Woods RD990-X Finish Mower

[gatorguy7]

I picked up a new 990-X mower this week! There are a few threads talking about them but no reviews. I thought I would create a thread with some thorough feedback in case any one else out there is looking at one. I went with this mower for a few reasons - swing blades, higher HP rating, cutting height. I'm using a 70hp Kubota so most finish mowers cannot handle that much power. I'm mowing horse pastures and road sides around my home. I've been doing it with a zero turn mower but if I don't do it every week its easy to get bogged down with a zero turn mower.

Here's a few pictures of the day I brought it home. I'm hoping to break it in this weekend. That's one of the perks of living in Florida - pasture are growing on March 1! lol More details to come

 

[g8erh8er]

Well I’ll be! I didn’t realize you could get what essentially amounts to a rotary cutter in a finish mower layout (4 wheels). Mind revealing price you paid?

I have a 55hp and would love the PRD8400 for our 8 acres, but dang the $$$ they want for that thing! I cringe thinking what yours cost. Thx for sharing. Interested to see how it works for you!

 

[sixdogs]

The RD990 is probably the finest country finish mower made and when you're done mowing it looks like a lawn crew did it. You can mow as fast as you can hang on.

 

[RickB]

The RD990 is probably the finest country finish mower made and when you're done mowing it looks like a lawn crew did it. You can mow as fast as you can hang on.

Probably is the best one made today. But the RM990 that preceded it was a more robustly built machine.

 

[chim]

Well I値l be! I didn稚 realize you could get what essentially amounts to a rotary cutter in a finish mower layout (4 wheels). .............................................

Here's a bottom view. My BIL test drove this one. He bought one just like it in orange to match his L4740.

 

[PSDStu]

Probably is the best one made today. But the RM990 that preceded it was a more robustly built machine.

I still have a 13yo RM990 and its the BEST mower i've ever owned. As long as I can get parts I will be happy!

 

[dieselscout80]

Hey a couple of quick question for you guys who use these two Woods 90” finish mower how do they handle the roughness of a pasture do the wheels/mounts get damaged or bent?

Also are you using the gauge wheels or a check chain or the 3 point to set the cut height?

What I like about them is that they can be set to cut at about 8” high and I like to cut our pastures at that height.

 

[gatorguy7]

Well I’ll be! I didn’t realize you could get what essentially amounts to a rotary cutter in a finish mower layout (4 wheels). Mind revealing price you paid?

I have a 55hp and would love the PRD8400 for our 8 acres, but dang the $$$ they want for that thing! I cringe thinking what yours cost. Thx for sharing. Interested to see how it works for you!

It was $5,200 plus dealer fee of $198. The Woods and the Landpride 3690 were both ~$5,000. My local Landpride dealers all said 8 week wait once they received a deposit. The Woods dealer was 2 hours away but he had several in stock ready to go with 0% financing. I know there have been a few comments about the latest 990 being of lesser quality but I sure can't any shortfalls by looking at it.

Hey a couple of quick question for you guys who use these two Woods 90” finish mower how do they handle the roughness of a pasture do the wheels/mounts get damaged or bent?

Also are you using the gauge wheels or a check chain or the 3 point to set the cut height?

What I like about them is that they can be set to cut at about 8” high.

I haven't seen any complaints about the casters except the pin on top of the caster coming off releasing the caster and all of the spacers. As for the mowing height, that is set by the spacers on the casters. The 3 point hitch is just pulling it around, not setting the cut height.

 

[TheMadOne]

As strictly a backup for a Zero Turn do you think 28 PTO HP would be enough to run a RM90-2? Grass only and probably never above ankle high.

Asking because there's one for sale locally for cheap that doesn't look bad for its age.

 

[RickB]

My well used RM990 didn’t have front casters when I acquired it. I ran it on check chains for a year then put front casters on it that winter. It follows the ground much better.

 

[RickB]

As strictly a backup for a Zero Turn do you think 28 PTO HP would be enough to run a RM90-2? Grass only and probably never above ankle high.

