hours. Thanks Cub Cadet.

I'm thinking of a commercial zero turn as the mid grass cutting quality is cheesing me off and the reverse speed is painfully slow. Forwards is good and the turning circle not bad. The big rear tyres on this model really do a good job of smoothing out the ride and the drive and traction on slopes is above expectation.

All in all for the money it is a darn good mower. I just want a faster one.