New Snapper Push Questions

Hi all, new member here. I just purchased a Snapper High Vac Commercial push mower with the Honda GXV160 engine. I am replacing an old Honda HRC215 that has gotten pretty tired. On the older Honda, I would just tip the mower over to drain the oil form the dipstick tube. After reading the manual for the new Snapper, the GXV160 has a drain plug. However the drain pulg is right at the base of the dipstick in a pretty awkward place. It looks like if I use the drain plug, oil is going to go everywhere and make a huge mess. Any reason I shouldn't just tip the mower and drain from the dipstick tube? Also, if I use the drain plug the manual says to replace the washer with a new one. What kind of washer would work for this?

One other thing, the front wheels have a little bit of side to side play in them (1/64 inch maybe), which doesn't appear to be hurting anything; is this normal?


Thanks!

--GM