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View Full Version : It ain't red...(Gloat)



John Miliunas
06-17-2004, 10:39 PM
And it ain't a Simplicity. It's lean, mean and green! :D As many of may have previously read, both, LOML and I thought we wanted a Simplicity lawn mower. Then, we tried a green one. Long story short, today we took delivery on the John Deere! :) Wow! What a nice machine! The cut is far superior to the Simplicity we tried, it's quieter, stronger and even has a better ride. Most importantly, LOML admitted the I was right! Holy cow...THAT don't happen too often! :rolleyes: Anyhow, thanks to all who contributed in your replies, suggestions and opinions! I think we'll like this little beast. Here's a pic of it in its full glory! Thanks for taking a peek. :cool:

Dennis Peacock
06-17-2004, 11:14 PM
Congrats John!!!! It's the same color as my garden tractor!!!! Ain't they great?

Dan Bussiere
06-17-2004, 11:19 PM
Hey John,
Nice score (being right)! ;) And the tractor ain't bad either! This was a double gloat for ya. :)

Dan

Ron Jones near Indy
06-17-2004, 11:49 PM
Like they say, it's a good feeling when faded blue meets John Deere yellow. Since I started driving green, I look forward to mowing almost as much as shop time.

Wes Bischel
06-18-2004, 1:18 AM
OK, now the important stuff - how many cup holders! :D

John Miliunas
06-18-2004, 8:37 AM
OK, now the important stuff - how many cup holders! :D

LOL! :D Only one and it's on the left side fender. That IS a pre-requisite when shopping for a serious mower, BTW! :) :cool:

Tim Morton
06-18-2004, 8:56 AM
Looks like a keeper John!!!

Donnie Raines
06-18-2004, 9:10 AM
Hey John!

Would you mind giving us a full report after a few uses? I just bought a new home with 2 acres and I need a new riding mower. I was considering the green and yellow...but also a Honda or "other"...... :rolleyes:

Steven Wilson
06-18-2004, 9:35 AM
If you're in the 2 acre and above range have a look at JD GT series Garden Tractors

Donnie Raines
06-18-2004, 10:06 AM
Steve...I am one complete moron when it comes to this...but I guess the one pictured above is not "big" enough for the task at hand for my needs?

John Weber
06-18-2004, 10:31 AM
Well, it's not a ww tool, but looks fun anyway.

Congrats - John

Steve Clardy
06-18-2004, 10:38 AM
But------ Hey. Why the bent axle on the rear? Dump it out of the truck wrong or what? lol. First mower like that I've seen that had two turning axles. Really ought to turn circles around your trees!!
Looks great John. Now------ where are you going to mount your computer monitor at on it? You know, gotta surf while relaxing mowing the grass!!! lol
Steve

Dean Baumgartner
06-18-2004, 1:17 PM
Congrats John!!

What grit does it get down to? Gotta figure out some way to use it in the shop kind of like a giant rotary planer.

What cut width did you go with? Now you can have a whole new obsession and get all of those neat attacment to go with it. If you have a lot of outdoor work I would seriously consider some type of trailer. I found that's the most useful thing I have for mine after the mower deck itself.

Now all it has to do is dry out enough for you to use it.


Dean

Chris Padilla
06-18-2004, 1:23 PM
Wow! Four-wheel steering...that is a true tractor as my father would say. Congrats...hmm, let's starting adding it up: riding lawn mower, dj20, minimax sliding table saw.... ;)

Bruce Page
06-18-2004, 1:39 PM
Ain't she purdy John! Very nice. It takes me all of 35 min. to mow both my front & back lawns with a walk behind. I guess I can't justify a machine like that. :( It's a good thing I didn't have to justify my MM16! :D :D

John Miliunas
06-18-2004, 2:06 PM
Thanks guys! Thus far, I'm quite happy with it! The only thing I didn't like about it was the security "feature", which didn't allow me to mow in "reverse". You will not I use the past tense for that statement! It was actually a pretty easy "fix". :D Yeah Tim, I think it's a "keeper"! :)

Steve C., I just don't know what I'm going to do about those "bent" axles, though! :confused: Strangely enough, it handles great with them the way they are, so why fix it if it ain't broked! NO monitor on the mower! That's *MY* time! No phones, radio, computer, wife, kids, etc.... Just the purrrrrr of a smooth machine and me! :)

Thanks Dean. The deck is a 48"-er and the only one available for this particular model. That happens to be what it's replacing and works quite well for our area. As it happens, we have TWO trailers at the moment! We had one when we moved and the guy left a bigger one with the Husqy. No attachments for the JD, either. We're keeping the Husq for "chores". Came complete with de-thatcher, snow blower, lawn roller and even a roto tiller. That one will remain as the beater machine. :)

