Time to buy MY first JD rider, please help

[jimbo64]

What do you guys think about a GT235 or something in that series? 325 or 345?

i have a gt245 which is 8 years old with 600 hrs on it and no probs with normal maint. never used it to plow Pennsylvania snow- our driveway was 700 ft long up the side of a hill-so we used a yamaha grizzley atv to plow and it did a great job- not sure transmissions on smaller jd and riding mowers will stand up to a lot of heavy duty plowing-be careful what you buy- in the winter, you need a reliable mach that will work for you:thumbsup:

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I have a GT225 16HP Kohler that does most of my snow removal. I live in west central Maine and we get dumped on regularly. I also use a blade on an early 325, but the GT outperforms the 325 tractionwise. Dont know why. I have similar ballast and chains on each. Also have some early 200 series, but they are manual shift and the thrower and blades are narrower. I'd lean toward a GT if I were you. A good used one with a 38" or 42" mower and 42" blower can be found for less than 2 grand if you take your time and dont buy the first one you see. I prefer the newer 2 pedal hydros over the earlier design (same design as on the 100 series is the older). Its just my preference. the Ft has a heavy duty serviceable rear end. The GT 262 is a manual shift from the mid 90's, they are a good compromise if you dont mind a clutch. For optimum snow removal, you'll want a set of wheel weights and 4 suitcase weights on the back, plus chains of course.

 

[leftybob]

My choice would be the J-D 345 It Has a water cooled engine for longer life and power steering. There are lots of them on Tractor House .com

J-D 345
J-D 425

 

[Gauntlet]

I have to agree with the above posting. I had a JD 345 with a 54" deck and the single stage snowblower. I basically live on the Southeast corner of Lake Ontario and we get some heavy lake effect snow, sometimes to the tune of 300+ inches in a season. In 2007 we had about 6' of the white stuff fall in one week. With the 345, I kept 10 driveways clear in my neighborhood without a hiccup. I did them for free as some of the neighbors are elderly. I never expected it, but some would give gift cards for gas or a restaurant. In the 5 years I had that machine, I went through 2 shear pins, one snowblower belt and changed the oil twice a year with a complete tuneup before each winter. The larger 2 stage snowblower would have worked better in the deeper snow and taken less time, but I was surprised at how well the single stage did, which is why I bought it. As for mowing, it was overkill for the size of lawn I currently have. I can really do my lawn at home with a push mower. I sold the machine and got a good price for it, bought a walk behind snowblower and stopped doing the neighbors driveways. Now they throw snowballs at me when I drive through the neighborhood.

 

[salamisandwich]

I bought my first JD GX345 about 2 weeks ago. I've always had cub cadets and thought they were the best. Wrong! This thing is like a Cadillac. Love the power and the features. The water cooled engine is quiet and starts as soon as I hit the ignition! Also, mine has the piranha 44" mulching deck. Very nice job mowing and at a pretty fast speed too. Loving green!

 

[OrangeRidge]

If maintained , they keep chuggin' for years . This one was 1250hrs
and about 15 years old.

 

[thiggy]

After years of mowing about an acre around our farm house and out buildings with two old Murray and a Craftsman rider, I finally decided to get a machine more suitable to the sometimes rough terrain. I recently purchased a new JD X320 and am quite pleased with its performance.

 

[piratesignal]

As the owner of a 1997 LA140 I would stay away from the "entry level" JD untits like the D100 series. I replaced the transmission in mine this Spring. It had just under 100 hours on it (YES LESS THAN 100 hours). The Tuff Torq trannys in these units are not built for the long haul.

If you have a yard that is leve you might be OK. I mow just under an acre that is hilly and over time the mower had more and more trouble getting up the hills. But you also talked about snow removal. A snow blower might be OK but I doubt the tranny will hold up if you are pushing snow with a blade.

The tranny issues of these entry level tracors is well documented. They last just long enough to get passed the warranty period. You really need to buy one of the older GT series others have mentioned or spend more money on an 'X' series. However, I belive the X300 still uses the same model tranny as the D,L and LA series do. If I had to do it over again I would have paid more and got a heavier duty unit.

Good luck.

All very true. The trans on these models is very week. There is a lengthly thread here: 46K rebuild with Pictures) that explains the work you would most likely have to do in a couple years. Trade-off is price. I would love to own some of the models mentioned here, but can't afford them. However, I can do repairs no problem, so that is the route I went. Both the L,D and X series have the same Tuff Torq trannys. The models with the heavy trans were WAY more expensive.