John Deere X740

[Bill Stockard]

Now see if you can get some air under those front caster wheels.....



Mike.

Mike,



I'll have to try that when Janet isn't around. She might get a photo of it throwing me off on the ground.



Bill

 

[Wingate]

There is a zero turn Ferris at work that has a 33. 5hp Caterpillar diesel on it... Had never seen one before. . it is an absolute monster. . Have no clue what one would cost though. . I bet its beyond 15K...

Nice looking mower Bill... . Congrats. .

 

[Bill Stockard]

There is a zero turn Ferris at work that has a 33. 5hp Caterpillar diesel on it... Had never seen one before. . it is an absolute monster. . Have no clue what one would cost though. . I bet its beyond 15K...

Nice looking mower Bill... . Congrats. .

Thanks, I looked into a diesel. A Kubota diesel was twice as much and a JD diesel was nearly tree times as much since it gets into the commercial type mowers as what I paid for the gasoline engine residential type mower. The JD X740 which is a diesel lawn tractor is double what the Z cost. At my age and no more than I have to mow, I didn't think it was practical even if I could afford it... and I cannot afford to spend that much.



Bill

 

[Wingate]

I wouldnt think a diesel lawnmower would be cost effective for personal use... the payback was many years away!!.

BTW... That Ferris is 20K+!!!

 

[Bill Stockard]

I mowed the yard yesterday afternoon. WOW!! That thing is a mowing monster! The only thing slowing it down is the rough ground. If I could hang on I could go faster. I mowed a back section that I usually mow with my Kubota tractor and a Bush Hog finish mower at 3". I had let it go for a couple of weeks as a "test plot" for the z-turn. It went through that mowing at 2" like it was a finished lawn. The engine never slowed down and I was going as fast as I could just to see what it would do. It was blowing the cut grass nearly 10' out to the side. I did the whole yard including the back section that I usually mow with the tractor/finish mower in exactly two hours that usually takes me four hours with the JD345 lawn tractor with the same width 54" mower.





Bill

 

[Wingate]

hahahaha... . its like playing a video game isnt it?? We also noticed that the only limiting factor about how fast we could mow was the ability to stay in the seat!!. . Ended up letting a lot of the air out of the tires,

 

[Bill Stockard]

hahahaha... . its like playing a video game isnt it?? We also noticed that the only limiting factor about how fast we could mow was the ability to stay in the seat!!. . Ended up letting a lot of the air out of the tires,

Yep, it is like playing a video game. I hadn't thought of that... :-laf



You are right about staying in the seat. I have the tires aired down to 10-psi and the seat has a spring suspension, but I still won't utilize the full 9-mph forward speed... I wouldn't have my kidneys.



Bill

 

[NIsaacs]

Thats a huge lawn/field. Now ya just need a hay baler to go with it:-laf



Nick

 

[rscurtis]

I wouldnt think a diesel lawnmower would be cost effective for personal use... the payback was many years away!!.

BTW... That Ferris is 20K+!!!

Not necessarily. Depending on the level of ZT you buy, some OPE engines have dismal reliability records. The cheapest Briggs&Stratton, the Kohler Courage engine (you need courage to own it), and even the Kohler Command leaves a lot to be desired. Getting 500 or more hours from one of these engines without head gasket, camshaft or balancer failures is like running your 6-litre for 500K trouble-free miles- it isn't going to happen. The Kawasaki is a better choice where it's offered.



If the typical mow consumes 3, 4, or 5 gallons of gas, the diesel makes even more sense, as their fuel consumption is typically less than half than that of a gas burner. Add in the reliability, longevity, and resale value, and it may be a good choice.

 

[WCPoe]

You are right about staying in the seat. I have the tires aired down to 10-psi and the seat has a spring suspension, but I still won't utilize the full 9-mph forward speed... I wouldn't have my kidneys.



Bill

My thoughts parallel yours on bouncing around at the high rate of cutting speed these things can achieve . I just purchased a Gravely Pro-Ride 254, the 54 inch cut model with the 27hp Kawasaki and the manual says it can travel / mow up to 13 mph. I wouldn't have any teeth left at that speed because my pasture just is too bumpy.



That being said how can one go about leveling and smoothing the pasture? I wonder if one of those aereator / pulveriziers would work behind my JD4600. Or would a spring tooth drag harrow harrow work any better?



My neighbors all complain of the rough pastures no matter what they mow with. Anyone have any thoughts on leveling / smoothing the grassed areas?



