John Deere 300 series vs the competition VHS (1999)

Comparison of the John Deere 300 series garden tractors (325/335/345/355D) vs the Cub Cadet 3185, Toro Wheel Horse 518xi, and Kubota TG1860G.
As a Deere fan, I love how laughably biased this video is. Things that are clearly misrepresented, certain things that aren't compared, or just grabbing at straws in some cases against the other machines.
The tape is screwed up at the end so it cuts off abruptly but it was at the end anyway.

[@TheHomePros6221]

Back when things were made well and social media didn’t exist….. I miss those days

[@JesseCase]

I bet they are not so proud of that hood nowadays as they were in this video!

[@YMF1891]

I love the time capsule effect of watching vhs tapes from the 80's and 90's.

[@clayson187]

I love my GX345, but Deere was kidding themselves talking up the quality of those hoods! 🤣

[@LukesJohnDeereGarage]

Pretty funny "comparison" and I'm a Deere guy as well. I have a 345 in my collection and I'm not so sure the plastic hood is as good an idea as they think... Thanks for sharing!

[@JDTricycler]

One of my favorite things from all the Deere L&GT promotional material from the 90s I've seen is how hard they try to sell people on the plastic hoods. Nowadays they seem to have it down and the hoods are a lot better, but back then....not so much. And I say that as someone whose favorite era of Deere L&GTs was the 80s and 90s.

[@LukesJohnDeereGarage]

@@JDTricycler For sure. And the quality differs a lot by model too. The X595, for example, has a super thick and somewhat flexible plastic hood, that's unlikely to break. The older LX (especially the 100's) and GT/GX series had some of their worst plastics in my opinion.

[@roveradventures]

My 67 110 has a fiberglass hood. I'm fairly surprised besides one spot. It looks almost new. Positive it's original too. My dad's 425...the side panel one one side is fairly rough lol.

[@trevorn9381]

@@JDTricycler I got my GX 345 for practically nothing because the hood was busted all to hell and had been taped up with duct tape and it looked like a piece of junk. I gladly paid the owner the pittance was asking for this machine that I knew sold for $8,000 new and went down to the Deere dealer and ordered a brand new hood for it. I put a coat of car wax on fender deck and it looked new. When this one breaks I will go buy another one. I suspect that GX 345 will outlast me. It is a really nice machine, as are the older 18HP 345s that had a fatal flaw, plastic cam gears that disintegrate at 600 hours or so. Sadly most people scrap these wonderful machines when the cam gears break, even though it is a fairly easy fix to install replacement metal cam gears.

[@firenado4295]

yeah, on my gx355d the hood cracked up on the underside when I sat on it as a kid. Now those cracks are coming through and a big chunk ripped off in my hand as i opened the bonnet. However the thing is 20 years old now and showing its age now since its not had a day of maintenance in its life, not a bearing greased and only one oil change. It still goes though and after I replace all the bearings in the deck and the belts too and probably a touchup with some paint it would look and feel new again. However I live in the UK and parts are even more overpriced than they would be normally so who know when that will all happen.

[@sancoffsr]

I have a 325 26 years old just tuned it up for spring

[@jerryloo416]

I Just bought a 325 (1998) as well. my 1st real Mower--$2,300 /315 hours. runs and cuts like a dream!

[@killercan10]

I love my Deeres, but those Toro Wheel Horse 5XXI tractors are absolutely beautiful. Something about the looks of them I just love. Actually, most of those 90s-20000s Toro Wheel Horse tractors are awesome.

[@trucks_n_tractors_6335]

I own 2 1991 wheel horse 212-5’s which are small lawn tractors and are really too small for my needs but nonetheless the 38 inch deck and 12.5 onan vertical shaft engine just keep working. Both tractors probably have somewhere around 800 hours on them

[@bioreaper9830]

I bought a 355 in 2006. My neighbor got a cub the same year. 1 acre lawns. I do snow removal, he does not. He is well into his 2nd mower. Mine is barely broke in. Value in this case goes to Deere!

