Flail Mower Land Pride vs. Caroni Flail

[j845125]

This site has convinced me of the purchase of a flail mower to replace a worn out finish mower and an almost dead rotary. I got quotes for Land Pride 72" for $4800 as opposed to $2000 for a Caroni. Is the Land Pride worth $2800 more? I will use it alot, but not beat it.

 

[IslandTractor]

I own the Caroni TM1900 but have never seen the Landpride. The Caroni is what I would call a medium duty rough cut flail. The much more expensive flails like Alamo and other similar flails are heavy duty. I have no idea if the Landpride is heavy or medium duty. If I were purchasing a flail to drive along and mow the shoulder of a highway I'd go with heavy duty. For mowing of pastures, fields and medium duty bush hogging the Caroni has been fine.

I'm starting my fourth season and have so far just replaced about half a dozen flails and associated shackles for under $40. I haven't found a use that would have demanded a heavier duty flail but I don't run into cinderblocks routinely either. I have run the flail into eight inch chunks of firewood (stalled the tractor, jammed the wood into the flail and needed a crow bar to get it out), I've wrapped old angle iron around the flail (PITA to unwind) and I do routinely hit the tops of surface rocks (likely where I've lost the half dozen flails that needed replacement). My use of the Caroni in bush hogging is largely to beat back twenty year old brush and the limitation I face in how fast I can travel seems more related to horsepower than the flail itself. Bottom line is that my Caroni is working just fine after three full years of combined bush hogging of brush (about an acre a year) and field maintenance (20 acres). Other than replacing lost flails occasionally, I just grease it before each day of work and check the gearbox oil.

I'd say that if the Landpride is a heavy duty flail then it is probably fairly priced but if it is a medium duty model then I can't see how it could have any significant advantage over the less expensive Caroni. Again, I haven't actually seen the Landpride so am making that call based on the satisfactory performance of my Caroni in a medium duty application.

Edit: I almost forgot, I tore up my first set of belts last year so I have spent about another $50 for a new set. Total replacement parts over three years about $100.

 

[Big Bri]

I own the caroni as well and like island said they do work well. i too have had to replace a set of belts, and i also bent my rear roller but i don't think it was a flaw on caroni side but me hitting a stump or rock. I've been very happy with my caroni and would buy again.
I will also say that this is my first flail and the only one i've ever used so i have nothing to compare it to.
Good luck

 

[treefarmer391]

We've used a LP RCR1860 on our fields and barways for a couple of years now. Easily take out 3-4" stumps. Never had it break or even trigger the slip-clutches. Blades are tough, took off the top of a good sized buried boulder with just a small nickel sized burr that was easy to dress back up. LP lists them as 'medium duty' but they are built like a tank and do a nice job keeping our tree farm managed.

 

[keyser soze]

This site has convinced me of the purchase of a flail mower to replace a worn out finish mower and an almost dead rotary. I got quotes for Land Pride 72" for $4800 as opposed to $2000 for a Caroni. Is the Land Pride worth $2800 more? I will use it alot, but not beat it.

From my experience... yes. It's worth it. Nothing wrong with the Caroni, but IMO, it's not nearly as well built. Depends on the operator in many cases.

One thing I would worry about is parts and service, but that's just me. Yes, there are Caroni dealers in the US. I think that Ken Sweet (who posts here alot) is one, but I don't think there are many. If you lived close to him, or another *good* dealer that carries Caroni, you might get along great. However, there are Land Pride dealers everywhere. Take that for what it's worth.

 

[IslandTractor]

No question there are more Landpride dealers but do they stock flail parts? Flails are not the meat and potatoes of their business. If not then there is really no difference from Caroni as it just takes an 800 number phone call to get parts from AgriSupply who seem to be the main Caroni importer. They get stuff out immediately and it saves a trip to the parts dept at the dealership. Parts have really been no problem from AgriSupply.

What I would like to see is non OEM companies like Flailmaster start to support the Caroni. It's not the end of the world but buying clevis' and flails directly from Caroni through AgriSupply is probably about twice the cost of what typical similar stuff costs from Flailmaster. I suppose I could just order some from Flailmaster to find the correct match but given the need to balance weight and size it would be better if Flailmaster simply matched the Caroni parts and listed them as such in their catalog. I haven't checked but as Landpride is a big US company Flailmaster might carry their consumables already.

 

[keyser soze]

No question there are more Landpride dealers but do they stock flail parts? Flails are not the meat and potatoes of their business. If not then there is really no difference from Caroni as it just takes an 800 number phone call to get parts from AgriSupply who seem to be the main Caroni importer. They get stuff out immediately and it saves a trip to the parts dept at the dealership. Parts have really been no problem from AgriSupply.

So AgriSupply sells enough of the same or similar models that they DO keep all the parts in stock? Especially for 10+ yr old models? I didn't know that.

 

[IslandTractor]

So AgriSupply sells enough of the same or similar models that they DO keep all the parts in stock? Especially for 10+ yr old models? I didn't know that.

