Advice on batwing mower.

[radman1]

Farmwithjunk

I don't have much road travel 2-3 miles of gravel at most. I didn't realize that laminated tires are that stiff on the road until you and others mentioned it. I have them on 3 pt mowers but never down on the road. I have an pull type old paddle scraper with airplane tires and they do seem to be very durable but require high psi.

I can't imagine pulling a 40' rotary mower. There would be no end to the number of things I would run into!


chh

I did a little research on the C/V driveline. Thanks for the explaination. It certainly seems like the way to go. We have a 20' older pull type flail mower without the C/V driveline and it requires relatively wide turns due to 1000 pto and chatter.
For anyones info, the standard U-joint driveline is called the Cardan type. A C/V driveline is also referred to as a "Double Cardan" driveline by some.

 

[EquipmentUser]

IMO you can't go wrong with a Bush Hog or a Rhino. We have a 20' BH, 20' JD, and a 15' Rhino. All are good machines, the only thing i've had trouble with Rhino is getting parts, and our cutter isn't that old either.

For the money BH is the way to go. We bought both our 20's new and the BH was $3000 cheaper and is just as good a cutter. The JD has a double deck design that makes it more expensive. Whichever one you get be sure to get dual wheels on the wings. 1 wheel to support that heavy wing just isn't enough, duals provide a lot better flotation and less scalping.

 

[radman1]

I finally found a batwing mower. Saw a used JD HX 15' mower advertised in my area and bought it. Was planning on a 20' but this one was in excellent shape and the price was right. It has the larger, 26" severe duty tires, dual wheels on the wings, C/V driveline and antiwindrow kit. Was used on 200 acres of CRP a few years ago and then about a mile of roadside mowing each year. I do like the sping mounted flotation the JD mower has. A spring is mounted on each rear wheel to smooth out rough terrain. Rhino and landpride place their spring on the hydraulic in the middle.
Talked with several dealers and very few had sold a 20' mower. One dealer had a new 20' rhino left over from last year but it seemed really wide and the price was just under 18K. All dealers said the same as many of you mentioned with the laminated tires - rough riding on roads and noisey. Most recommended the foam filled airplane tires.
I just hope the JD mower get along with the Case-IH tractors.

 

[ddivinia]

I finally found a batwing mower. Saw a used JD HX 15' mower advertised in my area and bought it. Was planning on a 20' but this one was in excellent shape and the price was right. It has the larger, 26" severe duty tires, dual wheels on the wings, C/V driveline and antiwindrow kit. Was used on 200 acres of CRP a few years ago and then about a mile of roadside mowing each year. I do like the sping mounted flotation the JD mower has. A spring is mounted on each rear wheel to smooth out rough terrain. Rhino and landpride place their spring on the hydraulic in the middle.
Talked with several dealers and very few had sold a 20' mower. One dealer had a new 20' rhino left over from last year but it seemed really wide and the price was just under 18K. All dealers said the same as many of you mentioned with the laminated tires - rough riding on roads and noisey. Most recommended the foam filled airplane tires.
I just hope the JD mower get along with the Case-IH tractors.

It sounds like you got a good one. I have a HX-15 I bought new. I only have the single wheels on the wings. I have the severe ag tires, etc. It has been a good mower - I am glad I didn't go any larger.

D.

 

[blackmax12]

I have a rhino batwing mower used twice with clattering in the u-joints during turns that I have heard leads to progressive failure of the u-joints. Is this a common problem resulting in failure in the u-joints (?), or is it the intolerable noise that leads to their replacement? Since I am a beginner in pasture mowing, I am curious regarding the above question.

If it is a turning wear-damage that leads to replacement of the U-joint kit I would rather replace and avoid such a problem. Noise would be tolerable, but not a known and preventable damage with cost. If it is a destructive damage problem, where can I locate these preventable replacement kits?

Thanks for your asisstance regarding my rookie knowledge.
Blackmax

 

[mlauk]

The u-joints are going to clatter on the turns, just try not to turn extremely sharp turns. Keep the u-joints greased and if there is no play in the u-joints they should be good. Rhino's equipped with a CV joint can be turned up to 70 deg without any noise according to the operators manual.

 

[HayDR]

First if your cutter does not have a CV PTO shaft then you will be limited to the Turning radius. Also some tractors PTO's are not exactly centered, they may be off center by 2" but you will find you can turn a little sharper in one direction than you can the other direction. If you have a bat-winged cutter and you will be mowing where you have to make sharp turns to avoid obstacles then a CV is a must.