luoisz
New member
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2002
- Messages
- 14
- Location
- Southern Mississippi
- Tractor
- AC 7020; JD 2355,Yanmar YM180D; Ford 1220
My waiting for a finishing mower is over. I have been waiting since November to get a new model RFM from JimMc at Midwest. Their mower will not be ready until late April and I could not wait that long. My long wait is over as I have went to plan B and bought a Landpride FDR 1660. I have been gathering information for months and have inspected several mowers and the Landpride won the contest hands down. I cannot see what is so great about the First Choice mower that everyone is so high on. Granted the First Choice has a good paint job, but Landpride beats the FC in all other areas.
I have had the opportunity to mow my 3-acre yard with the new LP mower. LP has the highest blade speed of all of the mowers that I compared. The high blade speed is very obvious when the mower is running. This mower has a distinct hum from all of the airflow generated by the high-speed blades. The high speed of the blades did a great job cutting the tender green blue grass that grows in my area in early spring. All other mowers that I have used delivered an inferior cut on this type grass. The high blade speed is not free however. It takes a good deal of tractor horsepower to spin the blades that fast. My tractor has to work much harder to turn the mower than other mowers that I have used. Although my grass should have been mowed 2 weeks sooner, there was no evidence of any clippings from the rear discharge unit. I rate the quality of the finished cut as superior.
I have only 1 item of disappointment with this mower. While this mower is 50# lighter than a Farm King and Bushhog, it handles very heavy. It appears that the mower sits farther behind the tractor than the other 2 mowers. I will have to use front weights to keep my tractor from rearing up while going uphill. I wanted to get pneumatic tires with my mower but all of the dealers were carrying hard rubber tires only. I was concerned that these tires would yield a rough ride and dig into the turf when changing directions. Neither of these concerns were obvious on my first use; I may learn to like the hard tires as flats will never be a problem.
I paid $1195 for the mower, which I feel, was a good price. Prices quoted to me ranged from $1125 - $1450 for this unit. Shop around. Most dealers were asking $1300 for this unit. I got a price from an out of state dealer of $1125. I confronted my local dealer with this price and he agreed to cut his price $100 if I bought from him. I paid the extra $70 over the out of state deal to avoid the hassle. Dealer and I are both happy with the arrangement, he agreed that he would rather make a small profit than none. $1195 is the best price that I received on a FC mower. Considering price and quality FC is not even a consideration. FC advertises a 3/16” deck as does LP. Take a caliper with you when you shop and it will be obvious that FC is not 3/16”. Also listen as the mower runs, the sound of the blades is obvious that they are turning much faster. While I am sure that the LP uses some imported parts, such as a gearbox. It is mostly made in the USA, something that I am very proud of.
I realize that 1 use is not sufficient to completely judge a piece of equipment, but thus far I am completely satisfied.
I have had the opportunity to mow my 3-acre yard with the new LP mower. LP has the highest blade speed of all of the mowers that I compared. The high blade speed is very obvious when the mower is running. This mower has a distinct hum from all of the airflow generated by the high-speed blades. The high speed of the blades did a great job cutting the tender green blue grass that grows in my area in early spring. All other mowers that I have used delivered an inferior cut on this type grass. The high blade speed is not free however. It takes a good deal of tractor horsepower to spin the blades that fast. My tractor has to work much harder to turn the mower than other mowers that I have used. Although my grass should have been mowed 2 weeks sooner, there was no evidence of any clippings from the rear discharge unit. I rate the quality of the finished cut as superior.
I have only 1 item of disappointment with this mower. While this mower is 50# lighter than a Farm King and Bushhog, it handles very heavy. It appears that the mower sits farther behind the tractor than the other 2 mowers. I will have to use front weights to keep my tractor from rearing up while going uphill. I wanted to get pneumatic tires with my mower but all of the dealers were carrying hard rubber tires only. I was concerned that these tires would yield a rough ride and dig into the turf when changing directions. Neither of these concerns were obvious on my first use; I may learn to like the hard tires as flats will never be a problem.
I paid $1195 for the mower, which I feel, was a good price. Prices quoted to me ranged from $1125 - $1450 for this unit. Shop around. Most dealers were asking $1300 for this unit. I got a price from an out of state dealer of $1125. I confronted my local dealer with this price and he agreed to cut his price $100 if I bought from him. I paid the extra $70 over the out of state deal to avoid the hassle. Dealer and I are both happy with the arrangement, he agreed that he would rather make a small profit than none. $1195 is the best price that I received on a FC mower. Considering price and quality FC is not even a consideration. FC advertises a 3/16” deck as does LP. Take a caliper with you when you shop and it will be obvious that FC is not 3/16”. Also listen as the mower runs, the sound of the blades is obvious that they are turning much faster. While I am sure that the LP uses some imported parts, such as a gearbox. It is mostly made in the USA, something that I am very proud of.
I realize that 1 use is not sufficient to completely judge a piece of equipment, but thus far I am completely satisfied.