help me select my first garden tractor please

[ByronBob]

Dan 30 mins north of Syracuse is near Fulton. Ouch..... Well again the blower will work but if the snow piles up too fast your going to struggle some. I don't know how long you've lived there or what your neighbors use to clean the driveway or even if someone will plow for you as necessary so if your depending on the tractor for getting out of the driveway it should work but for how long? The abuse you'd be putting on the tractor won't show up immediately but it's something in the back of your mind to think about.
Cost vs return is something we all struggle with. For the money you get a nice tractor to cut grass and in some cases it will do your driveway I'm sure. Maybe my thinking is nothing can keep up with 7 feet of snow at once in Oswego County. If you have a backup option then this should be fine.
Myself I'm 650 feet from the road. I wanted to get a Craftsman GT5000 with blower but everyone said I was crazy. The swore it would never hold up. I'd burn the engine up blowing so hard. So semi-painfully I went big and got a FEL with my Bota and it may be slower but I can move snow anywhere I want no matter how much snow I get.
Again I wonder what does the neighbors use on their driveways? If nobody uses a blower on a tractor such as a Craftsman then take warning to it. I don't mean to be negative but I'm thinking your not strong enough for your tractor vs the conditions.

 

[PBinWA]

I would strongly recommend the tire chains and wheel weights. It will work great but you will need the traction. You can also get the wheels filled with liquid calcium at most farm friendly tire stores. I filled the front ties with anit-freeze windshield washer fluid myself but I'm not sure I would want to do it with the rear tires.

You should also look into the electric lift motor. The snow blower looks heavy and the lever arm just doesn't cut it with the heavy attachments. A nice little toggle switch is all it takes to raise and lower the attachments.

 

[PBinWA]

ByronBob made the best point. Find out what the neighbors that have been there for a while are doing. Their experience is priceless. If I would have done this I would have bought my big tractor a year ago, spent less on a smaller lawn mower and saved the hassle of ebay'ing all my attachments now.

I also would have built a bigger "shed" for my new baby ... errr. . . tractor! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[DanielNY]

well the street is only 2 years old, but I have lived in this area for a while now. Most people use a regular snowblower like I do (shown in the picture above) or use a plow service, but I don't have the time to wait for other people to show up. Craftsman sells weights for the back and the tires themselves, but I guess the snow thrower attachment is not an option judging from your opinions (eventho it's bigger and stronger than my current small 5HP snowblower).

So without the snowblower attachment, which tractor would you guys recommend, is the JD 130 series any good , so far I am getting the feeling I should go with my first choice, the Craftsman. As I am going to order my tractor in the next few days, I hope you guys can make this choice easy on me /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

Didn't I read on TBN that the JDs in Home Depot were farmed out to MTD?

Whoever said that was seriously mistaken...

 

[ByronBob]

I've had a Craftsman since 1997 and it's solid. I would have no reservations telling you it's a fine choice. Never had anything other than the Craftsman so I can't speak for anything else. The Kohler in my machine is a horse.

For the blower option you should talk to some other people and get their opinion. You still have some time to discuss your options there. The blower on the Craftsman is over a grand. If you check out the Toro monster I saw which is 48 inches wide with double tires and a 13hp engine you'll notice how massive this thing is. It's designed more for your snow situation.

If you've lived there long enough I'd go by your assessment of what to do. If a blower is adequate then by all means get one. The question is do you get the attachment for the Craftsman? Well my dad growing up had the blower for his Craftsman complete with weights and all the goodies. After 8 yeats the gear box was shot and the cost didn't justify fixing. He bought a blower after that which I still use and it's almost 18 years old. My Craftsman is 7 now and it's solid but i only use it to mow the lawn.

Either way I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[Dave___in___CT]

Hi Daniel...


Sort version...

"I am willing to spend up to $2300 on a tractor, needs to be able to drive attachments as I also want to purchase a 2stage snowblower kit (I live in upstate NY, sometimes up to 7ft of snow in 24 hours), and don't want to pay more than $1400 "


Reverse those numbers...
$1400 for a LAWN tractor and $2300 for a top-line brand/model 2 stage walk behind snowblower...

Actually... ~$1,000 for the mower... and more for the snowblower if needed...

 

[DanielNY]

I am not going to get the snow thrower attachment (I am a little disappointed as I really thought that 25hp could move the snow without killing the engine), and from what I can tell, the L100 series has a much weaker frame than the next step JD series (even the JD site mentions this), so there is no point in going with JD at all, as the Craftsman has the Kohler engine too. I will probably go with the GT5000 automatic unless someone has some good arguements not to go with this model /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Red_rider]

Daniel,
I certainly don't experience as much snow in Central Virginia, but I would not hesitate to buy the Craftsman. My current one (GT series, 19.5 hp Kohler) is going on 11 years old. It cuts grass (3 acres), cleans up leaves with the help of a PECO vacuum system (700+ bushel last year), plows the snow on 3/4 mile of road and driveway (total of 54+ inches in 1995-1996), and has pulled cartloads of firewood. It gets meticulous care and "sleeps" in a garage (heated in the winter) right next to the Branson 3510. Only thing it has needed is a new set of blades every 3 yrs., a new drive belt last year, and normal maintainence. In short, buy the Craftsman and spring for the wheel weights and chains. Not sure about the snowblower - never needed one - but my father didn't have as much luck with a snowblower on his Duetz as he did with the 4 ft. plow on his 1963 Sears tractor (still going strong) and he lives in Garrett County MD -- plenty of snow there. Doesn't sound like a plow is an option for you though.