Garden Tractor Info

If you live in an area that gets snowfall, then snow removal has been on your mind. Even though we are in Minnesota, close to the Twin City area, we don’t have a ground covering yet, everyone is getting ready because we know it’s coming.

We have quite a few different options for sale so you can get the job done. Our ATV or 4 wheeler snowblower attachment has been very popular and we’ve sold out quite a few times this year. I’ve learned that the snowblowers and blade/plows are a popular item with the ATV - 4 wheeler crowd. They don’t just ride them, they work them! Our 2 stage snow thrower has a big 23 horsepower engine in it and it can really throw the snow.

The garden tractors are what we personally use, I honestly use a blade most of the time because we tend to get consistent snow instead of getting dumped on. We sell 2 sizes of new Bercomac push blades and have used John Deere blade - plows.

Out East they get dumped on and many of our 2 stage snowblowers are getting shipped out there. We carry the new Bercomac snowblowers for almost any brand of garden tractor and we have used John Deere snowblowers too.

I have the luxury of having a yard full of tractors so I have one with a snow blower on it ready to use if we get a heavy snowfall. I also have a front end loader on my “Bird” the modified John Deere 318. I move snow with it keeping the bucket on the ground pushing the snow. It has headlights in the bucket so I can see what I’m doing at night. The Bird has an 23 horsepower Vanguard engine in it and with some weights on the rear, wheel weights, and fluid in the tires it can go most anywhere under all conditions. My little 33 year old John Deere 140 has a front end loader on it too. He has a 16 horsepower Vanguard engine and is weighted down, he’s out there working in every snowfall too. You should see the little guy pull cars that are stuck out of the snow drifts.

The Winter wind likes to take the snow you’re moving and blow it right in your face, for that we have the universal garden tractor cabs. This tractor cab is made of woven polyethylene and has a tubular galvanize steel frame. The windows are flexible PVC and the cab has Velcro openings that give access to the rear gas tank and under the hood. All of the tractor and snow removal equipment controls remain inside the cab. It is equipped with large air vents to prevent accumulation of carbon monoxide.

I you need weight to get your equipment to do the job it’s meant to do, we have suitcase weights and front and rear suitcase brackets to hang the the weights on your tractor. We have the garden tractor wheel weights too.

So get out there and move the snow!

As the recall says, owners of the affected model John Deere’s will be notified. The recall is for the X300 series:

Deere & Company Recall Lawn Tractors. Blade Could Operate While Mower Unattended

The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: John Deere X300 Select Series Lawn Tractors

Units: About 16,000

Manufacturer: Deere & Company of Moline, Ill.

Hazard: A problem in the manufacturing process could cause damage to the circuit in the interlock module. If the interlock module fails, the mower blades will be able to run with no operator on the tractor seat. Consumers could suffer injuries from contact with operating blades.

Incidents/Injuries: No incidents or injuries have been reported.

Description: These John Deere X300 Select Series lawn tractors are green with yellow seats and wheels. The following model and serial numbers can be found on the serial number plate on the tractor’s frame, which is located just above the front wheel axle on the right side of the tractor.

Model Serial Number Ranges
X300 M0X300A012380 - 012875
X300 M0X300C020339 - 024949
X300 M0X300D011842 - 012375
X304 M0X304A013047 - 013964
X320 M0X320A017344 - 020858
X324 M0X324A012658 - 013220
X340 M0X340A012667 - 013498

Sold at: Authorized John Deere dealers nationwide from April 2006 through May 2006 for between $2,800 and $5,000.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: The company is directly notifying those consumers who purchased an affected tractor. Consumers should contact a John Deere dealer for a free repair.

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact John Deere’s Customer Contact Center at (800) 537-8233 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday, or at the John Deere Web site at www.deere.com

I came across a listing of the new model John Deere Lawn and Garden Tractors. This list was posted by Stan in the JohnDeereGardenTracto Yahoo group. Stan is the group owner, one of the moderators, and a John Deere mechanic. There is some good natured bantering going on about which garden tractor model is, or was, the best. My (Bonnie’s) personal favorite was the John Deere 322, I loved the sound of that engine. Not too many of them were made. I’m pretty sure Jim would say the John Deere 140 because of all the features it had for such an early model.

