[the_grube]

Just moved into a place with about 1.5 acres of lawn. I'm looking at getting some sort of riding mower to maintain it. Haven't done a lot of research yet, but, I'm thinking along the lines of a John Deere D140. The grass isn't particularly fancy, a fair bit of dry barren patches, lots of clover in it etc. There are also over a dozen large trees, and they leave a lot of debris. I also have about a property to the South of me that is all brambles: blackberry and tall grass. I'll need something to whack that back with. Not sure if I should get one of those gas powered 2 wheeled weed eaters with mono line the size of 12ga wire or...?

What are you guys rollin' in for your large lawn care needs? Is John Deere the real deal, or are they more name/status than real value? Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

nothing beats goats for blackberry & bramble removal , nothing is a bigger pain in the ass than a herd of goats that will climb on anything, girdle trees & the males will happily piss on you at every opportunity but they for dam sure will clean up brush ! Had a john deere lawn mower for many years with out a single hiccup

 

[Jim Wallace]

You might be able to find someone who hires out their goats for the lot cleanup. Those 2-wheeled whackers can chew thru some heavy stuff in short order, as long as its not too heavy (saplings, Scots Broom, Gorse, really thick bramble vines, etc). I was a cheapskate and put a blade on my weedwhacker, doing the grim reaper thing.
I had good luck with my John Deere walk-behind mowers, when they still made 'em. I think they only make riders now. I'm still using one for my own yard that I bought around 2000 for my lawn care service. They had Kawasaki engines on them back then, with oil filters. I liked them better than my Hondas, which were also good mowers. I didn't use riders, but I think the brand is dependable, and if I needed a riding mower, I'd for sure look at John Deere first.
One caveat that needs remembering. John Deere service does not come cheap, and parts are expensive.

 

[Jim Wallace]

nothing beats goats for blackberry & bramble removal , nothing is a bigger pain in the ass than a herd of goats that will climb on anything, girdle trees & the males will happily piss on you at every opportunity but they for dam sure will clean up brush ! Had a john deere lawn mower for many years with out a single hiccup

A friend of mine had some goats for lot clearing. He had trouble getting rid of them after they had done their job. Apparently, it can be difficult to find buyers for them. So, hire some, don't ever own goats! My friend place an ad for "free goats," and someone came and got them (for making stew, my friend suspected).
By the way, my friend told me that those male goats are actually jacking off onto their own faces in order to make themselves more attractive to the females.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of goats.

 

[River Is Polluted]

I did a lot of research on lawn tractors before I bought my last one. For a lawn tractor look at Cub Cadet XT1 Enduro series. They have a higher quality motor than JD. The JD motor is for residential where-as the CC is in-between residential and commercial (just better parts in the 7000 series). Also cutting width is something to look at. I have a 46" wide deck which only has 2 blades. A 48" wide deck has 3 blades and IMHO does not cut/mulch as well and is a lot more maintenance. The 42" deck just takes longer to mow plus the blades may not cut outside of the wheel width of the mower.

Plus the Cub Cadet is $300-500 cheaper than a JD that is equivalent and has a longer warranty. Any warranty work on a JD must be by a licensed dealer. If they are not close by you are SOL...

On a side note - when my CC tractor was delivered they had to drop it off at the beginning of my driveway. It had gas in it but I could only go 50' before it ran out... LOL/SMFH

 

[sweetlou]

I bought a Craftsman and have been very happy with its performance not to mention the easy financing with zero interest when I bought it.

 

[Jim F.]

I currently run a Deere X300 series with which I'm very pleased. My prior rider was a Craftsman - it ran for years & was still running when I sold it although it never cut as smooth as does the Deere. My Deere is a 42" & as stated I'd recommend a 48" for your larger acreage.

 

[The Drifter]

You should get a love tractor!

 

[jake-e-boy]

New holland>kubota>deere

Edit : the above is for buying new. Old Deere tractors kick ass, we run two 1960 deere 2010 tractors but all new ones are either new holland or kubota, deere you are paying for a name

 

[freestoneangler]

I bought a JD 130 about 11 years ago and it has worked great. A couple of batteries, new blades, and drive belt have been the only repairs/maintenance. It's hydrostatic and my wife thinks it's fun to drive. Any mower that get you more time on the rivers is worth the money . If you are using the grass catch/bag system, make sure to use the "hi-lift" blades as this will reduce clogging big time.

 

[jake-e-boy]

This. But make sure to get a front bucket, you will thank me later

 

[The Drifter]

Nice Jake. I want lights on my tractor. And a hard hat.

