Looking at a 2018 John Deere 2025r

[Slowpoke Slim]

I have a friend with a 1025R and a belly mower. He says he never mows with it after trying it once because it doesn't cut his lawn evenly. I was surprised to hear this, and trying to get details out of him about it, it sounds like his yard is too hilly, and when he crosses the hill while cutting, the mid mount mower cuts too close on one side, and too long on the other. After he looked at my yard at our new house, and how flat it was, he said it would probably work good for me.

His description confused me, as I've been to his house, and other than mild landscaping swales, I thought his yard was a pretty typical yard. He's not a "tractor guy", so it's hard to talk out the issue with him. I've offered to come over and look his mower setup over, or bring his tractor over to my yard and try it there, as I'm still thinking he has a setup, adjustment or driver operator problem. I don't know if he has the 54 or 60 inch deck, but he did say it was the "auto-connect" one.

Next time I visit him at his house, I'm going to try and talk him into getting it out and look it over.

He's still cutting his lawn with a basic riding mower that he bought before getting the 1025R, which he says the rider leaves a better cut.

 

[xrjohndeere]

I have a friend with a 1025R and a belly mower. He says he never mows with it after trying it once because it doesn't cut his lawn evenly. I was surprised to hear this, and trying to get details out of him about it, it sounds like his yard is too hilly, and when he crosses the hill while cutting, the mid mount mower cuts too close on one side, and too long on the other. After he looked at my yard at our new house, and how flat it was, he said it would probably work good for me.

His description confused me, as I've been to his house, and other than mild landscaping swales, I thought his yard was a pretty typical yard. He's not a "tractor guy", so it's hard to talk out the issue with him. I've offered to come over and look his mower setup over, or bring his tractor over to my yard and try it there, as I'm still thinking he has a setup, adjustment or driver operator problem. I don't know if he has the 54 or 60 inch deck, but he did say it was the "auto-connect" one.

Next time I visit him at his house, I'm going to try and talk him into getting it out and look it over.

He's still cutting his lawn with a basic riding mower that he bought before getting the 1025R, which he says the rider leaves a better cut.

I have used the 1025r to cut a lot of grass. If the lawn is not flat and has any slope it will cut just as your friend described. The deck is heavy and the mounting points are narrow so the deck easily sags to the downward side. I was never impressed with the cut. The lawn always looked like a bad hair cut.

 

[dodge man]

I would say I have a similar problem when I mow with my 2025r. It has nothing to do with the quality of the deck or it’s mounting, it’s the geometry of the ground. I will be mowing a slight side hill with the tractor on the side hill but the deck overhangs where the hill ends and the flat starts. That area will cut shorter. It’s digging in so to speak. That just the nature of a wider deck. It’s basically a 60” long straight edge. Any high or low spots along that 60” length is going to have shorter or longer grass.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I have used the 1025r to cut a lot of grass. If the lawn is not flat and has any slope it will cut just as your friend described. The deck is heavy and the mounting points are narrow so the deck easily sags to the downward side. I was never impressed with the cut. The lawn always looked like a bad hair cut.

I think that is actually what he described when trying to tell me why he never cuts his grass with it. He's had it 3-4 years now (I forget) and still has less than 50 hrs run time on it.

He does still use it with the front mount blower (which he LOVES) in winter time.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Is your neighbor running the 60" deck? I ask this because I quite liked the cut on my 54C; now, my lawn isn't a washboard but it's also not a lovely flat rug.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I am curious if the JD decks you guys are talking about have 'guide wheels' on them. Wouldn't that stop the decks from cutting uneven? Are they "full floating" ?

 

[dodge man]

They are a suspended deck and yes they have guide wheels. I had Kubota with a 60” deck before my JD. I’d say the cut is about equal but the mulch kit on the JD does a better job.

 

[KennyG]

The guide wheels don't do anything until you hit a spot so unlevel they touch. JD recommends setting the guide wheels at about 1/2" off the ground but if I do that with my 62D deck, I often gouge the lawn on turns. So I run mine over an inch high just to keep the blades out of the dirt in the rough areas . My lawn is relatively level and I get a very even cut with the deck but the wider the deck, the more it's going to suffer on uneven ground. That's just geometry.

