Larger finish mower

[Overtaxed]

I have a 72" rotary, but I have a lot of field that I'm mowing and would like to get a more even cut with a bit less time working the 3PT; I can get the rotary down low, but it's always a challenge to keep it from scalping. The land is almost all tree rows, so I have a ton of trees to get around,and my rotary is pretty much exactly the same width as the tractor, so more size would be nice too. The fields are bumpy, with an occasional rock, but they are not what I would consider "challenging terrain" for a mower, don't even hear the rotary back there unless I scalp 99% of the time.

Considering something like this

Caroni Estate Mower-TC 91NRSD Estate Mower |Caroni

Or something like this:

(Deposit) FMX-6Hs PTO finish mower with hydraulic side shift and side mowing disk

The hydro action the 2nd one would make it easier to go around the trees, and the "disk" portion is a cool idea, I'm almost wondering if that would keep me from having to take out my zero turn to trim around everything (which is a big job, 200 trees or so). But that design seems to be totally one off, so I have concerns about how well it's engineered. The Caroni is just a standard "big mower", but would love to hear any opinions, I'm worried with such a big deck, am I going to scalp a lot?

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

 

[Hughman]

I think you'll find with a RFM sitting on four wheels you will get a lot less scalping than you see with the RC. I used that logic when I bought my RFM last month (72" Landpride). Most of my lot is rolling hill side. It does a great job and I very happy I went with the RFM over the RC.

 

[Overtaxed]

I have a 72" rotary, but I have a lot of field that I'm mowing and would like to get a more even cut with a bit less time working the 3PT; I can get the rotary down low, but it's always a challenge to keep it from scalping. The land is almost all tree rows, so I have a ton of trees to get around,and my rotary is pretty much exactly the same width as the tractor, so more size would be nice too. The fields are bumpy, with an occasional rock, but they are not what I would consider "challenging terrain" for a mower, don't even hear the rotary back there unless I scalp 99% of the time.

Considering something like this

Caroni Estate Mower-TC 91NRSD Estate Mower |Caroni

Or something like this:

(Deposit) FMX-6Hs PTO finish mower with hydraulic side shift and side mowing disk

The hydro action the 2nd one would make it easier to go around the trees, and the "disk" portion is a cool idea, I'm almost wondering if that would keep me from having to take out my zero turn to trim around everything (which is a big job, 200 trees or so). But that design seems to be totally one off, so I have concerns about how well it's engineered. The Caroni is just a standard "big mower", but would love to hear any opinions, I'm worried with such a big deck, am I going to scalp a lot?

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Anyone have/use the Woodmaxx unit? That looks really nice, but I'd love to get some feedback, it's kind of an odd duck alone out there, I've never seen anything like it before.

 

[leonz]

Like anything else it all depends on what you want to spend or can spend.

You can purchase vineyard flail mowers with disc mowers to mow between
grape vines if you want and do the same with your trees as it uses limit
switches to control the disc mower.

 

[J W Bishop]

You can purchase vineyard flail mowers with disc mowers to mow between
grape vines if you want and do the same with your trees as it uses limit
switches to control the disc mower.

I was thinking the same thoughts about the vineyard mowers. I have used one at a local vineyard and it worked great around all those posts. Not really an odd duck.

 

[Overtaxed]

I was thinking the same thoughts about the vineyard mowers. I have used one at a local vineyard and it worked great around all those posts. Not really an odd duck.

Huh, well, looked them up and they do seem to be similar, but I can't find anyone else selling them in my area. You'd think this would be a "normal" thing, it seems useful as all he** for mowing around trees. Who doesn't have trees to mow around? So, what's the downside of them? Rough cut? The hydro stuff breaks? Just not sure why they aren't more common; I've never actually seen one, and I've seen a lot of farm equipment!

 

[leonz]

The nearest Vrisimo dealer can have one shipped in if you want one but
you may be better off buying a boom mounted flail mower that can be side
shifted if you have not pruned the pines to mow under them.

The rear mounted side shift flail mowers may not work well as they have a very short stroke
length limiting the amount of reach(stroke length)you have.

Another option would be the WeedBadger with disc mower head but having only 200 trees
to mow around would certainly affect your decision unless you wanted to get into custom mowing
and tilling work in local orchards and vineyards. They do not have a lot of parts and are all
hydraulic drive with either a manual side shift or a low voltage automatic limit switch controlled side
shifting option to weed and mow with it
============================================================================
The smallest Vrisimo or other brand vineyard flail mower with a disc mower head may be your best option to save all that trimming work and still have a forever mower to use for everything including heavy brush as the disc mower head can be removed on most of them to let you just use the flail mower.

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[TractorGuy]

Check out the 8' Agmate at Agri Supply.

 

[Overtaxed]

Check out the 8' Agmate at Agri Supply.

Yup, that one is on the list. Great price, looks like a decent mower. It's going to be that or the Woodmaxx side shift mower. The allure of not having to zig zag between trees is strong, I just wish someone had that thing and could provide some feedback on how well it works.

 

[houser52]

Overtaxed- What kind of trees are in those rows? How big are they?

The reason I'm asking is because I mowed in between my planted pines when they were young. In a few short years I couldn't even get the tractor in between the rows to mow. Most everything is shaded out now. I'd hate to see you spend money on a new mower only to get to use it a few years. If it's pecan or fruit trees I can understand the expense but something to consider.