Garden tractor reccomendations?

[radnack]

Hi im looking into upgrading a john deere e180. Ive got large hills to mow that are quite long. The transmission in the e180 isnt holding up at only 100ish hours. Wondering what would be good replacements with at least a 54 inch deck. Brand doesnt really matter. Prefer new. Hoping to spend the least as possible. But looking for reccomendations and around how they are costing.

 

[ruffdog]

Quite a few people around here have the Deere X7** series garden tractors. They make them in diesel/gas, 2 or 4 wheel steer and drive. They are also made in this state.

 

[ericm979]

The warranty's already expired?

Husqvarna TS354XD has a K66 transmission instead of the K46 in your Deere.

 

[Carl_NH]

Check out Simplicity/Ferris made in Sherrill NY (used to be in Munnsville NY) and the Simplicity garden tractor line is made in WI - they might make them in NY too - not sure.

Otherwise the JD garden tractors are good as are second hand Cub Cadet garden tractors - if you can find a shaft drive Cub with a 54" deck for $1000-1500 in nice condition and the hydro's in them were good too.

 

[JasperFrank]

Mostly happy with my Cub Cadet XT2 LX 42 Enduro which I bought new at $2000, year and a half ago. Since then they have gone up $500. Are you sure you need a 54 inch deck? The XT1-ST54 KH would do, but the 54 inch fab deck adds another 1K to the price.

I have a few complaints after using mine for a year and 1/2.

The turn radius is fantastic, yet this also creates a weakness, in that if you catch a wheel on a tight turn, it will break a tooth off the steering gear. Most garden tractors of this size have the same weak design - MTD tractors. Takes about two hours to replace this $40 gear.

It is a thirsty machine. Not sure how I would quantify gas usage.... GPH, or MPG, but it will run through 3 gallons in about an hour at full throttle. This might be typical, but to me it "feels" like a gas hog.

The differential to the XT2 is not limited slip. This is very surprising for a tractor that supposedly can be used for snow removal. On some of my slopes I can't mow if the ground is at all wet.

To paint a very wide brush: Garden class tractors, now, are all the same, with only a few differentiating features.

​

 

[jaxs]

Just make sure it doesn't have a Tuff Torq trans.

 

[jaydee325]

Just make sure it doesn't have a Tuff Torq trans.

Well that eliminates pretty much all Deere models including the range topping X758 diesel!!

 

[Carl_NH]

I was referring to the earlier Cub Cadets from the 90's to early 2000 with the Sunstrand hydro's - for example I found this 1864 this summer with 185 hours and had the deck blasted and epoxy painted. Then went thru it changed the valve covers, engine and hydro oil and now its ready for a new home.

 

[Cub gt 2544=best]

Cub cadet 2500 series would handle the job no problem

 

[radnack]

Yeah the warranty is out its over the amount of years allowed. That was the next thing i was curious about was the K66 transmissions? I saw the husqvarnas with them in them. I was wondering how much better they would hold up. I was looking up those XT series cubs and according to tractor data it says it has the k46. That husqvarna looks like a decent price alot closer to what i was looking to spend than the x7 series.

 

[John0829]

I would avoid the Husqvarna, I bought on new and sold it less than a year later. It was a nice tractor but it had WAY to much frame flex to suit me plus it did not cut grass well at all.

 

[Teachu2]

Bought a Husqvarna back in April, 2017. Another new GT48DXLS owner - Thanks to TBN

I have steep terrain with lots of emerging rocks. Also lots of trees, so I went with a 48" deck instead of the 54". This is my riding brush mower, used for reducing the fire danger on my five acres of mountain. My wife is the primary operator, and she seems to find rocks and stumps often. I will take over on the really steep stuff, and it hauls my 275 lbs up the mountain slopes with authority - often with the front wheels off the ground. I change the Gator G5 blades annually, and went to ag-style rear tires for traction. I use the locking diff often, and it's fantastic. We have lots of dust, so I blow out the air filter every couple of hours. The Kawasaki engine has been fantastic.

I had to buy a better jack (750 lb. Heavy Duty ATV/Mower High Lift Jack) to make it easy to lift this unit. The wife has knocked the mower deck off the mounts a few times, and destroyed a couple of blades. I get under it 2-4 times a year, and always check for damage. So far, the frame has held up fine. There is a bolt-on kit to reinforce the frame that I may buy, just for peace of mind - but so far, it's been great.

