DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:

On Sun, 19 Jun 2005 10:07:41 -0400, Bob G.
wrote:

On Sun, 19 Jun 2005 00:30:56 GMT, wrote:

All,

Thanks for the info i'm about to recieve.. This group always gives the
best advice....

I'm getting ready to become a new home owner (1st time). This
house is on a 1acre lot with a view in the country... The lawn is
semi hills (Rolling). More in the front than rear.. However a Grade of
8-10%.. So a powerfull mower is a given. The driveway is 150' long
gravel..

I read over the consumer reports for the riding mowers and the
john deere L111 was the top choice..

I was thinking more on the L118 with a bagger...

The maintance plan seems reasonable...

cost/budget.. $3000 US..

1800.. mower
250.. Bagger
500.. Maintaince
400-500.. Buffer

Has anyone owned a deere that wants to share some info?

Thanks

Joe
===================================
I do not and never have owned a John Deere... (I have run
International Cubs ...for the last 30 years)...BUT there is absolutely
nothing I could even dream up to put down a Deere....

with an acre I sometimes had to empty the 3 bags on my bagger 8 9 or
even 10 times in the early spring...forget that..compost pile is 10
foot tall in about 3 weeks... get a mulching blade....in the fall if
you have large Maple trees like I do...Have fun and chop them up
and let them rot on the ground over the winter...

buying a maintance contract that costs 1/3 of what you want to pay for
the TRACTOR seems to me strange... Deers have a pretty good rep...I
know I have NOT spent 500 dollars TOTAL in over 30 years on reparois
etc for my Cubs... (excluding gas, oil, blades and grease to lub the
thing)... Original tractor was 25 years old and was running just
fine when I replaced it due to a rusting mower deck and 4 dry rotted
tires...replacing the deck and tires was more then half the price of a
new tractor ...

However....buy it from a dealer NOT Home Depot etc....and go with a
true full time Hydrostatic drive...

Never thought about the tranny... Thanks for the tip..

I mentioned it as a consideration owing to the slope some time back...

....
Buy Hydrostatic...

But as in a previous discussion (not this thread) if you have a large
area to mow unless it has provision for a hand lock to keep speed w/o
having to hold it down all the time, it can be tiring for large areas...

Make sure the deck is extremely easy to install and remove...
forget the bagger and rethink the maintance contract...
you may consider buying wheel weights if your lawn is pretty hilly...

Weights? Hmm.. Confused however might come in handy to keep the
Tractor from sliding..

Rarely needed simply for mowing, particularly if use rear bagger which
I personally recommend to avoid excessive thatch buildup. Others have
different opinions. I would can the maintenance contract, they're
rarely good buys...

I'd still recommend at least looking seriously at the ZTR styles and
whatever you select get a chance to try it on your lot to ensure how it
handles the slope. Any real JD dealer will arrange that w/ no
difficulty...