[joedude]

Hello Ladies and Gents!
I'm the proud new owner of a John Deere LA130. Picked it up yesterday. My Wife and I just bought house on a 10 acre property so needless to say a Tractor was a necessity! I also know that the LA130 is small for such a lawn, but the actual size of the lawn is about 4-5 acres. Still big, but manageable.

Honestly I'm planning on either getting a trail mower or building a gang reel mower to pull behind my John Deere to make the job quicker.

I'm also going to be buying a snowblower for my tractor as we have a 300' driveway so I'm going to need it!

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

thank you!

Here she is:

 

[Ken N Tx]

:Welcome1: :OHCAN

Enjoy all of the many Forums here on MTF..


Don't forget to register what Province the you are in!! Click here

 

[MowerDude]

Hi and welcome, nice to see someone else from the 'Cold North'.:OHCAN
Nice rig there. :fing32: I also have the exact same machine with a 17p cart. Here is the link.
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=151398

It's a fantastic machine! Great engine, reliable, fine fit and finish. Very well made for a lawn tractor. Better than anything else you can buy from a 'Big Box Store' like Home Depot (I got mine from JD). But, that's my point. It is a lawn tractor. Yes, it will cut grass on 4-5 acres, no problem, but I hope it's flat and that's ALL you want to do with it.

You have much more land than I do, and I'm getting ready to jump to an X700 series or probably even a 2305 SCUT, because, well as nice as the LA130 is... well you'll see in time. Not to say the machine is bad, not at all. It's a wonderfull machine, so long as it's used within the manufactures intended goal. It is a lawn tractor, not a garden tractor. It's not up to par with the Select series in terms of durability, by far. The select series are orders of magnitude above the LA series. If you're planning on towing some weight (you mentioned a larger mower setup) like a roller, aerator etc. over your 4-5 acres, the transaxle might/will give you grief in the long term. Sorry, just the facts.

Based on your size of land, in my honest opion and experience, you might have been better with at least an X500 Series for, if anything at all, the transaxle.

My biggest gripe with the LA series is how difficult they made it to do simple things like take the deck off to clean it. Lots of pins, washers, arms and grunt work. The guage wheels don't rotate sideways so you have to have to tug the deck out against the wheels. The spindle grease plugs are set at an angle that makes it hard to reach with a grease gun (had to change mine to 45 deg angle). The front wheels use plain bearings (bushings). For $20 I replaced them with real ball bearings from JD on day 1.

As for adding a blower, If I was you, I would run (not walk) to JD and upgrade to a Select machine before dropping some coin on an LA blower. It will eventually come down to this, so either do it now before machine starts to age or do it eventually. But it will happen, just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.

Just my 2 cents of advice.

Again, nice rig and welcome.:trink40: This forums got a ton of usefull stuff and great people.

-John

 

[wayneb]

Welcome to the forum from Ontario!!!!

 

[joedude]

Hi and welcome, nice to see someone else from the 'Cold North'.:OHCAN
Nice rig there. :fing32: I also have the exact same machine with a 17p cart. Here is the link.
http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=151398

It's a fantastic machine! Great engine, reliable, fine fit and finish. Very well made for a lawn tractor. Better than anything else you can buy from a 'Big Box Store' like Home Depot (I got mine from JD). But, that's my point. It is a lawn tractor. Yes, it will cut grass on 4-5 acres, no problem, but I hope it's flat and that's ALL you want to do with it.

You have much more land than I do, and I'm getting ready to jump to an X700 series or probably even a 2305 SCUT, because, well as nice as the LA130 is... well you'll see in time. Not to say the machine is bad, not at all. It's a wonderfull machine, so long as it's used within the manufactures intended goal. It is a lawn tractor, not a garden tractor. It's not up to par with the Select series in terms of durability, by far. The select series are orders of magnitude above the LA series. If you're planning on towing some weight (you mentioned a larger mower setup) like a roller, aerator etc. over your 4-5 acres, the transaxle might/will give you grief in the long term. Sorry, just the facts.

Based on your size of land, in my honest opion and experience, you might have been better with at least an X500 Series for, if anything at all, the transaxle.

My biggest gripe with the LA series is how difficult they made it to do simple things like take the deck off to clean it. Lots of pins, washers, arms and grunt work. The guage wheels don't rotate sideways so you have to have to tug the deck out against the wheels. The spindle grease plugs are set at an angle that makes it hard to reach with a grease gun (had to change mine to 45 deg angle). The front wheels use plain bearings (bushings). For $20 I replaced them with real ball bearings from JD on day 1.

As for adding a blower, If I was you, I would run (not walk) to JD and upgrade to a Select machine before dropping some coin on an LA blower. It will eventually come down to this, so either do it now before machine starts to age or do it eventually. But it will happen, just as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.

