Not sure what to do at all!!!

[99ls1ta]

First off complete newbie to newer tractors so I went to a few dealers and am more confused than before I started. I have 2.25 acres of which a quarter acre is trees no mowing. The rest has a few trees fairly flat but the lower section is a flat valley with a long slight slope on one end a steeper slope on the other with a small section that is close to a 45 degree slope. Since I bought the house 7 years ago I've been mowing with a cub cadet 107 my grandfather gave me to "get me started till I get something newer" that never happened, something always came up that I had to divert cash to. Now I fear I may have to do something and I'm lost, the 107 is getting tired and starting to get a little unreliable and parts are getting hard to come by quickly.

I don't have a lot of cash right now maybe 2-2.5k cash, recently married and now our first child on the way but need to do something. I figure my options are as follows

1. Take dealers advice retire the 107 replace with a x5xx or gt2xxx and finance the uncovered balance which would be around 4k lot of cabbage to finance on a tractor. But are those a true replacement for the 107? can I expect 15-20 years reliable service from them?

2. Retire 107 buy cheaper "premium" lawn tractor x3xx, gt1xxx or craftsman gt etc and hope it holds up for a long time but finance much less (I have a atv to push snow and pull the yard cart so the tractor will just be a mower I'm just concerned about the hills strain on the tranny)

3. Keep the 107 buy a cheap craftsman or d1xx as a backup in case it goes down and need to wait a week for parts to arrive. no financing and I have two machines but can those lighter tractors take any kind of slopes at all and last more than a few years even in a backup role?

4. Try and nurse the 107 through this season and give her a major overhaul this winter. But I still have a 40+ year old machine and parts are going to get harder to find as it ages more.

I worry about the downtime, I work in the asphalt industry so my summers = 70 to 80+ hour work weeks I don't want to have to wrench on my tractor for an hour before mowing so I ruled out getting a used one for backup and that is also my concern for the 107 (as much as I love that tractor she may just be getting too old for frontline lawn defence). I also worry about the rear ends in the new ones they are nothing like my old cubs (even the x5xx's) and not sure how they stand up to hills. I just need a few other honest opinions with out dealers trying to say I need a 4x4 diesel ten grand tractor.

Also I only looked at jd, cc and sears if anyone has any other brands or a model recommendation please chime in, opinions very welcome and appreciated. thanks and sorry for the long post.

 

[deerseeker001]

Welcome from Wisconsin

 

[TnWV]

I mow some really steep ground. I've always run box store mowers and they struggled to pull the hills and would take off sliding going down.

In June 2012, I bought an X530 with the HDAP tires. It doesn't miss a beat going up or down the same hills. Very little sliding and the diff lock works like a charm if it does start to spin. The tranny is very strong and imagine it will hold up for many years. I mow about 5 acres a week in total and the X530 cut my time nearly in half with the same size deck. It leaves a great cut as well.

I don't know how the X530 compares to your 107, but I imagine it would serve you well. The power steering and hydraulic deck lift are absolutely worth the upgrade over the X500. Makes mowing for long periods of time much more enjoyable IMHO.

The X3xx may work fine for you, but I believe you have to get to the X310 and above to get the better tranny(still smaller than the X5xx). I may be wrong on which model the bigger tranny starts in, but not all X3xx's have it. I was able to try them all out on a pretty good slope at the dealer, so I knew the X530 would work best for me, maybe you will be able to do the same at your dealer.

Good Luck!!

 

[LD1]

Have you considered a zero turn?

 

[99ls1ta]

The dealer seemed more interested in selling me a x7 or x5 that he didn't say much about the x3s (in his defense those probably are the replacement equivalent of my 107 but do I need that much and need to spend that much if its just mowing on a few slopes). you hit the nail on the head TnWV of whats most confusing, which x3s have the heavier rear? One would think all tractors of a given line would have close abilities just different options but that doesn't seem to be the case. I just worry about cost (maybe too much lol) the x530 is a beautiful machine but when they hit me with the $6,700 price tag whew I'd have to finance over 4k with tax. the x500 came in at $5700 still 3k shy of my in hand cash. but then again if I get the wrong x3 and still finance 2k I end up with a lame tractor again after 6-7 years.

