Thinking about a riding mower

PPC1052 said:
I actually thought about that. Good ones for that size of a yard are not cheap. This one might fit the bill: https://www.husqvarna.com/us/products/robotic-lawn-mowers/models/automower-430xh/967852905/

I am not sure that I am ready to pay that much on something that I am not sure will get the job done.
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Yeah there's no way I'd chance the better part of $3,500 for something that's might barely get the job done. Especially in a couple of years when that battery loses charging capacity. I also can't imagine the quality of the cut is very good unless your lawn was golf-course smooth. When the day comes that they have them in lower prices and the cut matches what I have now (which isn't world class by any means), I'll happily trade the 1 hour of weekly yard mowing to the robots. However, they'll need to invent a robotic line trimmer and robotic leaf blower, too.
 
When we moved to the current place (5 acres lots of trees) we bought a John Deere. Small diesel model with a loader. It was not cheap. I've used the snot out of it for 10 years and it still looks and runs like new. There are times when I wish I had a zero turn, but those desires disappear every fall when it comes time to pick up the billion or so leaves that end up on the ground. Same when the snow starts to fall and it comes time to plow the driveway.

A diesel loader equipped unit would be a bit much for less than acre. But if leaves and snow will be factors, I think I'd be looking hard a John Deere garden tractors rather than a zero turn.
 
Three years ago I received a Z-turn from here: https://www.mowersdirect.com/lawn/zero-turn-lawn-mowers.html

A decent Z-turn can be had in the 3K range (or less). Delivery by truck and if you pay by check they actually discount the price (or they did at that time). For me the Z-turn saves me a bunch of time and makes grass cutting fun again.

Clean it after every use, service it every season, and don't cut anything that not's grass and it will last you for a long time.
 
How big is your driveway? Growing up dad had a riding mower with a leaf catcher plus snowplow and later snowblower. The snowblower was a lot less stress on the frame and drive train. We did use wheel weights and chains for snow removal.
 
I've been happy with my Husqvarna garden tractor, purchased 7 years ago. After careful research, it presented the best value. It maintained my 1.5 acres well, and the implements were numerous and advantageous as well. The snow-thrower attachment worked great for my 270' driveway, and the stout(er) frame of the garden tractor pulled the spreader, sprayer, leaf rake, dump trailer, etc. making it very versatile. Cheaper than JD, but has suited me for years. As with everything, take care of your equipment and it will take care of you.
 
AKBill said:
How big is your driveway?
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That is to be determined. It's a corner rectangular lot. The house will be toward the back of the property, but I envision a smaller length driveway on the side connecting to the side street. That way it is cheaper and easier to construct and to maintain. Probably a three car garage.

I have thought about the snow blower attachment option. But what are the costs to add driveway heating and skip that issue entirely? Hmm. Something to think about.
 
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CharlieD3 said:
Which "back?" If it's a corner.....

Oh nevermind... It doesn't matter.
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The front of the lot is to the South, and the lot is longer (North-South) than it is wide (East-West). So, the house will be toward the North side, with the drive on the West side of the house.
 
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Juliet Hotel said:
When we moved to the current place (5 acres lots of trees) we bought a John Deere. Small diesel model with a loader. It was not cheap. I've used the snot out of it for 10 years and it still looks and runs like new. There are times when I wish I had a zero turn, but those desires disappear every fall when it comes time to pick up the billion or so leaves that end up on the ground. Same when the snow starts to fall and it comes time to plow the driveway.

A diesel loader equipped unit would be a bit much for less than acre. But if leaves and snow will be factors, I think I'd be looking hard a John Deere garden tractors rather than a zero turn.
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Could you clarify what having the tractor w/FEL does to help with leaf cleanup? Are you raking them up and scooping them up with the FEL?
 
