john deer vs craftsman

moving to the country but now i need a bigger mower. anyone ever own a craftsman lawn mower? i have a deer now and was going to buy another one however i got to shopping around and looked at the craftsman because my wife has a 20% off friends and family day coming up at sears through her work. i could save a ton of money for the same size cut and hp but am i getting a lot lower grade of equipment? gonna have about 2 acres to mow along with a little plowing in the winter. comparing the deer 100 series 26hp 54in to the craftsman monster series same size.

I think you will be comparing similar models, but with 2 acres to mow, I think either one is out classed. When I moved out to my 3.5 acres, I had a cheaper model, and it could not hold up to what I was doing to it. The residential models are not set up to handle the stress.

After a little savings, and the cheapy was wore out, I upgraded to a JD 1420, 72″ cut commercial mower (insert Tim Allen Grunt here ). The price is hard to swallow, but it cut my mowing time down from about 8 hours to under 2.

I guess my point is get the most mower you can afford, and you will not be disapointed.

I mow for a living and have a lawn care business. Go with just what was said above. Those 100 series JDs and the craftsmans are made for very light duty work. The engines are basically 100 hr engines. I cringe at the thought of using a cheap tractor for 2 acres, you will be out there forever. They arent real heavy duty either, but you could check into the new EZtrak JD ztrs. They are homeowner grade, but a little bit heavier and much faster. My opinion would be to get a good used commercial mower. I have 2 Hustler ZTRs that have Kohler engines and 60 inch decks. Last years has 850 hours on it and the one we got this year has 400 hrs. No problems yet. You should be able to find a decent 2-3 year old commercial ZTR with 500 hrs or so for around 4-5k, and you can get snow plows and blowers for them. If you insist on a tractor, look at the GX345 John deeres and the 445s. We have a 445 JD as well, and they are a good unit. You should be able to pick up a decent 445 in the neighborhood of 3500-4k and a 345 a little cheaper than that. Even with a warranty on the new one, you are still better off with a good used heavier duty unit. It will last you a lot longer than the box store mowers.

I agree with Farmboy, if you have 2 acres to mow you definately want to upgrade the deck size. I have 3.5 to 4 acres to mow and I use a New Holland TC 29D with a 6′ mower and it still takes me 2 1/2 to 3 hrs. It is also used for snow removal with a 5′ two stage blower. I checked on the price of a comparable JD and got blown away with the price difference. I would also look at the Kubota line that is out. A friend bought one with a 5′ mower deck for a very good price.

The initial price of these things about floors you but the time you save is worth it longrun.

I would go John Deere, personally they build stuff that lasts

My dad had the box unit craftsman for YEARS, the thing is probably 15 years old and still running, 18hp Kohler engine. We have a 18 acre acerage and use it with a JD plow in the winter, and the thing is still in use, BUT i know my dad was always fixing things on it. Well with this winter coming, he broke down and bought a new tractor, the Kubota BX 26. The thing is awesome! Seemed to be a much better value than the JD of equivalent specs. He got every option available.

For mowing though, he has a Toro Zero turn mower, makes quick work out of mowing!

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If I had one of these I’d need a really big sandbox to play in!!! HAHA Looks like fun!

I owned a Craftsman 22hp garden tractor with 52″ mowing deck and 46″ 2-stage snowblower. All that cost the same as just the base model John Deere with only a 42″ mowing deck! That particular model had a Kohler V-twin engine…same as John Deere, and the frame metal was of a thicker gauge…better than John Deere. It took me a little over an hour to cut 3 acres and I never had a problem with the unit other than they are a little bit of a pain to swap attachments. Also, with the Craftsman you have to plan on doing the service yourself as they generally only sell the parts. Now I own a Cub Cadet and am missing my Craftsman BIGTIME!!! This cub cadet isn’t half the machine the craftsman was, it is a poorly thought-out design, even though it is shaft-drive it plain and simply SUCKS…PM me about my issues if you considering one. To answer your question, you won’t have regrets with the Craftsman and it will do all you ask of it at a fraction of the price of John Deere. And, it comes in other than Green.

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It took me a little over an hour to cut 3 acres and I never had a problem with the unit other than they are a little bit of a pain to swap attachments.

