Lawn Tractor need some guidance please

Rob Keeble

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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
OK I know this sounds very odd given snow flies around here in few weeks normally.
But I need to be prepared for next year and given the dilemma I find myself in I need time to come to a conclusion of what to buy.
I also got a quote from my current lawn care guy for the new place and $3000 dollar plus tax is a little steep for cutting grass for 8 months.
I cannot do this new lawn with a push mower, will be there all week.
So here is the dilemma.
Been searching and reading left right and center and what I have read has caused more doubt and uncertainty than clarity of what to do.
It would be a great deal easier if I knew what our final home looked like. Then I could size the machine to the future need rather than short term.
Given this desire and the current cost of these machines in Canada right now given our exchange rate, I began leaning to short term fix idea of buying used and low cost. Found a Craftsman Dlt 2000 that looked in good condition for around $1000 dollars. Then did a search and found this model had some tranny issues.
Then I got to thinking buying used of any brand makes this a potential project in the making.
Then looked at John Deere and read the Borg homeowner versions were like soda cans so that put me in the higher end category not stocked at Borg's.
Issue then is where is enough enough and the price goes with it......for what cutting grass.
A 20hp Borg John Deere runs around $3k Cad here. But if its going to be like a soda can and not wear then I struggle with value.
The used John Deere in the non Borg lineup going all the way back to the 400 series are selling here as if they were some scarce oil painting.
We Canadians also seem to think a used item is worth what we paid for it simply because the person buying it is saving the sales tax. Duh. No concept of what a 300 hour wear and tear and no warranty does to a 5 year old lawnmower.
So I thought let me turn to you all and hear what you have to say.
I have even been looking in the US within reasonable range of Toronto (NY State up to say Rochester kind of distance ) given better used sense of reality your US side of the border. But then I thought problem is I have no clue on checking one of these things out. I know bike engines but this hydrostatic transmission. Is foreign to me and from what I have researched supposed to be a sealed unit. This brought me back to new with warranty and buy a brand like Deere but not Borg version.
But then which level to settle on and why.
I ain't a light weight so thinking HP all I can get. Don't need the fancy turning of rear wheels for tight turns that just sounds like more to go wrong.
Going to write Jim cause if I recall he has 325 x version or something like that.
I gotta tell you Deere certainly don't make the choice easy with such a flood of models. Classic marketing to try get one to part with more coin than need be.

Can anyone shed some light on their choices and experience with this kind of mower.

Come to conclusion widest deck possible is best.

I would have liked to have some "insurance" included for future desires. Just like Carol did buying the 400 she rode across US to get. The type of front end mods Carol was doing at least make for more use on next property.
But is it really real to expect these tractors with this type of tranny to handle a bucket attachment and continue working for long???
Next step is baby Deere real tractor loader but the leap in outlay is enormous so big deterrent given I have no idea where we will end up right now.

Any input thoughts experiences would be appreciated.

BTW how long would you expect a ride on to last you?

If u got this far thanks for reading please comment.


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I bought a 'craftsman' that I thought was a 'garden tractor'. Well, at least that's what it was sold as. Once I got it though, I found that the transaxle it had was not rated for 'ground engagement'. I did get a sleeve hitch and a little blade on it for working the driveway, but it really was never up to the task. It worked fine for mowing my patch of grass, but since I killed that off all I ever do is use it for towing carts around the property. It works fine for that.

When I did try to use it to grade the driveway, the transaxle would heat up and kind of slow down.

So, What I'm saying is, make sure you know what you want it to do, and make sure it's rated to handle it. A couple of years of paying to have the yard mowed should break even on something decent.
 
while i have no current expierence i can say that several years ago the church i belonged to had a cub cadet and a deer and the cub cadet was much more reliable and required less maint. than the deer. i just checked and here in the states the top models start at less than $3k new. jmho.
 
