Mowing Anyone mowing lawn using mmm on mid or large frame

[bth]

I am trying to decide if I can mow my lawn using a 72" mmm on a mid or large frame JD compact? I am getting a loader so I want to get the R4 tires, so I am concerned about tearing up the grass. Right now, if I go midframe, it will probably be a 3520. Large frame would be a 4120 or 4320. Just looking for anyone with experience mowing their grass with this type of machine. We just build last year on 80 acres (approximately 4 acres will be lawn and in another year probably 20 acres in small trees that will need mowing between).

Thoughts?

 

[coveredbridge]

Is there a reason you wouldn't consider a rear mount, pto driven finish mower? I've been mowing large parts of my yard for over 10 years with a JD 820 pulling a Woods RM660 72" rear mount finish mower. I believe the JD 820 is rated 35 hp and 29hp at the pto. As for the frame, I would guess it is easily equal to the current large frame compacts. The rear ag tires (well-worn, probably comparable to R-4 in tread depth) measure 14.9 - 28, I believe, and are loaded for field work.

Now, you'll notice I said "yard" and not "lawn", because my yard is mainly converted field and consists of white clover and whatever other natural fieldgrasses and weeds prevail. Generally, if the yard is dry, tearing it up is not a problem, unless I use the brake to make a sharp turn or spin the wheels on a slope. If it's wet or soft, the tires will leave an impression, at least temporarily, and or disturb the soil in a sharp turn, depending on how soft it is and how thin the grass is at that particular point. I would think that on a well established, tightly sodded lawn that is properly contoured and graded for drainage that you should not have a problem under normal mowing conditions (reasonably dry).

From what I've read on this forum, you may have some issues operating a mmm with a loader, at least if the loader remains attached during mowing. Also, from what I gather mmm's are generally more costly than rfm's, and require a mid pto, which may not be std equipment on the tractors you are considering. As for quality of cut with the rfm, I am very pleased with the performance of the Woods. I just wish sometimes I had a decent "lawn" to use it on so I could really appreciate the quality of the cut.

This is an excellent forum, and I'm sure you'll get more posts from those more experienced than I in the specific area you inquired about, but that's my two cents worth.

Why is it "a penny for your thoughts" but you have to "put your two cents in"? Seems like somebody's making a penny somewhere. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[bth]

A rfm is certainly an option, I am just concerned about manuevering it in tight areas since 3pt attachments always swing a lot when turning.

Have you used you rfm in tall grass that is only mowed a few times a year (12-24" tall)? How well does it work for that?

 

[Darren]

I bought a mmm along with a Kubota L3710. I went with the L3710 in part because it was one of the bigger CUTs you could buy that had a mid-PTO. The first problem with a mmm on the L3710 is that it's not easy on or off. Kubota never figured someone would want to take the thing on and off several times a year on that size tractor. It was designed as a setup for someone mowing a lot of grass.

While the mower does a fine job it also kills your clearance if you're doing loader work in an area where you need it. If that's the case you have to pull the mower off and then reattach it for the next grass cutting session.

If I knew what I know now when I placed the order, I wouldn't have bought the mmm. I still use it running Ags. Yes it does rip up the grass if you're not real careful. The Ags will also leave an imprint in soft ground. I'm not a big fan of a manicured lawn so it's not a big deal for me.

 

[755inNY]

bth,

I currently have a JD 4310 with a 72" MMM, FEL and R4s. I moved up after owning a JD 755 (20 hp, hydro) with a 60" MMM, FEL and turf tires for 16 years. I do not mow with the FEL on as it is just in the way. I mount the FEL when I need to use it. It goes on and off very easily. Most of the hours on the tractor are for mowing so I opted to get the MMM on the 4310 to better utilize the tractor.

I have found the R4s do not tear up the turf as long you are not in 4WD. Keep it in 2WD and even tight turns are OK. I do find that the R4s leave impressions in the grass and can leave depressions in the sod. The impressions of the R4s in the grass made it look like it was cut with a dozer. They went away in a couple of days. Last summer was the first season with the 4310 and it was a wetter than normal summer. The MMM does a great job cutting the grass and the 4310 with ehydro is very maneuverable. I think the extra 1200 pounds of the 4310 is too heavy for my lawn for 4 out of the 7 mowing months. The JD MMM comes off and goes on very easily.

To be honest, the 4310 is more tractor than I need. The 755 did 80% of the stuff I wanted well but there was that 20% where I wished for more heft, HP and traction. I won't give up the 4310 for a smaller tractor. I will see how it works this year but am considering a zero turn. I really like the 4310 and MMM for maintaining my pasture.

Jeff

 

[coveredbridge]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( A rfm is certainly an option, I am just concerned about manuevering it in tight areas since 3pt attachments always swing a lot when turning.

