Need a riding mower

Joined
Dec 5, 2010
Messages
1,098
Location
MO
Hello Bitog community,
I have started looking into riding mowers. I want to see peoples opinions were on John Deere versus cub cadet. I'm looking at their models priced between 1500 and 2000. Model specifically are the John Deere E130 and the cub cadet xt1.
Is anyone by any chance on one of these? I'm looking at overall ease-of-use, ease of maintenance, and long-term reliability/low ownership costs. Thank you very much
 
Go find a vintage Wheel Horse in good shape, you won't have to ever buy another.. Way better that what your looking at.
 
I'm on a Deere 48" hydro drive and I love that machine. No problems at all. The last hour meter reading that I recall was 506. I enjoy mowing my lawn because we have real winters here and mowing season is warm. Lol
My lawn is 1 acre.
 
Last edited:
My yard is 1/2 acre, flat. I'm done with using a push mower. Takes me way too long
 
Originally Posted by tundraotto
Get a zero turn.....lawn tractor is a dinosaur.


Huge price difference and just marginal in needing one.
 
Going to be around $2000 … think a $1200 Husky (Craftsman) 19 HP B&S will do 1/2 acre for years …
Mine is 7 years old and runs perfectly … one set of blades and a belt so far …
 
Originally Posted by FirstNissan
My yard is 1/2 acre, flat. I'm done with using a push mower. Takes me way too long


If you have a kid over 11 this is when parentage comes in handy!
 
when you first buy a rider there is a learning curve. Damage to the landscape and mower often result. Some owners have more trouble than others. You will not save time in a yard that small because of all the maneuvering you will have to do. Sharp turns and a hydrostatic transmission are essential. . do not mow fast, you hit stuff, bend deck and rut up the yard. I would go with 42 inch. Mulching requires more frequent mowing and more fuel, grass must be dry. A used mower can be a good thing to get the learning over. Consumer cub cadet and Deere are made by MTD and are close to the same as no name mtd mowers. There are some mowers that have 10 inch turning radius, you want one of these. Also, you have to experiment to find the path that mows the fastest. That may be different than the path that looks the best. I usually say plan on leaving the grass longer, trying to cut low with a rider often looks awful and encourages weeds. 4" is about optimum.

Rod
 
Last edited:
I'm also on a flat .5 acre lot and I've had a few riders from very old 12hp 38in Murray, to 17.5hp 42 Murray and now a 48in John Deere Z255 0 turn. I haven't had to pay much for any of them, got them broken and fixed up. I will say that once you go 0 turn there is no going back.. I haven't used my push mower even for trimming since I got it. IMO a big box store John Deere is nothing special and not worth the price premium over any other brand. My zero turn now is fine, but it honestly doesn't cut as well as the 42in Murray did, but it does it MUCH faster and really is way overkill for my yard. I think you'll be pleased with any brand in the 17hp 42in range for your yard...
 
I have a John Deere S240 and I love it. I spent more to upgrade to the S240 for the Kawasaki engine. With that being said, I would go with the Cub Cadet in this comparison. The E130 comes with the "John Deere 30 second oil change" system which forces you into buying their special pre-filled filters. You can buy a kit to delete the 30 second oil change system, but the Cub Cadet is already ready to go. The Cub Cadet also has an open back seat and 4 anti-scalp wheels.
 
you can search + see whats made where + by who, + today mowers like appliances are made by only a few manufacturers using MANY names + various prices. parts for an old craftsman snow blower aka Murry were 3 times as much. search + read on mower forums as like cars lots of trinkets but not so great for reliability!!
 
I have 5.5 ac to cut and use a Kubota b7500 to mow the majority but I dont like using it to cut around the house and over the septic system and around the well because it can cause mucho damage if you hit anything and at 1900 lbs it compacts the soil so I bought a Troy 19 hp 42" cut with a CVT. Its really just a belt driven pulley system and you have to stop to put it into reverse vs the Hydrostatic drive but it is such a simple system that it never breaks and there is almost no maint except the belt which is on its 8th year and 225 hrs. The area I cut with it is about 1 acre and has many trees and I keep wishing it would break down so I could justify a small Zero turn. But for $1200 I think its a better deal than the cheapest Hydrostatic drive lawn tractors because those drives are throw away if they start to slip, and are the lightest duty made. There is no way to change the fluid in them which is what usually kills them. If you have trees and obstacle in the yard get a small zero turn, if you want to pull a cart and the yard is open get the small CVT lawn tractor. You will only be on it 30-40 min/week anyway. I read somewhere that the avg lawn tractor only sees about 25-30 hr use per year. If you keep it in a shed or garage and change the oil it should last you 20 years.
 
Ive got the smallest Ariens ZT. Think it was $2400 new. I'm on maybe 2/3 acre with a few trees. It was worth the extra money, and I prefer the small size. It is nimble and I can really scoot around on it. I have gone through periods where I've also mowed others' yards and I've never regretted buying the smaller mower. The 14.5HP 1-lung brigs is very easy on gas, too. When it was new it needed 1 gallon to mow my yard, front and back, 2 gallon tank, so 2 mows per tank. Now I'll get 3 mows in on 2 gallons.

I've had to replace the stamped deck twice however. One was "learning curve." and the second was totally unexpected hook-shaped big root that was probably self-aware and knew its name. (Still not quite sure what happened there.....)
 
I have a Cub with an 18hp Kawasaki engine that has been a great mower.
Cranks first time every time. Great mower. Bagger could be better but I make due.
Its great. Had a Husqvarna with a Briggs intek and go rid of it. Turns out all it
probably needed was valve adjustment. It wouldn't turn over due to too much
compression. I had a Snapper 13/33 I gave to my dad. I wish I would have
kept it. Great mower and the hi-vac picked everything up. Found it at a yard sale
for $250.00 with a bagger.
 
I mow 3/4" acre flat terrain, but replaced my 20 year old 48" JD tractor with a 52" Ariens Apex Zt. IN retrospect, I spent an unreasonable amount of money (all said and done 7k+), since I needed a power bagger for the leafs in the fall, and _wanted_ serviceable heavy duty hydros. I tow an aerator from time to time. The bagger is expensive for these things... And they nickel and dime you, no lites, and no hitch included for the money. They do not put on a snorkel style air filter box, which is a must with a bagger.

I say, it is a mixed bag. I still tear up the turf occasioanlly, if I do not pay attention.
Uses more gasoline than the JD used to. (Probably double or tripple). and it has a rather harsh ride.
3 things I like about the ZT: It saves me 1/2 hour per mowing, I can go 7 mph. The power bagger packs in the grass real tight, I only have to empty the bags once at the end of the session. Fun to drive.
 
Back
Top