Craftsman yt 4000 or John Deere LA135 se

[greenmule]

Yeah,if you go the cheapest route,than find the cheapest one and buy it, you probably will end up with same quality mower,its just you'll have more money in your pocket.

 

[CPAScott]

I'm asking the exact same question as the OP ... trying to decide between the Deere LA135 SE and the Craftsman YT4000. Here's what my research has yielded:

* American Yard Products, which is owned by Husqvarna, manufactures Craftsman tractors as well as Husqvarna and Poulan.

* Deere & Company manufactures its own tractors, John Deere.

* MTD International manufactures many of the other popular tractor brands, including Cub Cadet, Troy-Bilt, Yard Machines, Bolens, and White.

Per Consumer Reports, the reliability of the three companies products are:
1. John Deere
2. American Yard
3. MTD

Consumer Reports, along with other review sites, pan the LA145 when compared to the smaller LA series tractors -- primarily for uneveness of cut. Apparently moving to the larger deck is a trade-off -- faster mow, less even.

I confirmed this when talking to my local Sears tractor guy -- Sears currently has three nearly identical YT3000s on sale for $1699:

YT 4000 (28926) - 24HP 42" deck with fender control
YT 4000 (28927) - 24HP 42" deck with foot pedal control
YT 4000 (28928) - 24HP 46" deck with foot pedal control

All are regularly $2099.

I also noticed at my local Sears last year's model of the 28928 (actual model 28828) available for $1449.

"Help me decide", I said to the sales guy. He mentioned the trade-off: Last year's model is cheaper and will take slightly less time to mow than this year's 42" model, but the cut will not be as even and the machine doesn't look quite as good (the "vanity" issue). Same with this year's models -- larger deck, faster time but poorer cut. Personally, I'm not so sure that the 46" will be that different -- heck if I hire a landscaping firm they are going to use 54" ZTRs -- should I assume the cut will be horrible compared to the 42" tractor? I'd think not...

Anyway...

Comparing that against the John Deere LA 135 SE at $1999, its hard to decide. Is the reliability of the Deere so much better than the Craftsman-branded Husqvarna to pay an extra $300? Although some on this thread say yes, the reliability ratings don't make that argument obvious. Now, if we were comparing Deere to Bolens or even Cub Cadet (which apparently from my research are notorious for drive belt issues), the decision would be easier.

Other facts:

* The John Deere's turning radius is 18".
* The Craftsman's turning radius is 16".

* The LA 135SE has a 22HP (656 cc) Briggs & Stratton Intek V-twin
* The YT 4000 has a 24HP (724 cc) Briggs & Stratton Intek V-twin

So -
Craftsman - slightly less reliability (but not nearly as poor as MTD), larger engine, tigher turning radius, for $300 less

Deere - slightly more reliability, dealer network, smaller engine, larger turning radius, $300 more

Why buy the Deere when comparing these two?

 

[Calibrator]

CPAScott...I'll let you know. I just purchased the Craftsman YT4000 42" with the 3 bin bagger. It will be delivered Friday 04/03. I own a John Deer self-propelled push mower and it's been fine. I also own a Craftsman snow blower and it's been running fine for over 7 years! If maintained properly I believe the Craftsman will last. My snow blower has been great.

 

[GasNSteering]

It wasnt on your list but consider purchasing a used one. Lots of good brand names (simplicity, etc) for sale that are made well and have basically break in use. I wouldnt buy another new mower after seeing the deals on craigslist.

 

[CPAScott]

FYI, I ended up buying the Deere. Got an insider's deal at Lowe's that enabled us to buy the Deere for $1800 and get a free dump cart (about $110 value). So, even though the Craftsman was still slightly less, the difference was nominal -- and thus the slightly higher reliability tractor won out.

Being delivered today!

 

[robin640]

I too was looking at both of these tractors. We also went with the Deere 135se after a lot of research very much like yourself. Lowes gave us the 10% off when you open a credit card and the free 10P cart. I did have to pick it up and gassed it up on the way home. FYI - you will need to but the "mulch plug" if you intend to go that route. My as well get the oil and filter while you are there.

Any plans on breaking it in any special way? Other than changing the oil at 8 hours of initial use. Feel free to PM me. I don't want to hi-jack the thread.

-Ron

 

[CPAScott]

Robin:

I'm not sure where you live, but here (MA) a local John Deere dealer sets up all the Deere tractors sold at Lowe's and Home Depot, so all "assembly" operations such as leveling the mower deck, charging the battery, adding oil, etc. was done. I thought that John Deere demanded this to ensure that what consumers were buying from Lowe's and HD were set up properly as if you bought from a dealer.

I did have to buy the mulch plug from the dealer -- you can either get the one for the LA series (just a cover), or the one for the X300, which includes a baffle. Supposedly the X300 kit is better, but you can't use the custom mulch blades that come with it and you'll have to remove the entire apparatus if you want to switch from mulching. On the dealer's recommendation, I went with the regular LA series mulch plug.

As for breaking it in, I'll follow the Deere operator's manual precisely. After 8 hours of use I intend to:
* Change the oil (not the filter)
* Check the mower deck belt tension
* Check the mower deck spindle brakes
* Lubricate mower spindles
* Lubricate mower pivot points
* Lubricate front axle pivot
* Lubricate front axle wheel spindles and bushings

The last four things should then be done every 25 hours, and the first three every 50 (along with other things).

I'm actually going to put my tractor to the test straight-away, as I'm going to clear a portion of the lawn that's been allowed to grow wild. That means clearing some rocks (the tractor will pull a trailer) and then, after some preparation of the area, mowing the *very* tall grass.

