11’6” Ventrac mower

[Raw Dodge]

This spring I did something I had wanted to do for years, built a pull behind mower for the Ventrac . I used my original 72” deck ,and I bought a like new deck for the machine. I realize this was more expensive than buying a premade unit, but most premade units are 60” ,I seen one 66”, and they were not nearly as well built as the Ventrac deck,nor would they cut or stripe as well. I built a buggy for the engine to plug into the mower deck. This is the second one I built the first one I copied the Steiner exactly, this time I drop the engine in order to save some time and money by not using an idler and so far it’s worked out great.By not having idler and sees me at least $150 and also the whole set up is more efficient it does make belt adjustment a little tougher but I have made the initial belt adjustment after an hours use and the tension hasn’t changed.I used a B41 belt.The entire frame is scrap steel it’s not pretty but it’s very strong and will probably last forever. The axle is from an old snowmobile trailer that I cut down.The tires and wheels are my spares from my club car golf cart .Are used a harbor freight predator 22hp. It has more than enough power the engine never even works or grunts.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Here’s some of the build.I do not have a MIG welder home or fancy equipment,I used a chop saw ,a makita 70cc cutoff saw,and a 4.5” grinder ,small cuts were made with my M12 Milwaukee cutoff wheel . The steel l used had been sitting outside for years,It required a lot of grinding to get through the rust down to clean metal...I have several videos on my Instagram account if anyone like to see it I don’t know how to copy and paste my Instagram hear my name there is JohnnyD359, Please check it out and follow me and if you’re not already follow my YouTube channel there’s a link to it on my Instagram I will be making a YouTube video of it when time allows.

 

[Raw Dodge]

Mock-up all done , it probably took me 2 full days and I winged it as I went..I want to build another one because I have a Kubota D1105 diesel I want to use instead. The 22 hp engine runs it effortlessly the problem is there’s not much between 22 hp and 14 hp once you go to a twin cylinder you up around the 18-20 horse Mark. The rear deck has a lot more power than the front the 31 on the Ventrac doesn’t stand a chance because it’s driving the hydraulic system and pulling both mowers if you check out my Instagram videos you’ll see how well it cuts.

 

[Raw Dodge]

The lawn gets better every cut,the grass is still not striping even because for 17 years it’s been 6ft wide stripes now every other one the grass blades needs to be bent to the other way... I have 4 sets of patterns I use you can see 3 of them from these pics.

 

[MossRoad]

Very nice!!! :thumbsup:

 

[bridge4]

Color me impressed, how much time did you shave off your mowing?

How is it in tight areas? I have a few flower beds and building areas where that wouldn't fit on my property!!


Nice work, and good choice on the predator. We have a 4400 that built our business, and half our house before the power companies would show up!! Thing is 4 years old at this point and starts up perfect every time. Love it.

 

[prs]

Re: 11? Ventrac mower

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The lawn gets better every cut,the grass is still not striping even because for 17 years it痴 been 6ft wide stripes now every other one the grass blades needs to be bent to the other way... I have 4 sets of patterns I use you can see 3 of them from these pics.

Great ingenuity!

 

[Raw Dodge]

Thanks! I am mowing about 8 acres a week, it cut my time in half . It takes me about an hour /15 now it used to take close to 3 hrs to do it all. I also tow it with my diesel Dixie chopper and that thing really moves,the pull behind has no issues keeping up with it and it takes about an hour to do it with that machine. The best part is my back isn’t shot when I’m done now , as I’m only on the machine half the time and I slowed down a little because I’m covering so much ground now.

 

[dunebuggy55]

Hey ,that setup should
Mow some serious grass !