72" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

[glennmac]

72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

I am interested in the design and the ease of attach/detach on the 72" belly mowers that go on both the Kubota L3X10's and on the JD 4300/4400.

Are there rotating guage wheels on all 4 corners of the decks, so that you can easily roll the deck around? Or are there only rotating guage wheels on the front with non-rotating antiscalp wheels on the rear? The former kinds of decks usually rest with their full weight on the ground when in use, whereas the latter kind are usually partially suspended from the tractor when in use. The four corner wheel design makes the 72" belly deck on the 2910 much easier to manipulate than the 60" deck that goes on the 2910.

How would you estimate the ease of attach/detach? Do you use the loader to lift the front wheels, or drive over the deck, or can you manipulate the deck under the tractor without doing either of these maneuvers.

 

[MJB]

Re: 72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

I have the 60" mid mower on my 4300 but the design is very similar to the 72" unit. The owners manual I have covers both models. The rear gauge wheels on both decks can be rotated sideways by pulling a pin, turning the wheel sideways and re-inserting the pin. The owners manual claims that either deck can be pulled out the side without lifting the front wheels of the tractor. The procedure involves turning the front wheels all the way to the left, removing the left front caster wheel on the deck, disconnecting the front and rear draft arms, disconnecting the lift links and mid-PTO shaft, then pulling the deck out the right side. With my 60" deck and R-4 tires I have found that it is not necessary to remove the left caster wheel or turn the front tractor wheels to the left. With a little practice I have reduced my change out time to less than 10 minutes. Both decks are "partially suspended" in that the cutting height is adjusted by a stop on the lift arms. The manual says that the gauge wheels should be set so that they are 1/8" to 1/4" off the ground when the tractor is on a hard flat surface. Hope this helps.

I love the smell of diesel in the morning. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[deere4600]

Re: 72" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

I have the 72" mower on my 4400 (I need to change my user name since I traded the 4600). Like any of the big decks you need to be on concrete to remove/install the deck. Once you have done once or twice it actually pretty easy. The part that I usually struggle with is attaching/detaching the pto shaft. The spring loaded pto knuckle almost requires two hands. But once the pto shaft is attached the rest works pretty well. The mower needs to attach and detach sliding left to right. I agree that it is about a 10 minute job.

 

[BruceW]

Re: 72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

Anybody with a L3010 taking their 72" deck on and off? I haven't removed mine yet and am a little hesitant as it weighs 570lbs and the rear mid scalp roller appears to be the support for the back and obviously it cannot swivel.

 

[glennmac]

Re: 72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

MJB and deere4600,

1. Can you lift and lower your belly deck independent of whether the 3ph is lifted and lowered?

2. Can you lock the deck in the highest up postion either hydraulically or mechanically or both?

3. What would be a realistic average time for the attachment and removal of your backhoe?

Thanks.

 

[deere4600]

Re: 72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

On the 4200-4400 tractors you can lift the mower independently of the three point hitch attachment. I have the 3rd Selective Control Valve which is a set of hydraulic couplers that runs to the rear of the tractor and is operated by a lever (rather flimsy because it is a cable operated system) on the right fender. You aren't required however to put the 3rd valve on to lift the mid mount mower. You can use the Dual Selective Control Valve that controls the the 4 hydraulic outlets that run to the right side of the tractor just in front of the hydro control. You need the 3rd control valve if you plan on having a loader and mid-mount mower installed at the same time. You can hold the mower up by using the hydraulic control valve or you can adjust the mower stop screw (left side just in front of the turning brakes) all the way in. This will hold the mower up and it will not drop. The mower can drop a little if you use the hydraulic control valve. My comments again are for the 4200-4400. The 4500-4700 are a little different as you use the three point hitch control to lift the mid-mount mower.

 

[MJB]

Re: 72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

Glenn:
Answers in the order in which the questions were asked:
1. The mower deck lift is completely independent of the 3ph on the 4200, 4300, and 4400. I believe that the 4500 thru 4700 use the 3ph to raise the deck. Somebody correct me if I am wrong about this. You can hook up the deck lift hydraulics to either the loader DSCV or preferably to the optional 3rd SCV. Getting the 3rd SCV also gives you a handy place to hook up a hydraulic top link or other remote cylinders if you are so inclined. The JDs also have an optional 4th and 5th SCV is you really want to go nuts.
2. Since the deck hydraulics are independent, the deck should stay at whatever level you set it at, although mine does leak down slowly. If you want to mechanically hold the deck all the way up you may be able to adjust the mechanical stop on the deck height screw to hold it at the top. I haven't actually tried that yet myself, so I don't know for sure if the stop has that much travel, although I suspect that it does.
3. If the backhoe is set down on a hard level surface I can connect or disconnect mine in well under 5 minutes without even getting off the tractor. The backhoe connection is what really sold me on the 4300. The hoe is held very close to the tractor, which I think is a big advantage over a 3ph hoe.
Hope this helps.

I love the smell of diesel in the morning. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MJB]

Re: 72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

Darn.. It looks like deere4600 can type alot faster than me. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif It looks like we agree on everything though.

I love the smell of diesel in the morning. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[glennmac]

Re: 72\" Belly Mowers for JD 4000 and Kubota 3X10

Thanks, guys. You are confirming my growing suspicions about who has the superior attachment designs.