Riding Mower

[Paulonius]

So I am looking at buying a riding mower and I think I have decided on getting a Deere D110. Any naysayers? Any Deere haters?

http://www.deere.com/en_US/ProductCatalog/HO/servlet/com.deere.u90785.cce.productcatalog.view.servlets.ProdCatProduct?pNbr=BG20541&tM=HO

Yes, I plan to look EXACTLY like the tool riding that mower when I get mine. I want a baseball cap too though.

Its been 20+ years since I had a lawn I had to mow, so I have some questions.

1. To Mulch or Not to Mulch:

I am seeing a lot of chatter about mulching blades.  Do I care?  What happened to dumping the clippings in a big pile in my backyard?  I was thinking that if I use the regular blade and get a bagger attachment I can use it to pick up leaves in the Fall. 

2. Plow, Thrower, or my Back?\

I have a circle drive and if I get more than a couple of inches of snow I am going to wish I was paying someone to make it all go away.  As an alternative I could get an attachment for this lawn tractor. They have a snow blower and a plow.  Has anyone ever used something like this on a riding mower?  is it worth it?

Any feedback related to these questions, wise-cracks or othwerwise is welcome.

Thanks!

-P

 

[12TimesOver]

How much lawn? How much driveway? Hills? Flat? Pavement? Rocks? Gravel?

I bought a Craftsman. It's ok but I wish I went for the extra $$ to get the Garden Tractor vs the Lawn Tractor as it's got a heavier frame and is a bit more solid. All in all I do like it though I still have a fair amount of yard requiring a push mower due to some steep banks.

To mulch or not to mulch - I'm pro mulch and yes, I believe the mulching kits are a good investment. When you leave the clippings on the lawn they decompose and contribute to the quality of the soil and the health of your grass. Mulching blades are designed to break the clippings up into smaller pieces that will decompose more quickly and efficiently as well as spread them more evenly. IMO, get the bagging attachment as well. If the mowing gets away from you so that the grass is so long that you want to bag it you still have that option without changing your blades. Also, you can definitely use it to clean up leaves, etc like you mention.

Snow removal - I live in Vermont so there is no way in hell I would use my riding mower to plow. Maybe a larger one? Not sure... Between the chains and the available plow kit I'm already a portion of the way to a decent 2-stage blower. I also think the answer to this depends on your average snowfall. I had, if I remember correctly, 6 storms this winter with over 15" of snow (3 of these were over 20") and several more with 8-12". No way would a non 4-wheel drive vehicle be able to push that much snow around. If I rarely got snow or never more than a few inches I wouldn't plow it anyhow but, if I did, I suppose I could use my lawn tractor.

As for JD or some other manufacturer, I doubt you will find that much difference between them in similar price brackets. My mower was about the same price as the one you linked and the specs are pretty much the same. Between Craftsman, JD, and Toro you have some great options. I might stay away from Home Depot or Lowes versions of the JD though, they aren't the same as buying from a JD dealer. They are manufactured specifically for the box stores and with lesser quality parts so that they can be made and sold more cheaply.

The other great thing about a lawn tractor is the ability to get a small trailer for it for hauling stuff around. Even minor things like mulching or other basic yard work is made easier when you can pull a wagon behind you - not to mention how much fun it is for the kids


Hope this helps.

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[Paulonius]

Thanks 12, that is some solid feedback. 

I have just under a half an acre to mow, minus gardens and driveway.  Some grade, but nothing you can't drive a mower on. Based on your suggestions I am going to go mulching blade, bagger, and wait to decide about snow removal to see what I think after I put some time using the thing. 

St Louis doesn't get snow anything like Vermont, but if I was going to get something for snow it would be the blower anyway.  I think there was one snow fall over six inches here last winter.   

[Masscre]

I do not have the correct terminology here so forgive me on the correct terms.I have owned quite a few JD Items from tractors, garden tractors, RV's and so forth and have had very few good things to say about them.  They are expensive compared to competitors, they nickle and dime you to death on anything that breaks and get ready for things to start breaking after about 13 months. Parts on transmision, motors, belts are super EXPENSIVE. Do your home work. Compare prices on maintenance type items. Thier gravity clutches or what ever they call them are horrible and wear out after about 23 months or less of use. They are expensive to purchase and unless you are planning to put it in your self are even more expensive to get someone to install. Incase I do not have any thing nice to say about JD it is coming from experience because I have a cattle and poultry farm. The failures are not because of misuse of the machines. Most failures are because of the machines claiming they are built for this and that but not tested well before implementing the items in mass production. I have full size JD tractor that has a  back hoe attachment on it and comming from the factory installation they only installed 4 bolts that where to small to be holding all this pressure and weight they where.  I took it back to JD and they said they where working on this problem and that it is very common in this model of tractor but they did not have a fix for it. Well after the bolts broke and dropped the back hoe on a  friend legs helping out we took it down and drilled the bolts out of the frame and installed bolts that where 2 sizes up from this and this seemed to correct the problem in my eyes. They would rather skimp on product and keep prices the same rather than create a good tractor. End of story being that becareful when buying anything from JD and do your home work before buying this look on a few free forums for others opinions. I will not every pay money for another JD product. EVER!! God Bless

edit: RV = Gator

[luv2luvlong]

Deere... there like the deer you see along side the road, you should avoid them.

as for what you should get depends on how much yard you need to mow. If you have a lot 3 or more acres you might be able to justify a small "real" tractor. Then you can get all sorts of cool attchments.

a trick you'll want to know. 

[12TimesOver]

I think with under an acre of property and what sounds like perhaps a less than rural setting you are good for a low to mid range lawn tractor. I hear what Mass is saying about JD, definitely more expensive to maintain. However, if you have a good local shop you might be ok. In my neck of the woods there are a couple excellent dealers/shops for both JD and Toro who rely on strong long-term customer relationships.

I still went with Craftsman due to the bang for my buck. Attachments are reasonable and maintenance is cheap and easy to learn how to do myself.

BTW, Luv, the reseating a tire with starter fluid works like a charm - I've done it a number of times now, most recently on my wheelbarrow. Fun stuff too!

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[Cerveza]

Though I seldom recommend outsourcing...

[TrailMyx]

I just knocked over my coffee fumbling for the phone to call them.  Beats my current yard guy.  He doesn't look nearly as hot in a bikini has they do!

[Paulonius]

I have been trading emails negotiating with my local dealer and he is not much for giving a discount so far.  After the negative Deere feedback and the dealer being kind of a prick, I may look at something else. It looks like I save $300 by buying it from Lowe's instead of a dealer.  You would think I could get them to come down that much at the dealer. 

I will do some more research and post an update when I do something.

[12TimesOver]

I have been trading emails negotiating with my local dealer and he is not much for giving a discount so far.  After the negative Deere feedback and the dealer being kind of a prick, I may look at something else. It looks like I save $300 by buying it from Lowe's instead of a dealer.  You would think I could get them to come down that much at the dealer. 

I will do some more research and post an update when I do something.

Check out my initial post, the JD's you see at the box stores are not the same JD's you typically get from a dealer. Thus the $300 price difference.

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