I have owned two riding mowers in my life a 42 inch Craftsmen mower and a Troybilt MTD 46 inch Horse mower. I got very good use out of the Craftsmen - it was as much a bush hog as a mower. The Troy Bilt on the other hand has been an absolute piece of junk. So I am in the market for a new mower. I will be cutting roughly 2.5 acres (5 acre lot partially wooded). I have about 40 fruit trees that I have to cut around some are fenced - limited space in between each tree. I am in the piedmont region of Virginia - so some moderately steep hills.
I have one non-negotiable requirement - I want a 42 inch deck.
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Both Husqvarna and JD are good mowers....largely dependent upon the care they receive. I have a Husky 24hp/48" cut that has been great. It has a fabricated deck with reinforcing strips at the edges, which has taken several "rubs" against trees without sustaining any damage. If you are Locked into a 42 in deck, your choices may be a bit limited. If you have a Lowe's near you, you might take a look at their Husky 42"...with an 18.5 Hp B&S engine...it is on sale for $1400.
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Hi Deminin,
I had gone to three local Husqvarna dealers and decided I wasn't dealing with them. One I have dealt with in the past for Husqvarna and Stihl Chainsaw and Trimmer repairs - they are ok for small repairs but I would not trust them with a riding mower and the other two are older dealers with attitude and reputation issues. So I went to the fourth and final dealer that is about 40 minutes away - I had never dealt with them before.
When I walked I was meant by a young girl - could not have been older than eighteen who proceeded to walk me through the fine points of Husqvarna mowers - she knew engines, transmissions, decks, accessories, warranties which mowers to use in which top of scenario. It was impressive. They had a GT48DXLS which is not on the Husqvarna web site for $2799. It had the Kawasaki 24 HP engine, fab deck, selective locking rear differential, PTO, K66 transmission and a decent warranty. The bagger was only $350 due to the clear cut deck (no blower required). So I backed off the 42 inch deck and went with the GT48DXLS. The dealer is 5 years old so it is established but not too old to have an attitude. They had a full selection of mowers/chainsaws/trimmers. I felt like they wanted my business so they got it.
The other thing I appreciated was the Husqvarna dealer was out of stock of the bagger - they will deliver the mower either Monday or Wednesday and the owner will come out and put the bagger on as soon as they get it in. They could have made me wait for the bagger to show up and then bring the mower.
I may regret not getting the John Deere- I have a feeling the frame and the general sturdiness of the X300 series was likely better. The local John Deere dealer is professional and they have the return guarantee if you do not like there product. I did not want to pay $4000 for the X370 to get the better transmission and I had a hard time paying $3200 for the X350 with substantially less components/features. The local dealer would not budge much off of the price and I was not willing to wait until February to see if John Deere offered the $500 off X300 series coupon like they did last year.
I can see why some people hate Husqvarna - there dealer network does not start to compare to John Deere. Hopefully I found a winner in the dealer/mower I picked. Deminin - Thanks for your reply!