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Random Quote: Give a man a fish, feed him once.... teach a man to fish, feed him for life!
I think you would do fine with either a Sears type cheaper tractor or a John Deere. I know someone who bought a very cheap tractors that lasted 10 years, it rusted and fell apart then he bought a new one and both tractors combined cost as much as my one John Deere.
If you do decide on a John Deere do not buy from Home Depot. (Like Mist Rest said) Pick your John Deere dealers like you pick a boat dealer. Home Depot also does not carry the same Models as "regular" John Deere dealers. They have different parts and while I don't think John Deere would make a junk tractor to sell cheap at Home Depot, I do believe you may not have the same quality as other John Deere models.
JOHN DEERE ALL THE WAY I'VE HAD A 318 HYDRO FOR 15 YEARS NOW, JUST OIL CHANGES AND IT HAS A FULL SIZE CAR BATTERY TOO, YEA I DO PLOW SNOW WITH IT TOO THE THING GOES AND GOES. FINALLY JD WILL BE AROUND TO MAKE PARTS AS LONG AS THEIR NEEDED THATS NICE TO KNOW. LET'S FISH
ButchA, That is one awesome tractor.I just love old tractor!It's tough to find a new tractor that is built like that old David Bradley.Thanks for sharing it with us.
I looked long and hard at the Deere LT and LX models. The L models that Home Depot sells are junk in my opinion. The decks seem thin and the exposed fasteners and frame welds were rusting on the models they had chained up out front. The LT's and LX's were too rich for my budget, so I kept looking.
Sears had their garden tractors on sale during the winter and I ended up picking up one of those. I got the GT 5000 model, which has an automatic hydrostatic drive, 48" deck, 25 hp Kohler, and most important it holds lots more fuel than the JD's I looked at. The deck was much thicker (10 gauge), and I needed the heavy frame (read stiffer) with articulating front suspension for my yard. I've got a 2 acre yard that is a mixture of field grass out front, and somewhat (improving) manicured yard around the house.
I went with a garden tractor because I can get all sorts (70+) accessories for it. Unlike John Deere, the Craftsman accessories are much more reasonable. I bag the grass, and the slide out bins on the Craftsman are much easier to use than most of the John Deere baggers. I also got some other towables, such as the power sprayer, broadcast spreader, and tote wagon. I'm also going to be getting the tow behind aerator and scraper / box blade to level some ground and do some drainage improvement out back.
So far, I'm very, very satisfied with the Craftsman model I got. Consumer reports gave it a high ranking, only behind John Deere. I would have loved a Deere, but feature for feature, I got a similar model in a different color for thousands less.
ButchA, That is one awesome tractor.I just love old tractor!It's tough to find a new tractor that is built like that old David Bradley.Thanks for sharing it with us.
You're welcome!
Yeah, that old '59 David Bradley Suburban tractor is 2 years older than me. Somewhere around 1972 or so I remember my dad buying a 7.5hp Briggs & Stratton engine, welding a special motor mount bracket on the frame, and installing the new engine. Then he had to cut away a section of the front engine cowl, because the 90* exhaust elbow didn't fit. My dad was a genius with that old tractor! It is only fitting that in his memory and honor, that I repaint and restore the old tractor!
A lot of different views...one thing I went with on my Craftsman/Sears tractor is to make sure it came with the Kolher engine. It has an oil filter and oil changes are neat and easy to do. Change oil/plugs/filters every spring and at least the engine will last forever...can't say that with engines that do not have oil filters.
I agree with the Deere, My step father has a 1986 model that is still running like a champ. The important thing about the John Deere is you can buy parts for it. We have several that are over 20 years old that we still mow with at work.
I have the 445 with 60 inch deck for my 2.5 acre lot. I can mow it in and hour and 45 minutes. deck Definately get the hydrostatic transmission. The reason I went the tractor style instead of the zero turn is that the tractors ride much better. The zero's bounce you around and it's hard to mow a straight line on long runs, they do not naturally track straight. Most of the proffessionals that I know that use the zero turns for well manicured "smooth" lawns with a lot of landscaping to mow around they are faster for that. It's like these boats it depends on how you are going to use it. I would also reccomend buying from a dealer that will service your mower.
I bought a Poulan 42" 14.5 hp with hydro tranny in 1997. It has been trouble free, just regular maintenance. When I was doing my research prior to purchase I discovered that a company in Orangeburg S.C. assembled mowers and lawn tractors for almost every name brand on the market. The chasis is the same on the Craftsman, Poulan, Scotts, Murray, etc. Same for the decks, motors were mostly Koehler. You just got a few cosmetic changes depending on name brand that you were buying.
One of the biggest drawback to some brands is that they will not cut in reverse. My neighbor has a Scotts mower that does that and it seems to be a pain in the arse.
Consumer Reports has a website that for a small fee of about $20 a year you can access all past reports. There was alot of good info there when I bought in 1997.
REM got it mostly right - Electrolux Home Products builds yard and garden tractors in Orangeburg. The brands are Craftsman, Husqvarna (SP?), and Poulan. Murrays aren't made by EHP. Cosmetics differentiate the brand names. Look for a forged front axle, not 2 stamped pieces of sheet metal welded together. The garden tractors (vs. the lawn tractors) are very robust, and the old 6 speed manual tranny has been built for years, and is bullet-proof - true forged gears, dog shafts, etc.
Both of my John Deere tractors would not cut in reverse.
On most tractors, there is a switch close to the transmission that can simply be unbolted and secured out of the way.
On the Deere's with manually operated decks, when you try to back up with the deck engaged, the switch kills the engine. On models with the electric clutch for the deck, it will dis-engage the deck. Moving the switch provides normal reverse cutting.
RE: Lawn Tractors 
