Riding Lawn Tractor Help..My JD is junk

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cyguy

New member
The question you really have to ask yourself is this, "Can I afford to buy a mower and do it myself"? Meaning what would it cost you to hire it done compared to what it actully costs to own and mow your own lawn.
1) Good mowers are expensive
2) They require gas and up keep
3) They require YOUR time to run them
4) How fast do they depreciate
5) Annual servicing (+) unexpected parts ect.

What I'm getting at is people do not realize how expensive it is to own a good mower, when there's a kid somewhere that would do it for say $25.00 a pop. Do the math???
 
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jeepbob47

New member
I agree with cyguy. My John Deere was a piece of garbage. But my Ford was awesone and the dealer was terrific. The John Deere dealer also sucked.
 
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lenny

Guest
check this thing out, all wheel drive hydro, 86" cut, 19 hp kubota diesel. I had one of these also but they are precision mowers and can cut only 1/2 at a time. There are for golf courses fairway approaches. Mine didn't cut because I mow 1 time a week and the grass usually grew 2+ inches but with that said, you can find a good used commercial mower for 3-4 grand and have it for the next 25 years if you maintain it properly

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jacobsen-1900D-Reel-Mower-Kubota-Diesel_W0QQitemZ31017726425 6QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4838017280
 
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brad

New member
Simplicity.........whatever model serves your needs. Mine is the Broadmoor model, and though it's not a zero turn radius, it's the next closest thing.......amazing. Quality, dependability, I love it.
 
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saber

New member
OK, I may draw some jeers and comments by going against the majority on this one but:

I have owned 2 tractors in my life, bought them both new. The first was a Craftsman 12 horse 42" cut with a hydrostatic trans. Used it for 7 years on a 1 acre lot to cut and mulch leaves.

Then, we moved to a house with almost 2 acres and way up on a hill. I sold that tractor to a friend and bought another Craftsman 26 horse with the 52" deck and hydro trans because I needed one with the pressurized oil system (oil filter) to drive up and down the hills and have had that for 7 years now.

The original tractor is running great with the exception that carb got some junk in it and had to be cleaned, the new one has had 2 belts replaced on it and is still on the original blades. I did have to replace the battery last fall.

Both get maintained each spring and have been flawless.

I spent 1200.00 on the first one, got 500.00 back on resale and then 2400.00 on the one I have now. So I am 3200.00 in for 14 years of service plus 2 belts and 1 battery.

The next step is to swap the 2 rear tires to either side because the tread is wearing out and I am losing bite going up the lawn.

Of course the paint does fade faster on the Craftsman than the others but oh well..
 
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rexc700

New member
I'd have to go with an earlier post by Yamahauler - while I have a small lot and have a Snapper is all, my Dad mows about 4 acres at his place and mows on a pretty regular basis since he's quite particular about his yard. His last mower purchase, about 3 seasons ago, was a Cub Cadet. Best purchase he's ever made. As I mentioned, not only does he mow 4 acres, but he has a fair share of hills on each side, and the hydrostatic drive works flawlessly. I don't remeber off the top of my head which size engine/deck he went with, but do know that it was one of the larger ones they make if not the largest. Also as mentioned about the J.D.'s earlier in regards to purchasing from a dealer rather than a box store, he too was aware of this prior to making his purchase so did so through an implement dealer that sold Cub Cadet to insure that he was getting their best product. On the flip side my brother-in-law has had a small kubota tractor with a loader back-hoe set-up now for about 4 years and has worked that thing to death without needing to put a dime into it, and he too is very meticulous about his tools and equip. So, if something is amiss or broke, it's fixed immediately. But that little Kubota has performed flawlessly as well.
 
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fjr4me

Member
I had a 92' JD 318 for 10 years that I purchased for $4,400 used w/800hours. It included a snow thrower, tire weights, chains, 46" deck with a 2 bag powerflow system and a 10 cu ft cart. I sold it without the cart for $3,000 in August. The only things replaced in 10 years besides normal maintenance items such as oil, filters and a couple belts were the electric PTO Coil/switch, (1) deck hanger arm, (2) front tires, rear lighting harness and a battery. The majority of these items were replace when the machine was already 14-17 years old.
I hope I have as good of luck with my used 01' JD425 AWS I picked up in July. So far so good.

