John Deere Vs Cub Cadet Garden Tractors
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Raul-02
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honest to god I wouldn't touch a "garden tractor" if you paid me.
They are so unbelievably slow when mowing. I'll take a ferris zero turn any day. I can mow at near 20 MPH.
Try that with a garden tractor.
They are so unbelievably slow when mowing. I'll take a ferris zero turn any day. I can mow at near 20 MPH.
Try that with a garden tractor.
bmaverick
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I would agree. My neighbor has that Cub Cadet. What a put-put slow moving machine. With gas prices being so high, why go slow and burn so much fuel?
I pull 6FT PTO driven mowers and can clip along at 15mph with the Yanmar. Not only that, the tractor can do so much more than just a machine that cuts grass and you sit on your behind doing it.
The days of the lawn tractors are gone. Now Garden tractors with a CAT-0 hitch have value. And more so with a PTO rear drive output like an SCUT.
OP
Ledgemere Farm
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Good luck rototilling with a zero turn
Raul-02
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Don't know why you said that. Seems a tad illogical to mix PTO applications with a dedicated mower for the sake of an illogical snarky remark.
Richard001
Veteran Member
OK I'll take that bet. $20 is yours if you touch a "garden tractor" with video proof.
Richard
Raul-02
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nope no way I ain't gettin' no cooties
tacticalturnip
Super Member
They make both belt driven rototillers and ones that just need be towed, and a garden tractor gives you a small machine with a transaxle capable of holding up to the stress. Add to that, the availability of the sleeve hitch and compatible implements and you've got a bit more flexibility of use. They're not so common as they were prior to be supplanted by the subcompact tractor, but they're still quite capable machines when used with realistic expectations; or rather they can do a whole lot, just a lot slower.
As for mowing, zero-turns aren't for everyone; I mow at quite a leisurely pace because it's what I enjoy, so the slower top speed of a garden tractor is fine with me. I had a Cub XT3 GSX prior to my Deere and it was, prior to the Deere, the most enjoyable lawn mower I'd ever operated. It was sturdy, comfortable, easy to operate, and had an excellent cut. Now, it had it's issues, but that's more of a brand specific issue lol.
Anyhow, point being that garden tractors have their place, even if it's an ever-shrinking portion of the market.
Now, on the used market they're still extremely popular and at least until recently, reasonably priced.
Raul-02
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I never heard of such a thing. Can't be very effective.
Edit
DOH~!!! They have their own motor. And here I was thinking the power came from the wheels turning. DOH~!!!
tacticalturnip
Super Member
I could have mentioned they had their own engines, but that would have been convenient for you and anyone else reading.
savageactor7
Platinum Member
As far as the video goes I thought both tractors were made by MTD so...it's 6 of one or half a dozen of the other.
I prefer a CC because I have a long term relationship with a close by dealer...and I'm happy with that arrangement.
Now as far as zero turns go I'll be the 1st to admit the superior speed/cut but for many reasons there not for me.
Cutting grass relaxes me, with our big yard I may cut 25-30 min a day which I do to relax and imbibe after more tiring wood chores. I cut small branches as there are too many to pick up mostly I abuse my tractor and it holds up.
I suppose I'd buy a JD TRACTOR if it offered a dash mounted forward/rev lever...my knee tire of the foot pedal.
I prefer a CC because I have a long term relationship with a close by dealer...and I'm happy with that arrangement.
Now as far as zero turns go I'll be the 1st to admit the superior speed/cut but for many reasons there not for me.
Cutting grass relaxes me, with our big yard I may cut 25-30 min a day which I do to relax and imbibe after more tiring wood chores. I cut small branches as there are too many to pick up mostly I abuse my tractor and it holds up.
I suppose I'd buy a JD TRACTOR if it offered a dash mounted forward/rev lever...my knee tire of the foot pedal.
sd455dan
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Did something change with JD's x series? the 2008 we just bought says USA and John Deere as the builder.
tacticalturnip
Super Member
Nope. MTD does not, nor to the best of my knowledge have they ever, produced a lawn or garden tractor for John Deere. Even the 100 series is built by Deere, just in Tennessee not Wisconsin. Interesting note, the factory in Tennessee used to be own and operated by Murray, which may be where the rumor of them not being made by Deere came from.
That said, I don't know if MTD still technically makes Cub Cadet, as Stanley Black & Decker apparently finished their absorption of MTD; so I don't even know if they exist as an entity anymore. Of course that's all a technicality, since the XT3 dates back to the old 2000 series shaft-drives.
I'll say that the X5xx series has superior fit and finish overall, but the Cub is a few grand less and is quite the powerful machine for it's size. Also, they put an obscene exhaust on it that sounds amazing. Just an added selling point.
tacticalturnip
Super Member
These images are not mine, they were posted by a member at MTF a few years back; it's cool to see a garden tractor used as such, so I hope you enjoy them too.
