I think you negotiated pretty well. The tractor is 10% off list price and I don't know about the rest of the stuff. Is he swapping the Gators for the stock blades? If so, ask for a credit for them or tell him to install a mulch kit (or whatever other accessory you might want) and call it even! Wouldn't hurt to ask! ;0)

I'm creating a gravity irrigation system for a backyard vegetable garden and have a question. The garden is made up of seven 24x4 raised beds being fed by a 300 gal water tank to each raised bed (PVC was used). Soaker hoses won't work because the water is so hard. I've decided to try running 3/4" PVC down the center (in a small trench, not buried) of each bed. I'll drill holes in the pvc every inch or so and offset them. I'll be able to unscrew the end of the pipe to bleed and flush the pipe of sediment etc from time to time. Then I'll just let the garden soak every couple of days. Any ideas? Does this seem like it will work? Thanks

In my opinion, you are heading down the highway to hell on this one because your priorities are all wrong. You don't buy, modify and use some cheapo LT to try and bush hog a piece of property that is strewn with hazards. Go rent a skid steer loader with a tooth bar on the bucket and clean up all the rocks and other junk that is on this property. Even if you don't haul the stuff off site, you can heap it up in one spot for the time being. If stumps are an issue, then rent a stump grinder and deal with them. The only obstacle/obstruction left on the property should be live trees. The rest of the ground should be clean and level even if you don't want to have an actual lawn right now. The skid steer loader can shave off high spots and carry the dirt to fill in the low spots. If you don't know how to operate one, then hire a pro. Once you achieve the clean-up and levelling, then any LT will maintain it without fear of destroying itself or launching a chunk of something into the air that might hit a passerby. With your back condition, why would you even think that some LT with 12" rear rims is going to navigate smoothly over that terrain?

Buy whatever you want. Here is something to consider. The mower battery are available in 4 different power levels. 180 CCA 230 CCA 295 CCA 340 CCA The positive terminal is also available on the left or right side of the battery. Check your tractor before buying a new battery. Some batteries are the sealed design - meaning there are no battery caps to add water. Usually the battery terminals do not corrode on the sealed batteries. The other batterys are designed with removable battery caps - so water may be added. These batterys usually develop corrosion on the battery terminals. Periodic cleaning is needed to keep the battery healthy. A battery maintainer is a great tool to keep the battery charged. This charger automatically turns off when the battery is fully charged. If the battery loses a little charge, the maintainer turns back on. A trickle charger will boost a battery to peak power, but there is no turn off feature. If the charger is kept on the battery over the winter, chances the battery will live a short life. Some of the B&S batteries are made by East Penn. Sometimes they are made by the other manufacturer. Same is true with DieHard batteries. These are simply decals applied to the cheapest supplier. I use the East Penn batteries that are sealed as I don't want to fool around with the corrosion issues. When a battery maintainer is used, I see sealed batteries that survive 7-9 years. The water cap batteries will also last a long time if the battery is kept cleaned and charged. during winter storage.