Johnny Bucket and Plow manuals are not available pre-sale?

EngineerBoy · Oct 18, 2018

So I'm on track to get a used John Deere tractor, and am looking to add the Johnny Bucket Jr, plow, and other accessories. In advance of this I wanted to look at the installation/operation manuals to understand any gotchas, caveats, complications, limitations, or other potential issues prior to the sale. I checked the Johnny Products site and couldn't find them, so contacted their customer service. They stated they do not release these pre-sales.

The fact that Johnny Products is not making their documentation available pre-sales makes me concerned they have something to hide. Counter to that, I've seen a lot of positive feedback on their products here and elsewhere, so now I'm conflicted. Having been burnt in the past by surprises in the manuals, I normally wouldn't consider major purchases of consumer products where the documentation was not available publicly.

Can anyone share direct experiences with their Johnny Bucket Jr. / Plow Jr. installation and use that they wish they would have known in advance?

MESSMAKER · Oct 19, 2018

EngineerBoy said:
So I'm on track to get a used John Deere tractor, and am looking to add the Johnny Bucket Jr, plow, and other accessories. In advance of this I wanted to look at the installation/operation manuals to understand any gotchas, caveats, complications, limitations, or other potential issues prior to the sale. I checked the Johnny Products site and couldn't find them, so contacted their customer service. They stated they do not release these pre-sales.

The fact that Johnny Products is not making their documentation available pre-sales makes me concerned they have something to hide. Counter to that, I've seen a lot of positive feedback on their products here and elsewhere, so now I'm conflicted. Having been burnt in the past by surprises in the manuals, I normally wouldn't consider major purchases of consumer products where the documentation was not available publicly.

Can anyone share direct experiences with their Johnny Bucket Jr. / Plow Jr. installation and use that they wish they would have known in advance?

You may be overthinking this one. I owned a JB for several years on 2 different Garden tractors. They are well made and really easy to install. It has some limits but that is a good thing because you can get too much of a good thing and make it unsafe or do damage.

EngineerBoy · Oct 19, 2018

MESSMAKER said:
You may be overthinking this one. I owned a JB for several years on 2 different Garden tractors. They are well made and really easy to install. It has some limits but that is a good thing because you can get too much of a good thing and make it unsafe or do damage.

Being new to the lawn tractor game I'm definitely over-thinking everything. I've heard a lot of positive feedback on the Johnny products so I'm leaning towards giving them a try. Thanks for the feedback.

N2DFire · Oct 19, 2018

EngineerBoy said:
The fact that Johnny Products is not making their documentation available pre-sales makes me concerned they have something to hide. Counter to that, I've seen a lot of positive feedback on their products here and elsewhere, so now I'm conflicted. Having been burnt in the past by surprises in the manuals, I normally wouldn't consider major purchases of consumer products where the documentation was not available publicly.

No firsthand knowledge and to be perfectly honest, I have the same basic thoughts as you; documentation should be freely available especially in the electronic age we live in.

However - it may be something as simple as they are still "old school" paper manuals and it's an expense for them to print & mail to everyone that might be curious, but then never actually buy.
To me it's part of the overhead, but then it's not my profit margin either.

I agree with Messmaker that you're probably overthinking it (having an engineering background myself I fully understand that too).
One thing about the internet, people love to complain when something isn't how they think it should be so I have taken the approach that if it looks ok and you can't easily find gripes / issues on the internet then you're probably going to be alright.

Best of luck whatever you decide. Be sure to come back and share pictures, we all love to drool over new goodies.

GirlWhoWantsTractor · Oct 19, 2018

Yes, my "manual" for my Johnny Products electric sleeve hitch is a homemade affair. However, it was excellent, with clear drawings and well-explained steps. Non-mechanical me was able to understand it and complete the installation with no problems. And I normally have trouble changing a fuse.

You probably read my comments in another thread but if not, the product quality is top-notch, replacement parts readily available and reasonably priced, fast shipping, and quick responses to emails, including technical support when needed. I wish a lot of larger companies were as good.

oldnslo · Oct 19, 2018

Depending on the model of Deere you intend to install this on you may have also purchase a system relief valve for the HST. Some models of Deere痴 that the Johnny bucket mounts on do not come standard with this relief. It protects the HST from going over pressure.

I believe this relief is Deere item not a Johnny bucket option.

My son had the Johnny bucket on his X485 and worked well

EngineerBoy · Oct 20, 2018

As usual, thanks to all on this forum for the feedback. I've ordered a Johnny Bucket/Plow Jr. combo for my rig and will post updates once I've gotten and used it.