1026r rear mower vs deck mower?

   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower? #1  

lindenj

New member
Joined
Mar 9, 2013
Messages
16
Location
Ashern MB Canada
Tractor
x300r
Hi guys,
First time on here.

I have been researching tractors on the web for a few months. I have an appt w/my JD salesman tomorrow to try a 1026r. From my many hours of reviewing and trying to justify the expense......I am confident I will be the proud owner of it tomorrow! I cannot wait. I have 3 acres of grass and much landscaping and tree placement to do. I do however think that the 60" rear rotary mower will be my choice over the deck mount. Much cheaper and less hassle w/hoses etc. Also, the deck unit and the loader cannot be used at the same time due to robbing of the hydraulic line. I will stand corrected on this, just an observation. I have small stumps and rocks also so the rotary should handle them better.
I am l@@king forward to all of your comments.

Thanks,
Linden
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower? #2  
I have a 21 HP Kubota that I have used both a MMM and a rear rotary mower with. I would go with the rear rotary if there are few obstacles. For a lawn with trees and other obstacles I prefer the MMM. The hydro-static trans is great. Mine is gear and I wish now that I had gone hydro. The JD that I drove was a disappointment because the loader hydraulics only operates in one direction at a time. Up, down, curl or dump. On my orange tractor I can lift and curl the bucket at the same time, or lower and dump at the same time. This is very handy in the operation of the FEL. The JD I drove did not have the weight or traction to push into a pile of dirt to fill the bucket as I am accustomed to. The 1026r has a mid PTO which I assume drives the MMM. Not familiar with the MMM using hydraulics except maybe to raise and lower the unit. My neighbor uses his with the MMM and FEL mounted at the same time on a regular basis. The MMM does interfere with dirt work and could easily hi center the tractor. I will say that my neighbors JD is easy to remove or attach the MMM. Much easier than my orange tractor. I have owned the B7510 for six years and have had it in many situations. I like more ground clearance than the JD has, but that would depend on how deep in the dirt you are going to work. If you just have a smooth level lawn the ground clearance should not be an issue.

Cheers and Good Luck
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower? #3  
Are you thinking of a 60" 3-point finishing mower (lawnmower) or a rotary cutter (brush hog)? Are you mowing law grass or field mowing?

I have a 3-point finish mower and love it. Yes, it swings out on corners but when you go in reverse you can steer the deck very accurately, like a front-mount commercial mower. On and off with quick hitch in under a minute is a huge plus for me with how I use my tractor.

Congrats on the new machine, I've only sat on a 1025r but I was impressed none the less.
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
I just had a couple acres of old trees cleared last fall on my property. As a result I have plenty of clean-up to do this spring. Rocks to pick, many small stumps 2-3" to level etc. Once I get it all landscaped, I will seed it and plant some nice trees....if the 1026r "dream" comes true...she will be a busy lil tractor this spring and summer. I am planning on a JOHN DEERE GM1060E GROOMING MOWER. It will no doubt get a bit of abuse until I get the small outgrowth cleaned up. I know the MMM is nice but is 3x the cost of the rear mower. My crystal ball also sees a landscape rake in the future. I can buy that and a couple other attachments for the savings on the rear mower vs the mmm. I also saw another neat attachment on the web...a ratchet rake.....man that thing looks awesome!
Thanks again!
LJ
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower? #5  
I just had a couple acres of old trees cleared last fall on my property. As a result I have plenty of clean-up to do this spring. Rocks to pick, many small stumps 2-3" to level etc. Once I get it all landscaped, I will seed it and plant some nice trees....if the 1026r "dream" comes true...she will be a busy lil tractor this spring and summer. I am planning on a JOHN DEERE GM1060E GROOMING MOWER. It will no doubt get a bit of abuse until I get the small outgrowth cleaned up. I know the MMM is nice but is 3x the cost of the rear mower. My crystal ball also sees a landscape rake in the future. I can buy that and a couple other attachments for the savings on the rear mower vs the mmm. I also saw another neat attachment on the web...a ratchet rake.....man that thing looks awesome!
Thanks again!
LJ
The thing is...........Either one will cut grass. There are benefits and drawbacks to each. Buy the one that suits your property the best.

I prefer my MMM, but that is because I have 3 buildings, 1 garden, 1 pond, 1 grape arbor and several trees to mow around. If my ground were pretty much open.....I would be all over the rear mower.

