New John Deere for the new place

[daytime dave]

I recently purchased a small farm to retire to. We aren't retired yet, but the opportunity presented itself and I took it. I have a large lawn to mow and Northeast snow to deal with to clear out the dirveway. When presented with what did I want for taking care of this, I had some good choices. There is Simplicity, a very good tractor maker. I wanted diesel and they no longer offered that engine, plus their parent company, Briggs and Stratton, filed bankruptcy last year and that isn't a good sign for stability. Cub Cadet and Husqvarna make decent machines, but again, no diesel. The John Deere dealership is not too far away and I had done business with them over the years. I picked a model x758 diesel. The equipment company offers a standard package of seat upgrade with arm rests, front brush guard and quick release suitcase weight brackets with six weights, a 54 inch mower deck and a 47 inch snow blower. I opted to swap out the smaller blower for the 54 inch. I also added the soft cab for the winter winds blowing snow. I picked it up yesterday and it's a fantastic machine.

Full time four wheel drive will help on all the hills. I removed the cab for storage as it was very easy to do. The dealership is fantastic. It was ready and waiting. No hassle. They put the blower on the trailer and away I went. Luckily I have three compact tractors to do the heavy work at the farm, so I only need this machine to mow and blow. It's big and beautiful. The best part was 0% financing on all of it. Why not.











It will be a worker around the place. I have no doubt it will pull it's weight well.

[RanchRoper]

I have same size JD bought new in 2006. Still going strong.

[Sir Henry]

Nothing runs like a Deere! I’m glad you are planning for retirement.

[BigAl52]

Nothin cost like one either. Hey Dave what the heck no cup holder for Coffee Beer or Whiskey

[markiver54]

Very nice Dave. That should serve you well. Congrats!

[BrokenolMarine]

We ran a Simplicity Legacy 27 hp diesel for the twenty five plus years we were at the VA farm. No worries. 4wd, rear diff lock, front/rear hydraulics, blade, bush hog, etc. Only thing missing was a bucket. Sold it, all the implementation, the new flat bed trailer, and low mileage polaris ranger 500 with the farm.

Looked at JD, bought a kubota package, another polaris 500, and 1000 once we got here. Got the bucket this time, plus pallet forks, hay spear, blade...

[BrokenolMarine]

We ran a Simplicity Legacy 27 hp diesel for the twenty five plus years we were at the VA farm. No worries. 4wd, rear diff lock, front/rear hydraulics, blade, bush hog, etc. Only thing missing was a bucket. Sold it, all the implementation, the new flat bed trailer, and low mileage polaris ranger 500 with the farm.

Looked at JD, but the dealer was rude, arrogant, and acted like selling to us would be doing us a huge favor. Kind of like Harley and Jeep for years. We bought a kubota package, another polaris ranger 500, and a 1000 once we got here. Got the bucket this time, plus pallet forks, hay spear, blade...

[JEBar]

congrats .... very nice looking machine .... it should serve you well

[Stray Cat]

Great choice, I still believe you get what you pay for... like a Henry

[daytime dave]

We ran a Simplicity Legacy 27 hp diesel for the twenty five plus years we were at the VA farm. No worries. 4wd, rear diff lock, front/rear hydraulics, blade, bush hog, etc. Only thing missing was a bucket. Sold it, all the implementation, the new flat bed trailer, and low mileage polaris ranger 500 with the farm.

Looked at JD, bought a kubota package, another polaris 500, and 1000 once we got here. Got the bucket this time, plus pallet forks, hay spear, blade...

The Simplicity with the diesel engine would have been in the running. I have three compact tractors, one a JD with a bucket, so this one didn't need to be a do everything tractor. It is basically the same size as the very capable 10 series subcompact JD tractors. If I only could have one, I would have gotten one of them, or maybe a 20 series.

I still have my Craftsman for a backup.

[Hatchdog]

Great looking machine. I’ve had two of the X series (gas) and both had/have served me well. Sold the first one because I intended to have a small yard at my current house. Since my wife keeps extending the grass area it became too much for my walk behind so bought an X350. That’s what she gets for keeping the grass areas expanding.

Dave, do you think that with the full time all wheel drive and those good looking tires that you will be able to blow the snow without chains?

[daytime dave]

I'm going to try it without chains for sure. With the weights and all wheel drive it may work because I'm snow blowing and not plowing. The driveway is not level as it is a hill and curved. It is stone and dirt. I don't think the grade is too bad.
If need be, I have a set of Terra-grip chains. They have rubber slats that go over the tires to protect asphalt driveways. I put them on the spare this winter as I got them on clearance. They were too big for it, but they are the right size for the new machine. If they don't work, real chains will be ordered.