My first question if a deck is cutting uneven on any tractor is whether it is really leveled. Autoconnect does not eliminate the need to level the deck. A recent post mentioned leveling the deck surface with a carpenters level. The blades need to be level, not the deck.

 

[ArlyA]

Its the width of the deck, that makes the cut seem unlevel. (disregarding the tractor adjustments) If your yard is level, you should get a nice even cut, even with a 100" deck but it its unlevel, then a 36" deck might look poor. I'd guess our hilly, bumpy, yard is to unlevel for the smaller 55" deck this tractor can use.

 

[hornett22]

Nice tractor not a bad price. I'd get a "60 finish mower for the back. You couldn't give me a belly mower.

 

[ArlyA]

Dearest says we don't have the $$$$ to get it....

 

[DaBear3428]

OK, just got back with more worthless info. Has 100 hours on it, they bought it new and the dealer filled the tires when they got it. Comes with a 5ft back blade which they never used and the price is negotiable. Was stored indoors.

the price is good, negotiate if you want, but i would make sure that this is what you need. IMO a belly mower is a PITA if you are going to do any work in ruff fields or woods. you will have to mount and dismount it each time you want to use it as a tractor. on the other hand in todays market you could resell it for more that the asking price. or buy a used Zero turn to go with it for close to the price of a new belly mower deck.
I do not know your situation but for me the 2025r is way too light for my needs and too heavy to make a good finish mower, but that is my situation not yours. good luck!

 

[DaBear3428]

Dearest says we don't have the $$$$ to get it....

yes i have one of those too but in the end I had to overrule her (just don't tell her that).

 

[ArlyA]

yes i have one of those too but in the end I had to overrule her (just don't tell her that).

We tried a zero turn on our yard and did not like it. Its 90% hillside and our current mower is 4wd.

Last edited: Yesterday at 9:12 AM

 

[DaBear3428]

We tried a zero turn on our yard and did not like it. Its 90% hillside and our current mower is 4wd.

Last edited: Yesterday at 9:12 AM

I'm on board with that like i said my / all the rest of the people giving you advice are not in your situation so YMMV. Good luck!

 

[DaBear3428]

Haven't seen your yard to usefully comment. There was a long and extensive debate over mmms vs ZTRs on TBN recently where every side of that issue was spoken to.

One thing about this size tractor is that it's still relatively transportable while being big enough to do some useful work. If you get too big of a tractor, it's not going to be easy to manuver on a trail. 4wd plus a hydrostat transmission also means you should have good control over ground speed.

Working on a trail with a tractor is a different experience than doing it by hand. When you work by hand, you've got the personal experience of being in the woods. When you involve a tractor, I think it interposes a machine between us and nature. I think you'll understand when I say I'd rather walk in the woods than ride an ATV in the woods because the experience is different. If you are there to get work done that's best done with a tractor, so be it. If you're there because you love nature and primarily want that experience, then a tractor might get in the way.

I hear you but on the other hand, when you are on the tractor in the woods you are working, when you are not on the tractor in the woods you can forget about all the things you need to do and enjoy it, at least that is how it works for me, I can never get away from working otherwise.

 

[stso9d]

I am sure there are some who would dissagree, but I would never go with a small tractor that has a belly mower.

why not have two toys? a zero turn and a tractor like the one in question. mowing hills is a challenge regardless of equipment used.

the tractor will fill more needs simply due to the muscle it offers...

RA

 

[ArlyA]

I am sure there are some who would dissagree, but I would never go with a small tractor that has a belly mower.

why not have two toys? a zero turn and a tractor like the one in question. mowing hills is a challenge regardless of equipment used.

Third time posting this here---->>> We tried a zero turn on our yard and did not like it. Its 90% hillside and our current mower is 4wd.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Third time posting this here---->>> We tried a zero turn on our yard and did not like it. Its 90% hillside and our current mower is 4wd.

You make a good point, but have you considered a zero-turn?

 

[stso9d]

folks are giving opinions based on experiences is all. apologize if you had to read same thing over...