I bought a 2014 Conquest 50" with floating deck etc. ( no power steering or tilt wheel ) but will tell you I am totally pleased with it. The rear shocks and seat are a nice addition and with the K-66 tranny and locking differential it's been able to handle any task I've thrown at it nicely. A big advantage with the 50" deck is the commendable 18" turning radius which is great when it comes to cutting around trees, shrubs etc. The 25 h.p. comm/turf has been trouble free so far and has all the power I need. I do use the standard blades after my first spring cut and then use the Gator blades on it in fall which even makes the mulching kit a little more efficient. Hope Simplicity never changes its quality and Briggs never interferes with that as the parent company. P.S. I bought a T-111 Allis Chalmers ( actually made by Simplicity ) in 1984 and except for the normal maintenance and expected minor replacement parts I traded it in when I got my Conquest *** 30 *** years later. Try going to any big box store brands and finding that kind of quality and performance. I promise you wont,,,, spend the money and get the quality and longevity.

Swimjim, Thanks for the response. I can appreciate your stepping up to the 22/44 for the beefier tranny. What do you think of the Briggs Twin engine compared to the Kohler Courage? For me the Kohler was a big improvement in terms of noise, from my old 8hp Briggs, and apprears to have plenty of power. Since my lot is fairly level, I felt the K46 would handle the tasks OK. I was concerned about pulling heavy loads, such as my lawn sweeper when it's full, but it handled that task with ease. I had fun comparing the Regent to other tractors. What I appreciate about the simplicity is they have kept things simple....much like my old '67. In fact, several basic design elements have not changed much...such as how the floating deck works. They have been proven to work...and did very well on my old machine. Features I liked the most.... The mow in reverse switch, that I don't have to hit every time I back up....unlike Deere tractors. I don't want some damn attorney telling me how to operate my tractor! Excellent ergonomics...this is a very comforatable tractor to operate. The frame design...which I feel is a more solid design than the 12 guage frames on other tractors I inspected. The K46 Transmission was important, as this apprears to be a good unit and suitable to my needs. It was one of the key reasons I did not choose a deere LA model...as they are currently using the T40(?) if I recall. It's interesting that their is an active discussion on the K46's right now. I wonder if mine is the same used in the X300 deere's? The electric PTO is nice...I only hope it is durable. The tight 14" turning radius is very nice...especially compared to the wide turning radius of my old '67. The price....at $2100 for my unit it is a reasonalbe balance between box store machines, and higher end Deere's & Simplicities. It is well built & IMO the "moving" parts are designed to last longer than most box store machines, and very close to what you get in the x300. I liked the x300 very much. It is beautifully built, but the price was a bit more than I wanted to spend, and the basic frame, tranny & deck design did not appear significantly superior. The engine is however very nice. Overall I am very pleased with this new toy....Happieness is a new tractor :). I highly recommend to anyone looking that they put Simplicity on their list.

Ashley, Thanks for your kind comments. We deleted the garage from the footprint of the house and kept the rest of the footprint as designed. The kitchen/dining room is open with a bar wall between the two to keep the cook safe and congenial. We live so far out in the sticks that 95% of out meals are home cooked and have a large garden that inevitably means canning produce. The kitchen works fine for us and is the same size as the plans. The smartest decision we made was to turn the house around such that the front as designed, is actually the back of our house. The large screen porch faces due south and the master bedroom is our day room, with lots of windows facing south. The plans do not call for screening the porch, but without screen we would have every bird, bug and bat in the neighborhood to contend with. Ten years out, if we were building now, this is probably the house we would build. Randy

So, it's all finished. I had it out yesterday for an ops check. It cut effortlessly thru thick wet grass. It's headed up back to my Aunt's ranch for duty in a couple weeks. The engine builder advised to remove two studs at a time to swop them to install the muffler. That worked fine. The transaxle (with an oil change and the thicker Lucas product) now holds second gear at half throttle and above. The bigger front tyres allow it to climb easily over small obstacles, yet there's enough clearance for the steering and mower deck. Thanks all for the words and encouragement.