As mentioned in other responses, it you buy a top of the line machine from any of the manufacturers noted above, you won't go wrong.
If you buy HD Garden/commercial equipment it will treat you right over the long haul. IMHO
 
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sledneck

Member
When I bought my JD LX277AWS 9 years ago my Dealer warned me about the JD's that were being sold at Home Depot and such. He said the smaller lawn tractors were being built cheaply now to get into that market. He said he was very sad as it would not be a good thing for Deere in the long run as people would be buying a Deere and were going to expect it to last like most people have experienced. I mow 2 1/2 acres with my tractor for the last 9 years and I have only replaced the blades it has the 17 hp Kawasaki twin and this thing is unbelieveable. It pulls a big drum that we use to groom our RC car track even up and down the 8ft table top jump. Almost all my neighbors have Deeres and have nothing but good things to say about them but they all have the bigger models that are built right.
 
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joechicago

Member
Famousguy,

I have had a Simplicity "Landlord" 21 hp mower for about 12 years now. It is the finest machine I have ever owned. It blows away all the neighborhood JD's without a problem.

I also like the "bagged" look, but with this machine you don't need it. It has a few engineering features that are amazing. First off, it has 3 blades for excellent mulching. Even though it is not a zero turn type machine, it is a tractor type, I can turn it around a 3 foot wide planting bed with no problem. Secondly, and really most important, I can remove the entire deck in less than 10 seconds. A pull of a lever loosens the belts, and a cotter pin unhooks the entire deck so you can easily slip it out from underneath the tractor. I can easily clean the mowing deck because of this feature. And keeping the mowing deck clean and free of hard clumped grass is key to good mulching performance, and extends the life of the deck/blades. Also allows me to easily sharpen the blades whenever I want to keep them performing great. All my buddies in the neighborhood complain about taking the deck off of their JD'<font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font> requires tools, and scraped knuckles, so they just don't do it often. You gotta check out these machines and the thoughtful engineering that goes into them.

One other feature that it amazing is the roller striper on the back of the deck. It is a solid roller connected to the back of the mowing deck. With the weight of the deck and this roller, it puts perfect lines (strips) into the lawn. The lawn looks like a golf course or a freshly mowed baseball outfield. The striper was specifically designed for this. I have had dozens walking by the house ask me "who mows your lawn?" because it looks so great with the perfect lines on it.

With regards to the mulching and sometimes "clumping" of grass, I have this issue maybe 2 or 3 times a year, in the spring, when the grass is just growing like crazy and I can't mow it every 3 days! Even then, this clumping is minimal as long as I keep the deck clean.

Hope this helps. I also have a Simplicity snowthrower as I am sold on their machines for life.
 
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sledneck

Member
Well my John Deere LX277AWS (all wheel steer) doesn't need any tools to remove the deck either, pull the lever and remove pins and out it comes. It isn't zero turn but is all wheel steering so it will cut right up tight around a 4" diameter tree. There are several well built mowers available but you get what you pay for also. Previous to my JD I had bought a Murray 18.5hp invetech twin cylinder as I figured it would be a good machine as my Father had a 11hp Murray for 25 years. Well I found out "they just don't build em like they used to" was certainly the truth. The first season the carb had to be replaced and the second season the engine blew up due to a plastic timing gear losing it's teeth and then sending the valves thru the top of the pistons. My Deere has performed flawlessly so far.
 
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joechicago

Member
There you go famousguy. Sledneck offers a JD that has similar features to my Sumplicity-easily removable deck. When I purchased my simplicity, JD did not offer this feature on their machines. In my opinion, it is a fantastic feature I can't live without. As grandma always said, you get what you pay for!!
 
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yamalaris

New member
Here is my two cents worth, I bought a Simplicity new in 1995 it currently has about 800 hours on it I use it to mow 3 to 4 acres and blow snow in the winter, I really haven't had any real issues with it other than replacing a belt and last year the PTO clutch disk had to be replaced due to age. 20 HP Kohler Command engine is bullet proof, Simplicity engineering allows for easy maintenance and easy transferring of implements. There is a big difference between a mower and a tractor, if you are cutting an acre or more I strongly recommend you purchase a quality tractor although the prices are really getting up there.

Good luck!
 
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michaeladams

New member
i bought a cub cadet from mynards and they didn't put enough oil in the engine and there was no grease in the mower deck bearings.glad i checked.
 
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magie03

New member
Thats what you get from places like Menards----what did you think you were going to get? Who's going to fix it when it brakes? Good luck
 
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