Is the rear discharge option any good?

[AKwelder]

I have been looking at a riding mower for some time. We have a small property but i am gone for weeks on end and when i get back I don't want to push a worn out mower.

Also for some reason when i had my brothers box store rider here everyone was willing to stop by and help the wife out by mowing, imagine that.

Living in Fairbanks Alaska i have two choices, a husky form the saw shop, or JD from the dealer. I want the JD. My dad has 16 years on his.

The model i have been looking at is the X300 with a rear discharge. I always bag so that isn't a problem. but what are the other draw backs?

 

[beenthere]

I had a rear discharge ('68 wheel horse with 32" deck) and really liked it a lot. Could trim on both sides, easy to pick up the offall, and didnt toss grass onto the sidewalks or in the flower beds.

 

[jenkinsph]

AKfish has an x300R which is the same mower you are referring to and seems to like it. I used a demo on my property and was well pleased with the bagging performance, did an excellent job. Only downside I can think of is the K46 tranny, but I may still go this route next time because the bagger and built in blower work so well.

Hard to say which one I like better the x320 with better tranny or the 300R with the better bagger.

 

[whistlepig]

When rear discharge mowers first came out they were bad about leaving windrows and got a bad reputation for that. The newer rear discharge mowers have fixed this problem.

 

[V1Rotate]

I've got an X300 with the side discharge so I can't comment about the rear bagger. The tractor itself is great, solid and well built. I only hope that the K46 tranny holds up, it has just under 90 hours and so far so good.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

My father had a Ford years ago with rear discharge and he really liked it.

 

[js5020]

I have an X300R for use as a dedicated mower and light trailer duty, love the ability to trim off both sides of the deck and the choice to bag or not. Drawbacks? possibly the K46, if your terrain is pretty rough possibly the plate for the bagger as it is only a few inches off the ground. Had the trailer hitched up and the latch for the bagger is directly in line with the trailer tongue and if you jack the trailer very hard they will make contact. Some of the cargo mounted "goodies" for a regular 300 series cant be used and the sun canopy is out also, though I dont see why the canopy couldnt be used if using the deflector and not the bagger. Overall I like the X300R and have no regrets.

 

[maniek]

Hi guys. I have a x300r, 2007 year with 350 hours on it. It belonged to my ex boss up until this spring when i bought it of him. Tractor had very heavy use on few housing estates. it was good few slopes and we as his staff used it to full.. Over the years few things went wrong with it. For starters: starter got stuck when it was 3 hours on the clock, then the bag bracket oval plate broke off, cap on the transmission cracked so oil went out of it, seat cracked, deck height adjustment arm cracked on weld, and finally transmission failed. After that the tractor was'nt used for 2 seasons and finally i bought it of You're man. I got repair kit for transmission for about 200 euros. Tranny worked fine for about 100 hours and failed again..just before it failed it was overheating constantly. recently replaced hudraulic pump/motor again and tractor works fine again. I was thinking about changing transmission into k66 but don't really want to spend 1500 euros for upgrade kit. Decided to play a bit with K46 tranny and fitted diy cooling to it. It is made of motorbike radiator with, few feet of rubber hose, small pump and 2 1/2" brass elbows. oil keeps flowing constantly thru radiator and it keeps tranny cool. Now i can mow even on slopy areas.
Here is the link to video with my upgrade : John Deere x300r DIY k46 transmission cooling - YouTube anyway..the rear discharge works grand when grass is dry and not too long. otherwise it gets clogged where the fan is located. don't like the rear metal plate..keeps catching on every kerb. however i do like the tractor. very easy to drive and when maintained according to intervals it should last good few years..