Well, I've finally decided that I'm buying one.  What do you all recommend?  Gear drive or hydrostatic?

I'm looking at the John Deere L110.  Any opinions?

Thanks,
Chimborazo

Opininon's?  Sure!

My Dad always owned a Snapper Hi-Vac.  He liked it because he thought it picked up leaves in the fall better, but I don't know.

I was never really impressed with Snapper riders.  I did keep one from falling apart for years with Duct-tape and coathangers though.  I now use his older one at my house, and it runs good (B&S engine).

I probably won't buy one for myself.  I suspect JDeere is better.

Definately the hydrostatic! Smooth as silk...

I second the hydrostatic. Less worry, smoother operation, better and quicker cut.

Look around at commercial dealers adn find a good trade in walk behind or ZTR rider for cheap.

Go with the largest deck you can afford and fit in the garage. I use both a '48 Deere and a 52' Scag.

I use a self propelled Lawn Boy, my lawn doesn't warrant a lawn tractor.  My parents have a bottom of the line Yard Man Hydrostatic.  It works fine, but they really didn't need it.  It's more of a luxury for them.

You can really go overboard on these things, but ultimately it's still a device for cutting the lawn.  Be sure the use you'll get out of it is worth the indoor storage space lost (garage/shed), 'cause they take up some room.

I've got an almost 3/4 acre lot, and I just bought a [url=http://www.powermadeeasy.com/husqvarna/tractor/rider16h.htm]Husqvarna Rider 155 [/url]. They sell them at Lowe's for full MSRP ($3299.95), but I got mine from the company in the link for $3000 (delivered cost was $3275). It's the best riding mower on the market, IMO (and I put a TON of research into it). This thing enables me to cut my lawn in [b]less[/b] than 45 minutes. It's great, and very easy to work on. Everything is very accessible. The thing is smooth, and fast. Much faster than a standard yard tractor. I can't say enough about it.  

I bought the JDeere L120 because of the 48" deck.  I have about 1-1.5 acres I need to cut and the bigger deck was a plus.

So far, so good.  I've been using it since the end of April and it works great.  It's coming close to it's first oil change (25 hours) but the oil still looks great, like its hardly been used.

The whole L series got high marks from Consumers Reports.  

One thing that I didn't know till after I bought mine was that there is no adjustment capability (toe in or toe out) on the front end!!  I guess if it ever gets out of alignment enough to need adjusting, you have to start replacing whole components.  Other than that worry, I've been very happy with it.

If you're really looking for a quality small tractor, I would go with a Cub Cadet.

Truly a superior machine to the other, more popular machines such as Deere, Husky, etc.

The Cub is built more like a full size tractor in terms of greasability and serviceability.

I've had quite a few tractors through the years including Deere, Husky, Alice Chalmers, Ariens, Bolens etc., etc.

Go with the Cub.

I almost bought a JD L110 until I did a little more reading.  The L110 is a cheap version of the John Deere mower, I would go with the LT series, they are better built.

The L110 uses plastic bushings on the front wheels where the LT series use a standard bearing which can be greased.   This is just one of the differences between the two.   The LT series is only a little more $$$, but well worth it in the end.

how much grass are you cutting?

there is only one thing, and one thing only, that matters....[B]HORSEPOWER[/B].

hydrostatic...gear...makes no difference as long as you have the horsepower required to keep that deck turning.

avoid the breaks & scrap'em motors. go for a kohler or kawasaki powerplant if you can.


i own 11 john deeres, so i'm qualified to tell you....avoid the cheap assed "l" and "lt" series and move up the line to a real machine. the "l" stands for "lawn"...and they are very lightly built.

Hydrostatic roxorz.

I have a Cub Cadet 1515.  The safety features are annoying.  My yard is so rough I bounce off the seat sometimes (I keep the pedal all the way down until I'm circling a tree) and the blades stop.  I'd also like to be able to mow in reverse.  Other than the annoying "save a kid I don't even have" features, I like it.  If I had the money and storage space I'd like a bigger one.  It takes me 2 hours to mow my 1 acre (-house) lawn.

Jim

If you have the $$$, then go with the John Deere or the Cub Cadet. If you are on a tight budget, get a Murray from Wally World.

Go with hydrostatic.

Snappers, Ariens, Craftsman, = thumbs down.

Jacobsen used to make some really nice bulletproof machines. have'nt seen a new Jacobsen in awhile.

Cub Cadets have gotton quite a bit more flimsy but I can think of anything better.

What kind of engine?
Kohler?, Tecumseh?, B&S?,

If your into gardening and alot of yard projects a beefy machine (and a nice trailer)are definitely worth it.

CampyBob, what are we talking about for a real John Deere tractor in terms of model # and $$$$.

I'm looking and the area is 2 acres, less 3 houses, outbuildings and driveways, so around a solid acre of munchin'

Thanks for the advice.  I have about 3/4 of an acre to mow.  Also, I'm trying to stay under $2,000.  I plan to do some shopping around at different distributors tomorrow and see what kind of deals they have.

