Rear Finish Mower Advice regarding rear finish mower

[jcmseven]

Well,

I wanted all to know how this turned out. Sure enough, after much brewing on the situation, my dealer discovered that the Bush Hog RFM and the I match hitch are NOT compatable without a lot of fabrication work. He ordered a Frontier 72" RD mower for my tractor, which should be in this week. He has offered to send a truck my way to deliver the machine so I will not have to make the long drive again. He said "enough with the fabrication, let's go with the Frontier brand" which makes sense to me. The only thing is that he ordered a 1072E "economy" mower. I do not mow THAT much and the lighter gauge steel and the lighter duty gearbox should be OK for me, but we'll see. He was able to save me some money with this choice, too.

John M

 

[trlong]

John,

CHECK THAT COMPATIBILITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just pulled this from "...deere.com" link to Frontier Economy mowers:

Models: GM1048E, GM1060E, GM1072E
Cat. I Hitch & iMatch Compatible with Kit
Floating Top Hitch
11-Gauge Reinforced Deck
High Blade Speed
One Piece Balanced Steel Pulleys
Rugged 30-HP Gearbox
Single Belt Drive with Automatic Belt Idler
Spindle Shafts Greased From the Top for Easy Service

NOTE THE 2nd Line..."iMatch Compatible with Kit"

I may be wrong but my 1060E was not "I-MATCH COMPATIBLE" w/o the conversion kit. I believe the 1072E, unless a very recent updated version, also requires the conversion kit. The "Conversion Kit" instructions list the 1072E, 1060E, and 1042E as the mowers requiring this kit. The driveline that should come with it should be long enough to deal with the added distance the I-Match pushes the mower back but the kit is necessary.

If you go with that mower, make sure you get the kit (if needed as suspected), know what it's going to cost you, and have the dealer install it and pick it up with the I-Match when they deliver it. If, as I suspect, it is not a great fit, the dealer can see that right then and there. I've attached one pic that shows the "skew" of the swing arm to rear support arms. I got "most" of that skew out but it is still not what I'd like!

As for the mower...I have no problems with the 1060E. It is actually a pretty rugged mower for the $'s and does a great job if you keep the blades sharp and the under-deck cleaned of too much wet grass. The 1st time I did my neighbor's 5 acres he asked "What the H*** did you cut that with...it's amazing...there's not a shred of cut grass to be seen".

Hope it all works out for you.

Tom

 

[trlong]

John,

I forgot to mention you probably want that "Anti-Scalping" roller too. It really does keep that pointed front edge from scalping off high spots on a lawn.

Also, I wrote 1042E where I meant 1048E.

Here's a front pic of the 1060E with the kit and roller. Sorry it's not a better pic.

Tom

 

[LAXPatrick]

So what exactly does the kit consist of? Would you mind taking a couple of close-up pics? I too have made the I-Match mistake (1072E RFM).

Thanks,

Patrick

 

[trlong]

Patrick,

I'm not sure how to insert a link to my thread on this. So, here's the name of the thread. Hopefully a "search" will get you there. I posted several pic's that will help give you an idea of what's involved. If you want to e-mail me/pm me...I'll scan a few pages of the "Install Manual" and attach them to a return e-mail or pm.

Tom

Here's my previous post's title: <font color="blue">Frontier GM I-Match Conversion Kit</font>

 

[LAXPatrick]

Tom,

Thanks for the reference to the thread - found it! Wow... there's a lot to that kit.

In the thread there was mention of simply hooking a chain to the top link - sounds straightforward. I'll tinker and let you guys know what I end up with. The old Millermatic may be called into action...

LAXPatrick

 

[trlong]

Patrick,

Good luck with it. I know the "chain" reference...wasn't it "Benthere"? Anyway, with the GM1060E, I was still struggling to line up the lower lift arms and thought chain would have been constantly scraping the paint off of my I-Match. Hope it works out for you. I mowed about 5 acres this afternoon and everything rode perfectly...Finally. Now I can actually get the FEL and RB off, and the 1060 on in just about 5 minutes, start to "ready to mow".

Cheers,

Tom