And this may be a dumb question but what are HDAP tires?

LD1 I'm not sure about zero turns, they seem pretty complex how well do they hold up? I know all the pros use them but I'm sure those are five figure machines as far as price.

 

[square1]

I've been mowing with a Cub Cadet 107 my grandfather gave me to "get me started till I get something newer" that never happened, something always came up that I had to divert cash to. Now I fear I may have to do something and I'm lost, the 107 is getting tired and starting to get a little unreliable and parts are getting hard to come by quickly.

I don't have a lot of cash right now maybe 2-2.5k cash, recently married and now our first child on the way

Reread this ^^^. I think your answer lies in there somewhere

 

[TnWV]

The dealer seemed more interested in selling me a x7 or x5 that he didn't say much about the x3s (in his defense those probably are the replacement equivalent of my 107 but do I need that much and need to spend that much if its just mowing on a few slopes). you hit the nail on the head TnWV of whats most confusing, which x3s have the heavier rear? One would think all tractors of a given line would have close abilities just different options but that doesn't seem to be the case. I just worry about cost (maybe too much lol) the x530 is a beautiful machine but when they hit me with the $6,700 price tag whew I'd have to finance over 4k with tax. the x500 came in at $5700 still 3k shy of my in hand cash. but then again if I get the wrong x3 and still finance 2k I end up with a lame tractor again after 6-7 years.

And this may be a dumb question but what are HDAP tires?

LD1 I'm not sure about zero turns, they seem pretty complex how well do they hold up? I know all the pros use them but I'm sure those are five figure machines as far as price.

HDAP tires have a more aggressive tread design then regular turfs. See picture below.


That price seems high. I paid $5,820 plus tax. Of course that was nearly 2 years ago and there may have been some incentive going on at the time built into the price.

I also agree with square1. I originally went in for an X740, but for similar reasons as he points our in your original post, I downsized so that I could pay cash and not finance. Big choice to make and no one can make it for you, only you know what is the right decision for you financially.

 

[aczlan]

How about a Cub Cadet GT3000 series? Those are available for $1-2000 with just a mower deck (one example at a dealership I have used in the past: cub cadet 3205, one closer to you: https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/grd/4432044671.html ) and are well built. They have a locking differential, hydraulic deck lift and hydraulic power steering and split brakes.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

You are in a real dilemma as most good quality mowers are going to be in the near to or greater than $6K price range. If you want a mower that is going to last you 20+ years, you are going to have to part with around $6,500-7500. You can spend $2500 on a box store tractor type or zero turn but it may not last you more than 3-4 years mowing on hills. My advice would be to try to get a few more years out of your present mower if possible while saving your money to buy a good one or bite the bullet and finance a good commercial or near commercial grade mower that will last you a lifetime.

 

[arnoldziffel]

Like it or not, I think you should be looking at a high quality, well cared for USED machine.

In my opinion the biggest bang for the buck would be a Toro Wheel Horse 5xi machine. For your cash on hand budget, you should be able to land a nice 520xi (no power steering) or 522xi (with power steering).

Pennsylvania has always been a honey hole of great used Toro Wheel Horse equipment. There were and still are many Toro Wheel Horse dealers in your state.

Work Craigslist for a few days and I bet you'll find something that will still give you years of service. (By the way, DON'T waste your money on any of the recent Toro lawn tractors. They are built to a price and have abandoned the Wheel Horse over-built philosophy.)

Good Luck.

 

[roadhunter]

Have you considered a zero turn?

