I tried both and I find the rear-drive very awkward and very difficult while pivoting the mower to the other direction. With front-drive, all I do is raise the front and quickly turn the mower to the other direction. My target is to quickly and efficiently mow my lawn and not tinker with the clutch at all; who wants that? With rear-drive, I have to disengage every time when I need to turn directions ... making my expensive mower a push mower during the attempt and tremendously slowing my momentum ... and of course, I have to engage again to move forward. If you have the mower on fast while doing this, you will find yourself fighting the mower every time you want to start on the new direction. You are not controlling the mower, its controlling you. Think about it, being able to raise the front wheels will allow you to turn the mower on 2 wheels; that is turning on a dime. If you have 4 wheels, you are going to make several small movements to realign your mower to the new direction while stroking your clutch on every attempt. IÂm returning my rear-drive today for a front-wheel drive.

Several notes specifically related to your Wheel Horse: 1) You mentioned your mower deck will not accomodate wider tires - must be a 42", as the 48" will. 2) 24" tires should fit ok. 26" may fit if on the proper rims but will be a very tight fit at the fenders. If you go this route I think you'll want to space up the seat/fender with some spacers under the fender. 3) If you use the 23 x 8.50-12 tire size on original rims, I would recommend Firestone 23 degree or a similar tire with relatively flat footprint. The Carlisle lug tires I have seen in this size have a very rounded footprint that, in my opinion, does not work so well on harder surfaces. 4) if you're looking for a used set of rims to fit your WH, they'll most likely need to be from another WH, as few other tractors use wheels with the proper rear offset. 5) My preference would be 23 x 10.50-12 Carlisle Super Lugs mounted on the wider wheel rims as originally used on the 520H and 520-8 tractors. I don't think the 5xi series rear wheels had the proper backspacing for the Classic style tractors. This combo will provide the added benefit of improved side-hill stability, especially if you add bolt-on wheel weights. They will also fit in conjunction with a 48" mower deck, but as you said I don't think they'll work with a 42". 6) I use a 520-8 regularly for mowing with the above wheels/tires and rear weights - haven't seen any adverse effects on the lawn, no spin marks anywhere, and very stable on the hills. It also does a fine job of moving my 6x12 trailer in the yard and even moving dead cars around. 7) Loaded tires work fine for traction, but as a hobbyist restoring old tractors I am not a fan of any corrosive liquid in the wheels/tires. Ed

Well, just wanted to put in this one last post on this. I did end up getting an offer on my home from the client that did see it, it was a great offer for full asking price, so I have accepted it. So, all in all, the realtor did end up getting me a good deal and I am happy to have a contract on my home now. Buyer is preapproved with 20% down, so it seems like a sound contract, I close August 28th. I still agree with you guys that the photos were bad, but its not much of an issue now :)

Oh no, no OTR microwave! Unless your kitchen is too small for a separate spot for it, OTR microwaves are very impractical. The venting is poor, they are set up too high, and their use interferes with anyone using the range. Regarding the 8 foot ceilings, you have 96". The vent hood height from the top of the cooktop to the bottom of the hood is specified in the installation instructions from the manufacturer. Let's say that it's 30". So adding the 30" space to the 36" counter top height, you have 66". If the hood is 18" that comes to 84" and you then have 12" left between the top of the hood and the ceiling. That's not enough for a storage cabinet but definitely enough for some sort of decorative top treatment. If the manufacturer specifies more or less than 30" then your space above the hood will increase or decrease. But you need to plan for that as you select your vent hood.