I didn't want to hijack this thread but it sounds like many of us would like to level or smooth out the fields for sure. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Thats a huge lawn/field. Now ya just need a hay baler to go with it:-laf



Nick

Our rancher neighbor already has about a month ago. He will be returning abouot the middle of June to mow and bale it again. The area in the photo is maintained by either my z-turn or my Kubota tractor with a Bush Hog 6' finish mower. Areas to the left and right not shown in the photo are baled for hay.



Bill

 

[Bill Stockard]

That being said how can one go about leveling and smoothing the pasture? I wonder if one of those aereator / pulveriziers would work behind my JD4600. Or would a spring tooth drag harrow harrow work any better?



My neighbors all complain of the rough pastures no matter what they mow with. Anyone have any thoughts on leveling / smoothing the grassed areas?



I didn't want to hijack this thread but it sounds like many of us would like to level or smooth out the fields for sure. Thanks for your thoughts.

Nice looking z-turn. I remember the Gravely brand name from the late 1940s when they made walk behind garden tractors. Gravely has been around for a long time.



I worked on leveling areas of my pasture from feral hog damage by disking it very well with a tandem disk. We have a sandy loam type soil. After the grass died and deteriorated some I dragged a chain harrow over it, waited for a rain to settle the soil and dragged it again several times. I think the secret is to disk the area several times in different directions to really pulverize the sod before dragging it. The areas turned out relatively smooth.



FWIW, I use an old I-H 6'6" drawbar pull type tandem disk that my father purchased new in the late 1940s.



Bill

 

[WCPoe]

Bill, Thanks for quick response. I still leaning towards the chain type drag harrows as the solution. To disk mine up at this point would probably unearth too many rocks and require more effort than it would be worth.



My pasture is well drained but I let a number of heavy trucks drive over it and turn around over the years, sometimes after a rain. I think I may rent, borrow or even buy a heavy heavy drag chain type and try it out. Thanks for your input.



PS - I ended up with the Gravely purely for the fact there is a great dealer about 2 miles from the house. I hope it serves me well. I have both a JD4600 compact tractor and a JD165 lawn tractor but the nearest JD dealer closed last year now causing me a 60 mile round trip to get John Deere parts and service.

:{

 

[Wingate]

Not necessarily. Depending on the level of ZT you buy, some OPE engines have dismal reliability records. The cheapest Briggs&Stratton, the Kohler Courage engine (you need courage to own it), and even the Kohler Command leaves a lot to be desired. Getting 500 or more hours from one of these engines without head gasket, camshaft or balancer failures is like running your 6-litre for 500K trouble-free miles- it isn't going to happen. The Kawasaki is a better choice where it's offered.



If the typical mow consumes 3, 4, or 5 gallons of gas, the diesel makes even more sense, as their fuel consumption is typically less than half than that of a gas burner. Add in the reliability, longevity, and resale value, and it may be a good choice.

2 acres, once a week for 6-8 weeks, then summer hits and its mowing once a month to knock down the bahaia. . 3-4K vs. 15-20K.....

MY Toro and Husquvarna both ahve Briggs engines on them and have been completely trouble free. . The Husquvarna has over 250 hours on it. The Toro has about 125-150...

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill, Thanks for quick response. I still leaning towards the chain type drag harrows as the solution. To disk mine up at this point would probably unearth too many rocks and require more effort than it would be worth.



My pasture is well drained but I let a number of heavy trucks drive over it and turn around over the years, sometimes after a rain. I think I may rent, borrow or even buy a heavy heavy drag chain type and try it out. Thanks for your input.



PS - I ended up with the Gravely purely for the fact there is a great dealer about 2 miles from the house. I hope it serves me well. I have both a JD4600 compact tractor and a JD165 lawn tractor but the nearest JD dealer closed last year now causing me a 60 mile round trip to get John Deere parts and service.

:{

A chain harrow might work depending on your soil and the sod. I have a Hackett chain harrow in two 6' sections with a 12' draw bar and a 6' draw bar so I can use it either as a 6' harrow or a 12' harrow. It isn't heavy enough to tear up the sod, but does a good job if the ground is loosened first and/or if the soil conditions are right and the Bermuda grass isn't too thick. I had a similar problem with heavy trucks rutting the ground during the construction of our home and shop building. Pocket gopher and fire ant mounds didn't help either. I have eliminated the pocket gophers, but eliminating the fire ants is hopeless endeavor.



Yep, that's why I bought a JD. I'm fortunate to have both a very good JD and a very good Kubota dealer within 10 miles. I did what some suggested when buying a z-turn. Check the dealer first and then decide on the mower. I've owned a JD 345 lawn tractor for 13 years and it has required a few services from the dealer which was done by the local JD dealer quickly, correctly, and at a very reasonable cost; therefore, I chose JD again. Hopefully, I won't be disappointed...