I have two of the dreaded John Deere 100 Series from big box stores. The older one at the cabin has mowed about an acre of grass on not the smoothest ground for over 10 years and is still going strong even after a week of total immersion in a flood a few years back. Bought a new one this spring for the house. Literally the most basic JD model they sell (E-100) and it does great, too. I prefer the older transmission but that's splitting hairs. I enjoy hopping on both with a beer in the drink holder and zipping around.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Could you clarify what haviThe ng the tractor w/FEL does to help with leaf cleanup? Are you raking them up and scooping them up with the FEL?
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I don't use the FEL for leaves. I have a PTO driven Trac Vac attachment for that. My comment on leaf pickup more related to how nice it would be to have a zero turn for lawn mowing, but I've not seen a zero turn that can hook up a Trac Vac nor do anything for plowing snow.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
I don't use the FEL for leaves. I have a PTO driven Trac Vac attachment for that. My comment on leaf pickup more related to how nice it would be to have a zero turn for lawn mowing, but I've not seen a zero turn that can hook up a Trac Vac nor do anything for plowing snow.
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Leaf vac, absolutely. Works the same as it does for any other tractor. It's not PTO-driven, but that's not a big deal as they have more than adequate engines on them. Snow plow? Not so much. ZT mowers wouldn't do snow plows very well.
 

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@Juliet Hotel for the record I love compact utility tractors for the versatility you get per dollar spent. I considered a Kubota B7100HST for my 3/4 acre yard, but it's just too big to be used efficiently, mainly because of turning radius. The ability to have 4WD with a 60" MMM and a 3pt PTO to use box blades, tillers, etc. makes a lot of sense. I found one in pristine condition a few hours away that was only about $4K, but my yard is just too small to be able to use it. I generally feel like 2 acres or more is where the compact utility tractor makes sense over a Garden Tractor or zero turn when you need to do more than mow or clean up leaves.

For mowing my father's few acres, we had a Kubota B7100 (60" MMM), the ZT 60", and a Kubota L3130 w/ 72" rear finish mower at our disposal. The ZT was able to mow faster with a finer cut than the two tractors, and the L-series was just too big to make using the finish mower around obstacles and tight spaces very efficient. The B7100HST used less fuel and was quieter than the other two. It's just about finding the tool that works best for the space fully have. If my dad were forced to choose one of those three, he'd take the B7100HST any day of the week for all-around use on less than 5 acres.
 
I'm mowing about 1-1/2 of our 5 acres. If it was just 1-1/2 acres and not many trees, a zero turn or small garden tractor would be perfect. But the FEL is just too handing for pulling logs out of the woods or otherwise providing muscle to pick up and move big things.

Actually right now, the FEL is even handy for keeping my lawn mowed. My neighbor got a few loads of dirt delivered that he used to bring up some low spots on his property. He's welcome to use my tractor anytime he needs it, doesn't even need to ask. But because he used it for that big job, he now feels he needs to keep our lawn mowed for us. I keep telling him not to worry about it, but he keeps sneaking over on his zero turn and mowing it before I get home from work. Worst neighbor ever. ;)
 
SoonerAviator said:
@Juliet Hotel for the record I love compact utility tractors for the versatility you get per dollar spent.
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I do love my Kubota BX series. When we purchased our 3+ acres, my wife was convinced we didn't need to spend the money on a tractor, just buy a mower she said. Quality and feature wise, the only real way to go seemed to be a JD X series, at least a X500 or higher. But those retail new at over $6,000 and up. After a lot of research I stumbled across the Husqvarna TS 354XD, which is not an MTD machine, actually has a commercial transmission, greasable bearings, etc, and for almost half a JD. Only thing it lacked was 4 wheel steer, 4WD, and power steering, but I doubted I really needed all of that. I was a couple of days away from buying the Husqy, when my wife suddenly agreed to a tractor. If it wasn't for that I would have bought it for sure.
 
midwestpa24 said:
I do love my Kubota BX series. When we purchased our 3+ acres, my wife was convinced we didn't need to spend the money on a tractor, just buy a mower she said. Quality and feature wise, the only real way to go seemed to be a JD X series, at least a X500 or higher. But those retail new at over $6,000 and up. After a lot of research I stumbled across the Husqvarna TS 354XD, which is not an MTD machine, actually has a commercial transmission, greasable bearings, etc, and for almost half a JD. Only thing it lacked was 4 wheel steer, 4WD, and power steering, but I doubted I really needed all of that. I was a couple of days away from buying the Husqy, when my wife suddenly agreed to a tractor. If it wasn't for that I would have bought it for sure.
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The other thing about most tractors is that they don't change product models often, so you usually can find parts easily for anything produced in the last 50 years with relative ease. I looked at the Husqvarna GT52XLS series as well (welded deck, not stamped), but they were running about $1,500 for a 3yr old used mower, where I could grab the used Kubota or JD for a few hundred more and know that it was going to last and be able to have a dealer network for any parts. I want sure Husqvarna would be as easily supported.
 