 

[jinman]

Robin:

As for breaking it in, I'll follow the Deere operator's manual precisely. After 8 hours of use I intend to:
* Change the oil (not the filter)
* Check the mower deck belt tension
* Check the mower deck spindle brakes
* Lubricate mower spindles
* Lubricate mower pivot points
* Lubricate front axle pivot
* Lubricate front axle wheel spindles and bushings

The last four things should then be done every 25 hours, and the first three every 50 (along with other things).

I'm actually going to put my tractor to the test straight-away, as I'm going to clear a portion of the lawn that's been allowed to grow wild. That means clearing some rocks (the tractor will pull a trailer) and then, after some preparation of the area, mowing the *very* tall grass.

Congratulations on your purchase. I bought a LA145 last year at the JD dealer. I had the cash to pay for it, but I could not turn down the 12 months no pmt and no interest offer. I just mailed a check for the full balance last week.

When you take the deck off your mower the first time, notice how easy it is to remove. Look closely and compare other mowers sometime. I think you will really appreciate the Deere. I think you'll notice that the deck is very heavy and substantial. The deflector chute will probably be toast every two years, but I don't know how to prevent that except to get a better operator.

Also on your list, I noticed you mentioned greasing the deck spindles at 8 hours. I did mine at new and 4 hours just to make sure there was plenty of grease inside the new bearings. Having a flexible hose on your grease gun makes this much easier. At 8 hours, I removed the front wheels to make sure there was grease on the wheel spindles because one of my grease zerks did not want to take grease. There was grease, but I cleaned the zerk and it started taking grease.

My yard I mow is about 1 acre and I have very sandy soil. The original blades took a beating by 40 hours. I sharpened them at 25 hours and by 40 hours, the fin on the back of the blade that provides lift had almost completely eroded away due to being "sand-blasted." I ordered two sets of blades from a 3rd-party online and have replaced the blades. I just expect to have to replace the blades each year.

One thing I cannot get used to is the way the electric PTO clutch sounds when you engage it. I followed the instructions to make sure it was burnished and broken in properly, but it still seems to violently engage when I pull the switch. I also have one idler that makes more noise (kinda howls) than I'd like. It is still tight and smooth, but makes noise for some reason. I've considered just replacing it, but I'll just watch it and see how it goes.

One of my favorite features is the RIO. I thought for sure that I would disable this feature and just go with complete forwared and backward operation. The RIO switch is so good, I don't need to disable it. What I like is you punch it once and just go in reverse. You don't have to hold it down. It's so convenient that this safety feature doesn't need to be defeated. I'd say Deere did a nice job with that.

I will probably go ahead and buy the canopy for ours this year. They are not that expensive. If it turns out I'm not happy with it, I will not be out that much.

I've had other mowers over the years and this one's engine is the easiest to get to. I love that plastic hood. The whole thing lifts up and the engine is completely exposed. The air cleaner and prefilter (something I clean often) are easy to access and the captive plastic wingnuts that hold the cover in place are superb. I don't know if this is Deere or B&S, but not having to find a rachet and wedge my hands into a tight place with sharp metal everywhere is a great feature. This mower is easy to use and easy to maintain. We really like ours after the first year.

 

[Calibrator]

CPAScott...I'll let you know. I just purchased the Craftsman YT4000 42" with the 3 bin bagger. It will be delivered Friday 04/03. I own a John Deer self-propelled push mower and it's been fine. I also own a Craftsman snow blower and it's been running fine for over 7 years! If maintained properly I believe the Craftsman will last. My snow blower has been great.

Update: The Craftsman YT4000 42" with the 3-bin bagger was delivered a few weeks ago but the weather has been so bad that I haven't had a chance to try it out. I finally got the chance this past weekend. The mower came delivered ready to use (just add gas). The 3-bin bagger was a breeze to attach. After reading the operators manual I was eager to give it a go! The mower started right up after just a few cranks. The engine runs very smooth and is powerful! The turning radius is excellent. The deck is level and cuts well. The 3-bin bagger works like a charm. I'm glad I opted for the 24 horse over the lesser horse power engines I was looking at. No complaints! I will post again with any updates if I ever encounter any problems with it. I'm very pleased so far!

 

[BigE_]

One thing I cannot get used to is the way the electric PTO clutch sounds when you engage it. I followed the instructions to make sure it was burnished and broken in properly, but it still seems to violently engage when I pull the switch. I also have one idler that makes more noise (kinda howls) than I'd like. It is still tight and smooth, but makes noise for some reason.

I have the Craftsman LT4000, and the PTO engages a bit violently when you have it at full throttle. I was told when I bought the LT to only engage the PTO at half throttle, then move up to full throttle, then lower the deck.

Engaging at half throttle is easier on the clutch and easier on the belt. I'm in my fifth season with the LT and still on the original belts. I mow a little less than an acre about once a week.

Oh, and before I got my TC33D, I hooked up the little 10 bushel trailer (think that's the size) to it and used it to haul firewood. 6-7 trips with that thing stacked up high makes about a cord of firewood. Each load (green Douglas fir) is around 500 lbs. The LT pulled it with no problems.

Wow, I just checked the weight of green Birch. I hauled two cords of it, plus a 400lb wood stove last spring on my 7500lb trailer. According to Heating With Wood - Utah State Forestry Extension that is 4300 lbs/cord. The trailer weighs 1500 lbs. That means I was towing 10,000 lbs with my little Blazer. I *thought* the trailer might be a little overloaded, but I didn't dream it would be that much!

-Steve