I'm in the market for a riding mower to cut approx 3/4 acres which is generally flat with several trees(cutting radius?) and some sloping on one side of the property. Not too sure what to look for, what motor to look for(Kohler, Briggs & Stratton...), make ect. Budget is "around" $1500. What say those who have a riding mower?

Thanks, Adrian

I'm a big Kohler fan, awesome durable long lasting engines. I have about 2.5 acres that I mow at my place and have a Gravely Zero turn mower with 23HP Kohler, not one problem after 7 years now.

Thanks, Randy. My father has one of those stand-behind Kohler powered mowers that he loves...think it was around $3500+ though. I'll look for some smaller machines with the Kohler engines. Is your motor a single cylinder or twin?

I believe mine is a twin,

Adrian- PM me your email....

Mark has one he will sell you over the Axiom autions, so he can get more speakers for his awesome room.

Yeah. It's already broken in. REALLY broken in!

Thanks for the info you sent, Mark. It's very helpfull.

I'm awesome, huh?

he has a snowblower he will sell ya also, lol.

Does biggy plow his driveway now?

No....just his mailbox!

We ended up getting the John Deere D140 last night on the final day of a good sale at Home Depot. We got $300 off PLUS a small towable wagon. Maybe we can offset the expense of the tractor by giving the neighbourhood kids rides

We?

(and you're welcome!)

Oui!

...and thanks again for the info, your awesomeness.

Yes, he oh-so-casually dropped "girlfriend" into a post several weeks ago. I was gonna ask then, but...

It's either that, or he's gettin' all Brian-y with his cat's opinions on stuff.

put streamers on it and drive in the 4th parade in your town.

Girlfriend? Is that the right term Adrian?

Not matter how gently you phrase the question, Mark, I doubt if he's gonna admit that he's paying for her affections.

Well....since Mark is twisting my arm right now...we actually are engaged (not me and Mark, me and Linda....didn't want to set a joke up for Bob there). Haven't set a date yet but probably fall time.

OK, MARK! UNCLE!!

MONDO CONGRATS, Adrian!! (Does she know about us?)

Gee, I had no idea! Congratulations, Adrian!

Thank you...I've told her about you guys...she's still around, so I guess she really loves me

Or us.

Hmmm, never saw that one coming, Mark!

Or us? I think we should make this poor, innocent, unsuspecting female aware of Adrian's checkered past.








Congrats, Adrian. Wishing you much happiness.

Thank you Jack.

Wow, I missed this thread. I just bought a 100 series John Deer as well.

Like you, I have only about an acre of cuttable property so no need for a big machine. I did a lot of research on a lot of brands. I won't discount that there are better machines at a higher price point and even the bigger model Deer owners love to belittle the 100 series, just because they can. However, it still proved to be the best hydrostatic unit in my under $2000 (taxes in) budget.

It's very hard to find anything bad about them while almost all the other brands in the under 2k price point had at least one serious fault. Metal-framed front axils instead of solid cast iron, much lighter guage frames, flaky transmissions, CVT transmissions (on a lawn tractor? Really?), poor service records, etc.

Biggest complaint, not a great turn ratio at all, but my lawn is mostly wide open so I did not penalize it for this in my comparisons. The Deer forums recommend going up multiple jumps to an M340 for the heavier transmission as you will double your life expectancy but it costs over three times as much..... The math just didn't work for me enough to seriously break my budget target.

I also bought at Home Depot. I was warned against the Home Depot models by 'helpful' friends who claimed they were different than the dealer models but soon discovered that the current 100 series models are exactly the same as those 100s sold at the dealers. Also, here on PEI, the local Deer dealer assembles them, inspects them, and does the service work, even if you buy from HD.

I even went to the dealer as I know a few guys there and asked if they could match the HD deal so I could buy direct. They said, "Nah, we could 'almost' match the price but just go get it there for the free wagon and we'll see you back here if you need service." So I did, bought Tuesday, delivered Wednesday. Not bad.

Now my only regret is that you got $300 off and a wagon and I only got $200 off and a wagon. You are probably in US though.

We have been using a Toro ZTR the past few years. Fantastic machine especially on our property since we have planted hundreds and hundreds of young trees (native to the Carolinian forest). We use the Toro to cut about 3 acres of the 7 total. John Deere riding lawn mowers are also great considering we still use one that is over 30 years old. The John Deere we have is made of all cast iron including the Kohler engine. The machine is built like a tank. However since going to a zero turn radius machine, there is no going back for me.

Agreed, I test drove a Cub Cadet zero turn model just for kicks and there is no comparison. Sadly, the budget and lawn size rational made me pass. The fun factor alone made it very compelling though.

Andrew, I'm in Brampton, Ontario(at the moment). If you bought your tractor recently, you might be able to get a price adjustment, but the sale I got ended yesterday.

Now, he's in Hammonville, Kentucky.

And now, Prince George, BC!

WTF???

Hey, this is the internet. I can be from anywhere I say I'm from.

Holy Sliders, Batman!

Bren R.

Sorry, I forgot you were in Ontario. I shall look into this. Thanks for the heads up.

And Mark, stop Stalking !!

Andrew, which model did you get? the discount was $200 from $1000-2000, then $300 from $2000-3000. Our's was just over $2000 list, so we got the $300 discount. Maybe that explains the difference.

Yes thanks, I realized that after going back to look at the ads.
I went with the 110. I didn't feel I needed more than 19.5 HP on my flat lawn and my hard fought determination to resist ever adding a snowblower to it. The toughest job it will have to do is mulch. heheh.

A few goodies like your electronic PTO engagement would have been nice though. Lifting a lever again seems so old-school.