7 Acres...Which mower?..Cub or Deere?

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FamilyMan

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Recently bought a house with 7 Acres, 3 of which is lawn, 4 is scrub/field grass. Looking for a mower that will handle the job quickly, with ease, and reliability. Will use 100% for mowing, no snowblowing etc..

Which mower to purchase?

1. Cub Cadet LGT 1054
2. Cub Cadet GT 2000
3. Deere X300 series
4. Recomendations for others?

Definetly need a mower that has a 54 inch deck for quicker mowing. Will any of these three mowers be able to cut the scrub/field grass without messing up the blades, or is a Brush Hog needed? If a brush hog is needed, will any of these three mowers be able to pull the Brush Hog without putting too much stress on the mower?

Is there a difference between purchasing these mowers at a Big box store (Tractor supply) as opposed to going straight to the dealership?

Have read good/bad stories about all of these mowers, so before dropping $3500+, want to get some input and feedback from you guys.

Very much appreciated.
 
reynoldston

reynoldston

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If you are even thinking of a brush hog you will something bigger with a three point hitch. Maybe even a small diesel.
 
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FamilyMan

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reynoldston said:
If you are even thinking of a brush hog you will something bigger with a three point hitch. Maybe even a small diesel.
Click to expand...

Ok, well Brush hog aside for now, would any of these three mowers be able to handle the entire 7 acres at one time? Forgot to mention, not trees, 95% flat with a very slight incline.

The scrub/field grass is manageable, but was just wondering if me using any of these mowers consistently cutting this type of grass with a 54 inch deck would either dull the blades, put any uneeded stress on the mower the would decrease its lifetime?

And thank you
 
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mullins87

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First and foremost, your budget determines how much mower you purchase. If budget were of no concern, I'd stay away from the Cub 10XX series as they are lighter yard tractors. Same goes for the John Deere X300 series. I have a 54" LA175 John Deere that I use to cut approx. 3 acres of yard and NO brush hogging. It does a fine job, but I don't expect it to last forever. IMO, the X300's are just a slightly beefed up version of the 100's with some shared components, such as the transaxle. I've never owned one, but I've heard great things about the 2000 series Cubs. If you bleed green, then I'd suggest the X500 series. Much heavier tractor than the X300's.

As far as the brush hogging goes, it all depends on how far you let that area go between mowings. If you let it get waist high with small trees growing before you mow, then forget it. You'll need a rough cut mower for that. With that said, you can buy a pull-behind rough cut mower like a Swisher that will do that job for you. If you let it get up around a foot high with no hard woody growth, just field grass like fescue, then your tractor will do it. However, the lighter of a tractor you buy, it will take you longer to mow the field and you should expect maintenance/repairs sooner and more frequently due to the stresses of mowing tall/thick grass or weeds.

If budget is a big concern, you might want to look for a heavier used tractor. For instance, there is a 2005 John Deere X495 diesel with a 62" deck for sale locally. It looks nearly new, only has 245 hours on it and the guy wants $5,500. This is the last year the X495 was made, they went to the X700 series in 2006. I priced a new equivalent on the JD website and it was right at $12k. If you have some time to shop around, keep your eyes open for a nice used tractor.
 
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FamilyMan

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mullins87 said:
First and foremost, your budget determines how much mower you purchase. If budget were of no concern, I'd stay away from the Cub 10XX series as they are lighter yard tractors. Same goes for the John Deere X300 series. I have a 54" LA175 John Deere that I use to cut approx. 3 acres of yard and NO brush hogging. It does a fine job, but I don't expect it to last forever. IMO, the X300's are just a slightly beefed up version of the 100's with some shared components, such as the transaxle. I've never owned one, but I've heard great things about the 2000 series Cubs. If you bleed green, then I'd suggest the X500 series. Much heavier tractor than the X300's.