John, it ain't a WW tool BUT, it will assist in my WW! Takes less time to cut with this one, leaving me more shop time! :D

Donnie, no long-term report, yet, but the truth is, when looking at lawn tractors, I seriously don't think you need to go beyond JD or Simplicity. Unless, of course, you want to get into some of the more specialty machines like the Dixie, Tiger or similar. Steve W. does make a good point on the GT series. The "GT" stands for "Garden Tractor", which in the JD line, is a bit heavier duty than ours. It lends itself more to working with attached implements and such. A bit heavier frame and a more HD tranny. Whatever you do, stay away from the "L" units that the Borg sells! Those are really the lightest duty and not intended for the size area either of us has! With JD, I wouldn't go below the LX series and in Simplicity, I'd go with the Conquest or better. Really depends on the type of work you want to do with it. If you have large open areas, which are pretty level, you may even consider one of the ZRT (Zero Radius Turn) machines. :)

Hey Chris, where did the MM come into the mix?! Much as I'd like to, don't think I could get that one past the War Dept.! :rolleyes:

35 min.??? Bruce, you've got it too easy! :D :cool:

Donnie Raines
06-18-2004, 2:30 PM
Jim,

Thanks for the information. For a mintute there I thought you were trying to sell me a mower :D . I have not truely studied these things yet. But, if I could pick a Dixie up for 3-4 grand that runs as fast as the "American Chopper" Dixie bike ....well....I would be popping wheelies in the front yard....... :D :D

..then I might not have any grass to cut...hmmmmmmm :rolleyes:

Bob Hovde
06-18-2004, 3:11 PM
John, does it blow snow, too? :D The real solution is to find a place where the lawn is small enough that SWMBO thinks it would be good exercise to mow it herself! :)

Bob

Bill Bezilla
06-18-2004, 9:14 PM
Good Choice,

Simplicty is not the tractor it once was and if you have not heard they were purchased by Briggs and Stratton 2 weeks ago which IMHO will be the death of them.

Tony Falotico
06-18-2004, 9:56 PM
...hmm, let's starting adding it up: riding lawn mower, dj20, minimax sliding table saw.... ;)

Maybe we need to start talking about Gloat Limits ???

Nice score John, work is so much fun when your well equipped. Enjoy !! :D

Jim Becker
06-18-2004, 10:19 PM
Such a cute little thing....:D

Boyd Gathwright
12-12-2004, 4:33 PM
Hi John,

…. I have wanted to ask you a couple of questions about your new JD, now that the lawn-cutting season is over. By the way, it really looks good in the picture. How do you like it now that you have had a chance to run some hours up on it? What do you think of the all-wheel steering? Have you had anything unusual go wrong and have you had to call the dealer about anything? What is your overall impression of the machine? As you probably gather from the questions, I too am considering a new purchase.

… Look forward to your responses ;) .


Boyd
.

And it ain't a Simplicity. It's lean, mean and green! :D As many of may have previously read, both, LOML and I thought we wanted a Simplicity lawn mower. Then, we tried a green one. Long story short, today we took delivery on the John Deere! :) Wow! What a nice machine! The cut is far superior to the Simplicity we tried, it's quieter, stronger and even has a better ride. Most importantly, LOML admitted the I was right! Holy cow...THAT don't happen too often! :rolleyes: Anyhow, thanks to all who contributed in your replies, suggestions and opinions! I think we'll like this little beast. Here's a pic of it in its full glory! Thanks for taking a peek. :cool:

Mark Singer
12-12-2004, 4:48 PM
John,

I thought no more power ...only hand tools? I guess you don't plug it in:confused:

Karl Laustrup
12-12-2004, 5:51 PM
If you don't mind Boyd, I can chime in about JD. I've had mine for 10 years now and have had nothing done to it, other than oil changes and 500 hour maintenence. Mine is the 345 model, 18hp water cooled, with a 54" deck. I don't have all wheel steer, but a friend of mine does on his 445 model and if I was doing it again I'd get all wheel steer.
I mow close to an acre. If I'm in a rush, which is not often, it takes me about 35-40 minutes. Normal, in my take my time mode, double cut the front, and it takes me about 1 hr. 15 min.
How much lawn do you cut? Do you have other jobs you want it to do?
I have a rototiller, snow/dirt blade and snow thrower as attachments, as well as a tilt bed wagon, aereator, and rotary spreader. Each of the attachments do great jobs and they are quite simple to hook up. Average removal and install of different attachment is less than 15 min.
If you have a JD dealer in the area, watch for an auction type sale once a year. My friend got his 445, which was used, with a brand new 54" deck for $5500. Thats less than half what it went for new.
One thing to keep in mind, if it's water cooled it will last much longer.