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WOW ,did you have Tim the Toolman “modify” that thing? That’s a lot of lawn in an hour at 52″ per cut.

That is no trimming to do and going wide-open, subtract the area the house sat on….Sorry, I should have clarified.

My Grandfather has about 7.5 acres of yard that I have to mow for him as he is getting on in years. He has had a couple of Craftsman mowers one with a Kohler engine one with a Briggs engine. The kohler is about 12 years old the Briggs is around 20. Never have had any material problems with them except they both like to throw the drive belt for the mowing deck if you happen to hit a large bump while mowing. The have around 1200 and 900 hours respectively.

However now that I have had to take over the mowing. Last year we spent a little money and bought a used Exmark Lazer z with a 60 inch deck. Between the zero turn and the ability to actually mow at a much faster pace it has cut the mowing time by about 3/4. What used to take 5-6 hours depending on who was mowin now takes between and 1 and a half hours to two at the most. With around 500 hours it cost around the same as a new garden tractor. 500 hours on a comercial mower is just getting broken in according to everyone I have talked to.

Not to mention that riding the comercial zero turn is so much more comfortable. I cannot even express in words how comfortable it is to use. You sit up alot more and since there are no foot pedals to use your feet rest in a comfortable position. There is no crouching over the wheel. Now when I get on one of the other garden tractors they feel cramped and uncomfortable.

I think you will be very pleased if you go with a used commercial zero turning mower as opposed to a brand new garden tractor.

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Also, with the Craftsman you have to plan on doing the service yourself as they generally only sell the parts.

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Yep I have heard that too, if you do need service work done on them you have to ship them to somewhere in the twin cities and you pay the shipping.

Ditos on the commercial only way to go. We went from a hydrostatic Symplicity 54 inch deck to a commercial 60″ ZTR Great Dane. Went from 4 to 5 hours mowing to 3/4 to 1 1/4 hours mowing. These commercials have such a faster blade speed most will cut just as fast as you can stand to drive them. If you can stand the ride and hang on our Great Dane will cut at 12MPH. We bought our Dane with 100 hours on it for $4,800. It was hard paying that much ( that was cheap for this mower listed new for over $9,000 ) for a mower but am sssoooo glad we did.

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You sit up alot more and since there are no foot pedals to use your feet rest in a comfortable position.

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This is a real draw back with ZTR`s can`t have a beverage while mowing. So if that aspect is really important to you don`t buy a ZTR.

I have owned a Craftsman and now have a Scotts, (made by Deere) just a little more plastic on it. Both have/are serving me well. The Craftsman, I used at the old house, 4 acres of lawn, about 150 trees , would take about 3 1/2 hours. Did a nice job. The new one, the Scottts, I use at my current home, 1.5 acres, about 40 trees, I do it in about 1 1/2 hours. Love the bagger on the Scotts, could be a little bigger though this time of year.

big g

Been mowing 2.5a for the last 25 years. Went from an older JD 140 hydro 46 deck to a JD 318 with a 50″deck. Also have several hundred feet of driveway and use a 48″ blower/thrower on it. I have about 1600 hours on it(318) and have fixed one intake valve, and other than belts and blades, it(JDeere), is so solid. Don’t be afraid of the used JD market, there are some great machines out there, and BIGGER IS BETTER. Get all the HP and cutting width and optional equipment you can. And with JD, parts are always there, and service if and when you’d need it.

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Been mowing 2.5a for the last 25 years. Went from an older JD 140 hydro 46 deck to a JD 318 with a 50″deck. Also have several hundred feet of driveway and use a 48″ blower/thrower on it. I have about 1600 hours on it(318) and have fixed one intake valve, and other than belts and blades, it(JDeere), is so solid. Don’t be afraid of the used JD market, there are some great machines out there, and BIGGER IS BETTER. Get all the HP and cutting width and optional equipment you can. And with JD, parts are always there, and service if and when you’d need it.

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I’m with flat, I LOVE my JD and have had zero problems with it.

Looking to save some time? I wouldn’t get anything less than a 60″ deck and a ZTR would be quicker to mow with as well. I tried some out, wound up with a Dixon Grizzly 60″ 24 HP Kohler. Have some dealers bring some equipment out and mow with it, you’ll find what you like.

I got me a reel nice 18″ walk behind that I can make you one helluva deal on