60" vs 72" finish deck

[jnelson]

I just purchased a 6284 Cud Cadet CUT 4 x 4 with 28 HP Perkins diesel engine and hydro. I now need to purchase a 3 point finish mower to use with it. I am undecided between a 60" and a 72" deck. Some 72" deck literature recommends them for tractors between 30 and 45 HP. Is it possible that a 72" would be too much for my 28 HP tractor?

I understand that the 72" mower would also be more unwieldy in tight areas and of course the 12" wider deck should mow more area faster where tight maneuvering and I will need to consider these factors as well. Right now though I am concerned about the 28 HP with 72" deck.

Since I have not owned a diesel tractor or finish mower before any experience and advice you can share with me will be appreciated.

Thanks!

jnelson

 

[Diamondpilot]

I had a 60" King Kutter. It was a POS. Broke every other time I used it. Paid $1100 and spent another $800 in parts over 3 years. I keep all the receipts. Anyway got a Caroni Rear Discharge 72" mower last year and used it all summer with not one break down. Did lose one bolt on the belt cover but probably my fault because I had check the belts the day before for tension and figure I forgot to torque it down.

Back to your question. I run both with zero issues and really can not tell a difference behind a 28 HP Jinma with 25 PTO HP.

Chris

 

[daBear]

I might be able to help since I have a similar size tractor and I have owned both a 60" and a 72" rear finish mower. I have a 29 HP Kubota L2800 and about 2 years ago a friend let me borrow his Bush Hog RDTH72 rear discharge finish mower. I have about 2.5 acres of grass to cut and a good many trees plus a few hills to get up and down. I used his for all one summer until he needed it back and luck was with me as my local dealer was closing out some of last years stock and had a Bush Hog RDTH 60 on sale for $1200 which is a steal.

I have now been using the 60" for a year and really like it. It is somewhat lighter than the 6' which my CUT handles better. The anti scalping wheel in the front works better on the smaller one and I can not really tell the mowing time difference. Of course the smaller one is more maneuverable around trees. You did not say how many acres you are mowing but unless it is more than a couple the 5' finish mower will be fine. If you are mowing 4 or 5 acres the extra foot will be nice. Hope this helps.

 

[Thumper & Buttercup]

When we got our DX25 they said it was too small for a 6' mower. We have our 35hp now and we are good to go for a 6'. Same thing with our old Ford 9N, a 5' was the best we could do.

 

[mike194]

I have a Agco St30x which has about 28.5 engine horsepower. I use a 84" finish mower behind it and do not have any issue with horsepower. but I only use it only on the lawn grass, I have a rotary brush mower for the longer stuff. and my wife usually drives behind me in a smaller riding mower that goes around the tree's. it is hard to go around anything but it does the open area's very fast. My vote would be for a 72" heck you can buy a 60" mower on them piles of junk at home depot.

 

[whistlepig]

I just purchased a 6284 Cud Cadet CUT 4 x 4 with 28 HP Perkins diesel engine and hydro. I now need to purchase a 3 point finish mower to use with it. I am undecided between a 60" and a 72" deck. Some 72" deck literature recommends them for tractors between 30 and 45 HP. Is it possible that a 72" would be too much for my 28 HP tractor?

I understand that the 72" mower would also be more unwieldy in tight areas and of course the 12" wider deck should mow more area faster where tight maneuvering and I will need to consider these factors as well. Right now though I am concerned about the 28 HP with 72" deck.

Since I have not owned a diesel tractor or finish mower before any experience and advice you can share with me will be appreciated.

Thanks!
I have a Kubota B7800 with 30 HP and I use a 72" RFM to mow ten acres. It handles this mower easily. What has to be taken in to consideration is the weight of these mowers on the three point. My PRD7200 weighs 720#. A 72" RFM of any flavor is a pretty good size hunk o' metal. My yard is flat as a pancake and I probably raise and lower this mower less than six times while mowing. If my yard was hilly I think the 720# weight of this mower would make the tractor unstable if the mower was raised on a side hill. The mowing time saved for a 72" mower over a 60" mower is significant. But so is the weight.

I didn't know that some Cub Cadets came with a Perkins diesel. I have had an Oliver OC-3 track loader with a Perkins gas motor and a MF135 with a Perkins diesel motor. I consider a Perkins motor as one of the very best ever made.

jnelson[/QUOTE

 

[mike194]

Whistlepig brings up a very good point, my tractor is able to lift the 84" unit but i rarely ever even hook up the toplink when mowing. i rarely have a reason to pick up the mower. if it has a good set of pneumatic large diameter tires when you want to move to a different location and drive a little faster then it is never really an issue not to lift it up. here in SD there are no inclines so the side hilling is not an issue.

 

[6string]

I have been looking for a 5ft finishing mower for my 3005, found a Buhler for $1650. Very well built machine. My John Deere dealer has Bush Hog for $1800. Finishing mowers are OVERPRICED!!!!! I paid $1900 for my 296 Bushog and I know it will last a lot longer than a finishing mower.

 

[whistlepig]

I have been looking for a 5ft finishing mower for my 3005, found a Buhler for $1650. Very well built machine. My John Deere dealer has Bush Hog for $1800. Finishing mowers are OVERPRICED!!!!! I paid $1900 for my 296 Bushog and I know it will last a lot longer than a finishing mower.

Bush Hog makes good stuff. Well worth the price.

 

[daBear]

Is it possible that a 72" would be too much for my 28 HP tractor?

I understand that the 72" mower would also be more unwieldy in tight areas and of course the 12" wider deck should mow more area faster where tight maneuvering and I will need to consider these factors as well. Right now though I am concerned about the 28 HP with 72" deck.

Thanks!

jnelson

The 28 hp will do fine with a 72" deck unless the grass it over a foot tall and thick. You will notice a little lightness in the front end when going up hills that you do not have with the 60" deck. My dealer turns out Kubota L2800's with 72" deck all the time without problems. So I feel your tractor will be fine with it.

 

[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.