Brent has it in one. Huge difference between ground engagement and mowing. If you anticipate ground engagement in the future, then you are in for much more than $3K. In 1979 I bought a 'real' compact tractor (Ford diesel version) with the front end loader that handled mowing. I also put a backhoe on it. Sold it in 2004. Never regretted the nearly $10k I had in it. BTW, sold it for $8K. Plus $6k worth of accessories. It will hold value far beyond the soda can models.

My tractor repair guy claims borg models are shot in three years. Not worth the cost of repairing them. When the tranny goes, its total toast. I will drop a new motor in my 400 and have a better machine for about a third of a new comparable machine. But I shopped for that thing for over 6 months and had to travel half way across the USA to get it. Yes, its a project that stlll needs completion, but I will have what I want with it. And expect to get out of it what I will have in it.

The Cubs are rated high, as Don said. My old 400JD has cast iron axles which is why it will handle the front end loader and the backhoe. Manufacturers haven't used cast iron in their mower tractors in decades.

Now you have more to think about. Go look at compact tractors. There JD is more expensive because of name. And the parts are dear, too. Pun intended. Look for real iron, not formed sheet metal in the axles. Diesel has power up the wazoo. Gasoline is acceptable unless you are really working dirt hard.

As usual, buy what you really want and need. In the end, you won't regret it.

BTW, I used a chain over the bucket and lifted more things than I ever lifted dirt. Know I saved the cost of that attachment in chiropractor fees alone!
 
I had a Murray that I bought at HD for $900.00 plus a free cart. Cheap as heck but it lasted cutting 3 acres of grass twice a week for 8 years. 3 or 4 years ago I spent $300.00 on a used JD stx38 that was made in the 80's. I just needed something to last the rest of the season, I was going to buy a new one in the spring when they went on sale. The machine is bullet proof. I can't kill it.
JD, Cub, Huskie and others make nice machines for under $1500.00. That's all you need. They work fine and last a long time if you take care of them.
 
I bought a Craftsman new when we moved into our current house. Except for a few minor issues it has been 100% reliable. I did put tractor style tires on the rear because my land is a hillside. Saved me an hour of mowing time. I use it year round pulling a small trailer for all kinds of tasks. The John Deere mowers sold at BORGs are no better and no worse than other mowers in the same price range. If you plan to move up to a small genuine tractor for real work look at the John Deere line at a Deere dealer or the Kubotas. The Kubota diesel is reputed to be a serious working hoss but noisy and expensive.
 
I should say that other than the seat cracking and the stickers peeling off, my craftsman has started every time I've used it over the last 8 or so years, so I really can't complain. I use it several times a week for moving stuff. Carts of firewood, weeds, garbage, that kind of stuff. and if I needed it to, I'm sure it'd still mow just fine.
 
I own a JD riding mower that I bought from the orange borg. It is going on 10 years old and about 600 hours on it with the original transmission and B & S Vee twin engine. Doesn't burn any oil, only on it's second battery and still has the original spindles as I bought a set of bearings to replace the ones damaged when the wife hit something cutting grass. I'm kind of perplexed as to why everyone thinks the borg models are different somehow.

Oh and I can't even convince Norma to get a new one. She says there isn't a thing wrong with the current one and there is no sense in replacing something that isn't broken!
 
Since your future involves having a little land, you might look at the sub-compact tractors that JD has, they've got some 0% financing going on (would need to check your area on their website for the deals). I'm still wishing I had gone with one over the zero turn for doing other tasks around here. However, I bought quality and for the size of land I have now and plan to have in the future as it will last for a good long while. If not a subcompact, the X300, X500, and X700 series are all great little work horses too.
 
I bought a Borg John Deere. It's OK but is EXACTLY like a Poulan or Craftsman or Troybuilt (borg). They work OK. As far as I am concerned they are built plenty strong enough to serve the purpose and if they are cared for (not like me), they will last many many years. Biggest issue I see is with the steering gears. Again, if cleaned and greased, probably ok, but if you take care of it like I do - I don't think a $10,000 mower would be any better. I bought my deere on sale, refurbished, (it was new, but returned), I think $800.