Just my 2 cents of advice.

Again, nice rig and welcome.:trink40: This forums got a ton of usefull stuff and great people.

-John

Thanks for the great info John!

After reading this, I do like the idea of upgrading, but unfortunately I bought my JD used on Kijiji. It's a 2008 with only 24hrs on the hour meter. So taking it back to upgrade to a select series isn't an option!

I noticed what you said about the grease nipples right away. I have a set of 90deg fittings, just haven't installed them yet. I also like the idea of getting some bearings for the wheels as I'll be putting lots of miles on this thing. Any chance you know what the Part # was on those?

Thanks!
Luc

 

[jd3x]

Welcome neighbor!! This is an awesome forum, to get ideas and the folks here help when the JD is not feeling just right. I assume this is your first JD. A very addictive habit.

My name is JD3X 'cuz when I joined I had owned 3 JDs, 110, 216, 425, now I just bought a Z445 (zero turn) so I should be renamed to JD4X.

Good Luck and have Fun !!!

:fing32:

 

[stladrill]

:MTF_wel:From Quebec. :fing32:

and :ditton MowerDude explanation.

 

[stoon boy]

Luc, welcome from your neighbour to the west . John made some very valid points. You will see plenty of the newer L and LA series mowers showing up for sale. Buyers realizing that they should have bought bigger/older/stronger machines.They are a great machine for what they were built/designed for : cutting smaller RESIDENTIAL lawns. Wish you luck with the 300 foot driveway, you WILL need chains and some how some serious weight on the back, Manitoba like Saskatchewan can get some nasty snow storms. Randy

 

[MowerDude]

...I bought my JD used on Kijiji...

...(bearing) Part # was on those?...

Here's an idea, put 'er back on Kiji with 25 hours on her (keep the cart). Think it over, seriously. You'll really be pushing the envelope of an LA series, and might end up chewing it to death in a season or two and how much will that then have cost you in retrospect? An LA series blower WILL NOT work with a select series machine.

I'll dig up the part number for the bearings. Actually, they're the front wheel bearing from the X300 series. And to be honest, they're standard bearings you can get from any bearing supplier. You'll need access to a hydraulic press to press out the old bushings and press in the bearings. If you don't have one (yet) a trip to Princess Auto might be in your future, unless you know someone with one.

See, you're already spending money on it!
It's starting....

I did mine with a 20 ton press. One wheel took nearly 3 tons to pop the old bushing! When it finally gave, it sounded like a pistol report. Bang!

 

[joedude]

Luc, welcome from your neighbour to the west . John made some very valid points. You will see plenty of the newer L and LA series mowers showing up for sale. Buyers realizing that they should have bought bigger/older/stronger machines.They are a great machine for what they were built/designed for : cutting smaller RESIDENTIAL lawns. Wish you luck with the 300 foot driveway, you WILL need chains and some how some serious weight on the back, Manitoba like Saskatchewan can get some nasty snow storms. Randy

Hey Randy, Thanks for the info! You're probably right about people selling their 100 series to upgrade, the only thing I found when looking around was that a physically bigger and older tractor in the same price range usually came with a smaller engine with less horsepower. And was much older: 20-30 years older!

I understand how a tractor with a bigger engine would be better, and maybe I'm missing something, but as far as I know, Horsepower is Horsepower. So technically my LA130 with 21HP engine should be better than my wife's grandfather's older x300 model with 17HP. But comparing the two, the x300 is much more expensive. Why is this? Build quality and parts used are one thing, but its not a small difference! Even then, a better built tractor and frame mean that it'll likely be heavier, so that 17HP is even more restricted.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I really thought I made the right decision going with the JD with the highest HP that I could justify spending. I'm not opposed to modifications, cause I don't hold a JD warranty. I definitely plan on some add-ons, making my cut wider to decrease time spent mowing, so I'm considering my LA130 my starting point.

 

[joedude]

I also have a question for anyone - Why was my Introduction post moved?

I understand that within my introduction we started a specific conversation that would belong in the actual JD forum, but the original intent of the thread was simply an introduction.

is this common?

 

[stoon boy]

Luc, I would not compare horsepower to horsepower. I would not buy a B & S when I have the option to buy a Kawasaki. I would bet the acreage that my LITTLE 16hp yanmars would bury your 21 HP Briggs, see if you mower is still running in 25 years.
The OLDER 318/322/332 are built like tanks,solid one piece frames,hydros that will never be replaced, back in 1986 they were as much as a compact car price wise and still are holding their value. If you happen to be at a JD dealership, compare the new ZTR mowers, would a person spend an extra $1000 for a Kawasaki over a Briggs with the same horsepower? I will next spring.BTW I asked one of the JD mechanics ,which would he buy, $1000 more for the KAWASAKI in a heart beat.

