Right Tractor for Woods RM990?

   / Right Tractor for Woods RM990? #21  
What about the woods MD80? seems like a purpose designed rugh mower with 2 heads (vs the 3 that the RM990 has) about the same weight etc..

I am struggling over getting a 6 or 7' rotary "brush hog" unit due to the length behind the tractor, (I would also perfer a rear discharge)

Kubota 4330, 4 in 1 bucket, love it so far.
 
   / Right Tractor for Woods RM990? #22  
The MD80 looks like a rugged unit - the blades are 3/8" x 3" - more massive than the RM990 blades (1/4" x 2"). The spindle rpm is lower than the RM990. I think it would be a great tool for grinding up fruit tree pruning brush, might not leave quite as clean a finish on grass.

Not sure if the MD80 is as full-floating ? A useful feature of the 990 is the four castor setup. The 3-pt hitch links pivot up and down, so the mower can roll along following the contour of the land, independent of the tilt of the tractor.
 
   / Right Tractor for Woods RM990? #23  
RickB,

Thanks for your input on Wood's Product line. I have owned and used a 990 since 1994 and for the most part have been happy with it, though there are a few things I would "improve" on.

First, they should ship with a clutched drive shaft vs the shear pin, we are deep in the heart of fire ant country and any good mound would shear the pin when pulled with my dad's Ford 1910 <~30hp, so you can imagine how bad it was behind the JD5300 ~50pto. Had to upgrade the shaft to get any mowing done.

Second, they should have overlapped the pattern of the blades more to help with the striping that occurs when the blade tips start to dull which happens faster than one would want to believe possible, refer to fire ant comment above.

Third, is the blade pin system and the difficulty of getting to the bolt heads. Just this last couple of weeks I have had the dubious pleasure of dealing with one of them twisting off flush with the blade bar. I think it will work once I take care of the long term effects of the fourth issue.

Fourth, Their paint prep, durabilty, and quality leaves a lot to be desired. Most cheap brush cutters I have seen have better paint. While cleaning up the deck to reinstall the spindle (it was the center spindle that had the twisted bolt, meaning complete removal of the gearbox and mounting plate assembly) I discovered the deck so weakended by the rust that it has cracks and the center spindle would probably not have made it through this summer before coming out, so I am now faced with repairing this mess.

Fifth, After looking at a new unit I see they still have not figured out how or realized the need to seal the belt area up so that it does not fill up with grass clippings, leading to accelerated paint failure and premature rusting out, if one doesn't pull the covers and clean it out after every couple of mowings. Unfortunately, my unit has had to live exposed to rain for the last few years due to loss of shed space, which has served to exacerbate this issue. Now I am possibly faced with the issue of a replacement deck or entire new unit and I fear that anything less rugged will not hold up to mowing the areas I use this thing on.
 
 
 
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