Ron, you bet, I looked at the Kubotas and JD's with 72 mower out front. 21-22K. Just too much.
the JD X750 was the only way I could find to get diesel with a 60 mower and a steering wheel and not in a SCUT format. I have two tractors...and the Gravely pulls my garden tiller and acts like a tiny tractor. So I have very small, sub compact and compact machines; did not want a JD Series One for example and I rode on. Just about everyone buys the Series One, almost the same price. Which makes me a pleasant oddball...
oh, found the local Massey and New Holland dealer. Will stop in there just because they are close and see what their parts are like, the normal stuff that is not brand specific. With a TSC not far away, my guess is that will be my first choice for parts shopping.
so today's a green letter day, a new JD shows up at 9am. Hope they put fuel in it, haven't filled my diesel cans yet. And then if the rains don't start again; geez, another one to three inches possible today, well I might hook up my JD cart and pick up some sticks and shrub clippings I made piles of and feel like a real homeowner.
headed home early tomorrow morning. 14.5mpg pulling a trailer on the way down, expect to do better as the brand new Cummins breaks in. Pulling a 3000 pound trailer was a nothing; rated for almost ten times that much.