I have about two acres, one acre of lawn and one acre of woods. The wooded part has quite a few dead ash trees which I will be cutting up and hauling to the woodpile. Also, I have a fairly steep hill that I need to climb while mowing and I may be hauling dirt and stone down it as well. My current Craftsman lawn tractor is wearing out and I don’t want to put any more money or time into it. I have been researching replacements online and am really wanting a JD 500 series lawn tractor. Yeah, you are paying a little more for the name but damn, it sure seems like it’s what I want. Anyone else ever “overbuy” on a tractor and then be glad you did?
The 530 and 540 models have locking differentials which would help dragging loaded trailers up the hill, as well as more aggressive tires.
I was at the dealer today and almost pulled the trigger but decided to thinK it over a little more.
Any thoughts?
You need to buy some more land.
So…you’re saying I should go for it then? Cause that’s what I’m hearing.
I don’t have a JD garden tractor, but I do have a JD 4100 Compact Utility tractor. 3 cylinder diesel, hydrostatic transmission and four wheel drive. I live on 5 acres and mow approximately 2.3 acres. I have a front loader and mow with a 60" rear discharge mower on the back. I know that some JD garden tractors can be fitted with a loader. It’s a great tool to have if you can get one. Move rock, mulch etc. I even mix concrete in mine.
GO FOR IT DAMMIT!!! I WOULD KILL FOR A BIG-ASSED DEERE. IN FACT I OFTEN HELP MY COUSIN MOW HIS 3 ACRES JUST TO PLAY WITH HIS DAMN TRACTORS.
In short, I would suggest buying one.
Of course, this is coming from someone who has planned a vacation trip to Diggerland NJ ------ but its still a good idea.
Make sure you first have a good place to store it.
Git it
Dude, at this point, just to save face, you MUST get it.
Can I come up and play?
Think about how long it will last because those measly two acres are nothing for that machine. Wear and tear will be minimal if you are not a maniac tractor user.
Do it.
I overbought on a Kubota B5200, on a credit card, without my spouse knowing, and she was f***ing pissed. Even with all that, it was great.
I seriously want more land to be able to play with it more excitingly. Then I want an even bigger tractor. Maybe one of those JBL backhoes with 4 wheel steering…
Don’t buy less tool than you need.
I replaced my ailing Allis Chalmers with a new Kubota 2620. I’ve a loader and box scraper on it. I’m in the mountains so I don’t mow, but have toyed with getting a backhoe for it…
26 hp 3 cylinder diesel, 1000 lb capacity loader and box scraper on a three point hitch. It has two PTO’s on it. 4x4.
It’s feaking wonderful to have something that I know will start every damn time. I use it to grade the drive (we get a tandum load of gravel or two every other year), push snow piles back, or just move snow when it’s two deep and heavy for my truck. And haul wood rocks or whatever. Love it. It’s name is ‘Button’
We put the tape measure to it at the dealer and it will just barely squeeze through my shed door with the deflector folded up. I can store it in the garage if it’s too big of a chore to get it into the shed.
A terrible thing to buy for a real hippie.
Aren’t you worried that all your hippie friends will disown you?
It’s terrible for the environment. I’m guessing that if you live in the northern part of the states, you can only use it for about half of the year. But I could easily be wrong. It’s just a guess. Is that correct?
Also, it sounds like it might be something that could easily get stolen. If I bought one, I’d make sure it was fully insured for theft. After all, how hard is it to break into a shed?
It’s not even 2 acres of lawn to mow, half of it is woods with some mowed trails through it.
That was a consideration for me too. I have a shed roof next to my shed. Just an extension of the roof off to the side. I have to put the roll bar down on the Kubota, but it fits. Not by much though.
The ‘getaway’ would be straight out of a Woody Allen movie.
My user name is really not such an accurate description of my lifestyle.
If I’m interpreting your remarks about only using it half the year correctly you seem to be urging me to try and work a snow blower attachment into the deal. Good idea but I (over)bought a big ass self propelled snow blower last year.
Even with an overbought snow blower, if you’re going to go in the hole buying a JD lawn tractor, make sure you get one that you can A) attach a snow blade to in front and 2) pull a trailer or something behind (maybe even with a PTO). You know that saying about if the only tool you have is a hammer, all your problems start to resemble nails? Well, tractors are sort of designed so that they can have the correct attachment to do all sorts of jobs.
Right, the tractor is the tool carrier. Front loader, post hole auger, scraper blade, box blade, York rake, middle buster, rototiller, sprayer, ratchet rake. The list goes on.