 

[joedude]

Point taken...

But Honestly, I would never expect a piece of machinery that I purchased for $2500 to last 25 years! That's a little excessive if you ask me! Make that a LOT excessive!

I personally paid $1500 for my tractor with trailer, and if it lasts me 3-5 years I will be very happy with it and consider it money well spent. Especially considering the size of the property it'll have to handle!
:thanku:

 

[MowerDude]

...the x300 is much more expensive. Why is this?

Not being mean to any LA owners (I'm one of them), it's like comparing a Yugo to a Lexus LS460L. There is a reason for the $100,000cdn dollar gap (for the cars, not the mowers).

Build quality, stronger frame, ball joints on the steering, engine mounts better transaxles, bearings instead of bushings everywhere, thicker mower decks, Kawasaki engines instead of Briggs... etc. As you move up the ladder, the all of the above increase exponentially. By the time you arrive at the X749, you're talking quiet liquid cooled 3 cyl deisel, 5/16" thick frame, K92 cooled transaxle, full time 4 wheel drive, 4 wheel steer, tilt steering, ultra comfy suspension seat, power steering, shaft driven everything, hydro deck lift, rear pto, front pto, 3py hitch, full instrument cluster, crazy towing capacities essentially it's a luxry car that cuts grass, takes a front end loader, mid mount blade, post hole digger and just about anything you can think of. With an average lifetime measured in decades, not years.

The LA series was introduced to get the JD name in the garage of people whom would have bought an MTD or something like that, because the 'real' Deeres were simply too 'dear' (pun fully intended).

Consider a select series as a fine meal served at the best resturants. An LA series is fast food like McDonalds.

Tear apart an X300 and LA side by side and compare the components. Nuff' said.:trink40:

-John

 

[stladrill]

I understand how a tractor with a bigger engine would be better, and maybe I'm missing something, but as far as I know, Horsepower is Horsepower. So technically my LA130 with 21HP engine should be better than my wife's grandfather's older x300 model with 17HP. But comparing the two, the x300 is much more expensive. Why is this? Build quality and parts used are one thing, but its not a small difference! Even then, a better built tractor and frame mean that it'll likely be heavier, so that 17HP is even more restricted.

No offence, but horse power is unfortunately miss used for marketing purpose.

You defiantly can not compare horse power only by the number written on the tractor.

The Kawasaki 17 HP torque curve is mostly flat and is not a "peak point"

 

[cgreencorn1]

Welcome from PEI.

 

[tinmancan]

welcome from 'soon to be snowy....yech, Alberta!!

 

[joedude]

Well now I know how to buy my next tractor! But you guys have to give me some credit... I did buy the right color tractor! Good 'ol John Deere Green!

Thanks for the warm welcome! I look forward to learning a lot about this little piece of machinery, and worst case scenario, if my LA130 quits, I can get one of my wife's uncles to come over with one of their many JD Combines and make quick work of my few acres! LOL

I'm looking forward to making my few modifications and personalizing my tractor.

Un gros merci à Stladrill pour tes videos très descriptifs sur Youtube! Après tout, c'est grace à toi que j'ai trouvé ce site!

For those of you who don't speak french:
"A big thank you to Stladrill for your descriptive Youtube videos! After all, its thanks to you that I found this site!"

 

[MowerDude]

Luc,

I saw your post on my other thread. Your first house! Now I understand, 100%. Take your time, a 'newer' JD lies in your future, but not now. Makes perfect sense to wait. Priorities are priorites. I thought perhaps, you were on maybe your 'third house', retired and your beard was white as mine! Ha Ha.

Good luck, my 'young' friend.

 

[stladrill]

Well now I know how to buy my next tractor! But you guys have to give me some credit... I did buy the right color tractor! Good 'ol John Deere Green!

Thanks for the warm welcome! I look forward to learning a lot about this little piece of machinery, and worst case scenario, if my LA130 quits, I can get one of my wife's uncles to come over with one of their many JD Combines and make quick work of my few acres! LOL

I'm looking forward to making my few modifications and personalizing my tractor.

Un gros merci à Stladrill pour tes videos très descriptifs sur Youtube! Après tout, c'est grace à toi que j'ai trouvé ce site!

For those of you who don't speak french:
"A big thank you to Stladrill for your descriptive Youtube videos! After all, its thanks to you that I found this site!"

:thanku: for the nice comment.
Glad I could help.:thThumbsU

PS: Merci pour le petit mot en français.:fing32: