Cub Cadet or John Deere

[Wingman]

I was ready to buy a Cub Cadet 1042 with the 18 HP V-Twin Kawasaki engine. You guys had given me pretty good recommendations on this machine. But, I had always assumed that a comparable John Deere would be much more expensive than a Cub Cadet. Not true! At the local JD dealer today, I found that I can buy a John Deere D130, with a 22 HP V-Twin Briggs and Straton engine for the same price as the Cub Cadet.

I mow two level lawns, about one acre each. I put about 50 hours per year on the mower. I do not do any pulling. I only use the machine as a mower.

So, for the same money, which mower would you guys recommend? Thanks for your advice!

 

[94astro]

I would always go for the JD, providing the dealer will honor the warranty in a timely manner, that matters a lot.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

I don't have any experience with modern Cubs, but between the two I'd choose a Deere simply for the dealer support if I ever needed it. I have a number of dealers near me, and my "usual" dealer has been fantastic, even dropping off maintenance parts at my house on his way home from work. Deere still has parts diagrams and part numbers available on line-it goes back at least as far as the 1960's (I recently had to look up parts for a 1963 4020).

I can even get nearly every part for my 39 year old 210 from my dealer-most are in stock.

My 39 years of experience with John Deere products (not the big box store versions) has been completely positive. I don't have an opinion on the big box store models other than I wouldn't have one.

 

[V8man]

Originally Posted By: Wingman
I was ready to buy a Cub Cadet 1042 with the 18 HP V-Twin Kawasaki engine. You guys had given me pretty good recommendations on this machine. But, I had always assumed that a comparable John Deere would be much more expensive than a Cub Cadet. Not true! At the local JD dealer today, I found that I can buy a John Deere D130, with a 22 HP V-Twin Briggs and Straton engine for the same price as the Cub Cadet.

I mow two level lawns, about one acre each. I put about 50 hours per year on the mower. I do not do any pulling. I only use the machine as a mower.

So, for the same money, which mower would you guys recommend? Thanks for your advice!


I would go with the Cub Cadet because it has the Kawasaki Engine, I would stay away from the Briggs. I worked at a Lawn Mower Repair place 15 years ago and they must have had about 40 drawers full of Briggs Parts, they only had about 5 drawers of Kawasaki Parts, both are good engines, the Briggs will be higher maintenance.

 

[JTK]

Both the Cub 1000 series with the Kawasaki and the Deere 100 series will have Tufftorq transaxles. Cubs with Kohlers have Hydro-Gear transaxles. I do like newer Cubs and have owned two, a 2544 and a Z-Force 44, but JD's are better engineered machines. IMO, it boils down to your dealer network. Which one is more convenient or you like to deal with.

Joel

 

[The motor guy]

buy a snapper riding lawn mower. You see those all over plus they hold their value.

 

[Donald]

Who is making Cub Cadet these days?

 

[Wingman]

Cub Cadets are made by MTD.

 

[mrsilv04]

Meh.... if the Kaw was in the Deere, then it's a no-brainer.

Cub Cadets are MTD's. They're definitely NOT what they used to be.

Considering your estimated usage, I'd go with the Deere with the B&S. Your expected usage isn't going to come anywhere close to pushing that combination past its design limits at all.

 

[Rat407]

Don't waste your money on a tractor mower, get a zero turn. You will be amazed at how much more efficient it is over a tractor mower. They have residential ones now so the price should not be very high. Since you only mow a zero turn is the way to go.

I had an old 60" Cub Cadet tractor mower and it took me an hour and a half to mow my 2 acres. I got a zero turn and now I can do the same yard in 50 minutes.

RZT Cub Cadet

 

[meep]

I just received my ariens 34" ZTR after looking at both traditional and zero turn. I spent a lot of time looking. At the entry level tractors, the cubs felt more solid and precise than the entry-level JD. More engine, steering was smoother and tighter.

At that price point, I really couldn't tell much of a difference beyond steering assembly and feel. For the money, I would have gone with the cub, as $1500 got me into the kawi v-twin. However---- first I would gone through one top to bottom before committing, to make sure I wasn't blowing smoke based on engine lust. I had an awful experience with a CC push mower-- stuff just falling apart.

Due to the shape of my yard though, once I drove a ztr it was a no-brainer. I settled on the ariens---- the local gravely tractor rep told me that the only difference between the gravely and ariens mowers was: 1- paint color 2- engine 3- $100. The ariens gets briggs, then kohler. the gravely's get larger briggs, then kawasaki. frames, decks, transmissions, brackets... all the same.

 

[Cujet]

My local Deere dealer is awesome. That alone makes it worth owning. But, I insisted on getting a Kawasaki engine in mine.

 

[JTK]

Keep in mind, John Deere has used Kawasaki engines in their higher-end lawn/garden OPE for ~25yrs now. Some of those engines are legendary.

OTOH, I highly doubt the Kawasaki vertical shaft V-twins used in the ~$2K Cub Cadet 1000 series riders are built to the same standards.

Like I always say, the make/model of the engine is only a piece of the puzzle with these machines. People always forget this.

