Deciding what size lawn tractor is necessary

[SteveG_CT]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Steve and this will be my first post on this forum. I am looking into purchasing my first lawn tractor in the coming weeks as my old push mower is currently starting to fall apart and I would like to cut my mowing time down to something more reasonable. My current lawn is just under an acre and is pretty much flat, but due to a combination of good sunlight, frequent rainfall, and fertile soil needs frequent mowings to keep it in check (about once every 4 days).

Were I going to be using the tractor for just mowing the lawn I would say that a simple light-duty lawn tractor would be sufficient, but I would also like to use the tractor to assist in snow removal during the winter. I live in northern Connecticut and it is pretty common for us to get 12+ inches of snow in a single storm here. This happened a few times this past winter and it was NOT fun clearing the driveway by myself using just a shovel. As a result, I would like to purchase either a snowblower attachment or small plow blade for my tractor.

I am wondering if I would be justified in moving up to the garden tractor class. Most of the new "lawn tractors" I have seen appear to be downright flimsy (frames appear to be only 14Ga. !!!), which concerns me. They definitely aren't built nearly as solidly as the old Gravely lawn tractor I grew up with.

I have been entertaining the idea of buying an older tractor and restoring it, however the majority of the used tractors I have been seeing in the classified adds and craigslist just haven't been what I was looking for so I think I will primarily be looking at only new equipment.

If anyone has some advice it would be greatly appreciated. I will be visiting a couple of equipment dealers later this week to see what they have to say, but it's always nice to have an opinion from someone who isn't trying to sell you something.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[mjncad]

Welcome Steve.

I'm guessing that a heavier duty garden tractor (e.g. Deere X series or equal) would be a minimum since plowing snow is going to put the biggest strain on the rig compared to mowing flat lawns.

The Despot & Doh's (Home Depot & Lowe's') Deere tractors are fine for mowing; but I wouldn't want to plow with one. I have an L130 for mowing weeds that do not require the rotary cutter.

I don't know if the Deere X series has a loader option; but that could come in handy for year round work, while a plow blade or snow-blower is a seasonal attachment. Deere used to have a small loader as an option on their discontinued 455 garden tractors.

The down side is the X series is going to cost quite a bit more than a lawn tractor.

The thought of mowing an acre or shoveling out a New England driveway without a tractor is just plain painful to me.

 

[LBrown59]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking into purchasing my first lawn tractor
Steve

Sounds like this is what you need :
Cub Cadet GT2554
54'' mower
front blade
tiller

 

[Double Orange]

Steve, I just traded a Cub Cadet SLT1554 for a J.Deere X-500 w/54'' mulch kit.
This tractor will handle a 48'' front blade, also has Rear Differential Lock.
Currently Deere has up to $500 off the X500 series with attachments, plus 0% for 1 year.
Good Luck!

 

[groundcover]

Double,what's with the green ? Going to have to change to Double orange,single green ?

 

[Double Orange]

Double,what's with the green ? Going to have to change to Double orange,single green ?

My dealer sells both J.Deere and Kubota. And they are great people!
The X-500 is for the wife to tool around on.
I've had many J.Deere machines have 2 now. And 2 Kubota's. Both great manufactureres.
Your dealer support is what makes a purchase enjoyable or not!

Double Orange and Green!
Frank

 

[SteveG_CT]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It seems like I should be looking at more of an entry level garden tractor rather than lawn tractors. I will be visiting a JD dealer tomorrow to check out the X300. I'll see if the dealer can talk me into the X500, but I think it's much more machine than I need. I plan to visit a CC dealer, a Toro dealer, and a Husqvarna dealer as well to see what else is available.

In response to mjncad, JD does have a small loader as an attachment for the X300. It can only hold 150 lbs. and only lifts about 3 ft. off the ground, but it would probably do well clearing snow and it would serve to replace the wheelbarrow the rest of the year. I'm actually not too impressed with the one that JD offers, but I found that there is a similarly sized aftermarket one called the "Johnny Bucket Jr." that seems like a much better design. I'd be somewhat concerned that using it might void the warranty of the tractor however.

Thanks again everybody.
-Steve

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Steve.
I live in northern Connecticut and it is pretty common for us to get 12+ inches of snow in a single storm here.

If you have very many of those 12" snow falls, I think you might be struggling to push that with a Lawn / Garden Tractor and after a few uses might find a Johny Bucket less than satisfactory. I don't have chains, but my 22 HP Honda struggles with 12" of snow (tractor + blade = approx. 2,000#) I suspect a Lawn / Garden unit would provide better performance using a blower.

Biggest drawback to a blade is having enough room to push back previous snow so you can deal with the current problem.

 

[SteveG_CT]

If you have very many of those 12" snow falls, I think you might be struggling to push that with a Lawn / Garden Tractor and after a few uses might find a Johny Bucket less than satisfactory. I don't have chains, but my 22 HP Honda struggles with 12" of snow (tractor + blade = approx. 2,000#) I suspect a Lawn / Garden unit would provide better performance using a blower.

Biggest drawback to a blade is having enough room to push back previous snow so you can deal with the current problem.

I agree with your assessment. I have doubts about the ability of a lawn/garden tractor to plow that much snow and have been thinking that about a 6 inch snowfall would be about the practical max for such a setup. Most of the snowfalls we get around here are 6 inches or less, but we do get a 12+ inch snowfall once or twice in an average season. In the event of such a storm I'm thinking that it would probably be necessary to plow a couple of times during the storm so that the tractor wouldn't get outpaced.

A snowblower attachment probably would be the most effective solution for snow removal with this type of tractor, but as was mentioned before such an attachment doesn't serve any purpose other than snow removal and hence would sit dormant for 9 months out of the year. The thing I like about the Johnny Bucket is that in addition to using one for snow removal I could also use it for hauling dirt, gravel, etc. during the other months of the year, which would be a big help in some of the landscaping projects I have planned over the next couple of years.

I will discuss all of this with the dealer and see if I can come to a decision on which is the better route to go.

Thanks for the advice,
-Steve

 

[jeffinsgf]

From someone who does it, let me advise you that moving snow with a bucket is less than ideal. A blade would be better, a blower would be best. I have a blade for this coming season.

Please ask your dealer to help you locate a clean, used 455. You can go on MachineFinder and locate the one closest to you. Then you can have your dealer work out some sort of a swap with the dealer with the tractor, if you want to throw the business his way. The 455 is so much more machine than a similarly priced new unit. You can get the power and strength of the current X74X models for about half the price. Most of these machines have been babied by proud owners and maintained by factory trained mechanics. I wouldn't trade mine for anything except the absolute top of the line X749.

If you go that route, you can afford, the blower, the blade AND the Johnny Bucket.