Keep in mind the size of lot the OP has. That’s why I recommended the X300 series Deere’s. Not too big, can be found 10-15 years old at this point for reasonably cheap, and it’s built stout enough that you can actually get parts for it and fix it and keep using it vs just putting it at the curb if you did happen to spin a deck hub bearing.
 
Nick Pilotte said:
Keep in mind the size of lot the OP has. That’s why I recommended the X300 series Deere’s. Not too big, can be found 10-15 years old at this point for reasonably cheap, and it’s built stout enough that you can actually get parts for it and fix it and keep using it vs just putting it at the curb if you did happen to spin a deck hub bearing.
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Thanks. What do you think they should sell for. Here's a 10 year old X320 listed for 2k.

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/grd/d/noblesville-2010-john-deere-riding-mower/7161544792.html
 
For that size yard get a small single blade 0 turn... The single blade cuts SOOOO much cleaner!
I have.75 acre and have the Dixon 30" single blade and it has been great. I bought it slightly used 10 years ago and never had a problem one with it.
 
Bob Noel said:
for my small 18000 sq ft lot, I'm perfectly happy with my consumer-grade John Deere riding mower. I went with a 42" deck because of the gate it needs to go through.
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Yep. I have 0.48 acres, most of it lawn (and trees). It is mildly hilly in places. Thought about 0 turn, and realized it wasn't really needed. There are a couple places where it would have been nice, but generally not worth the extra cost for me. I too did the JD 42".....mine is a newer model (E120 I think?). But I can mow the whole thing, in a somewhat complex pattern, in 30 mins easily. Would take an hour or more easily with my old self propelled walk behind, and I can do it now with a beer in hand. It also helps mowing the half acre of grass behind the house surrounding the community well once a month. For that, I get paid enough by the water company to make our bill essentially free, which is a gift that keeps giving. Modern JD riding mowers aren't fancy or high end by any means, but it gets the job done. The price, at maybe $1800 is right for a guy who isn't trying to break the bank tending to a cool season lawn that ends up full brown in the summer without extensive work. At the very least, it does a nice job trimming my dandelion and clover collection :)
 
Stewartb said:
I have two of the dreaded John Deere 100 Series from big box stores. The older one at the cabin has mowed about an acre of grass on not the smoothest ground for over 10 years and is still going strong even after a week of total immersion in a flood a few years back. Bought a new one this spring for the house. Literally the most basic JD model they sell (E-100) and it does great, too. I prefer the older transmission but that's splitting hairs. I enjoy hopping on both with a beer in the drink holder and zipping around.
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I had a big box store JD at one point but when I moved I decided to get something a bit beefier, in order to my a bit easier. I ran it (a John Deere D130) side by side with a John Deere 317 lawn tractor (which I now mow with). They basically did the same job. I have no doubt the "lawn tractor" would last longer, but at what cost? Looking at an X500 lawn tractor, you could buy a big box store riding mower 3 times over and still be cheaper than an X500. If all you want is a mower, I think it's hard to beat a lower end big box store mower, knowing it won't last as long, but the money you save in the front end more than makes up for it.

If you want to spend the money to get something like a JD lawn tractor, I'd be inclined to say to just buy a sub-compact tractor, and have more utility and resale on the back end.

midwestpa24 said:
I do love my Kubota BX series. When we purchased our 3+ acres, my wife was convinced we didn't need to spend the money on a tractor, just buy a mower she said. Quality and feature wise, the only real way to go seemed to be a JD X series, at least a X500 or higher. But those retail new at over $6,000 and up. After a lot of research I stumbled across the Husqvarna TS 354XD, which is not an MTD machine, actually has a commercial transmission, greasable bearings, etc, and for almost half a JD. Only thing it lacked was 4 wheel steer, 4WD, and power steering, but I doubted I really needed all of that. I was a couple of days away from buying the Husqy, when my wife suddenly agreed to a tractor. If it wasn't for that I would have bought it for sure.
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My 2 cents here, are that there are 2 brands you pay for the name on, or as I call it, the green & orange tax. John Deere and Kubota, you sure do pay a lot more money for the fancy paint color than some of the other brands out there. Don't buy an actual sub-compact/compact tractor on brand name alone, but something that your local stealership can work on (if you prefer to have them work on it when it has issues).


