Mowing How do you mow rough ground quickly?

   / How do you mow rough ground quickly? #1  

mbleill

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Apr 24, 2007
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I have 15 rolling to hilly acres that I mow and I am finding that the speed of mowing is not limited by the tractor or mower but limited by the bouncing and rough ride caused by my rough ground. I am looking at purchasing a front mounted 4x4 dedicated mower Kubota f series or New Holland MC. A dealer loaned me a used NH MC-35 to try and I found that it was bouncing all over the place when I tried to mow fast. The seat was comfortable but really had no suspension other than the basic padding. Would a seat with suspension or a mower with suspension really help? I have been told to stay away from zero turn mowers due the the hilly terrain I have on some of my property. Anyone with experience using a mower that can travel fast and mow over rough ground (not bounce you out of your seat) that can also mow sideways on hills? The older I get, sorer my back gets!
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly? #2  
Are you hitting rocks with the blades? Or is it just the bumps that are slowing you down? It sounds like to me you are just going to have to slow down enough to not beat the equipment and yourself to death. What kind of tractor are you using now? And are you bush hogging, or using a finish mower? Whatever it is, it is going to ride better than a ZT mower. Unless you get the very top of the line, they are not going to have any suspension.
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
No rocks, just rough pasture ground that probably was made rough by running over it when the ground was a little soft and now is dry. We have a lot of clay in south eastern Indiana. I use a L3400 Kubota with a Woods FM. I was using an ATV pulling a 60 in swisher pull-behind mower but it took a toll on my ATV. It is not water cooled and slow going under load in this hot weather causes it to overheat. I don't mind getting the top of the line as long as it works for me. Thanks for the input.
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly? #4  
Better option than searching for a machine that can be beaten across rough ground would be to smooth the ground out. Drag an aerator, plugger, and compactor around a few times and help it smooth out, till then slow down.

If searching for a machine, keep in mind bigger tires will roll over smaller bumps easier and with less impact than small tires.
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly? #5  
I put an athletic mouth guard in and hold on tight.
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly? #6  
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.
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly?
  • Thread Starter
#7  
good point radioman, I pretty much need to stick with my L3400 though. It has less than 200 hrs on it. I guess I can look into getting a 72" finish mower to help with the mowing time. Have a 60" now.
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Already use that with a hard cup! :confused2:
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly? #9  
Wider (and thus heavier...) mower going slower, bigger (way bigger) tractor going faster, air ride seat. On a small tractor trying to do too much too fast, at some point stuff starts breaking more often and that really drops the average acres / hour.
 
   / How do you mow rough ground quickly? #10  
Better option than searching for a machine that can be beaten across rough ground would be to smooth the ground out. Drag an aerator, plugger, and compactor around a few times and help it smooth out, till then slow down.

If searching for a machine, keep in mind bigger tires will roll over smaller bumps easier and with less impact than small tires.

+1. Gotta figure out how to get rid of the bumps and holes.
 
 
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