TCowner
Platinum Member
I was always a huge fan of the Cub Cadet tractors that were made by International Harvestor going back to my youth in the 1960s. Our family bought a new 102 Cub Cadet in 1966 and I was in charge of most of the mowing. In 1978 I purchased a 1450 Cadet on my own followed by a 982 large frame tractor in 1982. The 982 was a beast with that big Onan engine with the dual exhaust. That was a great tractor but it suffered with steering that was a little stiff. In early 1983 John Deere came out with the 318 and 420 tractors that had that first true hydrostatic power steering and I made the mistake of trying a 420 out.
I approached my International dealer about the possibility to putting power steering on the 982 and we were never able to come up with a plan that would be as impressive as Deere's new steering. Consequently, I ended up trading for the Deere 420 and later, a 430.
Cub Cadet tractors, when developed and manufactured by International Harvestor, competed well with John Deere and in fact, and were considered a leader in this new market for premium lawn and garden products. Other than the first year or two of the original Cub Cadet the gear drive tractors used a direct drive, no belt, clutch that was mated to the same transmission that they used on the bigger Cub and Cub Lo-boy tractors. In 1967 the model 123 had their first hydrostatic transmission (I believe built by Sundstrand). Cub Cadet certainly knew how to develop the tractors that the consumer wanted.
Unfortunately as International Harvestor's financial problems worsened I think there was less investment in the new products and eventually Cub Cadet was sold to MTD. MTD did very little in my opinion to move the existing products forward and just continued to manufacture the line developed by International. And of course they dropped the IH connection and went back to the yellow and white paint scheme. That beautiful International red paint was gone. What a trajedy.
I've often times wondered in International Harvestor had kept the Cub Cadet line and put money into development that they would have products that are every bit as class leading as John Deere. Even after Tenneco merged the Case line with the International line to create Case-IH imagine if Cub Cadet could have continued as a serious division with plenty of development money. Imagine in 2022 if Case-IH was producing a beatiful red tractor with features similar or better than the say an Deere X758. Can you see that beautiful red pain shining in the sun?
It's nice to dream sometimes.
I approached my International dealer about the possibility to putting power steering on the 982 and we were never able to come up with a plan that would be as impressive as Deere's new steering. Consequently, I ended up trading for the Deere 420 and later, a 430.
Cub Cadet tractors, when developed and manufactured by International Harvestor, competed well with John Deere and in fact, and were considered a leader in this new market for premium lawn and garden products. Other than the first year or two of the original Cub Cadet the gear drive tractors used a direct drive, no belt, clutch that was mated to the same transmission that they used on the bigger Cub and Cub Lo-boy tractors. In 1967 the model 123 had their first hydrostatic transmission (I believe built by Sundstrand). Cub Cadet certainly knew how to develop the tractors that the consumer wanted.
Unfortunately as International Harvestor's financial problems worsened I think there was less investment in the new products and eventually Cub Cadet was sold to MTD. MTD did very little in my opinion to move the existing products forward and just continued to manufacture the line developed by International. And of course they dropped the IH connection and went back to the yellow and white paint scheme. That beautiful International red paint was gone. What a trajedy.
I've often times wondered in International Harvestor had kept the Cub Cadet line and put money into development that they would have products that are every bit as class leading as John Deere. Even after Tenneco merged the Case line with the International line to create Case-IH imagine if Cub Cadet could have continued as a serious division with plenty of development money. Imagine in 2022 if Case-IH was producing a beatiful red tractor with features similar or better than the say an Deere X758. Can you see that beautiful red pain shining in the sun?
It's nice to dream sometimes.
dj1701
Veteran Member
Snarky begets snarky. I laughed at both, so it's all good.
dj1701
Veteran Member
When garden tractors were built to last. Except the exhaust. LOL
No, it's not a Thunderbird model JD.
No, it's not a Thunderbird model JD.
Carl_NH
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TCowner
Platinum Member
I picked up a 1990 Cub Cadet 1862 a year ago for our Northern Wisconsin property. It had a new engine installed about 5 years ago but only had about 50 hours of use. I had to replace the front pto bearing and pto switch but other than that it works great. The power steering is a huge improvement over the earlier series tractors.
It has of course the flimsy plastic (there probably is another name for this material) hood and side panels that tend to fail over time but overall a decent tractor. The hand controlled hydrostat isn't as handy as the newer foot control models as it seems like you run out of hands on ocassion. But I managed for many years with these so I make it work.
When I look at the 1862, and later 1864, one has to question just how much progress has been made in 30 years. Today's mowers cut a little better and are easier to take on an off. I think the seats are a little nicer on the new ones but if you had a 10862/1864 with a foot control hydro, a new style mower deck and perhaps a seat suspsension system with a more confortable seat I think it would compete very well with say a Deere X590. Just my opinion of course.
It has of course the flimsy plastic (there probably is another name for this material) hood and side panels that tend to fail over time but overall a decent tractor. The hand controlled hydrostat isn't as handy as the newer foot control models as it seems like you run out of hands on ocassion. But I managed for many years with these so I make it work.
When I look at the 1862, and later 1864, one has to question just how much progress has been made in 30 years. Today's mowers cut a little better and are easier to take on an off. I think the seats are a little nicer on the new ones but if you had a 10862/1864 with a foot control hydro, a new style mower deck and perhaps a seat suspsension system with a more confortable seat I think it would compete very well with say a Deere X590. Just my opinion of course.
