John Deere Riding mower advice

[rocco611]

I am looking for a riding mower . I need it for towing a 35 gallon sprayer occasionally , mowing around trees and bagging Eucalyptus leaves. Something with 20" or larger rear tires that won't get stuck on uneven ground. Probably won't use it more than a couple hours a month. No heavy mowing , I use a full size tractor with a flail mower for the rest of the property, I am considering a John Deere D170

Kind of off topic but some discouraging information about dealing with big box stores? I went to Lowe's and looked at a John Deere D170. I called customer service about the extended warranty and the 10% low price guarantee. I found the mower cheaper at two other stores , but they had several reasons why they couldn稚 give me the additional 10% off, none of which made any sense, but then again the terms of the low price guarantee are not spelled out anywhere I could find in literature or online. Without documentation it was useless to argue the point. They seem to be able to make up things at will. The extended warranty doesn稚 actually state what parts it does cover. There is a long list of exclusions however that seem to suggest that if breaks, gets wet, or wears out its not covered. I checked other retailers and they all offer this same warranty. Lowes said they could give me 10% off if I opened and made the purchase with a credit card account at 25% interest. The John Deere has the best financing and warranty so far.

I am concerned about the k46 transaxle in the 100 series tractors. Are they really that bad? I don't think I would use the mower hard enough for that to be an issue. I don't mind rebuilding the transaxle myself at some point if necessary, parts don't seem to be terribly expensive. Besides the transaxle, how is the reliability of the rest of d170 mower? I have also looked at Simplicity ,Husqvarna, Kubota ,Cub cadet and Craftsman. So far the Kubota T series seems like a good option as well. Suggestions appreciated

 

[buickanddeere]

The X310 is the lowest end tractor with a medium duty transmission. Anything below is a light duty price competitor to lure the lowest cost no matter what buyer.
We replaced the near useless turf tires with ATV tires on the lawn tractor . Now it's stable on slopes.
I can't recommend purchasing a machine with the intention of repairing a weak point.
What is the difference in price between the two tractors?

 

[Ed of all trades]

I have a 100 series in the barn with about 350 hr's on it. we are moving to a small place and just put a down payment on a X310. The new model for the X310 is th X370. I don't even want to deal with that piece of junk in the barn. It will soon be up for sale. Ed

 

[rocco611]

"The X310 is the lowest end tractor with a medium duty transmission. Anything below is a light duty price competitor to lure the lowest cost no matter what buyer.
We replaced the near useless turf tires with ATV tires on the lawn tractor . Now it's stable on slopes.
I can't recommend purchasing a machine with the intention of repairing a weak point.
What is the difference in price between the two tractors? "






the 310 and the Kubota t series base model are both about a $1000 more that the D170. might be money well spent to move up to a better model

 

[rocco611]

I have a 100 series in the barn with about 350 hr's on it. we are moving to a small place and just put a down payment on a X310. The new model for the X310 is th X370. I don't even want to deal with that piece of junk in the barn. It will soon be up for sale. Ed

what problems did you have with the 100 series if you don't mind me asking


thanks, Robert

 

[buickanddeere]

K46 transmissions are built with the absolute lowest price as a priority to complete in the cheapskate customer market. Strength and durability are not there at that $$$ level.
The K46 is a 200 hr transmission on small, level lawns with a gentle operator. Then again that 200 hrs of operation could well outlast the owner.

 

[s219]

I would not bother with the D100 series -- that money is better put towards a higher quality machine. The 100 series models exist simply to have a Deere at a lower price point for box store customers. Not really any better than other brands you'd find at the box stores.

 

[rocco611]

K46 transmissions are built with the absolute lowest price as a priority to complete in the cheapskate customer market. Strength and durability are not there at that $$$ level.
The K46 is a 200 hr transmission on small, level lawns with a gentle operator. Then again that 200 hrs of operation could well outlast the owner.

Well I guess I am aspiring to be a cheapskate as I am approaching retirement in the next few years lol. 200 hrs I could live with that, providing the rest of the mower is of reasonable quality.

 

[jenkinsph]

Well I guess I am aspiring to be a cheapskate as I am approaching retirement in the next few years lol. 200 hrs I could live with that, providing the rest of the mower is of reasonable quality.

I would get an x370 and up, been there done that. Why spend 75% on a model that wont hold up? Cheaper to buy the better one and get more use out of it.

 

[rocco611]

I would get an x370 and up, been there done that. Why spend 75% on a model that wont hold up? Cheaper to buy the better one and get more use out of it.

I agree, although the 300 series all have smaller tires which is something of an issue with the uneven ground I have.

 

[Ed of all trades]

what problems did you have with the 100 series if you don't mind me asking


thanks, Robert

The big thing is I don't trust the rear end, and expect it to give me trouble soon. The brigs engine also needs the valves adjusted, again. I want a mower I can trust and this one is not that. Ed

 

[jenkinsph]

I agree, although the 300 series all have smaller tires which is something of an issue with the uneven ground I have.

