Mowing How do you mow rough ground quickly?

[murphy1244]

Try a Ventrac with a Suspension seat.

 

[corl]

I have a Kubota F2100 with a 60 inch deck on it. I mow about 6 acres some of which was pasture. I drag a chain harrow around in the Spring to even out and smooth the surface. It works pretty well. The F2100 has a suspension adjustable seat. This year I added a 7 foot Phoenix finishing mower to my MX5100 HST Kubota. The tractor can mow faster than the F series mower. The wider cut makes it even faster. A 7 foot mower needs a gentle contour surface to cut properly.

Nothing will make you happy if its a rough surface you are cutting. If you go fast enough the mower will bounce and not cut well anyway. Smooth it out and use a wider cut to mow more quickly.

 

[Gary Fowler]

try looking at it in a different way. how can you mow quicker at a slow speed? answer: larger mower with tractor that can handle the mower. The larger the tractor, the larger the tires and less bumpy it is esp. at lower ground speed. batwing mower is a great way to handle a large area mowed at once.

That is only partially true. On lawn mowers, bigger tires might get a bit better ride, but on tractors, the larger tractor you get the higher you are off the ground at the operators platform, so movement at ground level translates to much more movement at higher elevation (large tractor) vs lower to the tires elevation (small tractor) All tractors are rough riding due to lack of suspension. Lowering the tire pressure can help a bit, smoothing the ground is an option but would require reseeding. A larger width mower that you could pull slower might be an option but very expensive one (ie larger tractor needed to pull it and cost of larger mower)
We have been trying to smooth the ground in some pasture land via light disking and pulling a drag over it which has helped a lot but still rough. It timed right, disking and dragging right before a rain so the grass remains alive works pretty good but requires multiple times to get it smooth. We try to do a section every year and then keep the cattle off till it re-establishes itself.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Rather than cushion the seat, try cushioning the frame like the Ferris mowers. I just got mine and it is 1000% better than my stiff frame Craftsman or my garden tractor John Deere 332.

 

[Sysop]

I'll second the idea of finding a suspension seat. My tractor came with one that is adjustable for the weight of the rider and it hurts my back less driving it through the field than my pickup...

 

[chim]

With my B7500 there were times when going over a sharp bump made the seat smack body parts that don't tolerate slapping very well. When the L3200 came along, the seat really made a difference. Now it is a whole lot more comfortable, and a foot wider deck means fewer trips around the yard.

It would be possible to go a good bit faster because I don't take a beating. I sometimes need to remind myself that although I'm not taking a beating at speed - the equipment is.

 

[Larro Darro]

Twelve or fifteen years ago we sold some pines. The heavy log trucks made deep tracks on the sandy pasture land, now part of my front yard. For years I have been mowing it with a 42" mower behind the B7500. The short, narrow frame just about beat me to death. A couple of months ago I bought a 6' RFM and use the 3930 to pull it. It is like night and day. I mowed 6 1/2 acres today in 3 hours 45 minutes. While it is still rough, the bigger tractor takes the bumps so much better.

 

[Egon]

Think "SHEEP" and sit in shady comfort watching the mowing/fertilizing process in action.:thumbsup:

If it's rough bigger tires or cultivation. The cultivation may be best bet.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Twelve or fifteen years ago we sold some pines. The heavy log trucks made deep tracks on the sandy pasture land, now part of my front yard. For years I have been mowing it with a 42" mower behind the B7500. The short, narrow frame just about beat me to death. A couple of months ago I bought a 6' RFM and use the 3930 to pull it. It is like night and day. I mowed 6 1/2 acres today in 3 hours 45 minutes. While it is still rough, the bigger tractor takes the bumps so much better.

That sounds like any easy fix to remove the ruts, just back drag with the FEL to knock down the high spots back into the low ruts. Ruts wont necessarily need addition of fill dirt since the ruts just displaced the soil for the most part. Sure you may temporarily remove some of the grass but it will come back quickly.

 

[flusher]

Disc and drag are the only way to ensure a really smooth surface. You'll have to make several passes to get it done.

Use caution when working on hills. I assume you don't have a tractor yet based on your initial post in this thread and lack of information in your profile. If so, I'd get a tractor that permits the wheels to be adjusted for a sufficiently wide stance to minimize rollover risk.

Good luck.