Karl

John Miliunas
12-12-2004, 8:19 PM
To quote our moderator, Ken Salisbury, "Nothing runs like a Deere and nothing cuts like a Forrest." I'm still with that! This season, in particular, was rough and tough, as that green stuff just wouldn't stop growing. Matter of fact, further into the season, I swear it was getting thicker! Throughout it all, zero problems! I did do a little "modification", so that I don't have to disengage the mowing deck when going into "reverse", but that's a personal thing. We have a very wide range of terrain here and it handled it all, including "sidesaddle" on some very steep slopes out front. The cut it left was very even, with little or no scalping even in the real crappy spots. We also have a lot of turns and trees, so that AWS was fantastic. Yeah, a couple more grease zerts to hit, but well worth it. The steering has stayed straight and true throughout. That said, it is most definitely worth your while to take the time to make sure all is greased and cleaned properly. Also, I noted as was recommended to me by another Creeker, to yank the deck every third cutting or so and give the mower deck a good cleaning. I truly believe that the deck has been designed and engineered to work in unison with the blade pitch and really helps "pull" the grass into the blades to get a nice cut. If you don't clean the deck, you WILL notice a degradation in the cut quality. There's my $00.02-worth on it. If you have any other questions, feel free to reply or drop me an email or PM. :) :cool:

Gary Max
12-12-2004, 8:34 PM
John my 1965 JD needs a new set of back tires---how many folks own a tractor long enough to wear out the tires?? Replaced the front two this year.
Hope your's last as long as mine.

Boyd Gathwright
12-12-2004, 11:01 PM
Hi Karl,

…. I certainly don’t mind and hope you make inputs and suggestions in the future. I’ll be looking for them. If I didn’t know anything about tractors your input would be a vote of confidence. I presently have a JD 332 water cooled Diesel with a fifty-inch deck, which was purchased at an auction many years ago. I use it for trim work mostly and have a larger tractor with a three-point hitch and most of the implements to go with it. I mow about three acres and on occasion lend a hand to the neighbors. There are some new JD’s that I will not consider because they have sealed components, “throw-a-ways” from what I am told you can’t work on them. I was especially interested in John’s JD mower because it is one of the new breed and they’re not built like the one I have. I am NOT suggesting that John’s is a throw-a-way component but it is one of the new breed and I was really interested in how it is holding up, especially the all-wheel steering and the transmission.

<O:p</O:p

Thanks again for the info ;).

<O:p</O:p

Boyd
.

If you don't mind Boyd, I can chime in about JD. I've had mine for 10 years now and have had nothing done to it, other than oil changes and 500 hour maintenence. Mine is the 345 model, 18hp water cooled, with a 54" deck. I don't have all wheel steer, but a friend of mine does on his 445 model and if I was doing it again I'd get all wheel steer.
I mow close to an acre. If I'm in a rush, which is not often, it takes me about 35-40 minutes. Normal, in my take my time mode, double cut the front, and it takes me about 1 hr. 15 min.
How much lawn do you cut? Do you have other jobs you want it to do?
I have a rototiller, snow/dirt blade and snow thrower as attachments, as well as a tilt bed wagon, aereator, and rotary spreader. Each of the attachments do great jobs and they are quite simple to hook up. Average removal and install of different attachment is less than 15 min.
If you have a JD dealer in the area, watch for an auction type sale once a year. My friend got his 445, which was used, with a brand new 54" deck for $5500. Thats less than half what it went for new.
One thing to keep in mind, if it's water cooled it will last much longer.

Karl

Jerry Olexa
12-12-2004, 11:43 PM
John, I.ve got a LX277 and have had it for +5 years. Love it. No problems. I try to winterize each year w Stabil. etc and had it in shop once for routine maintenance,. One year, forgot to winterize. In the spring, turned the key even w old gas and VAROOOM. Great machine. My neighbor has a newer JD and he can mow in reverse. Mine cannot. That is one safety feature I do not like. You have to reengage the clutch each time you go reverse and return to normal. How did you "repair" (bypass) yours so that doesn't happen? You'll help w my only negative about an otherwise GREAT machine. Oh yes, I forgot, cruise control does not shut off when you hit the brake so it can be a little scary on a hill or close quarters. Be careful of that. Thanks, John..You'll love it..Its the festool of tractors!