Getting small, best lawn tractor.

[lilguy]

Had serious acreage for 45 years. Mowed with Kubota diesels for most of that time. Now have one acre with home on it and I’m looking at a lawn tractor
to do the job. Have no experience with small gas units since the early 1980s. Inventory is short at most dealers. Two neighbors have JD units, a 100 and a 200 series. The local dealer has only 300 series and up in limited numbers. What can any of you recommend, Zero turn would work but wife doesn’t like them at all, demoed a Kubota diesel years back and it did not go well. So Tractor it is. Looking at 42 in(?)deck. All input appreciated.

 

[dougand3]

New or Used?
In used, I'd go 1980s-1990s Garden Tractor w/ Peerless or Dana Spicer geared transaxle or hydro k66 or stronger.
MTD 990, MTD GT1846, Craftsman GT 18-44", Simplicity, Ariens, Bolens, others can chime in on hydros.
Bet you'll find more than mowing duties on 1 acre.
Never touched new but have read you'd want a JD x300 or higher.

 

[bertsmobile1]

As Doug already mentioned
100 & 200 series JD's are built down to a price point as are all of the other brands
So if you have a price limit of under $ 5000, just pick the colour your wife thinks is prettiest .
If your pockets are deeper then look at the sub compact tractors that can take either a belly, out front or rear deck .
Some will take all 3 , and a bucket is always handy .
To make a meaning full recommendation then we really need to know what your terrain is like and what your long term plans are .

 

[lilguy]

I have a Kubota B2601 TLBMMM that is to big for my one acre. Only units I can find locally are JD 300 series and up, I can get
a 300 with a 42 in deck for a reasonable price. Dealer says 500 series is to much tractor for my one acre. Ive had KUBOTA diesels
for 40 years but small ones are non existent now. What can any of you offer in an opinion on the gas JD lawn tractors.

 

[bertsmobile1]

You are asking for an informed opinion without giving us any information to base it on
We need detailed descriptions of the plot, photos are always good and a ground plan is even better.
It is not a case of who makes the best it is a case which is the best for you .
If your lot is fairly flat then you can use a vertical shaft engine
If it is hilly then you need a horozintal shaft engine .
Forums are much like computers
If you put bad information in you get useless results out.
Based on what you have posted so far all you are going to get are peoples personal prefferences and prejudices none of which may be relevant to you .

 

[lilguy]

Flat with many trees, several raised island gardens. 5200 sf house center of lot. The two homes that mow their own have the smalls JDs. all the Landscapers use Zero turns.

 

[Born2Mow]

Here's a small JD lawn tractor.... CLICK HERE

Flat is GOOD !! A ZT will be much easier to negotiate around all those trees, and finish the job much faster than any regular riding mower. You may want a battery operated string trimmer to finish up around the raised beds. At least my boss wants it that way.

Do not go to a "big box" store. Buy the new mower at a mower shop so that you can get better service, because you will have questions and want the warranty maintained.

 

[lilguy]

I concur on the local dealer purchase, I have a JD dealer close, anything I need to know about them that sales wont tell me about? They say 100 or 200 series would work well but they are not expecting any until late July.

 

[cpurvis]

Most tractors now sell for less than they did thirty years ago. That should raise a red flag as to what kind of quality you'll be getting. In a time in which the dollar buys far less than what it did thirty years ago, how can this possibly be? Answer is, it can't.

I have a 1994 Cub Cadet with a horizontal crankshaft 14 hp Onan engine. It cost $2400 new. Look and see what $2400 inflated dollars will buy today and you'll be getting the equivalent of that tractor. You'll probably find that more bells and whistles have been added, driving the price up even higher. I *think* that the Cub Cadet XT3 and John Deere 700 Series have horizontal shaft engines. In the JD case, it's liquid cooled, which is a plus.

Both of them are huge overkill for one acre.

 

[lilguy]

Your point being that anything one buys now for under X$$ is crap compared to several decades ago?