get a snapper to mow and pick up leafs with. get a good used tractor to pull carts and other implements. have had a snapper for over 30 years mowing an acre of lawn every weeks in the summer. I have a 140 deere for snow removal and other projects that require a heavier machine.
Help for a Beginner
Hey everyone, I stumbled upon this forum while doing research on purchasing my first lawn tractor. Now a little background...I'm a software engineer in Massachusetts by trade, and generally all my life, I've stayed away from doing too much stuff outside. So now I'm married, have a kid, and a house with about an acre of flat lawn that we've had for 2 years. I've been having a landscaper come maintain my lawn, but #1: I'm sick of paying them and #2: they were pretty crummy anyway.
So all that being said, I'm interested in purchasing my first lawn tractor. I'm not knowledgeable about them at all, but I generally do my due diligence on things before purchasing something that expensive. Based on my initial research, it's apparent that most people think purchasing something like a John Deere from my local big-box store might not be the brightest idea...so I kind of wanted to check in with some people much more in the know than I am.
What do I need a lawn tractor for? Well, #1 is mowing and I have some grand plans to use it to dethatch and aerate my lawn as well (both terms that I recently learn
)...I'm very jealous of my next door neighbor who is retired and spends a ton of time maintaining his yard, so I'd like to not be so embarrassed when his lawn is green and mine is yellow in the middle of the summer...but I also don't have as much time as him, so something that can help me get my job done faster is a plus obviously. And I would use it to just pull around random stuff like debris or bags of soil for the garden that my wife will inevitably want to put in one day.
Now someone said in another thread that one would never regret getting a more pricey model of tractor, but in reality, we all have budgets. I'd like to keep mine in the $4k range, but I do have wiggle room. Also, while I am totally not handy, it's because I generally have not had a chance in my life to be handy...but once I get into something, I end up learning pretty well...I just need some reason to do so. So I'm not totally adverse to needing to put in my own time to keep my purchase maintained, but obviously, I'm a beginner, so the less chance of me messing something up, the better.
Thanks ahead of time for your help and opinions!
Edit: Also, I'm not stuck on any particular brand, but with John Deere's setup, I feel like they are intent on getting me off on the right foot rather than me needing to do stuff like adjust the deck or something right off the bat.
So all that being said, I'm interested in purchasing my first lawn tractor. I'm not knowledgeable about them at all, but I generally do my due diligence on things before purchasing something that expensive. Based on my initial research, it's apparent that most people think purchasing something like a John Deere from my local big-box store might not be the brightest idea...so I kind of wanted to check in with some people much more in the know than I am.
What do I need a lawn tractor for? Well, #1 is mowing and I have some grand plans to use it to dethatch and aerate my lawn as well (both terms that I recently learn
)...I'm very jealous of my next door neighbor who is retired and spends a ton of time maintaining his yard, so I'd like to not be so embarrassed when his lawn is green and mine is yellow in the middle of the summer...but I also don't have as much time as him, so something that can help me get my job done faster is a plus obviously. And I would use it to just pull around random stuff like debris or bags of soil for the garden that my wife will inevitably want to put in one day.Now someone said in another thread that one would never regret getting a more pricey model of tractor, but in reality, we all have budgets. I'd like to keep mine in the $4k range, but I do have wiggle room. Also, while I am totally not handy, it's because I generally have not had a chance in my life to be handy...but once I get into something, I end up learning pretty well...I just need some reason to do so. So I'm not totally adverse to needing to put in my own time to keep my purchase maintained, but obviously, I'm a beginner, so the less chance of me messing something up, the better.
Thanks ahead of time for your help and opinions!
Edit: Also, I'm not stuck on any particular brand, but with John Deere's setup, I feel like they are intent on getting me off on the right foot rather than me needing to do stuff like adjust the deck or something right off the bat.
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blackbri: I'd rather just purchase one tractor to "do it all"...which doesn't need to include snow removal (I'm very happy having someone plow my extremely long driveway).
Whirly: Thanks for the tip on the entry-level mowers...that's kind of what I gathered from reading up on different sources. I was shocked when I first started my research how cheap riders were, until I realized that even the highest priced one at Lowes was still on the bottom tier of mowers offered outside of a big box store.
UpstateTony: Thanks for the advice on waiting for a special...since I don't actually need one until next year, I can bide my time. Right now there seem to be a few incentives to purchase a JD, but I can wait another month to see how the try to get rid of their stock. I was looking at the X300 series and I think I might eventually end up there, but what would be the pros/cons of upgrading to an X500. I'm big on springing for the "best" I can get now just to avoid needing to upgrade too soon when I find out I need something better. But this is a case where I'm really not sure what the differences are (like what will I be able to do with an X500 over an X300?) to help my ultimate decision.
My budget is a bit flexible, especially since the arrival of my daughter ensures a nice fat tax return next year.
Whirly: Thanks for the tip on the entry-level mowers...that's kind of what I gathered from reading up on different sources. I was shocked when I first started my research how cheap riders were, until I realized that even the highest priced one at Lowes was still on the bottom tier of mowers offered outside of a big box store.
UpstateTony: Thanks for the advice on waiting for a special...since I don't actually need one until next year, I can bide my time. Right now there seem to be a few incentives to purchase a JD, but I can wait another month to see how the try to get rid of their stock. I was looking at the X300 series and I think I might eventually end up there, but what would be the pros/cons of upgrading to an X500. I'm big on springing for the "best" I can get now just to avoid needing to upgrade too soon when I find out I need something better. But this is a case where I'm really not sure what the differences are (like what will I be able to do with an X500 over an X300?) to help my ultimate decision.
My budget is a bit flexible, especially since the arrival of my daughter ensures a nice fat tax return next year
.
You should post that question in John Deere forum- the guys over there will give you a good breakdown of X300 series vs X500 seriesblackbri: I I was looking at the X300 series and I think I might eventually end up there, but what would be the pros/cons of upgrading to an X500. I'm big on springing for the "best" I can get now just to avoid needing to upgrade too soon when I find out I need something better. But this is a case where I'm really not sure what the differences are (like what will I be able to do with an X500 over an X300?) to help my ultimate decision.
My budget is a bit flexible, especially since the arrival of my daughter ensures a nice fat tax return next year
The 2 things that count for tractor capability are weight and transaxle, with the transaxle being the more important.I was looking at the X300 series and I think I might eventually end up there, but what would be the pros/cons of upgrading to an X500. I'm big on springing for the "best" I can get now just to avoid needing to upgrade too soon when I find out I need something better. But this is a case where I'm really not sure what the differences are (like what will I be able to do with an X500 over an X300?) to help my ultimate decision.
My budget is a bit flexible, especially since the arrival of my daughter ensures a nice fat tax return next year
The X3xx tractors weigh between 500 and 850 lb. The X5xx tractors weigh between 556 and 1113 lb.
The X3xx tractors have entry level hydros (Tuff Torq K46) to an upgraded entry level hydro (Tuff Torq K58). The X5xx tractors have hydros with substantially more capability (TT K72 at the light end and TT K92 at the heavy end). These are all ground engaging capable hydros.
Any meaningful upgrades from a X3xx LT put you into X5xx GT territory.
Additional information for comparison is at this site, including info on other brands.
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