Have you tried JD Parts online? I use it for my parts regularly and to check my local dealer's inventory and prices. If the dealer doesn't have the part in stock, I can have it ordered in for pickup using the JD Parts web site. I haven't tried it, but I think you can also order parts shipped to your door.



Bill

 

[Bill Stockard]

2 acres, once a week for 6-8 weeks, then summer hits and its mowing once a month to knock down the bahaia. . 3-4K vs. 15-20K.....

MY Toro and Husquvarna both ahve Briggs engines on them and have been completely trouble free. . The Husquvarna has over 250 hours on it. The Toro has about 125-150...

Yep, I have no problem with Briggs & Stratton either. All of my outdoor power equipment, walk behind mower, trimmer, edger, log splitter, etc. that is powered by a 4-cycle air cooled gasoline engine is by a Briggs except one, a power washer powered by a Honda. (The JD 345 lawn tractor is powered by a water cooled Kawasaki). My Briggs engines have been problem free, easy to start, and provide adequate power. The '12 JD EZ-Trak 655 is powered by a 27 hp V-2 air cooled Briggs designed exclusively for use on z-turn mowers and is included in JD's four year/500 hour warranty.



Bill

 

[BIGNASTY]

Bill

I was following your quest for the ultimate mower before I went into the mountains a couple of weeks ago. You were looking at the x740 was your decision to go with the Z turn because you have many things to mow around? From reading the post's we have about the same amount of lawn to mow 5 acres. I have very few trees to go mow around and have used a Honda 21 in lawn mower to go around those so I could get to the rest of the lawn with the Toro tractor mower that we have worn out years ago really. I like the idea of a lawn tractor (diesel) that has all the attachments for the wife and her garden plan and dont plan on cluttering up the shooting range by planting more trees. Any thoughts would be a help in our decision thanks



BIG



PS you guys were talking about getting your property smooth I had access to one of these for a few weeks. I know that most dont have mules to pull one but this made our lawn smooth as glass. I turned it everyday for a couple of weeks and then just used the harrow for a week and added soil amendments for that time. And I dont put anything heavy on the lawn any time. Im sure you could get one to pull behind a tractor to do the same thing.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Bill

I was following your quest for the ultimate mower before I went into the mountains a couple of weeks ago. You were looking at the x740 was your decision to go with the Z turn because you have many things to mow around? From reading the post's we have about the same amount of lawn to mow 5 acres. I have very few trees to go mow around and have used a Honda 21 in lawn mower to go around those so I could get to the rest of the lawn with the Toro tractor mower that we have worn out years ago really. I like the idea of a lawn tractor (diesel) that has all the attachments for the wife and her garden plan and dont plan on cluttering up the shooting range by planting more trees. Any thoughts would be a help in our decision thanks



BIG .

I was considering the JD X740 as strictly a mowing tractor. If I were going to use it for other jobs such as work in a garden, I would have been looking at a subcompact utility tractor instead (Kubota B series, JD 1000-series). They cost about the same and come equipped with a 3-point hitch, 540RPM PTO (extra cost options on a X740 and not very practical) and 4 wheel drive. The subcompact tractor can also be equipped with a loader that is capable of more work than a loader on the X740, also not very practical.



The X740 has a turning radius of about 2' whereas a subcompact tractor has about a 5' or more turning radius, depending on the model, brand, and wheelbase. In my case I wanted the 2' turning radius which is the same as my JD 345 lawn tractor and necessary for the trees and shrubs in the yard without additional maneuvering and/or tearing up the sod. The smaller turning radius is an advantage for the X740, but as you mentioned trees aren't a problem for you so the turning radius isn't much of a factor.



In my opinion, the JD X740 isn't the best choice for for anything other than mowing yards with trees which a zero-turn does even better. I would have used the X740 for towing a yard fertilizer spreader and a 30-gallon boom type yard sprayer which can't be done with a z-turn. I kept my JD 345 lawn tractor for those jobs and for mowing the slopes around my pond.



Bill

 

[Deleted member 995608]

I'll chime in on this. I too have a zero turn mower and never regret the cost. Mine is a SCAG w/ Kawasaki engine. Paid about 10K for it in 2009.



All I do is change the oil/filters, add some gas and mow some a s s. Has worked flawlessly since I bought it.



Back in the day, when America made it's own equipment, I believe the traditional rider mower were good but anymore, I look at them as throw aways.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Thanks for the reply on this. Its almost as important a decision as what truck to buy and Darn near as expensive it seems on some models. I can tell you one thing if anyone is looking for a string trimmer on steroids look at the DR line. I got one and its ALMOST TO MUCH MACHINE. Built like a tank it should last a good many years.



BIG