This. Once you try one you will wonder what you were doing wasting all the time on the little tractors. I always had JD mowers and even had a newer hydrostat JD but the first time I drove a zero turn it was all over. Since all you are doing is mowing I'd strongly recommend at least looking at one. You will likely cut your mowing time in half.

 

[js5020]

If your fixed on a new JD then you need cashola, they are all spendy, you get what you pay for. If new is not appealing pricewise then look at low hour used, plenty of nice X7s, X5s, X4s,,even older 3x5, 4x5s,,, lot of nice low hour machines out there many at 50% of new or less.

 

[warky715]

I bought a X500 2 years ago for $3700 Canadian with only 137 hours on it. It's a nice machine and pulls a 700 lb. lawn roller with no issues. I cut 3 acres with it and although i'm all flat ground I don't think it would have any issues with hills. I have it up to 218 hours now and have never had a problem other than replacing the battery.

 

[99ls1ta]

I'm not really set on any brand, but I feel square1 and TnWV are right on. There is always a big difference on what I want and what I can practically afford. The cheapest new replacement I've found in my area is a cub cadet gt2000 with a 48 fabricated deck for $5100 out the door with 0% for 36mo. With my down payment that puts me at $79.17 a month. Not terrible at all I just hate the idea of more payments (got a mortgage one car payment and one quad payment, luckly my pickup and quad were paid off last year just working on hers now).

I know you get what you pay for but still considering getting a very cheap box store tractor now and overhauling the 107 this year then have the cub finished up for next season and try and sell the cheapo, sort of rent it for this season. no debt keep a tractor I like and know the complete history since new and hopefully only lose 500-700 on the throw away.

 

[stuckmotor]

The Snapper rear engne rider at the following link has 33 inch deck and a brand new one is in your price range. RER33175 | Snapper Pro Lawn

 

[99ls1ta]

Here is my old 107. She is still in decent shape for being a 1970, most joints, bearings and the wiring leave a lot to be desired. One repaint in 94 since Granddad bought it new, he is pretty particular about upkeep. If I wasn't worried about parts drying up in several years I'd have no problem overhauling and running it 10-15 more years.

 

[bja105]

Some things to think about.


Do you need to mow it yourself? As much as you work in the summer, pay someone else to mow it, spend time with your family. Then remind me to take my own advice.

Do you need to mow all 2 acres? Can you let some of it grow up or go wild? Maybe have a neighbor with a big tractor brush hog it once or twice a year?

I live near you, and work as much in the hot weather. I have two places to mow, home and the farm. Between the two yards, I have 5 old tractors. 2 are Cub Cadets like yours, 147 and 72. Between the 5, at least two work at any given time, I hope.

 

[99ls1ta]

I have thought of just letting some of it go several times but never did, and now with a child on the way I don't want anything that could invite snakes or other critters in when the young one is around.

AHHH so you are familiar with the turn and pray method of starting too I see, since towards the end of last season its always interesting turning that key cause I never really know what I'm going to get.

And the thought of having someone come in and do it for me honestly never crossed my mind but that is a VERY good option to look into as well, I can't believe I never thought of it...guess you get trained into one way of thinking then its just habit.

Thanks so much for all the thoughts, and suggestions guys you have all helped me out a lot and given me a lot to chew on. I'm going to seek out all the options posted over the next few days and we will see what happens. you all will be the first ones to know the out come.

 

[Tahoe24]

I bought my cub cadet in 2007. Love it.. GT2542. Shaft drive is nice.. No slip, and can pull fully loaded cart no problem.. I know new ones are around 4k.. So def look used.. 270 hours and no problems.. I always do fluids every year and grease all points.. So well cared for. Good luck..

 

[jaotguy]

or check out kijiji and craigs list for decent used box store lawn tractors ... for your " backup"

you'll likely find a few "donor" units around for your existing trusty steed ( can't have too many )

and look at fixing up several used hand mowers , gang them up ( V style) behind the "tractor" and cut a wider swath to cut down on mowing time ....