Also, that said, if you look at what's in my barn, you'd see mostly older tractors, with very little electronics on them. Much easier to fix and work on yourself
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
My 2 cents here, are that there are 2 brands you pay for the name on, or as I call it, the green & orange tax. John Deere and Kubota, you sure do pay a lot more money for the fancy paint color than some of the other brands out there. Don't buy an actual sub-compact/compact tractor on brand name alone, but something that your local stealership can work on (if you prefer to have them work on it when it has issues).
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I certainly get what you are saying. In my case the only local dealer was JD, every other brand including Kubota required travel. I looked their 1025R over before making up my mind, but there were several fit and finish and operational items I didn't care for, least of which was the price premium.

I also looked at some other orange, red, and white tractors, but I felt the Kubota appeared to better quality and built, and was the same cost as most of the competition other than the "other" orange.

Given the distance from dealerships, I do all of the routine maintenance myself. Its only been back to a dealer once for a warranty issue.
 
midwestpa24 said:
I certainly get what you are saying. In my case the only local dealer was JD, every other brand including Kubota required travel. I looked their 1025R over before making up my mind, but there were several fit and finish and operational items I didn't care for, least of which was the price premium.

I also looked at some other orange, red, and white tractors, but I felt the Kubota appeared to better quality and built, and was the same cost as most of the competition other than the "other" orange.

Given the distance from dealerships, I do all of the routine maintenance myself. Its only been back to a dealer once for a warranty issue.
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For sure, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with JD or Kubota, I just feel like a large portion of their cost is in the name. But on the flip side, if you're going to sell a machine, JD or Kubota are the ones to have, as they command a used premium. And just for clarity, I've got JD 317 lawn tractor to mow my lawn, then I've got a Ferguson TO30, Massey Ferguson 150 and Massey Ferguson 205. I might be a bit biased towards MF, but at the end of the day, whatever works for you is great. I'd love to have a newer machine, but I'd have more money in a sub-compact/compact Massey Ferguson than I have in all 3 of my tractors and implements combined (blade, rotary cutter and flail mower).
 
KSCessnaDriver said:
For sure, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with JD or Kubota, I just feel like a large portion of their cost is in the name. But on the flip side, if you're going to sell a machine, JD or Kubota are the ones to have, as they command a used premium. And just for clarity, I've got JD 317 lawn tractor to mow my lawn, then I've got a Ferguson TO30, Massey Ferguson 150 and Massey Ferguson 205. I might be a bit biased towards MF, but at the end of the day, whatever works for you is great. I'd love to have a newer machine, but I'd have more money in a sub-compact/compact Massey Ferguson than I have in all 3 of my tractors and implements combined (blade, rotary cutter and flail mower).
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One of the Kubota dealers I visited also dealt in MF, so I looked at one of those as well. I don't remember exactly why I chose not to go MF, but I do remember the loader control being mounted on the loader versus on the rear fender of the JD and Kubota, plus no easy release to remove the loader on the MF.

Granted that is one thing after a few hundreds of use on the Kubota that I'm growing less fond of. The quick release latches work great for removing the loader, but in operation they are a little sloppier than a pinned on loader arm would be.
 
My JD loader has the quick release latches on the loader itself and quick pins on the bucket. I've had the loader itself off exactly once, for 30 seconds just to figure out how to do it. I take the bucket off all the time. Much easier to get around obstacles while mowing if the bucket is off.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
My JD loader has the quick release latches on the loader itself and quick pins on the bucket. I've had the loader itself off exactly once, for 30 seconds just to figure out how to do it. I take the bucket off all the time. Much easier to get around obstacles while mowing if the bucket is off.
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The bucket on the Kubota has the Skid Steer Quick Attach (SSQA). I've taken the bucket off from time to time, but more often when mowing I remove the entire loader. It has two easy release latches on the loader arms that detach it from the tractor. For removing the loader they work great, but there is a certain looseness in them that allows some play during operation that a pin on loader wouldn't have.
 
pigpenracing said:
So do you leave your beer in the cupholder to get hot while you cut with both hands on the sticks?
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I don't drink alcohol but I do take a bottle of water with me when the Carolina sun is beating down. Actually my Z-Turn has two bottle holders. I use one to keep the washout hose connector in and the other for my beverage.

