Ground contact or Suspended mower ?

[thetooth]

i am in the process of buying a used B7500 tractor with a ground contact mower ( RCK 54-24B ) . i have been searching through the forums for advice but am not finding the right answer for my needs .

i have 1 1/2 acre yard that is old field . it is flat no hills but there are alot of divots and bumps , it's pretty rough . my concern is that i will have to drive really slow with the ground contact mower .

i currently have a simplicity broadmoore with a suspended deck . it cuts well but the mower deck takes a little beating with all my dips and dives .

how the grass looks is not super important it's mostly clover , wild strawberries , and various weeds .

1. so my question is will the ground contact mower do a pretty good job ?
( that's all i need grass cutting wise is pretty good not golf course )

2. will the cutting rough terrain with the ground contact be a aggravating experience ?

thanks for all your help
i am trying to get the tractor out here before i make my decision but they are not going for it .

 

[TripleR]

While I prefer a suspended deck on a lawn mower, I have had good results using a ground contact with the only real drawback being in really sharp turns where the wheels would tear the lawn up if wet.

 

[beenthere]

Suspended, or you will need to replace deck wheels/rollers often. And as mentioned, tearing up lawn when wet if not.

I use a heavy roller in the early spring to roll out many of the humps. And don't want to mow into the dips.

 

[thetooth]

thanks for the input . i have been back and forth over B's and BX's and i found a B that i really ( and in my price range ) like but was a little concerned about the ground contact mower .

 

[TripleR]

thanks for the input . i have been back and forth over B's and BX's and i found a B that i really ( and in my price range ) like but was a little concerned about the ground contact mower .

I think someone on here put a set of chains on their ground contact mower to have a semi-suspended deck, but I don't remember the thread.

 

[thetooth]

I think someone on here put a set of chains on their ground contact mower to have a semi-suspended deck, but I don't remember the thread.

yes i read that thread . i really hate to be repetitive on questions so i try to search for answers first . may main concern is speed . i don't need to mow like the indy 500 but i don't want to crawl either .

i am afraid with the deck wheels on the ground and my rough yard i will have to go to slow . i may be doing some unnecessary worrying to

thanks

 

[TripleR]

yes i read that thread . i really hate to be repetitive on questions so i try to search for answers first . may main concern is speed . i don't need to mow like the indy 500 but i don't want to crawl either .

i am afraid with the deck wheels on the ground and my rough yard i will have to go to slow . i may be doing some unnecessary worrying to

thanks

You are better at researching than I. Lack of specific knowledge fortunately does not keep one from offering an opinion, so here I go.

My take on it is that non suspended decks are made for just that; operating in contact with the ground and all hazards associated therein, so going fast should not be the problem. I use RFMs at a pretty fast clip and my brother has one of the very old Cub Cadets designed with the non suspended deck. Many of the old mowers were ground contact.

We have a three year old John Deere 2305 that has had a lot of issues with the hydraulic lift and height control. We just got it back from the third trip to the shop. Over 75% of its life, it has functioned as a ground contact mower and to this date no damage has been done and no one has mowed any differently one way or the other. It has been used in some very rough ground and used in ways it probably shouldn't have in our woods, fields and firing range.

 

[beenthere]

The discussion leaves me with a question. Is the OP talking of a MMM or a RFM? I thought MMM, not RFM (i.e. a deck under the tractor, not on the 3 ph).

IMO, RFM's need to be on the ground. All my MMM's are suspended (deck wheels smaller than those on an RFM).

Deere has advised in their manuals to adjust "suspended" for many a year. I used to do set-up for a Deere dealer, and if adjusted right, the mowing couldn't be beat. Was easy to tell when a deck was set up wrong, as the deck wheels would wear down flat (no curve left to them). Once the deck is "leveled" then the deck wheels are set to 1/4 - 1/2" high. Simplicity designs their decks to run down on the rear rollers. Nice mowing job, but the rollers apparently don't last too long.

 

[thetooth]

The discussion leaves me with a question. Is the OP talking of a MMM or a RFM? I thought MMM, not RFM (i.e. a deck under the tractor, not on the 3 ph).

IMO, RFM's need to be on the ground. All my MMM's are suspended (deck wheels smaller than those on an RFM).

Deere has advised in their manuals to adjust "suspended" for many a year. I used to do set-up for a Deere dealer, and if adjusted right, the mowing couldn't be beat. Was easy to tell when a deck was set up wrong, as the deck wheels would wear down flat (no curve left to them). Once the deck is "leveled" then the deck wheels are set to 1/4 - 1/2" high. Simplicity designs their decks to run down on the rear rollers. Nice mowing job, but the rollers apparently don't last too long.

i am talking about MMM the tractor i am looking at originally came with a suspended deck or a ground contact deck . i have a simplicity now and i like the way it flexes and flows with my bumpy yard . my concern is that the ground contact won't do the same or if it will would i have to go really slow .

thanks

 

[TripleR]

i am talking about MMM the tractor i am looking at originally came with a suspended deck or a ground contact deck . i have a simplicity now and i like the way it flexes and flows with my bumpy yard . my concern is that the ground contact won't do the same or if it will would i have to go really slow .

thanks

My assumption was you were talking about a MMM and only used the RFM reference as an indicator that a mower designed to be ground contact will be designed to withstand the travails of such use. Our renters have used John Deere tractors with ground contact MMM for years and they are anything but slow or gentle with them and they use them for things they certainly were never intended; more like rotary cutter work than MMM. They have recently bought purchased a Grass Hopper and John Deere ZTR and I swear I can see daylight under those things when they are using them.