John Deere x520 or x720?

15 years ago

I own 8 acres and currently mow 3 acres. I could mow an additional 1 acre but have not done so to save time and wear on my Sears tractor (it's slow). I currently own a Sears 20hp Kohler, 48" mower deck, 44" 2-stage snow thrower. I've had this Sears for 7 years, and it's held up as well as I could have hoped when I purchased it (went for a "cheap" tractor when I had the house built since all my $ went into the house). The Sears is undersized for my property - the engine is reliable, but I can't roll the lawn in the spring (can't make it up the hills) or pull top soil in a cart (for the same reason). The Sears also chews up belts on both the mower and snow thrower at least every other year. I'm on a hill, so nothing is completely flat. And there is are several steep areas and hard angles to mow. I also have a 140' driveway that I plow in winter, 20' wide at the street then growing to 40' wide at the 3-car garage at the house.

So, I'm looking at an x520 with 54" mower deck and 2-stage snow thrower and an x720 with 54" mower deck and blade to push snow. I don't think the x520 can push the upstate NY snow with a blade. The x720 configuration with blade is about $3K more than the x520 with 2-stage snow thrower. My primary uses will be mowing and snow removal, but I'll roll the lawn once each spring and occasionally move some top soil and/or other material.

I'd like to buy one more tractor for the next 20 years (I have 3 boys ages 4, 6, and 8 who I someday hope to turn into a grounds crew!). My gut says the x520 will suffice, but the x720 will do what I need for sure. I drove both at the JD dealer 3 miles from my house, the x720 didn't blink at the steep hill I drove it on and was very comfortable. The x520 did OK on the hill but I could hear it work a little, and the seat was less comfortable (guess I could just buy a better seat). Kubota is the only other option in my area, but the JD dealer/operation seems better to me.

I'd like to just buy the x720 and be sure and (mostly) avoid belts, but $3K is a lot of money. Advice? Thanks in advance!

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Comments (8)

soccer_dad
15 years ago
Well either one is a lot of money so what is a little more. Over 20 years you won't notice. One of the rules posted a while back said to always go one size more than minimum requirement. If your looking at a x720 you really should look at the 2305. More for your money than the 700 series. I have the X500 and would be ok for 3 acres of cutting. Definitely need the blower for snow.
cjsm5nys
15 years ago
Just an idea for you if you are willing to buy used since you have considered the X700 series.

I was looking at the previous line to the X700 series which would be the X400 series. The X475 and X485 are what the X720 is and you can pick up a low hour in good condition w/54" deck in the $6K range. You will get similar trannys and the liquid cooled engines. You can even pick up the all wheel steer models which are capable of other ground engaging attachments that the X520 will not accept.

Go to www.Machine Finder.com and take a look at some of the used models/prices for yourself.

Just another option for you. You will find you would save some $$$ and get what you are looking for in the X720.

Good Luck to you!
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Here's something to check I found from another lawn site: "I was mowing late this week. I mowed 4 large lawns. The grass wasn't wet. My mower would start clumping and thought the deck was full of grass or the the belt was loose. Every lawn did it even though I clean the deck. The blades were still razor sharp. I went home and I was thinking maybe the tires are low on pressure. I usually have them at 24 PSI which is the max. I checked the tires and behold they were at 21 PSI. I used my portable air machine that I leave under my seat and raised the PSI. The next day I went out and did not have a problem with clumping. Not sure how I lost that much PSI I usually check it every Month or less." And a reply to the above was as follows (makes sense): "Yes, your thinking is correct, tho it's not so much that it's cutting lower it's that lower pressure in the rear tires, or fronts, will put your deck pitch out of whack making the cut quality decline. Yes, it will cut lower as well, but that shouldn't effect the deck clogging up much. "I agree 24 PSI is a LOT of pressure for mower tires. In the rears most usually run 20 PSI tops, I run 15 to 20 depending on the mower. I use a pressure gauge like used for setting pressures in racing tires. It's very accurate and reads in 1 PSI increments, plus I can bleed air out with a push button to get the pressure set. Crazy? I don't think so... I can tell if my tires are low by a few pounds due to cut quality/mowing a fuzz lower. Those tires are soft and expand/shrink a lot with a small pressure change. In the fall is when I find I have to check and adjust tire pressures a lot. Cold nights/mornings they lose a few PSI pretty fast. "It's all in what pressure your tires were set at when your deck was leveled. Go by the factory recommendation, set all 4 tires exactly, then level the deck front to back and side to side (not "level" front to back, but with the correct pitch as in the manual)."
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docholiday
15 years ago
I am not at all a fan of the X500 series. Deere cheapened then too much and they are not even close to a 700 series. The 700 series is still serious tractor with attachments designed to do real work rather than lightweight stuff for the homeowner. For example compare a front-end blade on an X700 with a blade on a X500. The X700 can apply down pressure, the X500 cannot. The X700 has good clearance when the blade is lifted, the X500 does not (it is terrible clearance actually). The X700 has hydraulic angling, the X500 blade does not.

