John Deere vs. Craftsman

[NightTrain]

Stop looking at lawn mowers and buy yourself a gray market Yanmar/Hinomoto/Mitsubishi/Iseki compact tractor. Water-cooled diesel engine, power take off, 3-point hitch and loads of torque. You can get a 1500 Yanmar for about the same as a Murray riding mower at Walmart.

 

[NightTrain]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
I've heard few things bad about Cub Cadet mowers, though I've personally had nothing but trouble with them... especially their plastic hoods. Yes, I know that a lot of JD hoods are now plastic / fiberglass, but they still don't break nearly as easily as the Cub stuff I've seen lately is breaking.

My Cub Cadet has a steel hood

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Are you outta your mind? No way you're doing 15 acres with a little garden tractor! That calls for a serious gang mower attached to a real tractor. WTF?

Bah, screw that, get a Zero Turning Radius Rider

Those ZTR's are a kick to drive - my dad has one. They almost makes lawn mowing fun

 

[stev0]

I work in the dock at a sears store, now I'm not too sure how it's done at other stores, but at our stores the tracktors take quite a licken' when the come off our trucks. They are all shipped in a standard 53' enclosed semi trailer, sometimes stacked on top of each other in crates. Most of the stores that I have been to don't have a forklift with clamps or one that could fork a tracktor off the top of another inside the trailer so you can really only imagine one way of getting them down.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: NightTrain

Originally posted by: GeekDrew
I've heard few things bad about Cub Cadet mowers, though I've personally had nothing but trouble with them... especially their plastic hoods. Yes, I know that a lot of JD hoods are now plastic / fiberglass, but they still don't break nearly as easily as the Cub stuff I've seen lately is breaking.

My Cub Cadet has a steel hood

Idunno... how old is it? All of the ones I've seen sitting in folks yards around here, cracked and beat up, have been plastic.

 

[NightTrain]

Looks just like this

 

[NightTrain]

This is about the most bulletproof compact tractor made

That guy wants way too much for his. An E15 is worth about $1500. It's only a 2-cyl and doesn't have power shift like later model 3-cylinder tractors but the engine is downright bulletproof and it's very strong for it's size. Hinos are getting harder to find but they are cheap and easily the most bang for your buck.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: wbresson

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
They're both crap. The home-level Deere equipment is not made by Deere and is farmed out to cheap suppliers with the Deere logo being tacked on.

My personal preference is for Simplicity, though I've heard good things about Cub Cadet as well. For something that will mow 15 acreas expect to be spending about $6,000.

ZV

There is a Deere factory 75 miles from here, Deere runs it, Deere workers work it, Deere home mower comes out the doors, how is that a 3rd party with a Deere logo tacked on ?

there's one like 20 km from here too

 

[Nitemare]

Bah....

 

[NightTrain]

I'll take a Super M over an H any day

 

[KLin]

I'd say mowing 15 acres with a push mower would take several days to accomplish.

 

[Bryophyte]

We have a Cub Cadet (lawn "tractor") and a Kubota (real tractor.) Both are excellent machines.

The Craftsman machines are crap. Deere makes good farm tractors, but the home line is overpriced for what you get.

 

[DivideBYZero]

I've said this before and I'll say it again:

Can we please split Tractors and Off Topic? WE NEED A TRACTOR FORUM. :|

 

[The Sauce]

Originally posted by: Eli
Well, I only know engines.. Don't they both use Briggs and Stratton?

heh

Either Briggs or Kohler, for the most part. What do you think of those 2 choices. The Kohler's seem to be more expensive.

 

[Kelemvor]

To do all the towing, pushing, snowplowing, etc. I'd get an ATV that can take attachments. Can get the kind of lawn moser things tha tyoupull behidn you, could add a plow on the front, could tow a trailer, al kinds of uses. And much cheaper than a dedicated lawn mower if you get a used one.

 

[Kenazo]

Originally posted by: NightTrain
This is about the most bulletproof compact tractor made

That guy wants way too much for his. An E15 is worth about $1500. It's only a 2-cyl and doesn't have power shift like later model 3-cylinder tractors but the engine is downright bulletproof and it's very strong for it's size. Hinos are getting harder to find but they are cheap and easily the most bang for your buck.

Those tires would rip up your lawn though.

That being said, Craftsman mowers are made by Electrolux, who also make mowers for Husqvarna, Poulan and other names.

I like Deere personally, but you need to go for the garden tractors not their lawn mowers. Their lawn mowers are just generic farmed out equipment while their garden tractors are little deeres.

 

[franksta]

I have one of the L100 John Deere's for a little over a year now. I've had to take it in for a massive oil leak twice and occasionally it will kick out a HUGE cloud of smoke from the exhaust. Almost smells like oil getting into the combustion chamber. If I had to do it over again I'd have looked elsewhere but I just HAD to have the JD.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: wbresson

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
They're both crap. The home-level Deere equipment is not made by Deere and is farmed out to cheap suppliers with the Deere logo being tacked on.

My personal preference is for Simplicity, though I've heard good things about Cub Cadet as well. For something that will mow 15 acreas expect to be spending about $6,000.

ZV

There is a Deere factory 75 miles from here, Deere runs it, Deere workers work it, Deere home mower comes out the doors, how is that a 3rd party with a Deere logo tacked on ?

He means the Home Depot versions.....they are not of the same quality as dealer sold units.

You're paying for the paint.....

 

[NightTrain]

Originally posted by: Kenazo
Those tires would rip up your lawn though.

Only if you turn really sharp. But he has 15 acres partially wooded and wants to use different implements. You cannot do that without a 3-point and a PTO. If you're mowing a golf course, get a set of turf tires for it.

 

[NightTrain]

Originally posted by: Kenazo

I like Deere personally, but you need to go for the garden tractors not their lawn mowers. Their lawn mowers are just generic farmed out equipment while their garden tractors are little deeres.

John Deere 750

Made in Japan...by Yanmar.

 

[FoBoT]

i bought the craftsman version of the L110 it was a couple hundred less than the comparable JD

i have had no problems, consumer reports said the repair history of the 2 were almost the same, the features are the same, just a little lower price for the craftsman

p.s. i only have 3 acres to mow, a 42" lawn tractor will not do 15 acres in a timely manner, get a much bigger mower. you might want an old used "real" (but small) tractor with a pull mower thingy, many of my neighbors with 3-7 acres of yard use those

 

[DrPizza]

I'll second the get a real tractor for your needs.

Your situation sounds just like mine - how many of those acres are you mowing?
Right now I'm using an old John Deere that I bought used. Runs great though - I'm impressed with it considering its age. I plan on getting a small tractor in a year or so to help me till, etc.

 

[Ausm]

Nothing runs like a Deere

Ausm

 

[Ornery]

• • So, what ya buyin'?

 

[olds]

That's like comparing a 1977 Toyota truck to a 2005 Ford F350.