Bobcat CT230

[unclesalty]

Originally Posted by vpnwiz

It was a mistake on my part. I only have to mow about 2 acres but I wanted an all-in-one machine for my back property (rough woods) and finished areas with lots of curves. I use my tractor a lot more in the back, so to mow I need to unhook the FEL, drive into the barn and hook up the mower, mow, then reverse all that again. I would have been better off with a 3 pt finish mower or buying a separate cheap used riding lawn mower.

It is easy to put in and take off, but it's still a lot easier to hook up to a 3pt.

I'm thinking about a belly mower for my 225. Are you saying it wont work with the loader attached? Or is it just too bulky. I will be mowing 5 acres and I use the loader dailey to remove manure from the barn. I dont realy want to remove either attachment frequently. These 2 tasks are what I will use the tractor for 95% of the time.

[IslandTractor]

Sometimes people choose a MMM because they don't want a relatively long rear finish mower or bush hog attached to the tractor. Sometimes MMM is chosen for the simple (bad) reason that almost all of us grew up with riding mowers and have graduated to tractors so it seems a natural choice. Given the disadvantages of MMM though you might consider a third option such as a flail mower. They only stick out about three feet or less past the 3PT hitch and also can be offset to help get close to trees/bushes etc. Heavy duty flails are very expensive (and not necessary for routine mowing) but light or medium duty flails cost about the same as a decent RFM or brand name rotary cutter. Lots to read on TBN about flail mowers to help decide if they are right for you.

[vpnwiz]

Originally Posted by unclesalty

I'm thinking about a belly mower for my 225. Are you saying it wont work with the loader attached? Or is it just too bulky. I will be mowing 5 acres and I use the loader dailey to remove manure from the barn. I dont realy want to remove either attachment frequently. These 2 tasks are what I will use the tractor for 95% of the time.

Oh no, it works just fine with the loader and gives it a good low counterbalance too. It also makes it quite a lot easier getting on and off the tractor. My problem is I need the ground clearance back in the woods. I am working on building a road back there but that's quickly turning into a story of what not to do.

Island I think I'm just stuck with what I chose. The belly mower was not cheap (~$3k) and I am not interested in spending that much to save an hour when I mow. If I'd known when I put the order in... oh well. If I ever need to upgrade I will choose better.

[unclesalty]

Thanks for the info..I just started digging into the flail thread. I am having bobcat replace my tractor, I recieved the 25hp older version and they are replacing it with the 27hp this week. The options on the table were they were either finding me a new tractor or giving me the belly mower. (I already have the mid pto). They found a tractor in oklahoma and its being shipped to me this week.
I'm liking the idea of the flail mower, 1/2 mower 1/2 bushhog. I'm not so sure about the light duty bestem's though. I wish we had a agri supply here in fl. The tractor supply store locally is pretty clueless about tractor equipment.
Thank god for this forum!

[chazzy]

Originally Posted by IslandTractor

Given the disadvantages of MMM though you might consider a third option such as a flail mower. They only stick out about three feet or less past the 3PT hitch and also can be offset to help get close to trees/bushes etc. Heavy duty flails are very expensive (and not necessary for routine mowing)

So, true about the flail mower. I have one made by New Holland, 918H - 72" Heavy Duty model. I heard that a new one would cost about $6000, but it came with my used tractor when I bought it for only $1000. It weighs a ton and the "minimum required PTO" HP is something like 27 or 30 (I forgot...). My 35 HP tractor can do the job but I wish I have a higher HP tractor when I use this flail mower.