question 1-what part of sunbelt? #2-I lived in Fl-west coast-mulched all the time.(statement not question) #3Q-how much do you have for a budget? Now- I had an L100 JD, did just fine in Fl on 1/3 acre, all flat...L120 has 21hp B&S w/K46 tranny..will handle your slope, blades are simple to change, oil every one hundred hours, but once a year much better. Best thing to do if you are looking into JD is go to their site JohnDeere.com---they have a question and answer thing on there that will direct you toward your needs..very helpful..I moved to the mts of Georgia..no hurricanes but lots of hills and slopes..sold the L100 and now have an X304..might be overkill for your purpose..You might want to look into the Z series like the 225..but once again it all depends on your budget..If you are intending to stay with JD, my personal opinion would be to see if a JD Dealer is near to you as they have programs as well and stay away from the box stores..I might get some slack back on that but it is my personal feeling and belief. GOOD-LUCK!

Northern suburbs of Atlanta, budget around $2K give or take a bit.

I really would like a brief explanation of PTO. Everyone around here throws the term around (I have searched) but I always thought it stood for Personal Time Off. Until coming to this forum :-)

Northwest of Atlanta here--60 miles up...PTO= Powere Take Off---for your blades to engage...If 2K is ya budget than
look at the 130 or 140 series...(140) bout 2200..Theres a JD dealership up in cartersville just off the 75, exit 293..good folk there..very helpful..and if ya can spring for 3K they have a X300 dedicated mulching deck there you could get a deal on...

Northwest of Atlanta here--60 miles up...PTO= Powere Take Off---for your blades to engage...If 2K is ya budget than
look at the 130 or 140 series...(140) bout 2200..Theres a JD dealership up in cartersville just off the 75, exit 293..good folk there..very helpful..and if ya can spring for 3K they have a X300 dedicated mulching deck there you could get a deal on...

Further on the PTO. It is the mechanism that connects the motor to whatever you want to apply power to, in your case the mower deck. The simple ones are manual, operated with a short lever that merely rotates a shaft with a pulley on it to take up slack in the mower drive belt. With an electric PTO, the mower drive belt is kept at a more constant tension between engine pulley and mower deck pulleys, while there is a clutch between the motor pulley and the actual motor shaft. This clutch is electrically actived by a toggle switch to engage the clutch and drive the blade. The electric system is more elegant, has longer belt life, and can be fairly expensive to repair (but seldom seems to fail). The manual systems vary somewhat among the brands, but at least the JD system seems quite well designed and very practical for anything you are going to use it for, at a nice cost saving that will more than cover a couple of extra drive belts over the life of the mower.

More on PTO's. SOme PTOs use real clutch disks rather than belt clutches. In that case the are just as reliable as the electric and still cost less. Replacement electric PTOs are amazingly expensive. I Have always considered it more of a luxury attachemtn (like power wiondows in cars).

Regarding cha nging blades. A well designed tractor will have a deck that can be removed easily. An orange apron probably won't know how hard it is, whereas a dealer will probbaly simply show you how it is done.

This allows you to clean the deck (should be done at least once a year, but some people do it after every mowing)and change blades. The blades unbolt. Sharpening blades is also rather easy.

Good Luck. Have fun.

Thanks; doesn't sound to me like the electric PTO is a must-have, for me at least.

Re "well-designed tractor", I assume the LA120 falls into that category and the deck is removable?

Here are the blades I am thinking of using to mulch. Look good?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=007&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=170113547720&rd=1&rd=1

The Gator Blades cost $10.74 each here. This is where I got mine and they arrived quick. see link.

Here is a link that might be useful: JSE

Two quick points;

1. The cost of the tractor is exactly the same at a dealer as at HD/Lowes, so check your yellowpages for the nearest dealer and establish a positive relationship with the people who will be servicing your tractor. If you can't find a servicing dealer nearby, go to HD and look at the tractors, they will have a local dealers sticker on them, go there and buy your tractor.

2. Buy a set of Gator blades to mow your lawn with and keep the original blades for knocking down the rough stuff.

Yes herus...the deck is removable and the JD tractors are well designed. You should take the advice above and go visit a JD dealer. They can answer many of your questions and you will learn much.

I will also echo the dealer recommendation. I bought an L111 a couple of years ago, and through the combination of free delivery from the dealer, lower cost on the bagging attachment, and lower tax rate due to dealer location, I saved money buying from the dealer.

I bought a new LA120 about 3 weeks ago from a JD dealer and they deliver and will pick up if a problem. We don't have a HD or Lowes where I live now and I would have bought it from the dealer anyway even if HD or Lowes was across the street from my house just because you can never find anyone to talk to in the big box stores and if you do you just as well talk to the wall....you will get the same answers. Big box stores are ok for some things but I think items like tractors & big ticket items you are better off dealing with an auth dealer. Just my 2cents worth.

I bought the youngster of the series! the LA100.I could of bought a bigger model but i prefer the manual transmission and 18.5 hp with a 42" cutting deck is plenty for my 1 acre mostly flat cutting area.I got a bagger for it and dispose clippings in a large mulch pale.I think its great that John Deere finally built a series that I and others could afford.The LA100 dosnt come with a maintance meter but i ordered one and installed it into my new tractor when i got it.So far after 3 cuts it has worked flawlessly.Before this i had a cub cadet that my uncle gave me.He bought it around 1988 to cut his fields (serveral acres,not too flat) around his home in Vt.It was a 38" cut at 12.5hp.If that type of tractor could handle the hills of VT!I would say a LA120 would do a fine job for herus and many others.The cub still runs!i restored it 2 years ago when i got it and gave it to a friend when i bought my LA100.

Like someone said, go to the JD sie and use their selection tool.

I figured an LA130 would do for my grass cutting and thats what the selection tool recommended. But I went one step up and got the LA140. Might be a bit of overkill but I love it.

You also might want to think about buying from a JD dealer. The box stores don't offer any discounts in my area and the JD dealer delivered it for free and also made sure everything was adjusted right. I also bought a spreader which they had assembled for me when the tractor was delivered. I don't think the box stores offer that kind of service.

Good luck. Sometimes you can research these things to death. Bite the bullet.