after reading all of your advice, i went to sears today and took the plunge! i had decided to go for a hydro and thats what i ended up with. but i ended up with a BEAST! way, way more than i will need, but it was only 100 bucks more than i had planned to spend. i bought a last years FS 5500 garden tractor with a 54" deck. it has a tuff torq hydro hydro, but i still do not know what numbers mean what, i am guessing that the first set is the model #,ehp pn 404047? any way it also has a 26 hp kohler pro v-twin engine with oversize air and oil filter. i had my choice between this and the 26 hp kohler courage, i hope i made the right choice. the courage engine looked nicer, but the air filter was so small, and there was no pre-filter at all. it did have 1.1 hour on it, i dont think that is as much a deal as it sat outsinde the majority of the time. i checked all the deck spindles and they all turn freely and do not make noise. anyway, i ended up spending less than $2g with all the accessories i wanted including spare maintenence parts. they told me it was ground equipment rated, can anyone confirm this? thanks, d.s.

fcarp63, How do you like the johnny bucket setup on your GT225? I've been on the fence about buying one of those for years, and now that I'm a week out from returning home from Afghanistan, I think a johnny bucket and a hayes electric sleeve hitch may be in my future. After living in a desert wasteland for nearly 9 months, I'm pretty excited to get home and do some landscaping work (and other things). tomplum, You should tell your buddy about the piranha deck if he's considering a freedom. Do the search on the bottom of the page and you'll see the writeup I did about mine. It's a pretty amazing upgrade, and simpler than the counter-rotating freedom deck. virginacowboy, I can't say enough about the Deere garden tractors. My GT225 is by no means too big for my 2/3 acre, but when it comes to gardening chores, or pulling, it's a tank. I've pulled my 10 cu ft cart heaped over with sand uphill with no problem at all. Consider one thing when buying a mower: even on a 1/2 acre lot you'll benefit from a 48" deck, since it shrinks your uncut radius slightly and allows you to cut up close to things better than a 42". I think most salesmen would tell you that for a 1/2 acre all you need is a 42", but I would disagree. I have a 44" mulching deck on my GT225 and a 48" deck on my GT262 which is a backup workhorse on my father's property. I was not really happy with the original 42C my GT225 came with, mainly because the deck is no wider than the wheels (on the wide setting) which makes it tough to trim up against my landscaping.

14 years ago I bought my Deere STX 38. At the time I knew nothing of lawn tractors and I can't say today that I know very much more... I wanted a Cub Cadet as for years Cub Cadet was the offical lawn tractor of the Chicago Cubs... Yes, I know it sounds silly now. Problem was there wasn't a CC dealer anywhere near me. As it turned out, I mentioned wanting a tractor to our banker when we closed on the house. He happened to be best friends with the gentleman that owned the local Deere dealer and made a call on my behalf. As I stated, I've got the STX 38, 5-Speed, mulch kit, rear bagger and trailer delivered all for about $2k. My lot is almost an acre and I live in Chicagoland so my season is limited. I do all the regular maintenance and to date I have replaced the carb, and the PTO. My daughter thought the hood was a metal car hood so she dropped it after checking the oil and that has been replaced once as as well. After 14 years I don't feel I'm trying to justify a purchase, I know what I bought and she has been a great workhorse for me. I can see why folks fall in love with the green and yellow. I recently got the itch for a new tractor. I found this forum and several others and looked at several tractors I've never even considered before, Simplicity and Kubota. Both were amazing!! Looked at a X300 as well and was equally wowed. After all the forum lurking I've seen an underlying respect for well maintained old machines. Mine just finished the yard, got a good bath and a coat of wax. Looks like something new will not appear in my shed till this old STX just decides she's had enough. As for what's better, who knows... All companies made an Edsel once or twice, but all I can say is good maintainance and a little respect for your tractor, of any type, and most will last a long time.

Yea, give me a Craftsman DGS6500... for about a day and then I took it back. A Kohler engine built to Sears price point without hydraulic lifters or a Bendix drive starter and a paper air filter element with no pre-filter and non adjustable steering links with a frame that twists like a belly dancer with a mowing deck that looks like it was welded up by an apprentice welder. And this 6500 was built by the people who build the Husqvarnas and I've seen the same price point cheating on some of them. Talk about being built with the cheapest components. There will be no driving to the dealer to get a part you need on Saturday morning so you can mow on Sunday. Need warranty repair... get in line and wait till the guy/gal who also fixes washing machines and fridges get to you in a week or so and then has to order parts and then come back to do the repair. This is why Baskin-Robbins makes 31 flavors. Everyone has different wants and needs and budgets. The right choice for one is not the right choice for another or maybe it is, BUT what you choose is (hopefully) the right choice for you... but maybe it isn't?