3 pt. lawn striping attachment

[cdcole]

Most of you have seen lawns that have been mowed with the neat stripes kind of like a football field. I am going to build a roller kit that attaches to the 3 pt. hitch lower arms - but before I do - has anyone already done this and thought of a good plan? There are commercial units available that are attached to the tractor - just curious if anyone has done this.

Mow about 3 acres of flat area and thought it would be neat to stripe it - like they do with some of the commercial mowers.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Here is another idea for you to think about that will work very well and is easy to do. If you have a stiner dealer near you stop in ask them to see one of their decks with the stripe kit installed. All it is a piece of rubber belting that is bolted to the back of the mower deck that lays the grass over as you mow. It doesent come in contact with the ground but is aproximatly 1.5 to 2 inches lower than the deck. Same principle as the roller idea. One of my best friends owns a large landscaping business and thats what they use. Im going to make one for my b2910s 60inch deck sometime in the future but the way things look it wont be anytime soon. All you need is piece of stiff belting about 5 or 6 inches wide, a drill, and some bolts nuts and washers. I really like the idea and it will give you good results. Good luck Glenn

 

[BubbaJr]

That sounds like another good use for horse matting. Just bolt it to the back of your mower deck, and away you go. Cut off another piece to use on your rear blade for snow, and use the rest as a mat in front of your workbench to stand on.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color="blue"> a piece of rubber belting that is bolted to the back of the mower deck that lays the grass over as you mow </font>

You may have just come across the one reason NOT to have a rear discharge finish mower. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[robertm]

cdcole,
You readin' my mind? I'm working on one now for behind my B7500. I'm thinking about taking a piece of 8" PVC I have and putting a piece of 1-1/2" galvanized pipe inside it. Then, filling the anulus outside the 1-1/2" pipe with concrete to hold it in the center of the PVC. Then, (are you following?) sleeving a piece of 1-1/4" or so pipe inside the 1-1/2" as an axle, or shaft. A few angle pieces up to a main angle support bolted or hitched to the 3pt, a cotter pin or two at the shaft ends to hold her in place, and I'm off. Grease the !@#$ out of the shaft and she should roll eeeeasy! If the heavy wall PVC crackes over time, who cares? Scor it with a Skilsaw, take it off and the new "concrete" roller will take over. Besides, the little added weight of the concrete should level out the worm holes in my lawn. I even thought to take a grinder to the ends of the "roller" to make the edges less likely to tear the grass in a tight turn. What do you think? Am I crazy? The other posts seem to make my idea look overkill! If a rubber flap is all that is needed, a bit of old conveyor should do the trick. What about old car mats?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The only problem I see with a couple of these is that if you lay your grass down with a roller and then the mower goes over it you will not be cutting all the grass because it will not pop back up. I believe that the mowers that have these on them have side discharge and the roller in the rear so that the grass is rolled after it is cut.

Just my $.02
ChrisW

 

[stnickstoys]

cdcole,
I'm making mine out of a steel basement column. Welding a couple shafts on each end and going to mount it with bearings from the back of my 6' wide First Choice finish mower. I want the baseball field look too. I filled the colunm with concrete and am welding on 1 1/4 stub shafts on each end. I planned on extending two short arms on the back of the mower to mount the bearings on and allow them to pivot freely up and down so they can easily follow the ground.
Good luck with yours.
Nick

 

[Anonymous Poster]

What about old car mats? car mats will be too thin. The belting that I am refering to is around 1/2-3/4 inch thick. If you live by any dairy farmers or someone who has horses they might have some laying around. Horse people like my wife use it in the stalls under the sawdust and on the isleways for traction. Dairy farmers use in on the floors and in the tie or free stalls. It is rather difficult to cut but a utility knife with a new blade will do the job. My concern with your idea is your going to need to pick it up when you turn or the edges are going to dig in. Good luck. Glenn in central PA