60" vs 72" finish deck

[jnelson]

Wow. Thanks everybody for all of the helpful information!

I mow 2.5 acres and there is some hilly area and more than a few trees and other obstacles. I am now realizing that these factors will be the most important things to consider and I think I will be best sticking to the 60" mower.

I am now believing that any time I could gain with the wider width will be lost to more issues maneuvering in tight areas. Regardless, the 60" finish mower should still dramatically reduce the time I have spent mowing over the years using a 42" riding mower! I can't wait for the grass to start growing!

jnelson

 

[DCJL]

You might consider one of the 59" Caroni fine flail mowers. I have a 72" New Holland finish mower and some hills and it has a tendancy to scalp with all the undulations on my property. Maybe someone with one of the Caronin flail mowers and hilly properties could chime in.

 

[djradz]

Yes a 60" will be quicker than your riding lawn tractor, but if I was mowing that much, I'd opt for the 72". In fact, several years ago I used a 72" RFM behind a tractor even smaller than yours with great success. The 72" is clearly not too much and I think you will otherwise find that the 60" still takes you quite a bit of time to mow such a large lot. If you ever were to find that the tractor is bogging down with the larger 72", all you'd need to do is bite off just a slightly narrower swath.

 

[jfox]

My B-2150 hydro handles a 72" Land pride air tunnel just fine. Slow down when it is tall/thick or wet. Most of the season I drive it fairly fast.
Many said it can't handle this much mower but it does just fine. Driver is the difference.

 

[fiveacrefarmer]

This is my first post on this site. I want to thank everyone for their posts on this question. I have a Kubota B7800 and am in the process of searching out a good finish mower. I wasn't sure if the 78" would be a good idea, but it sounds like it'll fit the tractor just fine.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I owned a Yanmar 1700 and a Land Pride 5' RFM for 14 years. The Land Pride was considered a light duty unit as it only weighed around 440#. The Yanmar was rated @ 20 HP with 17 @ the PTO. In 14 years I replaced a couple of belts and a couple of wheels on the Land Pride. It was an excellent unit.

As far as power, the 1700 ran it just fine. In 14 years I put over 583 running hours on both units and they were very well matched.

In July of 06, I purchased a Ford New Holland 1720 and ran the Land Pride until the Spring of 07. Then I purchased a new Woods 72" PRD. This unit is considered heavy duty. It weighs in at @ 660#.

I can tell you that my newer 1720 pulls the Woods just fine too. The 1720 is rated @ 28HP with 23.5 @ the PTO. You should be fine with the Bota. Just match your speed with the rate of cut. I normally mow in 7th gear as my ground is too rough to mow in 8th. My tractor is a 12x12 Synchro Shuttle Shift.

The 6' RFM will mow quicker than the 5' RFM if you have adequate open ground to mow. I've contemplated a zero turn for several years now but have concluded that my ground is too hilly and rough. The added speed in mowing with the zero turn would be offset by the rough hilly ground.

 

[Runner]

I run a 72 inch RFM on a JD2520 which has about 20 PTO HP and have had no problems with power. The only problem I've had is with the weight of the mower (Frontier GM1072R) versus the weight of the tractor. I have lots of hills to mow and traction is a problem. Therefore, I wouldn't think you'd have any problems power-wise, but you might want to get some wheel weights or load the tires.

 

[WH401]

Last fall I went from a 60" MMM on a Cub to a 72" RFM behind my new JD. The change in size was highly noticeable in the shorter amount of time it takes me to cut the grass now. While the 72" mower has a higher chance of scalping, a higher chance of not cutting evenly on a dip, and it takes more power to run, I wouldn't ever think twice about not buying another 72". After one or two mows you will learn where and how to cut so that you don't scalp and so you can get an even cut. Another advantage of the 72" is the reach of the sides of the mower compared to the 60", you get an extra 1/2 ft. on each side.

 

[Builder]

The older I get, the more I value my time. I constantly buy machinery that's too small to save money, then end up selling it for larger/faster equipment.

I'd go with the 72" to get the job done faster. If weight became a problem, a simple set of suitcase weights on the front oughta make that go away.