crabjoe, My beef with Sears IS the service, or lack of, at my specific location and with my specific Sears. I did not take the position that the Sears DG6500 was inferior to a JD L&G tractor other than mentioning a couple "cheap down" concessions that Sears took to make their price very appealing. I was not aware or informed at the time of purchase that no pre-delivery service and poor QC, again Sears fault not the tractor's, was among the "cheap down" concessions that Sears chose. I did point out that John Deere, the manufacturer, mandates that all L&G tractors sold by mass marketers such as HD or Lowe's will have a proper pre-delivery service performed by an authorized JD L&G dealer. That benefits both the end user and undoubtedly cuts down on warranty claims and product returns. Sears uses a different business model and now I know that. I bought the DGS6500 because on paper the feature set was unmatched at the price and that fact is still true. I did expect to receive the tractor in operating condition. Not everyone has the luxury of being in between two or three Sears to compare or within easy driving distance of two well staffed Sears service centers and those who do are truly fortunate. In my area among the many Sears on-site techs there is only one that is qualified to repair tractors and he covers about a third of a large state. He is severely overworked hence the three week wait to get him out for the initial diagnostic call and then the wait to have him return after the parts he ordered show up. This information was not known to me until AFTER I returned the tractor. Some weeks later I ran into that tractor tech and he was indeed knowledgeable and a nice guy. He told me that over 90% of his service calls are to remedy problems that should have been caught at the factory or would have been caught in a pre-delivery service and that most of the time parts are required and that means a longer wait for the customer and a return service call for him. I sympathize with the one tractor tech who is overworked but that is not the customer's problem.

This work is being done with my Craftsman DGS 6500 with the Craftsman front scoop. This soil is mostly hard packed clay soil. This pond bank was slanted down to the pond and I'm taking the slope out so that the pond won't over flow when we have a real rainy season. How are you doing this with just a scoop on a garden tractor? I'd have a hard time breaking up that hard packed clay soil using only the Front end Loader on my Sub Compact Kubota BX23. The BX23 is a whole lot bigger & tougher than any garden tractor. You need a tiller on the back of your DGS 6500 To break up the soil before you attempt to scoop it up. If you're trying to use the craftsman for a bulldozer you going to tear it up doing that or at least bust up the scoop. It's a darn shame Sears don't offer a tractor mounted and powered tiller for their tractors! If I was doing this I would till it first then scoop with the FEl. Much less strain on the equipment. Also easier and quicker and less frustrating too

You don't have to choose. You can have both worlds. Remove the three-point from your old GT. Perhaps it won't just bolt right up to the new machine but you should be able to find a way to adapt it. Try to install it at the same height as before or as close as possible. There is an adaptor available in the world of aftermarket devices that will clip onto your three point in the traditional fashion and allow you to use any sleeve hitch implement out there. Use the link below and scroll down to where it references 'CAT 0 three point'. The last item is a '3 point to sleeve hitch adapter' for $89.25. If you Google around, you may be able to find it cheaper. Sometimes they show up on eBay as well but I suggest you just buy a new one from a local dealer that handles Brinly products. BTW, Brinly makes all sorts of stuff for Cat 0 hitches and sleeve type hitches. Here is a link that might be useful: Brinly

srimes wrote: There's only 1 Ingersoll dealer in all of Oklahoma, and he does happen to be in Tulsa. I gave him a call and he said that parts are getting hard to find. ********************************************************** Hmmmmmmm. How do I put this politely......... Ahhhh, I know. Sorry, but your dealer is an effing idiot!!!!!! Ingersoll went into Chapter 11 about two years ago and was bought up by the Eastman Industries company that makes the very successful Hovermower. See www.hovermower.com/ They moved the entire Ingersoll operation from Winneconne, Wisconsin to a brand new plant they built in Maine. Now, everything that Eastman builds is under one roof. Since that move, they have made some significant changes to the 4000 series tractors with more to come and those changes have all been improvements so far. Several years ago, Ingersoll bought up Grazer to add a ZTR to their lineup. Ingersoll is currently making big changes to that unit and will be introducing it again in the near future. The supply of parts (according to two Ingersoll dealers that belong to the same forum I do) was somewhat problematic during the transition period but has returned to normal at this point. Why a dealer would tell you that parts are hard to come by for these tractors is baffling to me. Please tell me who he is so I can report this clown to Eastman/Ingersoll. They don't need dealers who are negative and are not up to speed as to what is going on with Ingersoll. That said, you are the one who must decide as to which tractor will best suit your needs. I can only lead you to the watering hole and tell you what the water tastes like. John Deere makes fine products too. I have nothing bad to say about them. My preference is with the Ingersoll's but I readily admit to my bias. I am currently negotiating with a guy to buy another 444 Case/Ingersoll. And if the Ingersoll you were looking at is a Cadillac, then the JD's you are now considering are most certainly Lincoln's. Don't expect parts for those green machines to be any cheaper than what you would pay for Ingersoll parts. And dealers rarely stock every part for every machine out there. It's cost prohibitive to do so. Therefore, dealers must rely upon the factory to get them the slower moving parts in a timely fashion. All brands of tractors works this way. You could find yourself waiting to get a part for a Deere just as easily as a part for an Ingersoll, Cub Cadet, Kubota, Kioti or Mahindra. It's just the way it is.