Lets Talk Riding mowers

[jimbee]

John Deere 100 series and S240 tractors are built in Tennessee. The X300/500/700 series are built in Wisconsin.

 

[Breedlove]

When I was in the Oil Patch with the Megacorp we hired an Engineer from John Deere . his claim to fame and he let us all know was that he took John Deere to China . Now we never questioned him but I think it was the mowers from the Big box stores or the residential mowers . Now I am hearing MTD is making JD mowers to JD specs. The supply chain includes the whole world.
It gets touchy and a grey area when you talk country of origin . I have been to the JD dealer here in Navasota and they admit what HD and Lowes sells is made in China . They had to do it to compete.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

cost per year

Here's how I'd look at it -


If repairing it for $300 gets you 3 more years of use, then it works out to a cost of $100 / year.


If you buy a new one for $3,000, to have it cost $100 / year, you're going to have to get 30 years out of it.


That's how I'd look at it. Your guy could provide a guesstimate of how much life is left in the old one if you do the overhaul.

 

[ransil]

How well do the ZTR mowers handle rough terrain? I have a Craftsman 48” garden tractor now.

I have a zero turn Farris it has shocks all 4 corners, great ride. My compact tractor bounces me out of the seat mowing.

 

[ejman]

I have an 18 year old Sabre tractor that gets the job done ( about 2 acres of hilly mowing) It started giving me a hard time with the wiring/safety switches (probably a short somewhere in the wiring after rubbing and vibrating for 18 years) took it in to the local mower fixer guru who could only get it to run for a couple of months and then it would do it's thing again (only run with the brake engaged - stop as soon as the foot was off the brake - yes all switches were changed). I defeated the safety switches and runs wonderfully now.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

When I was in the Oil Patch with the Megacorp we hired an Engineer from John Deere . his claim to fame and he let us all know was that he took John Deere to China . Now we never questioned him but I think it was the mowers from the Big box stores or the residential mowers . Now I am hearing MTD is making JD mowers to JD specs. The supply chain includes the whole world.
It gets touchy and a grey area when you talk country of origin . I have been to the JD dealer here in Navasota and they admit what HD and Lowes sells is made in China . They had to do it to compete.

Home Depot's website shows Deere 100 series and Ztrak mowers for sale, which are built in Greeneville, Tenn.

Here's a link to a 2014 Deere press release announcing that it was moving production of its zero-turn line from Horicon, Wis., to Greeneville. The release also refers to the factory's prior sole focus being the 100 series lawn tractors and the Horicon plant's focus on "premium" lawn equipment.

Deere is still building lawn mowers in the United States. I live within 30 minutes of the Horicon plant, and I can tell you they're not only up and running, they're expanding.

 

[misanman]

Beginning to think it's time to trade my jd f725 for a zero turn. Any recommendations? I think the f725 is 50 inch. Wouldn't want to go any smaller.

 

[Music Lover]

I have an 20 year old 18 HP 42" Mastercraft mower that still works fine. It's had some hard living...I spent a more than a few weekends cutting 2' high grass for 6 hours a day and a couple times burned out mower belts from trying to cut too much at once. I have 1.75 acres to cut.

If your mower is only 8 years old it should still have a lot of life left.

 

[hesperus]

My riding lawn mower, a JD 4120 with rotary cutter. Will cut anything, even scrub oak up to 1" diameter. Just make sure the pets are indoors

 

[oneill225]

zero turn all the way

I have a 50" Toro zero turn that is worth every penny (right around $3,000). Mowing seems to be twice as fast and a lot of fun spinning around (for the kid in you). I understand that you can always save money, but a zero turn will not be money wasted and a lot of time saved.

 

[travelover]

Beginning to think it's time to trade my jd f725 for a zero turn. Any recommendations? I think the f725 is 50 inch. Wouldn't want to go any smaller.

I decided on a Toro zero turn mower. Toro has different grades and the transmission seems to be the weak spot in any ZT mower. I went up a notch from the basic consumer grade but not to a commercial mower. The one I chose is an MX model.

 

[Car-Guy]

My riding lawn mower, a JD 4120 with rotary cutter. Will cut anything, even scrub oak up to 1" diameter. Just make sure the pets are indoors

Does anyone keep their ROPS up anymore?

 

[oneill225]

Beginning to think it's time to trade my jd f725 for a zero turn. Any recommendations? I think the f725 is 50 inch. Wouldn't want to go any smaller.

I bought the Toro MX5050 from Mowers Direct; price was $3,950 (no sales tax/delivered) two years ago. No issues and no regrets. I think you will find many similar models from various manufacturers. Toro got good reviews and offered the most value for the money. I also liked the Kohler engine option.

 

[MRG]

Beginning to think it's time to trade my jd f725 for a zero turn. Any recommendations? I think the f725 is 50 inch. Wouldn't want to go any smaller.

You might be surprised about the acreage you can mow on a Z. Also consider the weight of the machine, it's really important for traction and mowing conditions!

With a 42" Gravely it was great for relatively level surface in dryer conditions. It mowed twice as fast as the 42" Sabre it replaced. The 65" Scag weighed 2.5X more and would mow on extreme slopes at 14mph. You could spin it round on those same slopes! Thing would mow 3 rough, hilly acres in 1.5 hours with ease.

