are the 99' Broadmoor's any good?

[Guest]

I have a 1 year old Broadmoore and there are a number of things about it that trouble me. A. deck screws poke out the bottom and catch all kinds of grass B. the steering wheel is too far forward (alread been raised) to grip comfortably without moving the seat forward and smashing your knees into the dashboard. C. the long bar on the back of the deck that holds the wheels is only suppored on the very ends and has already bent twice. d. the "cruise control" works, but I loose 11% ground speed because of the slack they built into the linkeage. The twin Briggs is awesome! I called Simplicity and they told me flat out everything was per design. They also claim that the cruise control problem was intentional. They wanted to slow the machine down for safety reasons. I am thinking of selling the machine and getting one that is comfortable for a normal person to drive, does not loose ground speed in "cruise", and doesn't keep me up at night wondering what might break. I mow 2+ acres of lawn, and the machine does nothing else. A pretty easy life for a mower, if you ask me. I would appreciate any comments, and are wondering what you think about the Scotts machines at Depot. From what I can tell, they are a lot heavier duty, bigger deck, axles, cast front end, bigger motor (but a Kohler). A great name like Simplicity, but I'll tell you, after owning one I'm very, very dissapointed. Should I trade it in?

[yeoman]

Hi Mel, A friend of mine owns a Simplicity dealership so I put the question to him just how good are the Broodmoor's and his reply was-they a a very good machine for all intended purpose's but you can't expect them to do what a large frame tractor can do but they more then hold their ground when used for their intended purpose's. Which is mowing lawns and light garden work. I happened to be at his store when two men came in that own 2 broardmore's that they use for taking care of apartment grounds of close to 500 units. They both stated when I asked them the same question just how do you like them and I was told they have tried other brands over the last 12 or so years and the broadmoor's so far have been the best for all around use. They didn't have anything negitive to say about the cruise control "but" they don't use them on any hills persay. They had both stated reason's for trying the Simplicity products was after they bought a Simplicity trim mower and liked the service on it and decided to give the Broadmore's a try. They love the way that they cut and had no complaints about them what so ever. I told them of your experience and their reply was if your not happy with them now you won't ever be. I sat on a couple of Broadmoor's on the show room floor and can understand the steering wheel position complaint and possibly the wheel support but neither of the two owners had problems with theirs bending but they mow on very smooth ground. Did you by chance try yours out before you bought it to see if indeed you would be comfortable on it? Just from me sitting on them I found the wheel to far forward for my liking but I have found that to be true with most newer tractors for some reason. Maybe another dealer can take care of the cruise control problem to some degree but I was told that someone can't expect it to work like a cars unit and there has to be allowce for decending hills and that is why Simplicity tried to find a half way medium for its settings. Tim has a very good point about staying up at night worry about getting service on another brand of tractor. And by you owning a Broadmoore you should be able to decide your next move better then anyone else because you are the one not sleeping at night because of it. To me life is to short to worry about a tractor that can be replaced with another one and it sounds like maybe thats what you need to do. I mean this in the most meaningful way. I hope I have helped somewhat and I wish you the very best. >>->happyjack<-<<

[yeoman]

Just buy a bigger model adn see if you like that. I can't say much of the newer tractors but the older ones are my favorite, They look beter and are just plain better.

[tej]

If you buy from the Depot you might be awake at night wondering where to buy parts for you tractor. Better stick with some brand that has dealers with parts departments. I like the simplicity decks because they have the full rollers across the back; however, I can't defend the new Broadmoore as I have never used one. What other dealers do you have in your area, Cubs and Deeres? Check those out and see if you like them better. Tim

[dlcentral]

Mention to Sim. that if you were a dissatisfied Depot trac. owner they[the depot] would GLADLY refund you your money,as my local depot here has done it many times,,,which says something about the Depot tracs doesn't it??,,,will Sim. do the same?NOT!New stuff is cool and nice but nothing beats the old stuff made around the late 60's early 70's Most of that stuff is STILL in use today,,,,will the Broadmoor be able to brag about that 30 yrs. from now?,,,,Signs point to NO! dlc

[Les]

My opinion is that you seem to be asking for a Soveriegn. Large frame, deep deck, lots of weight, and with care will last you a lifetime. Big bucks though, which is why us poor folk buy old used ones.