Asking because there's one for sale locally for cheap that doesn't look bad for its age.

Probably.

 

[Engineer42]

They’re a tough mower. I bought mine used in 05 and it was probably 10 years old then. I’ve put blades on it twice, replaced the seals and bearings in the wheels once, a new Drive belt once, and a year ago added a stiffener plate across the front and welded up a few cracks in the deck. Also painted the underside of the deck. I use it to mow 5 acres weekly. When I bought it the gearbox seal was toast and the previous owner had filled it with grease. I installed a fitting in the plate on top of the gearbox and it gets 50 pumps with the grease gun before every use while greasing the wheels every other use. It’s a great mower and if I ever have to replace it I will get another 990.

 

[sixdogs]

As strictly a backup for a Zero Turn do you think 28 PTO HP would be enough to run a RM90-2? Grass only and probably never above ankle high.

Asking because there's one for sale locally for cheap that doesn't look bad for its age.

I have a Woods RD8400, which is similar to the RD990 and I pull it with a Kubota B7800 in conditions similar to what you describe. No problem at all for my 30 engine and 22 pto horsepower.

 

[tlj87]

I bought a new RD990x last fall to use on my Ford 3000. I only used it for about an hour to mulch up some leaves before putting it away for the winter. It seems like a really nice unit — I’m looking forward to seeing how it performs in various scenarios this year and beyond. I’m combining a finish mower and brush hog with this purchase, since my brush hogging is very infrequent and really is only cutting golden rods and similar veg., no thick brush or sapling cutting.

 

[gatorguy7]

Quick Update on the RD990-X - It is a beefy mower and cuts extremely well. I'm still waiting on the growing season to really get going in central Florida. We've had a dry spring so things aren't really cranking just yet. That being said, I have mowed some light brush and cool season weeds and it has cut very well. The lifting power is unreal. My zero turn struggles to pull up light wispy weeds and this 990 doesn't miss anything. I'm anxious to get it into a realy thick pasture in mid summer to see what it does.

My zero turn is a Toro Titan 54" with 23hp Kawasaki. I mow at 7-8 mph regularly. On the tractor, I'm usually in 4 or 5 out of 8 speeds and averaging 5-7 mpg. I have been able to cut my mowing time by 75%. The 70hp Kubota I'm using uses about 4 times the fuel as the Kawasaki. Since I'm saving so much time my fuel cost is pretty comparable.

I cannot stress enough how stout and well built this mower is. You can see a large 2.5" square rectangular tube running across the front of the mower deck. My 8,000 lbs tractor grunts a little and you can feel it pick up the mower. Here's a few pictures

 

[gatorguy7]

I'm still really pleased with the 990X. Its been a great mower. The quality of cut is unparalleled. I got a little worried about some tall weeds it wasn't cutting and then I realized it was because the blades had finally worn out and weren't providing as much lift. I threw on a new set of blades and voila, back to a perfect cut regardless of the height of the grass. I did run into a tree with one of the front wheels which bent the caster shank. It doesn't affect anything except I can't adjust the height any lower because of the bend.

 

[Brown Dog]

I started out with a 72” Land Pride, then a 84” Bush Hog then a 110” Befco RFM : all rear discharge.
I mowed around 15 acres at 4” height.
I liked the BH RDTH84 the best.

This Woods 90” would be an ideal size.

I sold all three & went with a 72” Zero.

 

[tlj87]

I'm still really pleased with the 990X. Its been a great mower. The quality of cut is unparalleled. I got a little worried about some tall weeds it wasn't cutting and then I realized it was because the blades had finally worn out and weren't providing as much lift. I threw on a new set of blades and voila, back to a perfect cut regardless of the height of the grass. I did run into a tree with one of the front wheels which bent the caster shank. It doesn't affect anything except I can't adjust the height any lower because of the bend.

I've bent a couple of the wheel arms and the shafts a few times now and have had to have them repaired. The mower is nice ballast since it's heavy but it's big and easy to to accidentally run into things when focusing on what's on the forks or in the bucket...