I need a lawn tractor

[flipper35]

Our new house has a little larger than an acre of grass to mow and I would like a lawn tractor to mow it with. I don't think our little electric push mower will do it. I have a WalMart, Lowe's, Farm and Fleet, Menards, Sears and local Cub Cadet dealers so I have a good range from $1k (42" cut - 18.5hp B&S) at Wally's on up. I was thinking of a snow thrower for the front because of the amount of snow in the drive, until I saw the price. I think a walk behind would be just fine for that.

I don't think I want a John Deere after talking to some of the locals. Everyone here seems to think Cub Cadet. Of course those are the priciest.

[wtm442]

John Deere has a top of the line mower that costs $16,000.00

It even has cruise control. The Jones will have trouble keeping up with that!

[flipper35]

The ones under $2k have cruise control, and the price of a Deere isn't what turns me off it's the local reputation, and this is a big JD community with the JD Dubuque Works here.

[wtm442]

Don't look at me. My house lot is 50 x 100 ft and I have someone cut my lawn. I have not cut a lawn in the last 40 years!

[Ron61]

Brent,

My neighbor just bought a 25 horse tractor mower from Sears a few months ago when they were on sale and he has mowed my upper lot a couple of times. It takes him about 10 minutes and me two hours with my walk behind self porpelled mower. He got the horsepower as he put a hitch on the front so he can move his boats and trailers around. I am really looking at getting one like it when they go on sale again. As you said, the attachments make the tractor cheap. I think he gave about $3,500 for the tractor and mower attachment.

Ron

[392cobra]

Originally Posted by flipper35

The ones under $2k have cruise control

Brent,you can buy a few GOATS for $2k.Then have some BBQ's in the fall.

[52chevyred]

I have almost two acres to mow here in Georgia. I used to use Murry's until I discovered Craftsman. I have a 42" 17HP briggs. My neighbor has a John Deere that stays in the shop. He borrowed my Craftsman and is ready to "Upgrade" to Craftsman now.

[4RE KLR]

Brent,
I bought the Sears Craftsman GT 5000. It has Kohler 26Hp and I love it. It starts every time, 54" cut and is very quiet actually.

As for the John Deere, I understand some of them are made in Mexico and if they break you cannot simply take them down and get them fixed. A friend bought one from Home Depot and a simple part broke on it. He had to order the part from Mexico as the "real" John Deere parts would not fit it. When we looked at the mowers side by side it was amazing just how different they were. They had the same model number on each one but they were nothing like each other. I would stay away from JD at all cost, unless you can tell the difference. They are cheaper at Home Depot for a reason.

BTW;
It took five weeks for the part to get here. His yard looked like he!! the whole time. I let him use my mower several times. When he got it fixed he sold it and bought one like mine.

[blueovalfanatic]

I went through this awhile back. I narrowed it down to a JD or Cub Cadet, as I wanted something reliable. After looking at both up-close, the decision was simple...Cub Cadet. Rear axles 1" instead of 3/4", a heavy duty deck hanger, and the deck comes off and goes back on in a couple minutes for cleaning and sharpening blades. Also, the 7 piston pump hydrostatic transmission (as opposed to the 5 piston JD pump). Theres also things like metal hood, "idiot lights" on the dash, and Timken roller bearings.

I mow 1.25 acre, and my yard is basically flat. The type of tractor would depend on how flat your yard is, many obstacles, etc.. But before deciding on one, take a Cub Cadet for a ride.

Greg

[flipper35]

Thanks. I am going to look at a Husqevarna and Craftsman right now. CC Tomorrow.

[flipper35]

I decided on Alpacas.

Actually, I found out that Husky makes the Craftsman last night.

If I don't get one by Saturday I will use dad's Bolens. His neighbor has a Cub, I should borrow it.

[1ntCobra]

I've got over 2 acres to cut. I use a scag turf tiger ztr, 27hp liquid cooled kawasaki, 72 inch deck. It's kind of the 427 cobra of lawn tractors.

This is my son pretending to drive when he was 2:

[dscott]

I have owned 8 different John Deere tractors. I have loved every one of them. I keep upgrading to a larger one every so often. The one I have now is the X485 all wheel steer. It was expensive ($7500) but worth every penny. I mow my property, my mother-in-laws, and at Church. My property takes me about 9 hours a week, the other 2 about 3 hours. I have the 62" deck on mine. It is the best investment I ever made. I cut over 2 hours of mowing time with the all wheel steer. I have over 100 trees in my front yard to mow around.

I have owned several other brands including Craftsman, Murray, and Cub. The John Deere is by far the best in my opinion. I also own a commercial Dixon that my wife likes. I have used the ones that Home Depot sells and they are very cheaply built and perhaps those are the ones people have problems with. They are considered price leaders by the Deere dealers and they aren't very happy about them. They give John Deere a bad name with a lower quality product. Since I spend so much time on my mower comfort was a big key for me along with the speed I can mow. I usually mow at full speed which is about 7mph if the ground is smooth enough. I mow all my ditches. I have not had any problem with the X485 and it definitly takes a beating. My neighbor mows about an acre and he has a Craftsman and he loves it. It really depends on how much you have to mow and the quality of the mower. If you have to replace it every 3 or 4 years then go with the quality. I would put the Cub right up there with quality.
Don

[flipper35]

One of the houses we looked at the owner offered to sell us his Skag since it took over 5 hours to mow the property with it.

Most of the problems people have with JD were sold from a local JD dealer. I have had one non-JD employee locally tell me he liked his Deere. That local dealer was just bought out and has a bunch on clearance. I will go with an open mind Saturday to look at them.

Livestock is looking good at the moment!

[hwoods6617]

almost all of the lawn tractors are made by MTD. I just bought a Toro and found out MTD had bought them out. THey make Ralle, Craftsman, Toro, Cub Cadet, I think they make just about all of them except John Deere, look for their web site

[flipper35]

Well, decided on a Cub. Price was right for the features. Saw it had an MTD emblem on it. It cuts good with the 50" deck. Hard on gas, it took over half a tank to mow the yard.

The Husky and Craftsman were identical and the salesperson told me they were made buy the same company.

Thanks for all the help.

[wtm442]

Brent
Glad you got a new mower. But if anyone else needs a "riding mower", just let me know.

[Ron61]

Warren,

You could just mount that on the front of your Cobra and it would be much more fun. Not to mention faster.

Ron

[RACERAL]

I have been looking at the New Cub ZERO Turn Tractor style .. it has a steering wheel and still 0 turn.. kinda neat.

[trularin]

Impressive lawn machine.