Treozen
New member
Hello all - newbie seeking your opinions and feedback.
I'm looking for some advice on which John Deere to get for my new property. I haven't looked closely at riding mowers lately (or are they lawn tractors now?) and traditionally I always over buy - I get way more machine or technology than I need. This time though, I'm trying to be more realistic and so I thought I'd see what you all thought given the property in question. My only experience has been with an ancient Cub Cadet riding mower - now deceased - and so not really useful for making a decision.
All things going to plan, I'll be moving to property with just shy of 5 acres. 2.5 acres is pretty much open grass pasture, 1.4 acres is grass area but with your typical landscaping stuff to navigate around (trees, plant beds, etc) and the occasional building (shed, round pen, etc). The rest of the land is either taken up by larger buildings or will be push-mower territory due to the locations and small navigable pathways. Most of the land is flat to a gentle slope, but perhaps the back acre is a little more sloped with a fair drop off say for the last 40 feet - I'm not sure what grade that last 40 feet is - not so much that its hard to walk up, but enough that you notice, I'd guess my old cub-cadet would make it up the hill on a dry day ...well...if it wasn't dead and stripped for parts. That last 40 feet also leads right up to a sheer drop of about 30 feet down an embankment - so I'm not sure its a safe riding-mower place anyway - that last 20 feet at least might need to be left wild or mowed with a walk-behind. It looks to me like the current owners use their riding mower right up to the fence line....brave folks, I guess. I do plan to get a tractor too - thinking Massey 1710 or similar with loader - this will be horse property. I am aware that some of the sub-compact tractors have mower decks, but I think I prefer the idea of having a tractor for tractor work, and a mower for mowing work.
I've done some research and I think the D155 would probably work for me. It appears to have a better engine, transmission and other features than the D-series below it in the range, and good sized mower deck (48") yet not so big as to make navigation a challenge. Then I spotted a post or two on the s240 - so I looked at that - I'm not 100% sure I understand why the s240 exists - I note that it has a different seat, smaller mower deck but perhaps built better, less horsepower than the D155 (-6HP) but an engine with a better reputation? Its around $200 - $500 more than the D155 depending on which add you're looking at and it does carry an additional 1 year / 80hr of warranty. Finally, as I was researching, many many posts indicated that rather than a D-anything, people should just buy the X330. So I looked at that - around $1000 more than the D155. Best as I can tell the X330 shares the same transmission with the D155 and s240, same engine as the S240 but still less HP than the D155 w/ 24HP Briggs & Stratton ELS. I'm not sure how much better the X330 / s240 engine really is. The deck is smaller like the s240 (42 " versus 48" for the D155) but has heavier duty frame and a better mower deck than the D155 in terms of construction (though same deck as the s240?). I'm just not sure where I see $1000 in extra value, although the warranty is twice that of the D155. At the moment, I think the D155 would probably work, but the s240 might make better sense due to the better mower deck and the additional warranty.
This just what I can gather from the JD site, but curious to your thoughts.
Thanks - Allan.
I'm looking for some advice on which John Deere to get for my new property. I haven't looked closely at riding mowers lately (or are they lawn tractors now?) and traditionally I always over buy - I get way more machine or technology than I need. This time though, I'm trying to be more realistic and so I thought I'd see what you all thought given the property in question. My only experience has been with an ancient Cub Cadet riding mower - now deceased - and so not really useful for making a decision.
All things going to plan, I'll be moving to property with just shy of 5 acres. 2.5 acres is pretty much open grass pasture, 1.4 acres is grass area but with your typical landscaping stuff to navigate around (trees, plant beds, etc) and the occasional building (shed, round pen, etc). The rest of the land is either taken up by larger buildings or will be push-mower territory due to the locations and small navigable pathways. Most of the land is flat to a gentle slope, but perhaps the back acre is a little more sloped with a fair drop off say for the last 40 feet - I'm not sure what grade that last 40 feet is - not so much that its hard to walk up, but enough that you notice, I'd guess my old cub-cadet would make it up the hill on a dry day ...well...if it wasn't dead and stripped for parts. That last 40 feet also leads right up to a sheer drop of about 30 feet down an embankment - so I'm not sure its a safe riding-mower place anyway - that last 20 feet at least might need to be left wild or mowed with a walk-behind. It looks to me like the current owners use their riding mower right up to the fence line....brave folks, I guess. I do plan to get a tractor too - thinking Massey 1710 or similar with loader - this will be horse property. I am aware that some of the sub-compact tractors have mower decks, but I think I prefer the idea of having a tractor for tractor work, and a mower for mowing work.
I've done some research and I think the D155 would probably work for me. It appears to have a better engine, transmission and other features than the D-series below it in the range, and good sized mower deck (48") yet not so big as to make navigation a challenge. Then I spotted a post or two on the s240 - so I looked at that - I'm not 100% sure I understand why the s240 exists - I note that it has a different seat, smaller mower deck but perhaps built better, less horsepower than the D155 (-6HP) but an engine with a better reputation? Its around $200 - $500 more than the D155 depending on which add you're looking at and it does carry an additional 1 year / 80hr of warranty. Finally, as I was researching, many many posts indicated that rather than a D-anything, people should just buy the X330. So I looked at that - around $1000 more than the D155. Best as I can tell the X330 shares the same transmission with the D155 and s240, same engine as the S240 but still less HP than the D155 w/ 24HP Briggs & Stratton ELS. I'm not sure how much better the X330 / s240 engine really is. The deck is smaller like the s240 (42 " versus 48" for the D155) but has heavier duty frame and a better mower deck than the D155 in terms of construction (though same deck as the s240?). I'm just not sure where I see $1000 in extra value, although the warranty is twice that of the D155. At the moment, I think the D155 would probably work, but the s240 might make better sense due to the better mower deck and the additional warranty.
This just what I can gather from the JD site, but curious to your thoughts.
Thanks - Allan.