While Scag is a beast it may be overkill for many. The only negative, parts/service are extremely expensive.

 

[CRLLS]

One thing I do know , there is no difference from the JD at HD or Lowes then the ones at the JD dealer . The residential models are all built in China to JD specs. I worked with an Ex JD engineer . Now the largest seller of mowers is MTD , they sell under so many names from the Walmart brand to the Cub Cadet . MTD is like a disease to the folks I know . So I will have the Ariens rebuilt and see where it goes .

I get the JD vs MTD camps. All I can say is that I've have an MTD Cub Cadet 1042 with Kohler 18hp single cyl engine for 15 yrs now. It is still doing what it should. I do my own maintenance. I've been thru a few belts, an electric PTO clutch, steering joints, and just put a few plastic bushings in the control linkage. All in all, normal stuff that wears no matter what brand one has. Repair is almost always the best way to go. If you have to have someone else do the repairs, then the inconvenience of service delays might become an inconvenience as any machine ages. The grass keeps growing

 

[hesperus]

Does anyone keep their ROPS up anymore?

Yes mostly, but that day I had to lower it to work under some low hanging pine branches.
If I'm on anything with a slope that ROP is up, period.

 

[Ready2Go]

I've had a Cub Cadet for 22 years. Bought it before they started selling cr*ppy versions of them at Home Depot. I plow my driveway with it in the Winter too. 13 hp Kohler. Change oil once per year, normal belt & tire replacement plus the electronic PTO a few years ago. That's it! This thing is a mule. Owes me nothing. My neighbor laughed at me when I bought it. Said they are no better than Sears tractors for a lot more money. Maybe so...but he's gone through 3 of those Sears tractors since then and mine still starts & runs every time.

 

[Big_Hitter]

can't you get a new mower for about $1K?

that's about what i paid for mine delivered from lowes

 

[Car-Guy]

Yes mostly, but that day I had to lower it to work under some low hanging pine branches.
If I'm on anything with a slope that ROP is up, period.

I'd agree that a ROPS can be a good safety feature but since I don't wear a seatbelt while I'm on the tractor, I don't think the ROPS is going to help me in most rollover cases anyway. I have a lot of tress on my property so the ROPS gets in the way a lot. For slopes I try to only go straight up or straight down. For anything else, my pucker meter seems to work really well when I'm on slopping terrain.

When I see other folks around here on their tractors, nobody has their ROPS up anymore. YMMV

 

[MRG]

I'd agree that a ROPS can be a good safety feature but since I don't wear a seatbelt while I'm on the tractor, I don't think the ROPS is going to help me in most rollover cases anyway. I have a lot of tress on my property so the ROPS gets in the way a lot. For slopes I try to only go straight up or straight down. For anything else, my pucker meter seems to work really well when I'm on slopping terrain.

When I see other folks around here on their tractors, nobody has their ROPS up anymore. YMMV

Wow.

I was almost pitched out of an Oliver crawler FE loader when I was 17. Would have been really bad as I was about 12 feet in the air at launch point. Falling into the exposed engine and hydraulics would have sucked big time! Of course the machine was still in gear getting run over by it didn't seem much fun either.

When I was on ZT I always was strapped in and used the ROPS when possible. Damn glad I was too as I would have been pitched in front of the machine and I was moving at 14mph. Wouldn't have been any fun.

I guess it makes more difference when you see how quickly things turn to sh...!

 

[Breedlove]

Well , I stand corrected . but I ask why . I go to the JD Dealer in Navasota and they tell me all the JD that come from HD are made in China .
Today I was at HD looked at the JD 100 series , made for residential basically the cheapest mower . ( Made In Tennessee )
I guess my buddy at Megacorp was full of @@@@ when he told us all he took JD to China . Maybe this is why he is still there .

 

[Breedlove]

I can buy a new Rider mower tractor style made by Poulan for around 1K . But I am still interested in a ZTR .
In the meantime , I will have the Ariens repaired . Good Bad . now to me a mower is a mower .

 

[Bamaman]

I was frustrated at my old Toro zero turn was not starting and began blowing fuses. I started looking for a replacement.

The Ariens 52 inch zero turn at Home Depot was quite a bargain at $2999. It has the fully welded mower deck and most popular Kawasaki 23 hp motor. Ariens owns Gravely so my mower is the same mower as a Gravely model--at substantially less cost.

As long as a yard is not too steep, the zero turns are far superior machines. They cut twice as fast as a lawn tractor and are quite fun to operate.

 

[VanWinkle]

I just upgraded to a John Deere X500(2012 model purchased used) for 2400 after selling my old tractor for 500. I cut about 1.5 acres in 2 yards and it was getting to be a little too much for my old 38 inch deck tractor. This one has a 48 inch deck and mulches which is nice(no clumping grass clippings).

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I just upgraded to a John Deere X500(2012 model purchased used) for 2400 after selling my old tractor for 500. I cut about 1.5 acres in 2 yards and it was getting to be a little too much for my old 38 inch deck tractor. This one has a 48 inch deck and mulches which is nice(no clumping grass clippings).

Have you got the 4-wheel steering option? I really like that feature on my X300.