The John Deere 420 has undergone a rebirth. Originally built as a farm tractor in 1956, the JD 420 weighed in at 3,250 lbs (or 1474 kg for those of you in Europe). It was equipped with a engine capable of producing just under 30 horsepower and was seen as a very good and reliable small tractor. It also came in a crawler verison, where instead of wheels, the 420 had tractors installed and had the option of a dozer like attachment. In 1958, John Deere ended production of this version of the 420.

However in 1983, the John Deere 420 was reborn as a large ride on lawnmower. It truly is a monster in the garden, pumping out 20 hp. While many large-garden, ride on lawn mowers these days boast around 10 hp and call themselves powerful, the 420 is on another level. The JD 420 converts this 20 hp into a top speed in forward of almost 11 mph and 4 mph in reverse making it a great lawnmower for large gardens or parks that have a lot of grass that needs cutting.

The 420 is not a small mower. It tips the scales at 913 lbs (414 kg) and has a wheel base of 52 inches (132cm) and slightly wider mowing deck.

This may put many people off from buying a John Deere 420 because they feel that it’s just too big and powerful for their gardening and lawn maintenance needs. However you’ll be glad to know that the 420 has an array of attachments such as front end loaders and snow blowers that can be added on to it for other uses.

Tractor review would recommend the John Deere 420 as a very useful and functional large garden tractor as it can be modified to include a snow blow or loader. Unfortunately it’s not the best for small gardens. If you have a small or medium sized garden, you may find that a smaller mower such as John Deere 318 to be better

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