The downside of the X700 is that the attachments can get quite pricey.
ejfiii
15 years ago
I'm in a similar situation as you but I have less area to mow. JD dealer recommends the X540 which is $10k with snow blade and 54" mow deck.

Instead I am about to pull the trigger on a Kubota BX1830 for similar money. It is so much more machine that its not a fair comparison. Real PTO and 3 point hitch at back. Real hydraulic snow blade on the front. Real Diesel tractor motor. 4WD standard. Optional real front end loader on BX. 0%/42months vs. 5.4%/36 months. Only place the JD wins is warranty.

The BX compares to the JD2305 which is about $15k configured the same way.

It was eye opening for this tractor noobie to see the differences at similar price points.

Good luck.
ejfiii
15 years ago
Sorry, I meant the BX1850 not the BX1830 in my post above.
ajfjc
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the posts, I appreciate your input and suggestions.

I looked at the JD 2305, and it will be a couple thousand more with similar attachments I'm looking at on the x720. The x720 is already in the "a couple thousand more" category for me. Plus, the x720 may be one step up from what I really need, the 2305 is definitely much more than I need.

Used JD x400 series is a good suggestion. That's how I started this journey. I've since convinced myself that I don't want to spend that much money (although it would be a few thousand less expensive than new) on a used tractor.

elfii, the price you mention for the x540 seems high to me. I've got a quote for an x720 with 54" deck, 54" front blade (with kit for angling and down pressure), rear quick-tach weights and tire chains for around $10,500 final price including tax (including a $600 discount on x700 series through my job - no, I don't work for JD). I configured a Kubota BX1850 with similar attachments and came in at $12,286 list price. If I assume a price reduction off list and tax off-set each other I'm still at roughly $1500 more for the BX1850. I agree the BX1850 is more tractor, but it's not for free and as I stated in my original post - I'm not impressed with my local Kubota dealer.

Thanks again for the suggestions. I feel like this is a situation where there is no "right" answer, just a matter of choosing what feels like the "best" answer.
sergeant
15 years ago
I have had a JD X485 for the past 5 years now and it has preformed great for my 5&1/2 acres, Mowing ,tilling using the 45loader and clearing snow in the winter with a 54inch blade. Had a JD425 before the X485. But here a link to used late models deere's

Here is a link that might be useful: used late model Deere's
ajfjc
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, I purchased the x720 with 54" mower deck and blade. So far I'm very happy. A significant improvement over my old Sears tractor, as expected. I finish mowing in about 35% less time now since the JD moves faster and has a larger deck. I now go up my steep hills with no problems at all - turf tires working just fine (wheel weights on the rear tires). Large gas tank let's me go a long time before having to refill the tank. I even connected an XM satellite radio using the 12V outlet and listened to the Mets game while mowing last weekend.

Only thing I'm a little disappointed in is the quick connect hose input on the mower deck. I thought it would do a great job cleaning the grass on the mower deck, but it doesn't do well at all. I've had to manually spray under the deck after mowing to remove the clumps of grass. Not a big deal, just not as convenient as I had hoped.

John Deere x520 or x720?

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John Deere x520 or x720?

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