Have you used you rfm in tall grass that is only mowed a few times a year (12-24" tall)? How well does it work for that? )</font>

It's true you need more room to manuever with a rfm. That's why I mainly use it for the larger, more open yard areas. However, I would think it would be much less of a concern with a hydro as opposed to my 4-spd hi/lo range gear box. Mowing with that in tight places means a lot of clutching and shifting, it gets tiring real fast. That's why I bought the bx1500 - it's replacing my cub cadet 107 as the "riding mower" for tighter yard areas, but it also can do some other tasks with the FEL and 3-pt hitch. Keep in mind also, that the rfm will give you more "reach" than the mmm will if you want to back it under trees, etc.

I have about 8 acres of "field" that I had mowed for years with the Woods rfm. It can manage 12" pretty well, but a decent cut on anything much higher than that, especially if it's thick, is going to take two passes. I also think it's pretty hard on the blades - it's not really designed for that type of cutting, I don't believe. I've found my no-name rotary cutter does a much more efficient job on the field, especially since I replaced the old, stone-blunted blades. It's just not as pretty a cut as the Woods. But even with the bush hog, you're not going to be moving very fast in 24" grass if you want a decent cut, IMHO. Having said that, I would think the rfm would do at least as good a job as the mmm in high field grass, if not better, just because I would think you would have more lift range with the 3 point hitch than you would with the mmm. In other words, you might run over the 24' grass with the rfm raised to 12" on the 3 pt hitch and then again at maybe 6". I don't think that would be an option with the mmm, but I have done it with the rfm when too much rain (or fishing) caused me to get behind in my mowing.

 

[Glenn9643]

I think you'll be happier with a dedicated lawn mower for the four acres of lawn and get a bush-hog that'll work on the remainder of the eighty acres. I use a 6' cutter to keep about 15 acres cut here and as long as the blades are sharp it looks nice. We have a JD455 with 60" deck for the lawn, about 4 acres.
The R4's will mark your sod a lot more than a dedicated mower even in 2WD. I leave my FEL attached because I use it so much, and that makes it tough in tight places too.

 

[WCarlson]

I have to concur with Glenn9643. I have a JD 4200 with a 60" MMM. It is too heavy for the lawn near the house. I use it for the 3 acres away from the house where it doesn't matter if I leave tracks or tear up the grass. For the area near the house I use a JD LX176 with a 38" mower. The little lawn tractor with a 10 cu ft trailer is additionally used by the wife as a mechanized wheel barrow for her landscaping, etc.. The combination is better for my purposes than the big tractor with either a MMM or a RMM.
Bill

 

[Jagmandave]

Put me in the dedicated mower camp too. I bought a ZTR mower as my property has a bunch of trees to mow around plus it's very hilly, and I wasn't very comfortable up on top of a tippy narrow gauge tractor. The ZTR is much faster, leaves a very clean mow and I can get in tight to trees and other obstacles. I also don't whack my head on all the low hanging brances anymore. What used to take about 3 scary hours now takes about 1............
I guess if my property were flat and didn't have so many trees I might just use a finish mower behind my Yanny..........

 

[Riddler]

I am with Jag and the others who believe that a dedicated mower is the way to go. I have several acres of grassy area (e.g., naturally reseeding areas of oat hay, etc.) with varying slopes. Last April, when I bought the property, I also bought a Class III CUT to do some earth work, logging and other improvement chores. At that time, I almost pulled the trigger on a rfm or flail mower for the tractor, but decided to wait to see how the tractor preformed at the property. The tractor has a loader and is equipped with filled R-4s.

Well, I am so glad that gave myself a year of experience acoss all of the seasons before making a decision on how to tackle the all-important mowing duties. Just this last Saturday, I took delivery of a heavy duty ZTR with 60" deck. I could not be happier.

Although I have only 5 hours of seat time on the ZTR, it seems more than capable of cutting the taller (e.g., 18") grass, and it is comfortable on all of the sloped areas. I also have no concern about leaving tire imprints, even just a few days after it has rained. Being able to zip around areas where space/room is limited is also a huge plus.

I love the tractor, but I am not willing to do work with it on terrain that is even moderately sloped. Also, unless the ground is bone dry (i.e., no rain for weeks) it will leave impressions in the ground that take a long time to disappear (if ever).

On my property, I am now firmly convinced that having the ZTR increases the quality and reach of my mowing by an immeasurable degree. Also, I was able to purchase a barely used $7,300 unit for $5,000, so the additional cost of the separate mower over a good quality rfm or flail for the tractor was acceptable. Yes, I probably am out of pocket $3K more, and I can only cut 5' at a time, instead of 7' or 8' feet, but in the end, the property looks 100% better because of the far better coverage and precision that I get with the ZTR.