Joel

 

[meep]

agreed. I'm just a victim of engine lust. and I'm also comparing the entry-level deeres against the entry-level cubs where I'm sure everything is to the lowest bidder. if I understand right, entry level CC are manufactured by MTD. MTD usually, in my book, uses thick enough metal, but totally blows on assembly, and sometimes use of parts that don't work too well together. IF one was to retouch every fastener, regrease, reseal, retighten, check cables for dressing, it'd likely be as good or better than anything else out there.

Folks here have said entry-level JDs are also MTD-built. The local gravely rep told me that JD moved away from that and are now selling JD-built units at the big box stores. IDK. My initial impressions were that the chassis and general hardware seemed very similar, with toro, ariens, and JD all feeling about the same. CC had smoother, tighter, and more consistent steering feel, with less slop in the mechanism. They all had plastic hoods, shrouds. One of them cheaped out and kept the fuel tank on the engine itself.... can't remember which.

He did tell me that Kawi now runs their engines with break in lube, then draining, in the factory before shipping them out, so they come pre-run, tested, and with most of the critical break-in done in a controlled fashion.

but yeah-- while certain runs of engines get poor reviews, in general the complaints that infuriate an owner are cutting deck alignment, dropped belts, bent hardware...

BTW @JTK -- thanks for your advice on other threads--- you helped me out a bunch, and I appreciate it!

 

[JTK]

Even the cheap JD riders were never MTD products. Originally they were made by Scotts for JD, then JD bought out that particular factory in South Carolina (I believe)and still builds the JD 100 line there today.

You might recall the big orange Scotts riders at Home Depot years ago. Those were actually JD machines. They're great used buys if you can find them now.

I've got nothing against MTD and have owned a bunch, but I'd take a JD product over MTD any day. Steering components tend to be better on JDs, as do the cutting decks, deck hardware, etc...

Joel

 

[Rickey]

To the OP

I've used a a Cub LT 1045 to mow 1 acre for about 6 years now.

It's great when it's not broken.

Nothing major has failed, however there are lots of weak points in the design of mine.
For example: Pulleys and idlers that have excessive clearance at the attachment points.
Belt tensioner springs that quickly loose strength allowing belts to slip, burn, or run off.

And now I have a crack in the mower deck at the idler pulleys attachment point.
I suppose it's OK if you are mechanically inclined.
Soon I will have to buy some sort of a welder.

And just to be fair: maybe they have improved their offerings by now.

Good luck.

Rickey.

 

[Wingman]

I appreciate all the great comments and advice so far. Lots of factors to consider. Thanks!!

 

[jeepman3071]

The John Deere.

Here is why:

We bought a John Deere G110 from home depot in 2005. It was the heavier duty version of the 100 series with a garden tractor frame, K66 hydro trans, and 25 HP Kohler. It is an actual garden tractor. They only made them for two years then discontinued them since they weren't selling. It is still a 100 series though and has many plastic components on it.

The 100 series from home depot are manufactured by John Deere to their standards, but are missing some features like Kawasaki engines, hydro lifts, etc to make the price cheaper. They were never made by MTD.

Our tractor has a 54" mower and a 42" snowblower. I mow three large lawns every weekend with it, and plow driveways in the winter. It has about 550 hours of hard use, and has been great. The best thing about the Deere is the support. I have only replaced a few small things, but the dealers are very helpful and parts are everywhere. The Deeres are also very easy to work on.

Two of my neighbors have newer Cub Cadets. Cub Cadet used to be a great machine and very heavy duty, these are basically nice MTDs with a Cub Cadet badge on the side. One neighbor's Cub lasted 5 years before the transmission and mowing deck basically fell apart. The other neighbor I had to replace a few steering components on his last year. His machine is only 3 years old. I could still find parts, but they were a little tougher to track down.

I wouldn't worry about the Briggs vs. the Kawasaki. Like others have said, the Kawasaki is probably built to different standards for MTD than for the Deere machines. The Briggs engines now have full pressure lubrication, so they will last a LONG time. Briggs are also very easy to fix, parts are cheap and everywhere. Kawasaki engines can be a bit tougher to find parts for, and certainly more expensive. Buy the Deere, you won't be disappointed.

 

[kkreit01]

I grew up on an IH farm, and never stepped foot on a JD. However, if you are not biased, I would pick the JD in this case. Their ratings are always high, and I think it will have less problems.

 

[Tdbo]

Originally Posted By: Wingman
I was ready to buy a Cub Cadet 1042 with the 18 HP V-Twin Kawasaki engine. You guys had given me pretty good recommendations on this machine. But, I had always assumed that a comparable John Deere would be much more expensive than a Cub Cadet. Not true! At the local JD dealer today, I found that I can buy a John Deere D130, with a 22 HP V-Twin Briggs and Straton engine for the same price as the Cub Cadet.

I mow two level lawns, about one acre each. I put about 50 hours per year on the mower. I do not do any pulling. I only use the machine as a mower.

So, for the same money, which mower would you guys recommend? Thanks for your advice!



Quality wise with the D series, I'd say it is about 6 on 1 and 1/2 a dozen on the other. IMO, quality on the Deere starts on the X series, with the Kawasaki.

However, of the two, I would go with the Deere because of the support and the dealer network. May want to go over to My Tractor Forum for some additional information and opinions.