JD LT 150 or 160

[gpod]

I posted this in the JD forum and was suggested to move it here. Might have to return my new JD L111 for vibration problems (previous post in own-operate). If I do I would move up to a LT 150 or 160 with the 42" Freedom mower deck. I mulch my 1/2 acre lawn 100% of the time. Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

My dad, one of my brothers and two of my nephews purchased L-160s last summer. None of them have complained yet, not really anyway. My dad is 79 and he keeps running it out of gas, says he can't read the sight guage very well. I might need to get him a tractor-trunk and a gallon can to put in it... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Seriously, I don't think you can go wrong with either.

 

[gpod]

Thanks. I hope at 79 I have enough gas to run my tractor out of gas.

 

[DmansPadge]

It's not my money /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.... but I would be inclined to move up to the LT180. The 180 has a V-Twin 17hp Kawasaki and is available with the 42" mulch deck.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

I've used my LT160 with a freedon deck for many years (bought in April of '98) and have been quite pleased with both tractor and deck. It's very good at chewing up the grass or leaves. I don't rake leaves, I just mow them and I have a lot of maple and oak leaves. Haven't had a need for more power, but it sure can't hurt.

Cliff

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It's not my money /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.... but I would be inclined to move up to the LT180. The 180 has a V-Twin 17hp Kawasaki and is available with the 42" mulch deck. )</font>

Funny you mention that. That is exactly what I ended up ordering. My dealer had a 48" deck in stock but recommended a 42" if I was going to use a bagger without the power blower assist. I hope the Kawasaki is a good engine.

 

[gpod]

Well I traded in the L111 for the LT160 with the 42"C deck. Dealer gave me a full refund for the L111 in and out in about 1/2 hour no problems. The LT160 has 4hp less but handles the hills better cutting sideways and up & down. It is a bit louder but vibration is allot less and the turning radius is smaller with less effort to turn it. Wish I had the cash for the LT180 but way to much money to spend for 1/2 acre of grass. I also picked up the bolt on the back 15 gallon 5' wide spray pattern sprayer, since JD had a $250.00 rebate when you buy the LT160. It will be nice to spray weed killer with out walking all over the place just sit and relax.

 

[poorboy]

Gpod, I did the same thing last week, the old stx38 had just about given up the ghost. I also thought about the lt180 but 900 to a thousand more was a little much for just mowing. I had such good luck with a 12.5 kohler I figured why mess with it. I went with the 42 in non mulching deck. I had made up my mind on the LT 160 and came home and checked around when I found out about the 250 off deal. I thought about the sprayer but already had one on the 4 wheeler but with the smaller size pump that couldn't handler a boom. I decided to go with a XT140 trimmer. It was listed at 339.00 so I was out less than $100. I probably wouldn't have bought it for full price since I have had such good luck with a sthil but for the price I figured it was worth a try. They had to order it and I got it Saturday as a Father's Day gift from my two sons. They thought I didn't know about it and we will keep it that way. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I wish us luck with the 160's and I hope we don't have any horror stories to share.

Patrick

 

[timb]

Gents - seems like the LT series has no 'cruise' control - i.e. no way to set a steady speed other than with a steady foot on the pedal. Seems like that *could* be annoying, assuming your yard is such (wide open) that you can even think about a steady speed for an extended period. I wonder if this ends up being pretty much a non-issue - is this something you've even noticed in real-world use?

 

[Cliff_Johns]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Gents - seems like the LT series has no 'cruise' control - i.e. no way to set a steady speed other than with a steady foot on the pedal. Seems like that *could* be annoying, assuming your yard is such (wide open) that you can even think about a steady speed for an extended period. I wonder if this ends up being pretty much a non-issue - is this something you've even noticed in real-world use? )</font>

Short answer is, no.

I do like it on my 4110 CUT, but on the LT160, the foot pressure is so nicely ballanced that I never even thought about cruise. Wouldn't use it if I had it on the LT. When I was looking at the 4110 I thought it was a useless feature, but the amount of load the tractor varies quite a bit more and thus the back pressure on the foot is different. I kind of like the cruise on the CUT.

