I know that the OP has made his decision so the discussion is pretty much over, but little was said about the DR lawn vacs and I have some experience that I'd like to share for those going through this same decision process.
I bought the largest model DR at the time I was in the market seven years ago, the DR Pro-XL. My tractor is a JD 1023E with a three-point hitch, so it seemed like a good fit, and I needed something big, as my username implies, I have 5 acres or so of fields/lawns surrounded by trees and clearing all those leaves was a pain. I also sometimes end up with much taller than ideal "grass" in the fields, and sometimes have to pick it up as it won't mulch and disappear.
In general, the DR has worked well. The engine starts and runs reliably, though the battery died and I never replaced it because the starter or start switch had quit working. I never looked into why, though, as it starts on the second pull every time. Recently, one of the muffler bolts just spontaneously broke off with not so much as hint of warning, so the muffler is hanging with just one nut/bolt. No biggie as long as I keep that one nut tight and don't break it off. It's kind of a big disassembly if I ever do lose that second muffler bolt as the blower housing is right next to the muffler and would have to be removed.
I do have two bigger concerns with my DR, though. The first is that my 1023 diesel engine is reasonably powerful and if I do something silly like drive under the clothes line with the roll bar up, I don't even know that the lines got snagged until I see the clothesline 4x4 support poles snapped off dragging behind me. So, what has this got to do with the DR Vac? Remembering that mine is 7 years old I'll put this out there not knowing if the current offerings are still made the same way.
The trailer bed on the DR is plastic. That plastic is somewhat brittle, and very unforgiving. The trailer does follow the tractor, but not in exactly the same path, particularly if you're in a turn. I have had 2-3 instances where the front corner of the trailer has "bumped" into something, like a support post or a tree, and the tractor doesn't even slow down or shudder because the trailer bed breaks easily when struck. I had to repair the trailer two or three times before I learned to be more cautious cornering with the trailer. Also, the floor of the trailer broke where it's hinged to the frame. That happened when I dumped a heavy load and the trailer dumped too hard. Another repair job. All the fixes on the trailer bed left it slightly distorted. This meant that the output chute from the discharge of the motor driven vacuum/shredder didn't reach the trailer's canvas enclosure reliably and I had to extend it so that it wouldn't keep disconnecting and showering me with shredded leaves or mulched grass.
My other issue with this big XL unit is that you need to be very aware of how much grass you capture in the trailer before you empty it. Green grass can be heavy. On the PRO-XL, the trailer and canvas cover are pretty big. If you get too much green grass into the trailer it will pile up against all four sides of the canvas cover. To dump the trailer, you have to release it and it lowers the rear of the trailer to inches off the ground. You then go to the rear and have to lift up on a bar attached to the frame of the trailer cover. If you get too much grass in the trailer, the weight of the heavy green grass tends to transfer to the rear (low) end of the trailer. That causes the canvas cover to bulge out and a LOT of weight can now be pressing on the rear of the cover that you have to lift. More than once I've taken one loop of the field too many and not been able to raise the trailer cover and ended up having to pull grass out handfuls at a time until I could get some of the pressure off the rear of the trailer cover and be able to lift the cover.
Am I glad that I have the lawn vac? Absolutely. Would I buy another DR. I don't know. I'd consider it and the other offerings and see what the pros and cons are of each, particularly now that I have 7 years of experience with mine. I probably would not buy the PRO-XL again given the occasional, but very frustrating and time-consuming problems with emptying it. Larger is fine for dry leaves, but if like me you sometimes or often want to also pick up a large area of grass, the large size can become a big disadvantage if you're not really diligent.
Sorry about being so wordy. Hope someone finds this helpful in some way.
