Buying Advice $600 difference between Land Pride and Countyline 5' finish mowers????

Larro Darro · Jul 20, 2013

whistlepig said:
If you mentioned how much mowing you are doing I must have missed it. If it's only a small amount of mowing I don't think brand or price matter is that big of a deal. If you mow a lot it is. I have owned three brands of RFM's. And I have owned some very bad ones that I purchased new.

It is about 7 or 8 acres. About a third is thick bahiagrass, the rest is mostly centipede and prickly pears. It is all real sandy. Here is a picture. You can see the marks the skids from the bush hog made in the sand. I only mow it three or four times a year now, but with a RFM, I'm sure I will do it more often in the furture.

I have used a Woods mower at work for years. It is at least 24 years old and still going strong. MY BIL has a Land Pride that he bought used years ago, and it is a fine mower. [but they just use it to dress the sod before they roll it, so it hasn't seen any hard use] Which brands did you have trouble with?

Larro Darro · Jul 20, 2013

I pulled up my place on Google Maps, and did some measuring. When you take out for the house, sheds, garden, etc... you are left with about 6.5 acres that will be mowed. Not huge, but a good little bit of grass.

Larro Darro · Jul 20, 2013

BentProp said:
my 2216 is rated 17.5 pto hp and has had no problems turning a 5' finishing mower. 6' might be pushing it but I would like to use one to see how it would turn it, if I could get my hands on one.

Bentprop, I keep going back and forth between the 5' and 6'. My 3930 would turn the 6' easily. The cutting time would be less and I would be putting less hours on the B7500. But there is the space the 3930 will take up in the pole bar.[it is across the road in my sister's pole barn now. I only get it when I need it. If I get the 6', it will stay in my barn more] It is noisier and would take more fuel. Also with it being taller, I couldn't cut as close to the trees. [see photo a couple of posts above] I also worry about the effects of the heavier tractor on the sandy land. If you mowed in the same tracks each time, I'm afraid it would make visible ruts over time.

Enough folks have told me the B7500 would turn the 5' that I don't have any qualms about matching them up. I have trimmed my trees so it will fit under most of them, and I could even mow in the graveyard with the smaller tractor/mower. But I find the B7500's ride on the rough side.

I'm hoping to buy an old B1750 with 4' Woods mower from my work. [maybe there will be a board meeting soon] If I knew what the outcome of that was going to be, it would help me make up my mind. I could use it for the trim work and go with the 6".

Here is a picture of the old B1750. I used to spend a lot of hours mowing with it here at work. I started using it 22 years ago, and it was at least two years old then.

GManBart · Jul 20, 2013

Larro Darro said:
I pulled up my place on Google Maps, and did some measuring. When you take out for the house, sheds, garden, etc... you are left with about 6.5 acres that will be mowed. Not huge, but a good little bit of grass.

I have less acreage that I use the finish mower on than you do, and I'm glad it's not any smaller than 90"! Based upon your picture, I'd say go as wide as you can, and run it behind the Ford. I brush hog some of my other property, and I'm starting to think I should have gone up to a 7' cutter as well (have 5' and 6' now). It doesn't seem like much, but going up just a foot adds up with that kind of ground to cover.

My mower is a Sitrex SM230, which is also sold branded as a Rhino XM750. I don't have enough knowledge to say whether it's as good as the Land Pride, or Caroni models, but it's very well made, and does a nice job...just another couple of names to keep your eye out for when looking at used.

Larro Darro · Jul 20, 2013

Thanks Gmanbart. I saw some Rhino's on craigslist, but they were too far away for me. I haven't looked yet this morning, but I will.

I Googled the Sitrex SM230 and you got a deal on that one. That is the kind of deal I would like to find. I'm afraid as soon as I buy new, I will see the dream mower for a $1000 less than I paid. [I wish RFM's were like laptops. With those you can depend on the price dropping from year to year]

Larro Darro · Jul 20, 2013

My BIL called me this afternoon with a used 72" Land Pride he saw in our Current Light Flashes paper. [from the electric company] The number was from Sneads or Grandridge, 20 and 25 miles away. The asking price was $1250, but when I called it was already gone. The man said he sold it as soon as the paper came out. The first guy to look at it bought it. That was just what I wanted at the price I wanted. But I am learning you have to be lucky on the good deals. They don't last long.

whistlepig · Jul 20, 2013

This is a fair amount of ground to mow. I would go with a high end mower like Woods or Landpride. What I got in to with the cheaper mowers was metal fatigue. The bouncing on the ground and vibration of the mower would cause the wheel arms and deck around the blade pulleys to start cracking. In less than two seasons of use in my case. The cheaper mowers are cheaper for a reason.

Bigfoot62 · Jul 20, 2013

Several years ago, I bought a new Land Pride 6' finish mower. Didn't use it much, and let a friend talk me into selling it to him.
Fast forward a few years: I decided I needed another finish mower. I bought a cheaper brand.
Wish I had my Land Pride back. Does that answer your question?

Larro Darro · Jul 23, 2013

I bought a mower today. Let me thank everyone who offered their advice on this thread. It is greatly appreciated.

Before I left home I got quotes from Panhandle Tractor, the Marianna Kubota dealer, on Land Pride 5' and 6', Woods 5' and 6' and King Kutter 4'. Their salesman told me not to get a 5' for the B7500. He had a 4' King Kutter that I was thinking about buying. The Marianna TSC said they had one 6' Countyline in stock, but no 5'.

I had just missed out on three good deals on used mowers. Two LP and one Bush Hog. On Friday I had checked with TSC and they had a 5' Cl. At that point my plan was to buy the 5' and keep looking for a good used 6' LP, Woods or BH. But I had set today as the day I was going to buy. When I found out TSC was out of the 5', I was undecided on just what I was going to buy. But I had the work trailer already, so I headed to town. The plan was to look at all of them, and see which I thought was the best deal.

I get to TSC and walk out to the fenced in area to look at their mowers. The only RFM they have is a return. It's a 6' Cl, but there is a couple of rust spots where it's been skinned up a little. I looked underneath, and the blades were not worn, so it hadn't been used much. It looked more like it had got skinned up in transport. It was marked down to $1450, 150 off. But I had called to check and they had told me there was a new one in stock. So I wasn't real happy about the whole thing. I talked to the manager, and he knocked off another $50, so I decided to get it. [after taxes it was $800 and change cheaper than the 6' LP]

I didn't have long before I had to go to work, but I did cut the grass in the side yard and a couple of passes right in front of the house. 2/3 of an acre in 25 minutes. I had to go in 3rd gear low range because of the bahiagrass. And even then in the real thick stuff, it left a sprig now and then. There was rain on the way, [plus work] so I just hurried through it. I will start on the bigger front yard tomorrow.

Here is a few pictures. The spacers in the last picture is how you set the cutting height. Looks like there is a 1/2", 1" and 2" spacer. I am going to touch up the paint. Maybe a nice blue to match the 3930.