Are those V61s on the front???
John Deere Tractor opinions
- Thread starter Reggaemon
- Start date
I have a X738 4wd that I only use for winter snow blowing. Has a 25hp Kawasaki V2. Never any problems with the tractor in 7+ yrs.
Yes! The V61's are really good for my purposes of mowing, towing, spreading and spraying. Because of the ribs they make steering much easier.
Attachments
I’ve been trying to get a pair for a while now. Saw a pair come on eBay in my size (16x6.5-8),but got busy and went to go back 2 hours later to buy and they were gone!
My 1998 JD LX188 liquid cooled Kawasaki 501v 17 hp 3 blade 48 inch deck TT K61 with over 2,000 hours still runs like a top after 27 years. It’s an LT but still pulls a heavy 30 gallon Cyclone Rake and a steel 30 cart. IMO, the Best LT ever built.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2022
- Messages
- 533
While I agree that issues at 200 hours should be considered "infant mortality" in equipment lifespan failure analysis, I also realize that 200 hours is 6 to 8 years for many homeowners.
I would skip the JD in the low end models. If you just have a small area to cut and need to drag a small garden cart around, the lower end Troy Bilt with the CVT trannys are tougher than the really cheap HST's in the low end units and if you abuse them a bit and they fail its just a belt replacement not a new transmission. The B&S engine is the same one JD uses and the decks are stamped just like JD and the blade bearings are the same unserviceable sealed units that JD uses on the entry level models. The difference is about $1000 less cost. I have a large lot and a Kuboto Compact tractor but I dont like using it around the house and over the septic system so I bought an entry level Troy CVT about 12 years ago to just do the 1/2 acre around the house and with 250 hrs and 1 drive belt change it is still running just fine and I use it to pull a small cart when I go out to pick up branches after a storm and haul them to my brush pile. You cant push snow with it, you cant drag anything ground engauging and you cant haul 500 lb carts but if thats what you need you have to move up a long way in the JD line. The new ones are not the old ones.
It's not that you can't get a good one from HD, it's that the vast majority of likelyhood is that you won't get a good one. Those are not true JD tractors and certainly not sold in dealerships. If you mow a flat, small lawn, it will probably work...add hills and you are in for a bad day down the road. I would never buy a tractor from the big box stores. Buy a used 300 or 400 series in good shape and you have a friend for life. I had a 214 for maybe 5 years, then bought a 318 for the next 15 or so, and then sold it to my sil and bought a used 425. That 425 is now 24 or 25 years old and has 955 hrs on it and runs like a champ. It is the tractor I wish I'd bought in the first place...oh wait, they didn't make it then, as I tried out a 400 or 420 can't remember which. Those 3 and 400 series tractors are the high mark of JD production in garden tractors, and built like a tank.