All “L” series are now “100″ series
LT & LX series are now “X300″ series
GT & GX series are now the “X500 Multiterrain tractor” series
X400 & X500 series are the “X700 Ultimate tractor” series

102 - 17hp, 5spd, 42 inch deck
115 - 19hp, hydro, 42 inch deck
125 - 20hp, hydro, 42 inch deck
135 - 22hp, hydro, 42 inch deck
145 - 22hp, hydro, 48 inch deck
155C - 25hp, hydro, 48 inch deck
190C - 25hp, hydro, 54 inch deck

X300 - 17hp, hydro, 38 or 42 inch deck
X304 - 17hp, hydro, 42 inch deck, 4ws
X320 - 22hp, hydro, 48 inch deck
X324 - 22hp, hydro, 48 inch deck, 4ws
X340 - 25hp, hydro, 54 inch deck

X500 - 25hp, hydro, 48 inch deck
X520 - 26hp, hydro, 54 inch deck
X534 - 25hp, hydro, no deck, 4ws, PS
X540 - 26hp, hydro, 54 inch deck, PS

X700 - 23hp carb gas, hydro, PS - Comparable to the 425 then X475
X700 series have 48,54,or 62 in.decks
X720 - 27hp EFI gas, hydro, PS - Comparable to the 445 then the 485
X724 - 27hp EFI gas, hydro, PS, 4ws - Comparable to the 445 AWS then the X485 AWS
X728 - 27hp EFI gas, hydro, PS, 4wd - Comparable to the X585
X740 - 24hp diesel, hydro, PS - Comparable to the 455 then the X495
X744 - 24hp diesel, hydro, PS, 4ws - Comparable to the 455 AWS then the X495 AWS
X748 - 24hp diesel, hydro, PS, 4wd - Comparable to the X595
(comparables added by Jim)

The engines in the new X series are all Kawasaki or Yanmar and are exclusive to the John Deeres.

Our newest piece of equipment around the shop, and actually not having anything to do with garden tractors, is our new Bercomac 2 stage ATV snowblower. We’ve gotten quite a few calls and e-mails about this one already. I say already because here in Minnesota we haven’t gotten any snow yet. We hadn’t really paid any attention to the ATV market until we saw this snowblower in the Bercomac brochure. We did just a quick comparison of the differences between the Berco and the only one or two other manufacturers that offer ATV or 4 wheeler snowblowers. What stood out to us was the 23 Horse Power Kohler engine with a de-icing system. The competition has a 13 HP engine. This snow thrower also has a unique control saddle for the needed switches. A nice detail we liked was the electric chute rotation and chute deflector. The snow blower has it’s own dolly wheels for support and uses frames from WARN or Bombardier.

Jim is always thinking up something new and is trying to figure out how to make it work with a John Deere Gator. The Gator is about 12 inches wider than the snowblower. Of course this is not what they are made for, at least not yet. He’s picturing one of our Gators with a Curtis Cab and the Berco snowthrower going out to battle a winter storm. If you would like to see more ATV snow blower details, check out our web page: http://www.jimsrepairjimstractors.com/atv-snowblower.htm

This past year we have been expanding our web site and the information, services, and equipment we offer. It’s been an exciting change and a lot to learn. I (Bonnie) have been taking online classes and learning to make our web site, http://www.jimsrepairjimstractors.com, more professional and easy to use.

New for Jim is offering free outdoor equipment technical support. While he has always helped people repair garden tractors and other equipment while talking to them on the telephone and with e-mails, he is doing a lot more of it now. He doesn’t know all of the answers but he knows quite a bit, and he loves those garden tractors! A few times we have looked to the Yahoo garden tractor forums to get more ideas from guys who also love working on garden tractors and the attachments. I will add some links here to the many forums, it’s a good resource.

Even though it may seem the blog will only be about garden tractors, we’ll talk about some of the questions Jim gets e-mailed to him every day about all kinds of outdoor equipment and small engines.

So check back soon!