Cliff

 

[poorboy]

I haven't noticed the lack of a cruise as an issue while mowing. But I did notice it as I was cruising down the highway. Yes I would like to have it but its not that big of a deal except when I was trying to read the mail going down the road. Looking at it now I guess its a good thing I don't have it /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Patrick

 

[timb]

Thanks guys. Now that I'm using the CUT for the 'field' near the house - the rest of my yard is such - between tight turns, dips, and abrupt uphill/downhill slopes that I doubt that I would even be able to use a cruise setting there - but nice to know it's not a biggie.

How do you guys like your LT's so far - power, cut quality?

 

[gpod]

The $1300.00 more to move up to the JD LT160 with the sprayer was tough to take at first /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif but man Im glad I did /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif. It turns tighter than my old stx-38 and one handed. The L111 was a two hand turning tractor and wider turns. I can cut my 1/2 acre lawn with about 15 trees/bushes, two hills at 15-25deg. slope in about 1 hour not stopping for refreshments. Old tractors 1 1/2-2 hour cut time. and the sprayer works great even used the sprayer to spray the 4.5 acres of horse pasture with steeper hills took about 4-5 hours and only a little over 1 tank of gas to spray the pastures. The LT160 seams good on gas uses about the same as the old stx-38 12.5hp. Enjoy

 

[gpod]

sorry forgot about the cruise on the L111 did not work on my hills so that option was useless. I would set it and turn to go down the hill and in 2-3 feet be at full speed have to hit brake and than hit forward pedal what a rush and than miss fence by 2 inches turning right. Going up hill it would slow down and had to hit forward pedal again, just quit using it. The LT160 is very light to the touch don't even notice it.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( . and the sprayer works great even used the sprayer to spray the 4.5 acres of horse pasture with steeper hills took about 4-5 hours and only a little over 1 tank of gas to spray the pastures. )</font>

So, how many gallons is the sprayer you got?

How much was it?

How long can you spray before re-filling spray tank (are you fertilizing)?

 

[gpod]

Sorry for the long delay man time flys. Any way the sprayer is 15 gallons with rebate for buying the LT160 it was $250.00 otd. 1 tank will last about 15min. I turned the on off valve half way off don't need it full open to get a good spray pattern had to play with the setting to get it just wright. I also bent at the ends the metal the nozzles are atached to to get a spray pattern 8 foot wide. I use it to spray Trimec concentrate a weed killer, use dry fertilizer it just seems easier to do it that way than liquid fert.

 

[HGM]

I wish you guys better luck than I had with my LT150. I did extensive research on different brands and decided to go with the JD name brand. My money was limited and I only had about 1 1/2 acres to cut, so I narrowed my selection down to the LT150 with the Kohler motor and the 42c deck. Overall I like the way it runs, cuts, handle, turns, etc. No complaints with the way it does its job. My problem came after 11-12mo of ownership. I started noticing the paint on the fender wearing away from the seat track rubbing into the metal. The area began to rust and paint began to flake off. I contacted the dealer, who was very friendly and tried to do everything they could, but was unable to help. Finaly I got hooked up with JD customer service and they asked if I kept it outside.. Now obviously if it were indoors, it would have less of a tendancy to rust, but this is an obviouse design issue. I told him I kept it outside with all my other vehicles and they dont seem to be rusting. I was iritated by the implication that thier design flaw was somehow my fault. Long story short- They made good, they payed to have the fender painted and added a "kit" to it that had been designed to eliminate the concern that I was told "didnt exist". With that solved, I felt better. This spring I pulled the mower out for maintenance and to get ready for cutting season. Durring my inspection I found my 3yr old mower had a bad spindle bearing on the deck. I tried to get the bearing from the dealer and found that it is only serviced with the spindle assy($54). Now like I said, I like the mower overall. I just have a problem buying a "Lincoln" and having the same quality troubles I would have with "Yugo". I could have bought two cheapies and had money left over, but I fell into the name brand thing. Bottom line, keep an eye out for any issues before the warranty runs out and do your homework. JD customer service took a while to come arround but they did me right. Good luck. Happy mowing.