What about Snapper, they have 2 different walk behind mower lines now. Their top of the line seems nearly identical to mowers they were making decades ago. Everything seems old time heavy duty. Which leads to a few big positives. Reliable proven design, dependable, and when yo do need a part chances are it will be available. (A problem I had with a 10 yr old Murray, sure those generic parts are available at big retailers, as well as some parts for more recent models, but they like to keep you buying new equipment every few years.) Plus they are mostly sold at dealers who are also service shops. When you need your mower serviced, the big retailer wont be the one you bring it to. Look at many of the mowers they have discounted in their discount area. Usually the ones returned for one reason or another often with the sticker of the local repair shop that serviced the machine. Snappers other line is new and designed and priced to compete with mowers sold at the big retailers. Im not sure about the dependability, but if you are using them with different teen operators and on Camp sized property with hills and such with enough area needed mow that two mowers would be needed to cut it quickly then it may be wise to purchase from an authorized service / dealer like Snapper. And the prices online at Snapper are suggested list only. When I got my new Snapper I had moved from a flat 7000 sq ft lawn to a sloped 20,000 sq ft lawn. Considering I had 3 times the amount of lawn, I definetly wanted self propelled, mulching, and a high quality motor. So I picked the old style Snapper mulching deck with the 6hp Kawasaki engine that is used on many commercial models for $599 , $100 under list without bargaining. If I had gone with the standard B&S engine it probably would have been closer to the price of the Deere yout mentioning since the mulch only B&S Snapper is listed at $499 and your planning to get two so you could probably get a nice deal. Ariens also makes a nice mower I was considering, but the Ariens dealer wasnt as close as my local Snapper dealer. Also considering the other equpiment you have it would be even more of a reason for me to buy from a Dealer / Service shop as opposed to a big retailer.

I have a GX75. Great mower. Sure I have had to work on it a few times but it has got to be the best mower on the market. Still going strong after 15 years. I cut my yard and my neighbors yard. Change belts once in a while. Oil change every two years. Blade sharpen every year.

can't hurt gunnarmn...as afr as the kit , it cost me 83 bucks t.t.t. total...came with blades..being that the back is bad had JD come out to the house...showed me easy way to take down deck and installed kit..that set me back 64 bucks..but was worth it to me...what ever X ya end up getting, before they deliver it to you or if ya gonna get it yourself, get one of the mech's to show ya how it all works...much easier than tryin to follow the directions in the manual...and it won't cost ya anything xtra..they'll do it as a courtesy since ya buyin it from them...my bad...

My late 80's JD rear rider mower is moving slow even in 7th gear. I believe I have to adjust the variator in the belt drive system. Does anyone have a service manual that explains this or know how to address the problem? Thanks.