[tej]

Les has a point, those of us that want a real tractor buy used. For what a lawn tractor like the Broadmoore costs or even less you could buy a good used Garden tractor and have something that will last as long as you want it to. Tim

[tej]

I'd like to know what on your property is causing the roller support to bend/break. Remember that this floating mower is designed to hold up and give a nice cut under smooth lawn conditions - especially on rolling hills and landscape contours. If you see the mower bouncing around a bit you are either traveling too fast or that section of lawn may be too rough. Also remember that with the rollers on the ground YOU the operator must be aware of any conditions which could cause them to get hung up on - this would be especially true when backing up around tree roots. Sometimes cutting "habits" need to be adjusted with the mower design - so both owner and tractor are kept happy. Any ideas on your part as to why the support breaks? Does it get bent in the middle or on the end? Or does it just snap and where? I take it that you have a 44" or 50" mower for cutting 2 acres? Sometimes a frame supported mower is better for ground clearance problems. After all everything is a compromise in one way or another. As far as Home D - I have more than once had to wait for a part a month or longer during mowing season - BUT it wasn't mine so I didn't loose any sleep :)

[Kent]

Jeff, My lawn is pretty good, about 2 acres. The roller bar hasn't snapped, yet. It bends in the middle, and the reason is fairly obvious. The bar is supported way out on it's absolute ends. If you lift the deck up and grab the bar with your hand, you could probably bend it in the middle. I suspect that there are some uneven spots on the lawn that push on the bar in the middle and since the deck is fairly heavy the bar gives before the deck moves up. There are no rocks, stumps, or whatever's on the property. The other frightening thing is the factory claims the hydro units are designed for 500 hours of use, and not much more as these units don't even have a transmission filter. If that's true, this is going to turn into one mighty expenseive machine over the years. Rumor has it that it's the same axle used in other Simplicity's, so I may not be standing alone at the repair counter in a few years. By the way, the factory claims that the deck grease fittings are on the bottom because the grease is a dirt and moisture barrier and that the bearings are sealed anyway. It seemed odd that they would burry a more expense (typically) sealed bearing under grease, but I guess it's possible?

[Kent]

I DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT TRACTOR BUT LOVE MY AGCO -ALLIS 918.IT IS HOW MUCH YOU WANT TO SPEND.YOU CAN SPEND $1000.00 OR LESS AND GET A CHEAP TRACTOR THAT MAY NEVER GIVE YOU ANY PROBLEMS OR SPEND $6000.TO $7000.00 FOR A AGCO ALLIS (SOVERIGN) AND BE ABLE TO TILL GARDENS PLOW SNOW MOW OR WHAT EVER ELSE YOU WANT TO DO WITH IT AND HAVE A GREAT TRACTOR THAT WILL LAST YOU A LIFE TIME IF TAKEN CARE OF PROPERILY.ANOTHER POINT IS IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS TAKE IT TO THE DEALER AND MAKE THEM MAKE IT RIGHT OR CALL THE BETTER BUSSINESS PEOPLE AND THEY WILL MAKE THE DEALER MAKE IT RIGHT.I HAD PROBLEMS WITH MY 918 LEAKING A SEAL WHERE THE HYDRA PUMP MOUNTS TO THE REAR END AND I CALLED SIMPLICITY 2 OR 3 TIMES.THEY MY DEALER FIXED THE PROBLEM AFTER ALL THIS TIME.MY POINT IS IF YOU HAVE A DEALER WHO WILL WORK WITH YOU YOU SHOULDNT HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.TREAT THEM THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED AND THEY WILL DO THE SAME FOR YOU KEEPING YOUR EQUIPMENT WORKING FOR A LIFE TIME.AM I RIGHT OR WRONG ON THIS EVERY ONE?SIMPLICITY AND AGCO ARE ON BEST ON MY OPPION.DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. MICKEYMOUSE@BRIGHT.NET AGCO 918