 

[Robert Engleheart]

Some good discussion here; https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=643181&highlight=Mower
A couple things that discussion mentioned are the JD mowers bought at Home Depot, Lowes, etc are different than the ones from a JD dealer. That said, my 42" JD came from Lowes 9 years old, 400 hrs: blades, belts, one set of pulley bearings, and a head gasket. The single cylinder B&S engines in them are known for head gasket failure. Not a hard job to replace. Shop prices are as much as car dealers, do your own maintenance and repair.
Agree the 3-blade mowers are not as good as the 2-blade for cut quality. Older JD mowers are highly sought after.
If I needed anything bigger than a mower I'd go with a Kubota, my SIL is a dealer, says they don't fail often.

 

[Old406Kid]

I've been spoiled by stick steer, zero turn mowers and would never go back.
The downsides are that they're more money and you can't drink beer while mowing.

 

[Gene S]

I've used a John Deere D-140 for the last 3 years. No problems so far, just had to change out blades and sharpen. I had a difficult time deciding between a zero radius and a standard riding mower but went with the standard mower because of uneven terrain. Turns out the turning radius on the mower is really tight for going around trees etc., plus there's a convenient cup holder when brewsky rides along.
To expand on Deere I also have a John Deere 3038E tractor, a real little work horse. Put on a bucket, box scraper, rotary cutter, and root bar. The root bar was/is used to pick up downed trees and brush...55 dump loads to the land fill last summer alone. I've had several tractors and backhoes over the years and this compact tractor has performed quite well.
The local J Deere dealer has been great regarding service on both the mower and tractor.

 

[zen leecher aka bill w]

I've been spoiled by stick steer, zero turn mowers and would never go back.
The downsides are that they're more money and you can't drink beer while mowing.

This is where I'll be going with my next mower.... zero turn. I didn't buy one the last time because of price. Now that I've used the one I have for 5 years I wishi I'd ponied up the extra $$.

I did get a good buy on a Sears traditional style mower.

 

[the_grube]

Great info so far! I'm hearing lots of good reports about the zero turn mowers from different sources. My lawn and terrain is not like a golf course, but it isn't a junk yard either. Rolling slopes, short grass with lots of clover and debris from oak trees. Would a ZT be appropriate for it? Also, are the ZT's as versatile; can they tow carts, aeriators, and other attachments. Basically, in addition to the ZT costing more, what are the trade-offs between tractor style and ZT style?

 

[funfisher]

Consumer Reports likes these two best (they tied for top score). JD X350-42 with twin Kawasaki motor for $3200 and Craftsman 27042 with Kohler twin for $2200. My Craftsman with a Kohler motor is 15 years old and I bought it used. I replace the spark plug and change the oil once a year. It has never missed a beat but I finally had to replace the mower deck this year. Cost me $399 for a complete OEM deck that included blades and belt. It took me about 15 minutes to swap it out.

 

[Darby]

I have the Troy-bilt TB30 R Neighborhood Rider. It's the perfect size for residential large lawn care. I also had a large blackberry patch in the corner of the yard. I bought a circular blade attachment for my Stihl gas weed eater. It cut through everything like butter.

 

[IveofIone]

I bought a 42" Craftsman rider about 10 years ago to use here on the tundra. The 46" was too big for my sloping terrain with lots of trees. I also bought a little cart to tow behind, painted it to match the lawn tractor and built some wooden stake bed sides for it. Very handy. I only have one small patch of level yard with actual grass and everything else is basically field mowing and lots of it. The Craftsman has been rode hard and put away wet for all these years, has had only 1 oil and air filter change and 1 spark plug change yet it continues to amaze me with it's durability. I expected it to die years ago but it soldiers on with virtually no problems.

I use the 5' brush hog on my tractor for the bigger fields but it is far too large for most of the stuff around the house. If you have large and relatively flat areas to mow a real tractor with a 5'-6' brush hog will do the work in a fraction of the time and you will have the tractor for the dozens of other things it is useful for around your place. A self propelled walk behind is still very useful for trimming in small areas that the riding mower won't fit into.

It's kind of like fly rods-one won't do it all. My current weapons against forest encroachment are a 4wd Kioti tractor with a 5' brush hog, the Craftsman 42'' riding mower, Honda and Craftsman self propelled walk behind mowers, an industrial strength over the shoulder gas powered weed whacker and a new Black and Decker lithium ion powered string trimmer. And enough Roundup to make 65 gallons for my backpack sprayer! I'm tying to keep about 4 acres of my property mowed and during the growing season it is a helluva job. If I ever move away form here it will be somewhere that is flat!