You'll appreciate AWS every time you cut!
Written: Apr 15 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: AWS is a huge advantage on complex lot, wide cutting deck, automatic transmission
Cons: Big Bucks! Bumping the cutting deck can dislodge it from it's hangers
The Bottom Line: The best mower for complex cutting and maneouverability around, nice wide cut, Deere reliability, be prepared for higher initial cost.
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| Northern_sage's Full Review: John Deere Lawn Tractor |
I have a country place with five acres of rolling meadow with nearly a thousand small (2 foot) to large (10 foot) trees. Cutting the grass is a huge multi hour job due to the numerous trees to manouevre around. I needed a riding mower that could cut 1 to 2 foot high pasture grass, with as wide a swath as possible, that had a very tight turning radius.
I followed resale ads for riding mowers all winter and found that Deere depreciated the least. Further investigation revealed a cult following based on reliability and the lure of the famous yellow-green brand. You pay a premium for this.
The John Deere AWS LX277 basically adds All Wheel Steering to a mid size riding mower. The same mower without AWS is about $2000 (CDN) less. In 2000 I paid $6000 CDN (about $4000 US). The basic mower is a 17 hp mower with a 48" cutting deck, and automatic transmission. All wheel steering turns the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the front wheels. This creates a little more effort for steering which can be felt after several hours. But... It reduces the turning radius from 20 inches to 7", an astonishing amount when you are moving around complicated gardens, trees etc. This makes a huge difference to the amount of back and forth, time and steering effort to do the work without AWS.
Reliability in one year of heavy use has been fine. No problems. The wide cutting deck hangs on spring loaded metal hooks that I managed to dislocate by bumping up against fence posts as I cut along a fence. This aggravating condition required a major grunt to fix in the field by myself. I've also managed to tangle rope under the cutting deck when I cut too close to a braced tree. These mowers are heavy (667 lbs) and tough to lift without a jack or ramp. Extricating the rope was a a little tricky, but the engine wouldn't run with it wrapped around the cutting heads. The Deere dealer made a big point of the cast iron axles and heavy frame. He said that this combined with a stronger steering linkage and suspension made this mowers last 10 plus years as opposed to cheaper rivals. Especially if you put on a winter snow blade which required extra rear weights and tire chains. I'll take his word on that. However, my field is very bumpy and nothing feels loose or flimsy even though I'm bouncing at a fair speed.
All said, this has been an excellent purchase. Is it worth the extra money for AWS? Absolutely! It will retain higher resale value, and I appreciate it's ease of use every time I start it up, which is a lot.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Northern_sage
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Member: Nick
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 1 member
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