[@javman6022]

The 345 is one of the best garden tractors ever made. Just wish they plastic hood was metal reinforced like the earlier 320 plastic hood was. I have a 320 and 345 and the 320 hood is much stronger.

[@jerrysgardentractorsengine2243]

Laughing my ass off at the baseball bat 😂. Makes me wonder how many hoods they accidentally smashed when they were filming that part

[@javman6022]

The plastic hoods were strong and flexible when new but they didn't take into consideration how brittle they get with age.

[@michaelbenoit248]

javman, then they continue to use em for the same excuse. Then when they break it’s $600-800 to replace. They solved a problem no one was asking to fix. Just an excuse to cut costs.

[@bensvintagetractors7919]

And what happens when you sneeze in the same room as a Deere plastic hood?? They shatter into some lovely Deere confetti….

[@azaleaoutdoors8109]

I have a 345. Thanks for sharing!

[@bradleyphillips204]

As far as compact tractors Kubota may give them a run for their money but for years John Deere has gotten the market on lawn and garden tractors with hydraulics and power steering. Back then being the 300 to 400 series like the 425 445 and 455. Today being the x500 and x700 series. Almost no comparison if you're doing grass and snow 👌

[@rickclark8946]

the hood on my 345 broke to pieces ? i found them of poor quality but still one hell of a mower

[@rmp3648]

"The John Deere deck adjustment is in 1/4 inch increments" then it shows 1/2 inch and slams the competition LOL. And I love my 325.

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

The hydraulic lift on the toro is loud because its parker electric over hydraulic actuators.

[@lawnchaser]

You may not be able to dent those hoods brand new. But overtime, theyll break like glass

[@thomassmith8156]

John deere's hoods and bumpers guaranteed to crack!No comparison to steel just a desperate attempt at marketing a bad idea.A flexible hood would have been way better but deere chose to use a very brittle plastic.Otherwise a good machine,but when that plastic cracks it looks like hell.

[@JDTricycler]

Yup, definitely agree. If you find a machine from the 90s/early 2000s with a hood thats NOT broken or cracked its a miracle lol. At least the newer stuff is much better, most likely because they probably got too many complaints lol.

[@rickcoleman8903]

Can't say a plastic cam was a good idea on my 320 and found sump bolts loose leading to coolant system failure to the sump.

[@rmp3648]

Guarantee my 325 hood breaks with the ball bat trial! My first hood cracked when I pulled to open it. Now I grab it by the sides to open it.

[@JesseCase]

I noticed that every time they would talk about the Kubota features that were just like theirs they were quite quick to just mention it and then move on, lol! Plus Kubota really did cut out all the unneeded BS when it came to engine choices. Between a liquid cooled Kwikasaki and a liquid cooled Kubota diesel. It doesn't get any better than that! Those two are all any man needs. I believe I'll go with the Kubota on this one! Plus they are orange as we all know that all tractors should be. Orange Tractor Pride!!!

[@michaelbenoit248]

I’m a Deere guy, but I’d have to agree with you. The Kawasaki motors are good, but known for cracking plastic camshaft gears. JD plastic hoods were a crappy way to cut costs. I’ll take the Kubota Dsl on this one.

[@rickclark8946]

now on the GX 345 the steering was garbage got it fixed but didnt help so i fixed it my self by just adding a brace now its 23 years old with no hood and still runs like a deer

[@jeffcarpenter5147]

I wonder how a Simplicity Sovereign would fare ?

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

I love how they showed the john deere seat as a competitors that was bad.

[@JDTricycler]

The Hydraulic lift comparison is what takes the cake for me. The Toro's lift is bad because it makes noise? So what? Also the part of the guy trying to use the Cub's cruise control is so clearly not using it properly on purpose when you look at it.

