The wheel bearings went bad on one side so I had to replace the wheels. I called Sears Parts and they wanted like $30.00 for the wheels and I did not know if it even needed an axial yet. When I took it apart I found the bearings were Teflon for what I paid for this and I get Teflon bearings??? So off to Northern tool (the best part of the trip is the bagel store there) SO for $5.00 each I got new wheels tires and real bearings the shaft was 5/8 so no problem there. I just had to drill new holes for the cotter pins and that fixed that. I will say this if they would correct the few little problems with the unit it would be a winner. They should fix the tarp over the wagon so it has two straps to pull it tight (I added them) if they put real bearings with grease fittings on the wheels and give a little tougher hose and add a little to it maybe one foot. The dump lever put the spring inside the channel or on top so it does not come off when being dumped (not that that works you need to pull the leaves out by hand) I had to buy a new adapter for the hose to the blower it had broke when it picked up a rock.

Other than that the unit is growing on me, I bought it for 2 main reasons, one I am crippled and refuse to have someone rake my leaves (I live in a rural area anyways) and the second was I was tired of raking the leaves on a tarp and tying the tarp to the back of my Polaris or just dragging them by hand to the back of my yard to dump them....

I bought this in November of twelve The good points, it was only $1,000.00 it took some time to get it to work correctly, the hose has to be like a snake so it will sweet up then back down so it will pick up the grass and leaves. The bungee they give for that does not work right, you need like a strap that will hold it tights to the arm that swings. The vac hose ripped it had developed holes but I would have lived with that but the rip I could not because the hose was now short and I called sears and it happened to be one day out of Warranty because I was using the machine on my lawn (I have a few acres) and sears said we can send you a new one for something over $100.00 I told them this happened the other day before it was out of Warranty and they said you should have called.

Nice answer after spending a grand (never will I buy another sears product) So I had to add a piece of 6 inch smoke pipe for a wood stove to the machine so the hose would be long enough that was only $6.00 compared to over $100 for a hose. I had trouble with the cover closing so leaves and grass would shoot out the back I had to add the two small bungees they gave with the unit for the deck chute. Then the mesh clogs with dirt the spring that holds the lever for dumping the cart fell off I now have chain holding the arm so it will not dump. The hose attachment on the blower cracked and broke I had to fix that ( I am not giving sears any money that part is $35.00 and what ever shipping will be) When I first got the machine I assembled it and there was a white wire coming off the motor just hanging, I called service and asked where it gets attached to and the people on the other end had no clue so the safety did not and still does not work.

I plan on changing the top to the wagon with scaffolding safety netting so it will not clog because when it does the part of the fabric top that the chute goes into when the bag netting clogs it pushes it back out onto who ever is driving the lawn tractor. I can say I would NEVER buy another sears product this one taught me a lesson,the machine is two years old and it is held together with duct tape bailing wire and chain.

I will say whoever supplied the motor has a great product, all I do is jack knife the tractor and vac and in 1/4 pull it starts. I know it is not a sears motor as they used to use Tecumseh motors and they are the biggest piece of crap out. SO all in all I have a machine that as long as I keep it going it will work I did plan on having this for years but I can see that will not happen.

If I were someone I would look at a different brand, these are made by Agri-Fab but sears I am sure had their hand in some of the stupid ideas in it because I have other Agri-Fab products and they are in great shape and work like they just came home with me.

I bought this unit on sale for about $800 about 5 years ago. On the plus side it gets the leaves up and into the trailer. It starts right up every time, usually on the first pull. The best part is that it's so easy to move the full, heavy, trailer to my dump site I used to kill myself dragging tarps full of leaves. On the down side you have to use a rake to pull the leaves out to empty the dumped trailer. Also, the fabric cover doesn't lock securely to the bib so leaves blew out until I re-bent the frame. A more secure closure is needed. Another issue, dirt and leaf dust tends to clog the mesh vents. Finally, the soft fabric top will wear out after a few years and the big flex hose has developed some holes.