Thanks!

the "gt" series is about the bottom end for a j.d. machine built to last.

for 2 acres, the 200 series is minmal. i think a man that keeps his machine 10 or more years would be better off with the 300 series.

for 2 acres, no less than a 48" deck and 16-18 h.p..

for a 3/4 acre yard, a 38" deck will get you by, but it still takes h.p. to spin those blades fast enough thru the heavy grass to keep travelling at a good clip.

hydro is fine if you do lots of stopping, turning or have lots of crap (shrubs, trees, landscaping, decorations) to mow around. for wide open spaces and long runs, i prefer my gear drives. for hilly terrain, i prefer gear drives. for working the machine for anything other than mowing (cultivating, rototilling, plowing, pulling other things around), i prefer gear drives.


one of the best things about john deere is the parts support. all machines break and wear out. i know of no brand that comes close to j.d. for spare parts support. some of my machines are 25+ years old and i can still have parts shipped to my door with j.d.'s 24-hour parts support network. if they go down, they aren't down long.

Cub Cadet?BWWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHHAAAA!!! Man thats a good one. I know some guy that owns two and still can't keep the jungle back . Unless its an old model like the model 70 Cub Cadets are trash.

Dont buy one!!!  Use ACME Grass Cutting Service or whatever is in your neck of the woods.  By the time you factor your time, maintance, fuel/oil, blades you are better off hiring someone, unless cutting grass causes an immense amount of pleasure.  The Wall Streett Journal  had an article a few months ago and basically if you make >44K a year, your time + expense of equipment is greater than having some dude cut your grass.

I'm a zero-turn kinda guy.  I have about 7 acres to mow and use a Grasshopper 725K..Unreal mower!  61" deck.
VF

Hmmm....you may have a point there...

I know this is more than you need, but my Kubota diesel with 4 wheel steering has 800 hours on it and no problems.  It is sort of loud, but i mow about 4 acres with it every two weeks.  The torque it puts to the blades lets me use it as a shredder if I need to.

I'll second that.  I have a newer 16hp Deere w/ Hydro and a 1944 6hp manual geared Wheel Horse and any time I have serious work to be done, I have to get out the wheel horse.  I have tried the JD, it just won't do it.  Shoveling snow, Hauling heavy crap in a trailer up hills... you need the manual gearing.

-Nuke

chida, i really like the kubota line of diesels.

what most folks don't understand is that weight, torque and horsepower are what give a tractor its' usefulness. kubota offers all three features.

the 'little' riders are generally built too light to get the job done in a hurry and will fall apart if pushed near their limits.

another thing is that over the years the horsepower ratings of gasoline small engines have been exaggerated...and not just by a small amount.

today's 16hp singles do no more work than a 1975 12hp was capable of. beware the h.p. ratings and buy more than what you are told you will need. as nuke stated, an old tractor may well outwork a new one with a "more powerful" motor.


regarding lawn services. in my area, a straight finish cutting will average $50 to $100/acre.

in ohio's short growing season, we might mow 15-20 times. that's $750 to $2k per anum.

that money will buy you one hell of a machine and maintain it over 3-4 years...and i'm still running machines that are over 25 years old.

you do the math. my time ain't worth THAT much! LOL!

besides, that machine, if you purchase wisely, will do maney other tasks than just cut the grass. if you own acreage, you SHOULD own the tools necessary for its' upkeep in my opinion.

I bought a new John Deere L110 this spring and am very satisfied.  It's light years ahead of the 10 year old Snapper front engine mower I had before.  I mow 1.5 acres with lots of trees and banks so I go slow.  So far it's an ideal machine for my application.

Edited to add:  The first time I used the mower I jumped right on it without reading the manual or watching the video.  Unbeknowst to me, the deck discharge mulching cover was still on.  I mowed through high grass and was wondering why no grass was shooting out from the discharge!  The motor never bogged down nor was there any indication that I was screwing up.  I was convinced right then and there that this mower has some balls.

I just looked at a zero-turn Toro and a couple of Husqvarnas.  I wasn't impressed with the Toro, but the Huskies were nice.  The zero-turns are out of my price range, but the tractors were reasonable.  I have a Husky chainsaw and trimmer, both with which I am very happy.

What do you think of Husqvarna?  The one I like has a two cylinder Kawasaki.

Well IMO if you really gotta stay under 2000
Any machine you buy will be junk. It will work fine for a couple years but then it will go to hell. Cheap lawnmowers are a throw away item. If you dont mind getting  new one every 5 years then they will be fine. Personally I like Zero-Turn Machines. They save you loads of time If you got anything to mow around. The best Z machine Ive used is a Hustler (the mower not the mag.) Most of them will mow as fast as yo want to go and you can get a quality moter on them like kawazaki. Ive really never been with anything That Toro Makes that wasnt a die hard commercial machine. Also most Dixons are junk IMO Crappy cone drive system that is jerky as hell. Ariens Is also not very good.
Kubota makes great machines. well built HydroSystem And they come with Kawazaki moters which are damn good. the Newer Series with the Buggeye lights is pritty good. I think its the G series. Also the cheap Deeres are absolute junk if Ya gotta Have JD get a more $$$ one.
I worked at A Farm equip dealer for 2 yrs we Sold
Kubota Airens Hustler Dixon Toro.

And pritty much anything you find at A Large Discount retailer eg Home Depot Wal-Mart ect Is probably junk. Cant comment on Husky mowers tho.