Well, let me use car terms, since I have all the time in the world now, I'm not buying the Caddy if a Chevy will do. Sooo ........... I will scout the area, and find the closest place that can service it if I have a need to call them. That will be where I buy whatever they sell. Frank -----Original Message----- From: Mongar, Brian <Brian.Mongar@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Fri, Jan 15, 2010 12:26 pm Subject: [elky] Re: update Though I understand the cost is definitely apparent and somewhatsignificant, the Zero Turn Mower will make your life mowing 100% more enjoyable,unless you like backtracking and spending a lot of time on your tractor. Mowed with dads Craftsman a few times over the summers when he was out of town,its nice, but the ExMark Lasers I used to use made mowing perfect stripes andaround landscaping, trees, under bushes etc almost worry free, it is so easy tosteer those. Dads tractor is much better than the old one we had growing upthough, so those have come a long way too, and I believe he bought one of thecheaper ones from Sears- has had it 5 years now and only had to put a newbattery in it, and that was operator error. He has about an acre of mowing areathat takes about an hour to mow, I think he has a 46 inch tractor. I know nothing about the quality of the ones at Home Depot orlowes. Another good friend of mine and I were talking the other day, he waslooking at a turbo diesel Zero turn mower that was like $15,000 but would mowat almost 2 times the speed of the one he has now, and it is pretty fast. For most residential lots I would guess that is pointless but in commercialgrounds, would make things much more efficient. From:elky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:elky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of MaryMcCarthy Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 11:15 AM To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [elky] Re: update excellentadvice Jim. Twothings you want are easy steering and a deck that is a manageable size. We went with a slightly smaller one because we cut around so many trees. If you are just doing a large, flat area, larger will be quicker. And youshould also look into what attachments are available and how easy they are toconnect. Because we have a pair of Craftsman the attachments areinterchangeable (many are universal and will hook to other tractors,too). We have a cart (for hauling stuff from here to there), a spreader,and a grass catcher. If you have to clear your driveway of snow, you'llwant a plow. We can't burn during the summer so we also have a small woodchipper for brush. Whatever you end up with be sure it will meet all yourneeds, now and in the future. Ithink what surprised us was how much equipment we needed going from city tocountry. We went through several brush cutters before investing in aStihl. And chain saws. Is your lot wooded or cleared? yeah,we are all living through your move. New is always good. Mary Depending on how level your sod is, will kinda determine just howbig a deck you can efficiently use. I use a 54, 60, and 72 decks..andwish I had a 144” (some day) flex wing. I’ve also got some40-48”. The smaller they are, the less scalping they do, overstating the obvious, eh ? My front decks are the most efficient at mowingand trimming around stuff.. 2X as fast as a tractor belly deck. Money isgoing to play a big factor in your compromise as it does all of us. I can tellyou that a compact tractor will be invaluable if you have an acreageneeding mowing, rock and soil moving, tree planting/removal, etc. a 3 ptfinish mower on the back will be easy to hook up and quick to use.. mows thebig areas fast. Get a smaller front deck for around the house , circlingthe trees for the trimming, the CUT will let you mount a tiller, etc forall those home improvement dirt related projects as well… log splitterfor firewood.. the list is endless and goes on and on. Plus the littlediesel will have enough power to run a generator on the pto so you can havepower during the ice storm outages.. I agree the JD green paint will be the highest priced.. the Kubotaand kioti are good values.. mahinda has a good rep, and the bobcat cut’sare built by kioti. I’m big on the hydro trans for ease of use forboth you and Dorothy. How many acres with the house ? do you have a hard surfaceroad adjoining ? and hard surface driveway ? city or rural water ? nat gas, propane or elec ? Hey, we’re all living vicariously thru your epic move<G> Jim The guy with lots’_0_questions