I will be buying another mower likely from a Borg store, BUT, brand means NOTHING. PRICE, will trump.

BTW - Craftsmen is no different than any of the other Borg brands - they just cost more.

Reason I need a new one --- I smashed the mower deck and destroyed the blades, bearings and bend the deck. I also allowed myself to get involved in a Craigslist scammer. MY fault.

I will not pay a huge price tag on a lawn mower - plus - I don't take care of them.

BUT - I am a yankee cheapskate.
 
If you are going to be mowing grass, get a zero turn. Time, money, gas, savings beyond belief. Then if you want/need a tractor, buy one. New or old, like a building, get one larger than you think you need as you will utilize it.
 
If you are going to be mowing grass, get a zero turn. Time, money, gas, savings beyond belief. Then if you want/need a tractor, buy one. New or old, like a building, get one larger than you think you need as you will utilize it.

That is good advice, as well as what others have said. If at some stage I just can't keep the old Honda going, I'll be getting a zero turn model, but they're strictly a mower and we'll probably still have a lawn tractor for other yard jobs. Of course , around the farm, the 706 literally does the heavy lifting.
Looking long term if I was in your situation, I'd look for a serious, used, compact tractor that can be multi purpose. Be patient and keep an eye on Kijiji, even further afield from GTA. Now that you a have the 150, a day trip with a rented trailer to pick up a good deal is no trouble.
 
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Then if you want/need a tractor, buy one. New or old, like a building, get one larger than you think you need as you will utilize it.

What kind of a farmer are you??? All the ones I know buy a tractor 2 times too small and than complain that it breaks down all the time.:thumb::thumb::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
test-2.jpgYou remember the old add that was for Fram filters?????????? Pay me now or pay me later campaign???? Well I bought a John Deere 318 way back in 1988 for a whole lot of money back then..... Out the door price of $6,000.00 at that time it was really expensive .......... Well here it is 2015 and I am still using that same tractor to mow and remove snow with.... So if you look long term that 6 grand investment costs me around 225.00 per year not to bad............
 

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Rob,
I got into this discussion late and you've already gotten good advice, so take mine with a grain of salt... My lawn tractor is a Troy-built, "Pony", about a 2000 or older year model, that I bought at the local Lowe's about 10 years back. It was a return, so essentially it was used and sold at about 1/2 price. It's been a work horse. It came with a little tow trailer that I've used extensively, but mostly it's a lawn mower.

My yard is roughly an acre, part of it is relatively flat, but the rest is pretty steep. When you reach the very back side of my lot, the yard is about 40 feet higher than my roof line. On my side yard there is a portion that drops off a bout 15 feet to the ditch that runs along the road in front of my house. This drop is at about a 25% grade... pretty steep. In the beginning I mowed this with a push mower for the 50 or 60 foot run along the road, but now I have reached the courage to just ride the mower over the edge down into the ditch, then turn around and ride back up the hill. I still mow the portion of the yard right behind the house with a push mower as there's no room between that hill and house to make any turns, plus I have a large boulder in the pathway immediately behind the house...

All that is said to compliment the little mower, it has pulled all of these hills and mowed some pretty rough terrain since I got it. The motor on the mower was a Briggs and Stratton, and don't quote me on this, but I believe it was an 18 Hp motor. After 10 years of useage, I broke a rod or something in the engine this past summer and had to replace the engine... my mechanic put a slightly smaller engine in (I think he said a 17 hp) that runs almost as well as the original.

It has been a good tractor, that I've had only a few minor issues with...
and I expect it will last a few more years... at least as long as I am physically able to mow my own grass.

I forgot I was going to make a comment on the JD.... when he was alive and lived down the road, my neighbor had an older JD with the automatic transmission and electronic lift on the mower deck... he loaned it to me on one of the occasions when I was having mine worked on... it was a little heavier than my Troy-bilt and ran a little faster... don't know if it was my unfamiliarity with the tractor, the fact it was a borrowed mower and the extra speed, but I didn't like the JD myself... that said, I know many people swear by them.
 
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