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

@@JDTricycler yeah your right, who cares about noise? No one! And the cub they were trying to make you think it was a push button but its a lift handle. Just obviously rigged. The cub cadet 2500 series is still better than these jds and these 300 series were a huge step back. I hope you can find a cub vhs some day! I found one on ebay for $8.70! But didnt pull the trigger yet.

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

@@JDTricycler Another thing for me was the transmission comparisons. Never talked about the actual power/showed what it can do under a load in mowing or doing tilling or pulling a plow. And how does IT STOPS FASTER makes it BETTER? Also belt drive is better than shaft drive? What world is that true? Its like in the John Deere saber video when they compared it to the Cub Cadet 2185, 2 totally different classes of machines, the deck on the 2185 is better built, the BDU10L is 4 times the transmission that the k66 is, the engine is better made, the frame is heavier, it can pull a plow better. I mean they should have compared the saber to a gt3000 craftsman. Thats a way more fair comparison. The 2500/2000 series is comparable to the 300 series and up, and the 3000 series is comparable to the 400 and 500 series(super garden tractors). So IMO it should have been for a more fair comparison the 300 series vs the Cub 2000 series, the toro 5xi/500 series toro and lower classic toros, and kubota t1860 i believe the tractor was they had. Cause actually the cub out of ALL of them has the strongest transmission, heaviest frame, best engines, and best mower deck design, they also had electric sleeve hitches with 30 inch tillers that can pull a plow better than the others. The toro is second. The toro actually has a weaker transmission than the cub cadet believe it or not! I did all the research and compared the 2 and the toro isn’t as strong or well built as the cub transmission. The frame is really nice, great engines, and good decks. 3rd is the Deere. Ill give it credit its a good machine just not as good as the toro and cub. 4th is the Kubota. Kubota kinda drops the ball cause there own made transmissions don’t hold up well and aren’t very strong. The Saber vs the gt3000 the gt3000 wins in a slight victory. Better engines on the GT, transmissions on the gt3000 and saber GT are equivalent. And the frames on the GT is a little nicer. The deck goes to Deere, there very nicely built but not as nice as the 2000 series. And belts aren’t stronger than steel. Deere can think what they want but its not true. Then the 3000 series vs the 400 series. I know i sound bias cause i do own a cub cadet 2500 series and its my pride and joy (RIP Stevie Ray Vaughan) my favorite garden tractor of all time is tied between the GT2544 and 782 But the modern garden tractors and even the old ones as the new cub cadets with shaft drive use just as strong transmissions, the 3000 series wins this battle. First is the Cast Iron transmission on the cub vs aluminum on the Deere. Next is torque of the trannys at over 700ftlbs on the cub and 650ftlbs on the Deere. Both have hydraulics but the cub has 3 levers and the Deere has 2. Next is loader ability, the cub had a kwik way loader I’m not sure about the Deere so if I’m wrong I’m sorry. Both had cat 0 and 1 3 points and sleeve hitches available. The cub had Kohler command and Kawasaki vs Kawasaki and yanmar diesel. IMO the cub wins engines. Next is frames, cub has a 9 gauge steel fully welded frame vs the 400 series which has i think 10. Both have diff lock. Both have very nice decks but the cub does have stripping kits built in. Both have power steering. And I believe the cub is the only one with tilt wheel. Cast iron front axles for both. Bigger tires on the Deere. Bigger axle shafts on the cub. Fully shaft drive on both. Metal hood on cub vs plastic on deere, so cub wins again! So in all 3 comparisons deere lost. To me that just shows how hard they tried to make sure they won. Anyway i hope your having a fantastic day my friend. And hopefully there will be some new vids soon!?

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

@@JDTricycler sorry that last comment was so long, basically i was comparing the specs of what i thought were comparable model tractors and the deere never one accept for it almost won the sabre vs gt3000 craftsman competition.