As far as driving a Z-Turn ... it can be easily done with one had with a bit of dexterity and practice. Several ways to do it include (but not limited to) 1) use a single hand to grab the ends of both bars and push and pull them for speed and twist for slight turns, 2) leave one handle in the 3/4 forward position and steer with the other handle or 3) buy a cheater device as seen here:

 
 
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Nick Pilotte said:
Here’s another, little smaller deck but an X304 for a lot less.
https://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/194263189/2006-john-deere-x304
https://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/194263189/2006-john-deere-x304
I bought an 06 X324 in 2010 for $2500 with 600 hours or so. The deal with these tractors that were sold at Deere dealers is that they hold value better. Personally, I wouldn’t spend more than $1500 on something for the size of lot you have and I’d maintain it well. That $1500 JD mower should last you 10-20 years if you keep the fluids changed, blades sharp, and zeros greased.
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The difference between the X series JD sold at Deere dealers and the other series sold at major retailers is who makes them. The retail versions are built by MTD and are just licensed to be green, same almost any other lower end retail Craftsman, Cub Cadet, Murphy, etc. The X series are actually built by JD and are a little better built in my opinion, and have better options on them, but obviously for higher cost.
 
Nick Pilotte said:
Here’s another, little smaller deck but an X304 for a lot less.
https://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/194263189/2006-john-deere-x304

I bought an 06 X324 in 2010 for $2500 with 600 hours or so. The deal with these tractors that were sold at Deere dealers is that they hold value better. Personally, I wouldn’t spend more than $1500 on something for the size of lot you have and I’d maintain it well. That $1500 JD mower should last you 10-20 years if you keep the fluids changed, blades sharp, and zeros greased.
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That's the route to go. Or even into the older JD lawn tractors, like the 300 series. Great mowers (I've got a JD 317 right now), and you can get attachments for them. Heck, you could find one with a snowblower for sale reasonably easy around me in Northern Indiana.
 
Nick Pilotte said:
Here’s another, little smaller deck but an X304 for a lot less.
https://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/194263189/2006-john-deere-x304

I bought an 06 X324 in 2010 for $2500 with 600 hours or so. The deal with these tractors that were sold at Deere dealers is that they hold value better. Personally, I wouldn’t spend more than $1500 on something for the size of lot you have and I’d maintain it well. That $1500 JD mower should last you 10-20 years if you keep the fluids changed, blades sharp, and zeros greased.
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That's about what I paid for my Kubota G1800S ($1,700) and it works great on my 3/4 acre. It's built solid enough that even buying mine at 900hrs (diesel) and running it 30hrs a year for mowing, it should make it another 30 years without breaking a sweat. Rust would probably get it long before the engine/transmission/deck wore out at that pace. I'd expect the X300-series to do similar, although most of them are gas engines so they won't likely go toe-to-toe with the diesels. I'd also probably look at the older JD 355 models (predecessor to the X-series) that could be had for cheaper and built just as well.
 
SoonerAviator said:
That's about what I paid for my Kubota G1800S ($1,700) and it works great on my 3/4 acre. It's built solid enough that even buying mine at 900hrs (diesel) and running it 30hrs a year for mowing, it should make it another 30 years without breaking a sweat. Rust would probably get it long before the engine/transmission/deck wore out at that pace. I'd expect the X300-series to do similar, although most of them are gas engines so they won't likely go toe-to-toe with the diesels. I'd also probably look at the older JD 355 models (predecessor to the X-series) that could be had for cheaper and built just as well.
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What I was told when I was researching lawn tractors, expect the air cooled engines to last 750-1000 hours pretty trouble free, liquid cooled 1250-1500 hours. Diesels should be able to get past 2,000 with just regular maintenance.
 
midwestpa24 said:
What I was told when I was researching lawn tractors, expect the air cooled engines to last 750-1000 hours pretty trouble free, liquid cooled 1250-1500 hours. Diesels should be able to get past 2,000 with just regular maintenance.
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Yes but if you don’t maintain the liquid cooled engine it will be worse. When I purchased my last mower, a Scag commercial mower. They convinced me not to go with the liquid cooled Kawasaki I wanted. All the commercial guys are not buying those because they need more care than the air cooled Briggs.
 
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