X380 with 7 bushel rear bagger inbound!

[beenthere]

Just leave that guard off.. then you can monitor what the belt is doing as you use the machine. I leave the other belt guards off as well because it is much easier to blow off the grass clippings and debris after every mowing. That keeps the deck from rusting due to wet grass clippings... as this pic you posted clearly shows is a problem with short time mowing.

 

[meanjeeps2005]

Have you had any problems with transmission

 

[s219]

Have you had any problems with transmission

I'd hope not, he's only had it a few days!

 

[meanjeeps2005]

Just bought mine yesterday haven't took delivery yet it has the 54 inch deck on it mowing 5 acres

 

[meanjeeps2005]

What I like about it unlike my old Husqvarna I had for 8 years deck leveling will be much easier everything you need is on the mower don't have to climb under twist bolts and try to measure the deck to the ground you have the tube they give you and all your twisting is done on top of your mower just about bought a 170 from Lowe's glad I didn't cheaper there but not better

 

[dhufstader]

nice to find some actual feedback on the 380. I have been looking at a new lawn tractor. was looking at the D170, but the 380 is just a better machine. I think of it as a tool.. don't cheap out or it will leave you hanging.
I have about 4 acres of old field to mow.. flat, but nor even/smooth. I want something that is going to be comfortable to sit on for a few hours, and will do the job well.
the 170 is more in my budget, but the 380 w/54" deck is the best tool for the job the more I look at it.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

UPDATE: After mowing my 1 acre several times now with the X380 here is an update.

The Good

1. Starts and runs goods, engine is not as smooth as my Kutoba 29hp diesel but fairly smooth for a gas motor, only the occasional pop out the exhaust.

2. The 48" deep deck produces a superior cut vs my 60 inch Kubota deck, its quite a noticeable difference. Looks groomed. I recently cut the lawn without the bagger and noticed the JD cuts the clipping 2-3 times so even in tall grass where I was cutting 4-5 inches of grass off it didn't leave rows of cut grass laying on top of the grass like the Kubota does. After mowing there was very little grass clippings noticeable, no mulch kit required imo.

3. I continue to love the pull/push knob for engaging/disengaging the mower deck.

4. The bagger is awesome in how well it sucks up the grass clipping its like a shop vac.

5. Manual steering and deck lift works quite well, I'm happy I saved $1,000 vs paying for the hydraulic lift and steering.

The Bad

1. The government safety reverse button BS is highly annoying. On my last mow I taped it down with some duck tape wow SO much easier. I will engineer a permanent fix to hold that down.

2. MAJOR design flaw in the deck/bagger. As much as I'm impressed with the bagger system the idiots at JD must know there is a design flaw. So the 48" deck weighs but a fraction of my Kubota 60" fab deck. The JD deck is tippy/bouncy over bumps and because it produces such a groomed cut its quite noticeable when the deck tips and cuts the grass at an angle e.g. it looks like it scalps the grass on one side. The bagger makes this much worse. All the weight of the bagger rests on the right side of the deck. This makes the deck quite tippy indeed. You can easily lift up on the left side of the deck without much effort. So when you hit a bump or even mow on a side slope the deck tilts and does not mow level. So the deck even without the bagger needs some counter springs or something to keep it from tipping so easily on bumps and with the bagger clearly they need to engineer something to take the added weight off the right side of the deck. So great bagger but poorly implemented. I don't think extending the anti-scalp wheels is the answer, you would basically be dragging the deck around on them and its not designed for that.

 

[s219]

The government safety reverse button BS is highly annoying. On my last mow I taped it down with some duck tape wow SO much easier. I will engineer a permanent fix to hold that down.

I'd say trace the wires and figure out how to bypass it with wiring. Could likely even make a little dummy wire that plugs into the harness and bypasses the switch.

I guess I got used to the RIO button from my last Deere (had it for 15 years or so), as I don't give it a second thought on my new 380.

 

[meanjeeps2005]

Unplug from transmission should fix it

 

[Richard001]

UPDATE: After mowing my 1 acre several times now with the X380 here is an update.


The Bad

2. MAJOR design flaw in the deck/bagger. As much as I'm impressed with the bagger system the idiots at JD must know there is a design flaw. So the 48" deck weighs but a fraction of my Kubota 60" fab deck. The JD deck is tippy/bouncy over bumps and because it produces such a groomed cut its quite noticeable when the deck tips and cuts the grass at an angle e.g. it looks like it scalps the grass on one side. The bagger makes this much worse. All the weight of the bagger rests on the right side of the deck. This makes the deck quite tippy indeed. You can easily lift up on the left side of the deck without much effort. So when you hit a bump or even mow on a side slope the deck tilts and does not mow level. So the deck even without the bagger needs some counter springs or something to keep it from tipping so easily on bumps and with the bagger clearly they need to engineer something to take the added weight off the right side of the deck. So great bagger but poorly implemented. I don't think extending the anti-scalp wheels is the answer, you would basically be dragging the deck around on them and its not designed for that.

You could add a couple of bungee cords to the right side when you have the baggier attached. I know it sounds hooky, but it works and is easy to do.