P.S. Everything I listed is on one acre, my other acre is wooded.
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower? #6  
I have both the landscape rake and ratchet rake. I have used the landscape rake as a blade - works fair. Not much call for it now. The ratchet rake is a nice tool but the 1026r will be too light weight to do much more than scratch the surface. You will need to add weight to the tractor, maybe load the tires, and use aggressive tread tires that will eventually mark up the yard. My 32 hp orange tractor is only 300 lbs heavier than the 1026r and it does a fair job with the ratchet rake. I have ballast on the rear as well. If I wait until the ground is soft I can clear brush, but it struggles when the ground is dry. I run R4 tires.

It will probably blow your budget, but I think I would be looking at a larger tractor. I started small - 21 hp and graduated to a 32 hp. Had I bought the 32 hp originally I would not have any payments now.
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I have both the landscape rake and ratchet rake. I have used the landscape rake as a blade - works fair. Not much call for it now. The ratchet rake is a nice tool but the 1026r will be too light weight to do much more than scratch the surface. You will need to add weight to the tractor, maybe load the tires, and use aggressive tread tires that will eventually mark up the yard. My 32 hp orange tractor is only 300 lbs heavier than the 1026r and it does a fair job with the ratchet rake. I have ballast on the rear as well. If I wait until the ground is soft I can clear brush, but it struggles when the ground is dry. I run R4 tires.

It will probably blow your budget, but I think I would be looking at a larger tractor. I started small - 21 hp and graduated to a 32 hp. Had I bought the 32 hp originally I would not have any payments now.

THANKS!!!
Good info...I greatly appreciate it....lol @ payments! (my second name) :laughing:
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower? #8  
I have both the landscape rake and ratchet rake. I have used the landscape rake as a blade - works fair. Not much call for it now. The ratchet rake is a nice tool but the 1026r will be too light weight to do much more than scratch the surface. You will need to add weight to the tractor, maybe load the tires, and use aggressive tread tires that will eventually mark up the yard. My 32 hp orange tractor is only 300 lbs heavier than the 1026r and it does a fair job with the ratchet rake. I have ballast on the rear as well. If I wait until the ground is soft I can clear brush, but it struggles when the ground is dry. I run R4 tires.

It will probably blow your budget, but I think I would be looking at a larger tractor. I started small - 21 hp and graduated to a 32 hp. Had I bought the 32 hp originally I would not have any payments now.



I agree with this post.^^^^^^

Seems to be a common problem for most homeowners. First you need a larger machine to get the work done, I would go with a 2720 200cx fel, weighted tires and boxblade and/or landplane for smoothing, grading and landscape work. When it is all done you might be better served with a zero turn or x700 series mower.

I make a large part of my income working over landscapes, grading, shaping, tilling and contouring. It seems to me after doing this for several years that a small compact is the best choice for this work. It needs to be heavy enough to get the dirt work done. When you mow with a heavy tractor your lawn will look worse after a season of mowing and tracking up. In a nutshell it is hard to build landscapes and mow with the same tractor.

If it were me I would go with a 2520 or 2720 and 200cx for the tractor work and tough out the mowing with the 300R for another year or so. When you have your landscape work completed and are left with finish mowing you can change the tractor setup over to a mowing rig at that time. You should be able to have a lawn that is smooth enough to use a 72" mmm or 3ph rear grooming mower.
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower? #9  
The RFM will be the way to go, have had both, prefer the RFM.

Good luck.
 
   / 1026r rear mower vs deck mower?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I agree with this post.^^^^^^

Seems to be a common problem for most homeowners. First you need a larger machine to get the work done, I would go with a 2720 200cx fel, weighted tires and boxblade and/or landplane for smoothing, grading and landscape work. When it is all done you might be better served with a zero turn or x700 series mower.

I make a large part of my income working over landscapes, grading, shaping, tilling and contouring. It seems to me after doing this for several years that a small compact is the best choice for this work. It needs to be heavy enough to get the dirt work done. When you mow with a heavy tractor your lawn will look worse after a season of mowing and tracking up. In a nutshell it is hard to build landscapes and mow with the same tractor.

If it were me I would go with a 2520 or 2720 and 200cx for the tractor work and tough out the mowing with the 300R for another year or so. When you have your landscape work completed and are left with finish mowing you can change the tractor setup over to a mowing rig at that time. You should be able to have a lawn that is smooth enough to use a 72" mmm or 3ph rear grooming mower.

I raked it all up last fall w/a friends 30HP Massey w/a large landscape rake.......while i greatly appreciate the advice of the larger unit.....my finances simply will not allow it so will have to settle for the 1026.....my largest efforts this year will be seeding grass and planting about a dozen trees....then maintaining both with hauling water etc. For the odd small stump that is left....i think lil 26 will do......again...i greatly appreciate the info.....this forum is wonderful for the newbies like me! :D
 
 
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