[BrokenolMarine]

We had a really nice setup for the Legacy. One year for mother's day, I asked what Tina wanted. Finish Mower: The 72" belly mower was nice, but a PITA to remove and reinstall when you wanted to use the blade, the bushhog, or any of the other implements. So, we removed it and left it off.

Tinas finish mower 1.jpg (242.46 KiB) Viewed 6329 times

She was always working the drive or the path to the barn or coops.

up the drive (2).jpg (264.58 KiB) Viewed 6329 times

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The 4WD and the locking diff made the tractor pretty hard to stick, even in drifts. Then I got the new tires and...

New Tractor Tires.jpg (281.12 KiB) Viewed 6329 times

The only thing lacking was the bucket for the front. It was plumbed, it would have been plug and play. Drive up, hook up, and go.
But HARD to find.

Our new tractor here is very nice and below the threshold for the extra EPA bs. 25hp diesel Kubota 2501, with bucket. Does nearly everything you could want, without paying for extra size and power.

comp spread the rest.jpg (345.19 KiB) Viewed 6329 times

We have the bush hog for the pastures, but got a 42" cut zero turn for the yard areas.

[Redthies]

I was going to buy a bigger tractor for our new place, but put off buying the new place as all the panic buyers have driven real estate prices way past reasonable here. Acreages are going for $400,000 or more over asking prices, which are already at least $100,000 over what they should be. I will not get into a pissing contest for property. There is almost nothing listed now either, so if you find something you like, it will have multiple cash offers on it buy the end of the first day. It’s madness.

So, instead of buying a bigger rig, I just treated myself to a new mower, and have a 48” blade for it already. I found a nice old guy selling a set of front and rear chains that will fit, which when I called he said I could just have them that will help a bunch with the snow. 22hp with a few bells and whistles, but still very basic. It’s a nice rig, but needs a few tweaks like disabling the seat switch etc so I can open gates etc without shutting it off. I can’t even shuffle in my seat after 30 mins without the motor starting to shut off.

A couple of photos of the stress test for the 1 ton:

[Redthies]

Oh, and as you can see RR, it has a cup holder to keep the beer in place. I mowed 1.5 acres yesterday and it is so much nicer than the old dinosaur I was nursing along. It turns so quick it’s almost a zero turn in comparison.

[Hatchdog]

First of all I hope the Ram is getting a good rest as well as that dual axle trailer after hauling that load. Good think the Highway Patrol (Mounties?) didn’t pull you over for an excessive load. That’s good looking John Deere.

Those acreage prices are crazy. It’s bad around here (Eastern Washington St.) but not as bad as what you are experiencing. Are you thinking that folks from the Seattle area are driving the prices up? Can’t say I blame them wanting to get away from the blight that that beautiful city has been experiencing.

[Redthies]

I just got back from turkey hunting just literally a stones throw north of the border on the Pend Orielle River which as I’m sure you know is just a short drive due north from you by Leadpoint/Metaline Falls. We looked at a place right at the top of the 395 again only 200 yards north of the border. It was only about $200,000 overpriced. Our issue is the Vancouver people mainly, and the new trend of working from home, which allows them to move further from the big city. I have been looking around most of southern BC (BC = Bring Cash these days), and it’s the same everywhere. I think we are going to wait a bit and let the madness pass. Maybe late fall will see some sanity or more options open up.

[daytime dave]

Marine, the Simplicity is very similar to the 758 in looks and size. I could have picked up a used one with decent hours, a bucket, mower, 3pt etc, diesel even, but I would have had to pay cash. The JD is 0% financing. I already have three compact tractors, so this was a nice purchase for me. Your Kubota looks like it fills the bill nicely.

Redthies, we are not exempt from the over priced acerage here, but I paid more than asking by a lot. However, I came in well under the banks appraiser. The interest rate was too good to not finance. I love your new mower and I'm glad it worked well for you.

I mowed the new place for the first time today. The x758 mowed beautifully. Where it could not go, I used a newly purchased DeWalt 20v self propelled mower. The x758 took an hour to do a good job. The DeWalt took about a half and hour to finish up what was left. All in all it was beautiful afterwards.

[GeoBoy]

Dave, beautiful rig. Nothing Runs Like a Deere and a real JD garden tractor is made in Horicon, WI.

[Redthies]

Dave, show us a photo of the tractor without the top (assuming you will have it off for summer) and in it’s natural element!

I found a JD 10P trailer down the street today for $200 so I grabbed it. Can’t wait to fill it with crap...


Marine: I’m a little jealous of your Kubota!