[@jhomrich89]

If anyone thinks you're paying for a name with John Deere go tell me how many of the other brands mentioned here are still out there performing or furthermore if one of these comes up for sale they're still trading hands for 2 to 3 grand, can't say that about the other ones unless it's the diesel model

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

I’m puzzled by the comparison of a 300 series JD to a Toro 518xi. 518xi would be a series comparable to the JD 400 series. I have Toro 520xi, 522xi and 520Lxi which were built well but Toro should have went farther offering rear 3pt, locking differential and auxiliary hydraulics. L&R individual rear brakes would have been nice.

[@JDTricycler]

I thought the same thing. Both the Toro and the Cub were competitors to the 400 series and later the X series. I'm a Deere guy but between a 300 series or 5xi I'd definitely take a 5xi.

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

@@JDTricycler Agreed, the 2000 series from cub was the competitor to the 300 series deeres.

[@MrLancem943]

Deere hoods the only hoods that don't last

[@ccroson7935]

I was hoping that this would be a comparison between the John Deere 300 garden tractor and all the other tractors but this is for the 300 series which is junk compared to the 300 garden tractor I don’t understand why this video even exists but whatever

[@sheamileto3358]

Tricycler do you have any on the JX85 from back then?

[@JDTricycler]

I do not unfortunately. I'd really love to find one on the old 14/JX series walk behind mowers, so if I ever do I'll definitely upload it!

[@sheamileto3358]

@@JDTricycler what other ones do you have?

[@kajlerdog628]

My neighbor has a kubota tg1860g

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

This is a very unfair comparison. It’s obvious deere is going to win there bias. But the should have compared the toro 300 or 400 series, the cub 2000 series, and the same Kubota to the deere. Thats more what the 300 series was equivalent too. The deere 400 series is more equivalent to the cub 3000 series and toro 5xi series.

[@JDTricycler]

I feel the exact same way! I'm a Deere guy but if I had to choose between the Toro 5xi or Cub 3000 series vs the Deere 300 series I'd definitely pick the Cub or especially the Toro. They're both heavier duty machines that take larger mower decks and heavier attachments.

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

@@JDTricycler Thank you! Finally someone who is a deere guy but understands that they arent comparing fairly and always better! I dont know if i would take the 300 series over the 2500 series either! The 2500 series has a more powerful transmission than the 300 series (k72) and the toro 5xi! And yes i agree they have heavier decks and attachments as well. Also this comparison they lied about the fact that the cub has a “spot welded and bolted frame” when they showed where the bumper attaches but there actually 9 gauge steel fully welded frames. You just gained a subscriber my friend keep posting these awesome videos! (Idk if i can but can i request the 2000 series cub cadet operators guide vhs?)

[@JDTricycler]

@@JoshAllen17Goated Well Deere's marketing team wouldn't be doing their jobs if the Deere didn't win every time, even for silly reasons now would they? ;) Personally I've never been a huge fan of the 325/345/etc even though they are good machines. Deere took a huge step backward when they went to them from the old 300 series (316/318/322/332). Plus, for what the 345s sold for you could either get a heavier duty but still well made machine from a different brand (345 was nearly $8k in 1999! Toro 520xi was almost $2k cheaper or a 520Lxi Kawasaki was the same price) or jump up to a 425 for around $1500 more. When the 300 series became the X500 series (X520/X534/X540/etc) I think they became a more appealing machine. More options, more models to choose from, and I think they bridged the gap better between the smaller X300 lawn tractors and the heavy duty X700 series. Unfortunately I do not have an Cub Cadet VHS videos but am always looking! :)

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

@@JDTricycler i couldnt have said it better myself.

[@coltermoore9217]

I'd still take the shaft drive 3185 or the Toro 518xi over the Deere

[@JoshAllen17Goated]

2000 series cubs were way heavier duty than the 300 series as well

[@greasywrenchgarage3152]

The hoods are the worst part of these tractors. whack it with a bat? never!! to break these things all ya gotta do is let it slam shut too hard a couple times. I am a Deere fan boy, but this video is pretty cringe worthy.. lol. and where was Simplicity?