Gravely's

[Solo]

I haven't seen any posts on Gavely walk behind equipment. I just thought I would throw this out there and see what came back. I have a 8hp, with sickle bar mower, 30" brush hog, tiller, sulky and blade. I've used it for 2 years and love it. It lets me get into all the tight spots I can't get to with my tractor.

[s1120]

I have heard that they are a tough little unit. I would like to find an old one with a brushcutter on it for my land.[my tractors too small for a bush hog]

[Solo]

Paul , They are tough units. I was at my dealer yesterday and he had one in for a little maitenance it was a 1949 model, still runs great.

[rmorgan]

Solo--

Your post certainly stirred memories. I grew up, and earned money mowing yards for a number of years, using a 1965 Gravely Convertible 8 (which is probably what you have) with a strap starter and a sulky; I must have pulled that strap 200,000,000 times [img]/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif[/img][img]/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif[/img] over the years. That tractor is now sculpture at the end of my mother's house, covered in vines. My dad plowed his garden with it, and I horsed it around plowing snow with it until I was pretty sure my teenage heart would explode. My wife also grew up using them, My father-in-law also had Gravelys, and when I married his daughter I came into possession of two of them. We sold those a few years ago, and now have a 12 hp "professional" model, which has a bunch of bells and whistles (dual wheels, steering brake, 50" mower) but, as a result, lacks the simplicity of the older machines.

Gravelys were made in West Virginia beginning in 1916, and initially were made with Indian motorcycle engines. They are now part of Ariens and I think are made in NC. The later models, in my experience with a couple of them, are still workhorses with strong and prety reliable engines, but have some xmsn problems, and are a bit finicky to adjust; I'm thinking, actually, about selling the Gravely and getting one of the new DR convertible brush/lawn mowers.

Rick

[RonL]

Solo
The 30" brush hog? Is this the 30" mower that they advertise now? I' ve been interested in the Gravely two wheel tractor for some time. The local dealer told that they no longer sell the flail mower attachment for "safety reasons". I like the idea of being able to run the machine year round ( keep the carb from gumming up). Snowblower in Winter, tiller in Spring, mowing deck in summer, and brush hog in fall ( as Vivaldi plays in the background.
RonL

[s1120]

I have herd good things about the brush hog attachment. That, and the fact that I can get one for a LOT less then a DR is why I am looking for one.

[Solo]

RonL
It is actually called a 30" rotary mower, but it will cut some pretty substantial stuff. If you want to run the snow blower, and the finish mower go with the 13.5 hp. My dealer told me mine would'nt run those, since it's only 8.5hp. I would also recomend going with dual wheels if you have any steep ground.

[Solo]

Paul
I'm not sure what a DR costs, but I've got almost $4000 in mine excluding tax, and that's just the tractor and brush hog. I think this was money well spent if I can't mow it with my TC18 I mow with this. I should put a tilt meter on it because I've mowed some pretty steep stuff with it.

Solo

[s1120]

I am looking for something old and broken for cheep.

[rja]

When I moved into the new house (which had 3 acers of lawn to mow) I made the mistake of buying a 1965 2wheel gravely. It had the 30" hog and a snowblower. I then went out and bought a used 50" mowing deck and a steering sulky. The mowing setup worked ok, took around 5hrs to complete the job. The snowblower striped the internal auger gears (teeth) when the auger got stuck on the driveway gravel. I ended up giving it away (so I wouldn't have to lug it to the trash). I still use the 30" hog to clear out the heavy grass twice a year. What I finally did was to get a ZTR 60" machine to handle the mowing. 1.5 hrs and the job is done.
The gravely is a tough machine, and tough to use (note the high pitch in my typing, if you get my drift). I will probably sell the hole bunch if I can find a unit to handle tall grass. I saw something like a large string mower on tv but can't seem to remember it's name.

Rich