X380 with 7 bushel rear bagger inbound!

[deathtoblackberries]

The eagle has landed! So guys there is a lot of plastic on this mower, I'm okay with that plastic does not rust and weighs less. I have a 4,000 lbs Kubota I was looking for a mower that would be easier on the lawn. The X380 will be a garage queen living her life indoors when not mowing. My larger Kubota will take of things that need to be destroyed with a backhoe or FEL, like blackberries WHICH by the way I utterly destroyed them from my property!!

This is still a bit of a tall step up from the ground to the deck.

This is a good looking lawn tractor, love the grill. Get some grass, bring it!

This bagger/blower assembly can be removed fairly quickly without any tools and is pretty light weight. The blower fan is plastic by the way. The front tires seem a bit low on air I will check.

That is a man sized gas cap I like it. Also love the location vs the Kubota which is on top of the hood. Heaving a 5 gallon can of diesel up onto the hood yes I'd rather not.

Nice sized tires, a fraction of the huge beat juice filled Kubota rear tires.

Here's the new Accel Deep deck, almost a shame to mow with it this afternoon it looks so clean and shiny. I noticed while shopping lawn tractors some had rather lame anti-scalp wheel assemblies these look more robust.

So zooming around my driveway the manual steering seems perfectly I'm more convinced saving $1,000 on power steering was the right decision.

The engine bay is quite neat and tidy I like it. The hood by the way doesn't have a catch or lever holding it in place, you just lift it up.

 

[beenthere]

You can step on the deck wheel bracket to make the "step up" in two, rather than one.

Nice looking rig.

 

[s219]

Great, glad you finally got yours! I felt bad you started the thread and then two others of us took delivery before you!

Before I forget, pull off your hose quick-attachment before it gets packed with grass like mine did...

I have mixed feelings on the plastic -- when it cracked on my old Deere it left dangerous jagged sawtooth edges and was big $$$ to replace -- but let me say I am glad the main body and fenders are still steel, and the paint job is top notch.

I can look over the X380 and find very few things to complain about. After shopping around, I again came back to the conclusion that Deere has the best riding mowers in this price range.

I think I have another few weeks before my lawn needs an honest mowing. This weekend, I gave it a very light trim just to get some time on the mower.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

I found something to complain about...idiots at the tractor dealer don't know how to install something properly and the belts ate through the plastic belt guard near the blower. They also forgot my owners manual for the tractor, I did get the manual for the deck, blower, and chute. Gomer Pile delivery guy also slapped a metal spring loaded hook on the front of the tractor scratching the paint on the bumper. Did I mention they are idiots?

Other than that about 1/3 of my lawn mowed and so far so good, its pretty tall and a bit damp but its chewing right through it. Emptied the bags now about 6-7 times. No clogs yet.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

So the delivery guy says she's fueled and ready to mow. After about half an hour I look down and see this belt guard all cockeyed.

The belts ripped right through it.

Its toast, I had to remove it, it would no longer stand upright.

So I will be having a chat with the dealer tomorrow.

That said the first mowing went well. Typical for our area and the reason I purchased this lawn tractor with a bagger it had rained and rained without a break and when it finally dried out enough to mow today the grass was like 8-9 inches tall. The Kubota would have made a mess of the lawn with rows of grass clippings. The bagger vacuumed it clean, I lost track of how many times I emptied the bagger I have two big piles of clippings. The X380 mowed right through the tall grass seemingly without effort, never once bogged down or even hinted at it. She does drink some gas unlike the Kubota which sips diesel slowly.

It usually takes me about 60 minutes to mow with the big Kubota deck, the X380 logged 1.4 hours plus maybe 20 minutes spent emptying the bags, acceptable. The only odd thing I found was with the X380 at full operating temp having only shut off the engine for a few minutes to empty the bags it sometimes require some choke to restart, weird.

Things I HATE already holding in the stupid reverse safety button while trying to steer one handed, that's retarded.

Things that took some getting used to...the forward/reverse pedals are more touchy than the Kubota, I had to learn to feather them and when you let off the reverse pedal too quick its like slamming on the brakes. I was about to start yelling Yee-Hah and do the one handed bull riding pose. I did notice the transmission won't hold the tractor in place on a slope with your foot off the gas, it will roll forward.

Things that seem baffling...you can't start the mower deck with your foot on the brake what the ****? I'm guessing another retarded safety nanny e.g. if you hit the brake the mower deck shuts off?

Things I love...the hydraulic mower deck start/stop that's some brilliant engineering love it. No more holding in the clutch, shifting, letting the clutch out just push/pull the button on the dash. The bagger is working quite well, even with the grass long and a bit damp it sucks like a shop vac, she destroyed untold numbers of pine cones too.

 

[mapper]

dtb, unless they have changed it the lockout for operating the deck while in reverse can be released after you start moving - it's still a pain in the butt though.
It looks like a few things have changed since last year, the belt guard for the blower and on last year's deck the anti scalp wheels can be rotated 90 degrees at one of the settings to aid in pulling it out from underneath the tractor for servicing.

It probably will never be as pretty as it is now before it has been used all season cutting grass. Enjoy!

 

[s219]

Yes, the reverse operation button just needs to be pushed before you hit the pedal (or shift into reverse on gear tractors of old) and then you can let go.

I was stymied by the PTO not kicking on because I was stopped with the brake applied, which seems odd, but not a big deal. Just need to train my brain.

What annoys me however is that if you don't apply the parking brake before dismounting the tractor with the engine running, it kills the engine. That's new to me. I may override that one.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

I can look over the X380 and find very few things to complain about. After shopping around, I again came back to the conclusion that Deere has the best riding mowers in this price range.

Fully agree. Kubota is not a player in lawn tractors in this class/price range. I looked at Toro but they fell short. I looked at Cub Cadet which the newly re-designed lawn tractor similar to the X380 had some nice features but wow is there owner hatred of Cub Cadet tractors out there and many reported problems. A zero turn was not a good fit for my lawn, too many slopes and at 1 acre just not large enough to warrant one of those plus bagger options seemed limited.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

Yes, the reverse operation button just needs to be pushed before you hit the pedal (or shift into reverse on gear tractors of old) and then you can let go.

I was stymied by the PTO not kicking on because I was stopped with the brake applied, which seems odd, but not a big deal. Just need to train my brain.

What annoys me however is that if you don't apply the parking brake before dismounting the tractor with the engine running, it kills the engine. That's new to me. I may override that one.

Hmmm well that would make it a bit less annoying I'll give that a try. Having got used to my Kubota single forward/reverse rocker style pedal having a separate pedal for forward and reverse took some getting used to. Its funny because when I first purchased the Kubota I hated that thing. lol

I'm guessing you can't engage the mower deck while the brake is pressed because you can exit the tractor with it running with the parking brake applied e.g. that would let you hop off the mower with the blades spinning. That safety switch on the Kubota is on the seat.

 

[deathtoblackberries]

Here you can see the dealer carved the crap out of this guard...and it still rubs on the belts (face palm) so I'll have them order a new one and I'll install it properly. I'm surprised they don't have guard designed for the bagger system that doesn't requiring chopping up the standard guard, kind of retarded imo. They also ordered up the belt guard that was destroyed. They said "we'll have to get that tractor back in here to see what's going on" to which I replied no I'll install in this time so its installed properly (stern look) and they caved. lol

 

[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.