Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower

   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #1  

vtcatrules

New member
Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
19
Location
Vermont
Tractor
JD 2320
Isn't a mid mount mower alot easier to mow tight areas with? I would think a rear mower would be hard to mow all but big open areas with. If I buy new I will probably get a B2320/B2620 with a 60" MMM.
I am going to buy a compact tractor in the 20 to 30 hp range. I want a FEL, a finish mower, and a Rough cut mower. I have priced new John Deere and Kubota tractors at $17k to $22k. I was really hoping to spend $10k - $15k.
I have found a few good condition tractors with a FEL but with out a MMM. A new MMM is $2000 to $3000 depending on the tractor. Some of the tractors have 72" rear finish mowers.
I have 2 or 3 acres of lawn plus mow around 10 acres of fields. I am not really cutting any brush. If I bought a tractor with a rear finish mower could I mow the fields at a higher depth setting and drop it down to mow the bigger sections of my lawn? That would save money on buying a brush hog right now. I usually mow my lawn with a 48" deck on my garden tractor. A 30 hp tractor with a 72" Rear finish mower seems awfully large to mow my lawn with. It is not very smooth and it is hilly. Maybe I will have to keep my garden tractor to mow close to the house and I could buy a larger used tractor to mow the bigger flat sections of my lawn?
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #2  
Check out the B7510 series. For the ground clerence and lift capacity you won't go wrong.I've got 17 acres and a B7500 to work it and it works it very well. The 60" MMM is great too.

Donny
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #3  
Just a couple of observations:

Some B series tractors can take an MMM, others will not.

An MMM on a B series cannot be adjusted to multiple heights and is not supported by a suspension system the way an MMM is on a BX. The weight sits on the MMM wheels, whereas an MMM on a BX can have its weight suspended by the suspension arms and the wheels only touch the ground (except when fully lowered) as they prevent scalping.

There is one way that the RFM could have an advantage over an MMM and that is its ability to do edge work when backing up. It is almost like a ZTR when moving backwards. Though it would be an absolute PITA to do much work while driving in reverse, any small amount of work done that way will not create the windrowing that sometimes happens with an MMM because the deck cuts before the load bearing wheels reach the turf.

You might also want to search the archives in this forum as well as the attachments forum with search entries like "MMM vs RFM" etc. as this topic has been discussed in voluminous detail.

The Woods RM990 is a hybrid between a rough cutter and a RFM. It is built like an RFM but has free pivoting blades on three spindle pan "stump jumpers". The blades, however, are cutting blades as opposed to typical hammer blades on a rough cutter. Most B series would be close to being underpowered for this unit however, though those at the upper end of hp might do o.k.

http://www.woodsequipment.com/mowerdetail.aspx?id=3297&ekmensel=41a6502d_7_405_3297_1
 
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   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #4  
"An MMM on a B series cannot be adjusted to multiple heights and is not supported by a suspension system the way an MMM is on a BX. The weight sits on the MMM wheels, whereas an MMM on a BX can have its weight suspended by the suspension arms and the wheels only touch the ground (except when fully lowered) as they prevent scalping."


I could be wrong as I just got my first tractor but I believe my B2400 MMM height can be adjusted as described with the BX series. I just raise or lower the position control to the height I want and let the wheels control the scalping.

I have only used the MMM so I cannot comment on the rest
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #5  
All B series tractors have mid mount mowers available, and the new B2x20 series use drive over suspended mount mmm's that are height adjustable from the operator's seat the same as a BX.
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #6  
Since I'm still looking, thinking, and planning, I can only interject what I've test driven - over and over again... The 7510 allowed for increments of 1/4" on the MMM up or down (actually I think it's less since you control the height).

The new B series will do the same thing and you can adjust - roller wheels do not have to touch the ground.
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #7  
Some B's have a suspended MMM and some have a MMM that rides on the wheels. I think its the smaller B's that have the suspended deck.

Here is my take on MMM vs rear finish mower. The problem with a rear finish mower is that its kind of a pendulum on the back of a tractor. You turn to the right, the mower swings to the left, away from where you are wanting to mow. Its also easy to get to close to something, you try to steer away from it, and it swings the rear mower into what you are trying to steer away from. If this happens the correct thing is to back up a little to swing the mower away. I'm sure with practice you would get good at it. A MMM is more like a riding mower and is easier to drive around objects and you can just look down to see where you are cutting instead of behind you.

The advantage of the rear finish mower is that you don't have to mess around under the tractor to take it off and on. As you get into bigger tractors, you can get some really big rear finish mowers also. Look at what golf courses, schools, parks etc are using. They are using rear finsih mowers for the big open areas.
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #8  
I was mowing with a 6ft RFM and a Kubota L3130. I used it for about 70% of 5 acres. Last year I got a BX with 60mmm. I can now mow about 90% with this mower using a lawn tractor for the rest. the small BX and mmm is faster,saving a lot of fuel,and doing a much better quality job of cutting.
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower #9  
hello i have about 5a i mow with mid62 mower it mowes better than rear mower i mow around trees and on slopes, also i have about 8a of fields, i have a 72inch rear and a brushhog i mow the fields about 2 times a yr i find the brush hog rotory cutter mowes better, less strain on the tractor has only 1 big blade.
 
   / Rear Finish Mower VS Mid Mount Mower
  • Thread Starter
#10  
The 2 used tractors I am most interested in is a B7800 HST with a 72" RFM. And a JD2320 that does not have a mower on it yet. Thay are both about the same age. I think I can get the smaller John Deere with a new 52" or 62" drive over MMM for about the same money as the much larger B. I would have to pick up a 4' or 5 brush hog though. 'Something as small as a BX does not have the ground clearance for working my fields so a 2320/2620 Kubota or John Deere is as small as I want to go. Seeing as I will be mowing the lawn every week and the fields only a couple of times a year maybe the smaller tractor with a MMM would be better for me. I have seen the used B7800 mow 1' high grass with the RFM and it seems to do very well. It just looks too big to mow my hilly not very smooth lawn. I know I would have to keep my garden tractor if I buy the B where with a 2320/2620 I could sell the garden tractor and just have one machine to maintain.
 
 
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