As far as the brush hogging goes, it all depends on how far you let that area go between mowings. If you let it get waist high with small trees growing before you mow, then forget it. You'll need a rough cut mower for that. With that said, you can buy a pull-behind rough cut mower like a Swisher that will do that job for you. If you let it get up around a foot high with no hard woody growth, just field grass like fescue, then your tractor will do it. However, the lighter of a tractor you buy, it will take you longer to mow the field and you should expect maintenance/repairs sooner and more frequently due to the stresses of mowing tall/thick grass or weeds.

If budget is a big concern, you might want to look for a heavier used tractor. For instance, there is a 2005 John Deere X495 diesel with a 62" deck for sale locally. It looks nearly new, only has 245 hours on it and the guy wants $5,500. This is the last year the X495 was made, they went to the X700 series in 2006. I priced a new equivalent on the JD website and it was right at $12k. If you have some time to shop around, keep your eyes open for a nice used tractor.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Budget wise looking between $2000-no more then $4500. I'm open to any type of tractor to be honest, just have seen that Cub's and Deere have the best feedback. My Acres of srub grass that I have at this time isn't more then a foot high, and will tackle it once I get the tractor and the mowing season gets under way. Just did not want to screw anything up on the tractor by cutting this type of grass. I did look into the swishers and am keeping my options open on one of those at this point. For right now wanna focus on getting a dependable mower that won't cause me any problems.

Out of the three I listed above and have investigated, the GT 2000 is catching my eye the most due to it being shaft drive and not belt. Price for that is around $3500 from my local dealer.

As much feedback I can get before I pull the trigger is def what I need before making the big purchase. Just didn't know if say a cadet 1000 series or a X300 Deere can handle my job, of if I need something with a little more!

Deere are nice but dam are they $$.
 
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FamilyMan

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Alright, well after move investigation the GT 2000 Cub is just about out of the question due to it being $3500 with the deck being sold seperately, why o why?! Anyone know how much a 54 inch seperate deck is sold for?

So my options at this point are

Cub Cadet LGT 1054..$2500
John Deere X320..$4500

Big price difference^^dam!

Both are rated for up to 3 Acres on the websites. Does this rating really matter?

Anyone have experience with either of these two mowers?

Is there any significant difference between buying at a big box store, compared to independent dealer?
 
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LANDSCAPER34

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Definitely go with the Deere! It is the best mower around. It may be a little more than you want to pay but, It has the nicest cut out off all mowers, and also gets the done job very quick and still leaves a nice cut.
 
Parkmower

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FamilyMan said:
Is there any significant difference between buying at a big box store, compared to independent dealer?
Click to expand...

Yes.
A box store once yr out the door that's it. Associates usually have very little knowledge of the product besides that it cuts grass. Not sure if they offer delivery and set up or not. Any kind of issues arise and you can't take it back to them for warranty repairs. You have to find shop that does the warranty repairs,usually the local dealer.

Local dealer usually will match the box store price. Offer you free delivery and set up. And they're probably the ones that'll take care of yr warranty repairs.
I know when I purchased my homes mower they offer free pick up for warranty issues for the first year of the warranty. They also keep my name and mower model on file. I can just show up and say I need a oil filter and spark plug and they know what to give me by just looking up my name. And they keep almost every part instock. From blades to tires to filters to spindles to belts. They said only thing they don't keep in stock is motors.
And there probably isn't a question you can ask and he won't know the answer to.
 
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mullins87

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Personally, and this is purely my opinion and having never owned an X320, I wouldn't spend the extra money on it. The current JD equivalent to my LA175 is the D170. It's listed for up to 2.5 acres on their website, but I use mine to mow 3 to 3.5 acres with no issues whatsoever. The D170 is more comparable to the Cub 1000 series that you're looking at and it lists for $2,799, very comparable to the Cub $2,500 price tag. I would purchase it at your local dealership rather than a big box store just for the personal service if nothing else.

I do have a tinge of green in my blood, however I think I'd rather have the Cub 2000 series instead of the X300 series for the same price.
 
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snapsstorer

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try checking with the dealerships. sometimes they have some last year model they are trying to get sold to make room for the newer models. you could end up getting a JD model 465 or better at times for about $4,000.
 
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