I don't tow trailers, push snow, or run a Johnny Bucket with it. I have used a harrow behind it, but find my Rhino better suited to that. I use it as an all-terrain mower, and it does a great job in that task. My next-door neighbor has a Deere 758 4wd diesel, and that works fine, too, but MSRP is $15,464.

 

[Teachu2]

I love and respect mine. too, but she likes to groom the forest to look like a park. After 33 years together, she also knows that I can fix anything. I love the fabricated deck on the mower - it's stout and easy to repair. When we bought the place, it included a Deere L120 - ran great, but the transaxle would overheat and die, and the stamped deck was the pits. This Husqvarna is in a different league.

 

[LindenBruce]

I was just looking at this very model online about an hour ago, the Husqvarna TS354XD. My GT2654 is getting long in the tooth at 13+ years old, but only 380 hours. The frame on my older unit flexes like mad. I have had to pull the engine once to reseal it. I have repaired the transaxle twice. I ask a lot out of this older machine and it dishes it out. But I just don't know how much longer she is going to last.

And with Commifornia banning small gas engines by the end of the decade, I want to get something that will out last me. I have been looking at the X700 series Deeres and the BX series Kubotas. But those units are in the 15-17k range. Ouch.

So, the TS354XD might be a great option. So you guys like them? B.

 

[check]

Teaschu2 - "My wife is the primary operator, and she seems to find rocks and stumps often."
I love and respect my wife, but some how, even after many years, she will absolutely destroy a piece of equipment every time she wants to do any sort of mowing. I've thought often as to why, for some reason this is the case. I think it is cultural. Women can operate a machine just as well as men. Yet women of my generation, we are both over 60, were never given good mentoring in fields that were almost exclusively things men did. For instance, man will walk the field, and form a mental map of the hazards. This map is in his mind, as he is working and can communicate that to his son or daughter at a young age as to how they think about doing things. My wife doesn't make this map and hits the same things, over and over again. And we've walked the areas, and I've tried to instill that this is a good area, and this is a tricky area: Do the easy area first, and leave the harder parts for later.... when you've gotten use to the machine at the end of the day. She always goes to the tricky area first, and beats up the equipment so bad that I have to repair it for the larger, easy area.
This was because her Dad, never walked a field with her, and never said, "This is how you do it." After 20 years, I don't think anything will change.
We will die out.
I just hope the newer generations will embrace that *** based roles are not the same as they were 50 years ago.

Great post, Jasper, and so true. Same thing with Map reading. I don’t know how many people I have heard comment that women are simply unable to read maps like men, as if somehow this was something we are born with.

I thought my daughter to used tools from a young age, and she even evaluates her boyfriends now on the basis of how “handy” they are up at the cottage.

Another problem is, no matter how much you teach your daughters traditional “boy“ things, when they grow up to be teenagers their female friends don’t know anything about it, and they also tend to lose interest.

 

[plowhog]

So, the TS354XD might be a great option. So you guys like them?

Similar to Teachu2, my Husqvarna GT48DXLS has given excellent service and no problems. I use it but don't abuse it. Mowing lawn areas and light bush hogging in the pasture-- usually (but not always) following up after a full size rotary cutter has gone through.

 

[JasperFrank]

Teachu- " I love and respect mine. too, but she likes to groom the forest to look like a park."
This has been an on going, "battle of the minds" for us also. Sometimes I'll catch her attempting to take the lichens and mosses off the trees, or raking leaves in the middle of the 14 acre wood lot.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I'm on the fence about (my) Husqvarna right now. My GTH26V52LS 'appears' to have a transmission problem. It has the HydroGear transmission and has quit on me for the 2nd time in the last 6 months. First time seemed to be it needing a new transmission filter and new oil. Ran fine for about 6 hours after that, and then just recently - quit again. No forward nor reverse; purging did nothing.

This time I've sent it to a qualified repair shop. With only 275 hours on it, and at an original cost of $3200 10 years ago, I'm hoping for a cheap fix. Whatever the problem is this time is above my Husqvarna/HydroGear knowledge.

One fear is that 'if' the transmission has gone ga-plut, a new one runs about $800 or more - IF (big IF) I can even find one. At this point, I'm pretty much expecting to needing to buy another mower. If it comes to that, I think I'll be trying a different brand. Husqvarna ain't what they used to be, that's for sure.

 

[LindenBruce]

That prolly has the K46 transmission in it. You can upgrade to the K66 which is much better. I have broken two axles in my K46. Finally bought the harder steel axle from a supplier on ebay and it's been trouble free since. B.