My L130 has 23" tires but has the k46 transmission which has a hard time with these larger diameter tires. My x749 and x758 has 26" tires with the k92 transmissions. No problems with the larger mowers. Somewhere in between you should be able to find what fits your property.

As far as the uneven ground, have you considered smoothing out the lawn areas and replanting? I do a lot of this work and think it is the better route to take. Makes mowing a breeze and looks better too. Don't know what Kubota you have but if it is up to the task that is what I would do and the cost of upgrading the mower to a larger mondel might cover the cost of the work.

 

[s219]

I agree, although the 300 series all have smaller tires which is something of an issue with the uneven ground I have.

Step up to an X380 and it has 22" tires, which are also wider and taller ( = better riding on uneven ground) than the 22" tires on the D170. With rebates, the X380 was $3700 when I bought one recently. Not sure what the D170 has for rebates, but I see MSRP is $2800 -- to me that money is better put towards an X300 series, regardless of the model. I honestly think you're throwing money away on the D100 series.

 

[carmedic310]

I have seen on the net that someone is trying to bring a class action law suit to address the K46 transaxle issue.Not sure where its going or if it has happened.We have 2- 100 series riding mowers with bad transaxles.They are junk.There is an upgrade you can buy that changes the K46 to the K92 comes with new transaxle and bigger tires but its like 2500.00 if you do the work yourself.I agree with the folks here telling you WHY BUY JUNK to start with and the expectation of having to work on it in the near future.I would spend a little more and get the better mower to start with.

 

[davesl708]

For what its worth. I bought a D130 for mowing 1 acre. I pulled a 30 gallon sprayer twice per year. After three years and 150hrs the transaxle was seeping.
Idler sheaves on the mower deck were worn out at 100hrs.

I got rid of it and use my Kubota to mow with.

 

[beenthere]

The OP can upgrade to more quality within the Deere lineup as well. No need to jump brands.

 

[rocco611]

"My L130 has 23" tires but has the k46 transmission which has a hard time with these larger diameter tires. My x749 and x758 has 26" tires with the k92 transmissions. No problems with the larger mowers. Somewhere in between you should be able to find what fits your property.

As far as the uneven ground, have you considered smoothing out the lawn areas and replanting? I do a lot of this work and think it is the better route to take. Makes mowing a breeze and looks better too. Don't know what kubota you have but if it is up to the task that is what I would do and the cost of upgrading the mower to a larger mondel might cover the cost of the work. "





The uneven ground is around a few utility poles, about 40 eucalyptus trees and a ditch with a culvert at the end of the driveway, I have smoothed out most everything else. I do not have any lawn, just weeds. I have a Kubota B7800 that I use to mow most everything, the flail mower is great for cutting the weeds down to an inch or less, eliminating the summer fire hazard. I just need something for mowing around the tight area's I cant get with the Kubota and would like to be able to bag the leaves and spray for puncture vines. Raking, weed eating and using a spot sprayer from the kubota's loader is not a great way to do things, I am trying to work a little smarter now that injuries from motorcycle racing are starting to catch up with me. I borrowed a tow behind sprayer and a JD GT235 from a family member while they were using my Kubota to knock down tall weeds that got out of hand, the riding mower and sprayer made things a lot easier. Some of neighbors use cheap riding mowers with small tires and are constantly having to push them out of ruts and off of gopher mounds. Surprisingly, none of them have had issues with transaxle failures, but then again the mowers get used hard a few hours maybe twice a year.

 

[rocco611]

Step up to an X380 and it has 22" tires, which are also wider and taller ( = better riding on uneven ground) than the 22" tires on the D170. With rebates, the X380 was $3700 when I bought one recently. Not sure what the D170 has for rebates, but I see MSRP is $2800 -- to me that money is better put towards an X300 series, regardless of the model. I honestly think you're throwing money away on the D100 series.

will check into that model I didn't know the 380 had 22" tires.

 

[rocco611]

I have seen on the net that someone is trying to bring a class action law suit to address the K46 transaxle issue.Not sure where its going or if it has happened.We have 2- 100 series riding mowers with bad transaxles.They are junk.There is an upgrade you can buy that changes the K46 to the K92 comes with new transaxle and bigger tires but its like 2500.00 if you do the work yourself.I agree with the folks here telling you WHY BUY JUNK to start with and the expectation of having to work on it in the near future.I would spend a little more and get the better mower to start with.

I wasn't initially convinced that the 100 series were junk, I had hoped it would be fine for light use. researching mowers so far I have found, the k46 is used in a majority of the consumer grade lawn tractors, even the the 300 series JD's have I lighter transaxle than I one would expect, but certainly better by reputation than the k46

 

[buickanddeere]

I wasn't initially convinced that the 100 series were junk, I had hoped it would be fine for light use. researching mowers so far I have found, the k46 is used in a majority of the consumer grade lawn tractors, even the the 300 series JD's have I lighter transaxle than I one would expect, but certainly better by reputation than the k46

Only the low end 300's have the light duty lowest cost at any price K46 transaxle.

There is the upfront cost of the machine. Then there is the cost of the machine over the next 10-20 years. The cheapest price is rarely the lowest cost.