As far as I know AgriSupply has imported only about four models of the Caroni flail as well as the Caroni tillers and finish mowers. They stock parts for all of those. I don't know about older Caroni models. It is useful to note however that Caroni is an Italian company that is roughly the equivalent of Landpride or Woods or Rhino. It is a well established player in the business, not some Chinese knock off manufacturer with a questionable future.

 

[keyser soze]

As far as I know AgriSupply has imported only about four models of the Caroni flail as well as the Caroni tillers and finish mowers. They stock parts for all of those. I don't know about older Caroni models. It is useful to note however that Caroni is an Italian company that is roughly the equivalent of Landpride or Woods or Rhino. It is a well established player in the business, not some Chinese knock off manufacturer with a questionable future.

Oh for sure. You're right that Caroni is an established company. I wasn't meaning to imply that they weren't if it came off that way. As far as equivalent to those other companies... I'd have to disagree. Doesn't mean it's a bad product.

Just my 2 pennies

 

[bx24d]

After much reading on this site, I just received shipment of TM1200 caroni flail 48". the staff at agrisupply was very helpful. i ordered it thru the headquarters. Supposedly got one right off the boat because the three on the store lots were weathered and rusted a little. hooked it up to the bx 24 for about a half an hour of cutting and was very impressed with the cut (I mean, shread). I noticed that the tractor used quite a bit more fuel than i'm used to. Plan to get back out there this weekend.

 

[IslandTractor]

Oh for sure. You're right that Caroni is an established company. I wasn't meaning to imply that they weren't if it came off that way. As far as equivalent to those other companies... I'd have to disagree. Doesn't mean it's a bad product.

Just my 2 pennies

I've owned a Rhino finish mower, a Bush Hog rake and rotary mower and a Woods boxblade, rake and back hoe. I really don't see any significant difference in build quality or materials between any of those and the Caroni. Of course I am comparing medium duty or even light duty models (Squealer) not the heavy duty commercial level equipment but I am pretty comfortable lumping those four together as equivalent in that regard.

 

[j845125]

I ended up with neither. Today I plunked down 2100 on a Del Morino 73" flail with Y blades. There are several local dealers who can get parts for it, and it was "only" 100 more than the Caroni. I couldn't justify, in my mind or to the wife, 4800 for the Land Pride although I'm sure it's a great mower. The Del Morino will be in Fri. I'll post some new pics and some action pics. Took the day off to get it ready and mow. Thanks for all the input.

 

[IslandTractor]

Good luck with the new flail. I've not heard of the brand but sounds Italian. If so should be fine.

 

[whistlepig]

Time will tell you if it's a good brand or not.

 

[lawn_king]

I dont own any caroni equipment but all i hear around here is they are well built. I do own/owned lots of landpride equipment, imho all their gear is overbuilt and designed to endure decades of use?

 

[j845125]

Found my old thread by accident and 7 years later, I'm delighted I bought the Del Morino. I've run it through saplings, 4 foot tall grass, finished mowed, pastures, hit rocks and stumps... it performs as good as new, with a few dents. Replaced belts twice and one grease zirk, clean it, regular maintenance and sharpened the knives when needed. I see no signs of it giving up. Good machine.

 

[TractorToolsDirect]

Found my old thread by accident and 7 years later, I'm delighted I bought the Del Morino. I've run it through saplings, 4 foot tall grass, finished mowed, pastures, hit rocks and stumps... it performs as good as new, with a few dents. Replaced belts twice and one grease zirk, clean it, regular maintenance and sharpened the knives when needed. I see no signs of it giving up. Good machine.

Del Morino makes great machines! Glad you posted some feedback.

 

[innrkid]

Found my old thread by accident and 7 years later, I'm delighted I bought the Del Morino. I've run it through saplings, 4 foot tall grass, finished mowed, pastures, hit rocks and stumps... it performs as good as new, with a few dents. Replaced belts twice and one grease zirk, clean it, regular maintenance and sharpened the knives when needed. I see no signs of it giving up. Good machine.

Glad to hear this. I'm starting first season with mine.

 

[IslandTractor]

From my own experience and what has been reported here on TBN threads over the past decade, I am convinced that all the Italian flail manufacturers produce excellent medium duty flail mowers. I suspect that Alamo and other US manufacturers make tougher models intended for highway dept use where the occasional cinder block will be chewed up but for mowing fields and brush up to about an inch thick the Italian mowers are more than adequate and about a third the cost.

 

[Ricn]

This is an old thread but after doing lots of research here on TBN so far, the Caroni seems to be well liked by many. I too would like having some sort of flail mower with Caroni 60 inch about right for my 25 hp Kubota. As prices are quite broad, $1900. or so for the Caroni on the east coast plus shipping and $5200. for the Fm2160 Land pride (dealer quote from Kubota includes freight) makes my decision is sort of tough. I love saving money but Caroni has no dealer support I can see other than in North Carolina perhaps; out west here they are sold on Creigslist from somebodies garage looks like. I do like my Kubota dealer and having three within 50 miles of us is a good thing IMO- Land Pride is American made in Kansas I'm told and perhaps why they are so expensive compared to Italy or China. For the price difference one could buy two Caroni's and be very happy?

Ricn

Ricn