jcmseven
Veteran Member
Chuck,
Hope you are well. I have a 1060E RFM for my 2320, mainly to mow my parents' place (my property has very little grass). It does great. Any of the Frontier RFMs will rival the cuts of the best ZTR's out there. They smash up the cuttings so much that rear discharge leaves almost no residue and I feel it is easier on the engine than an equivalent side discharge deck. I like the E Frontier mower here, because it cuts 95% as well as the more expensive ones in the Frontier line for much less cash. The only real advantage of the upline mowers to me is when they are fitted to larger tractors, such as the 4000 series. Those tractors can travel at greater ground speeds and that is where the 3000+ FPM blade tip speed difference between them is notable. I looked strongly at the mid mount D mowers, but for ease of install/removal I went RFM again. The D series mowers on these machines mow like lawn tractors, except better. None of the 2000 series tractors will appreciably damage or compress the grass, they are as soft on turf as almost anything out there--mine has loaded tires. Whether with a mid mount or rear finish mower they are among the best mowing machines available. I have, as you know, owned about every piece of JD equipment known, and I can say without reservation that in most type mowing these tractors, especially with the mid mount mowers can mow almost as fast as a ZTR--unless the ground is butter smooth and there are frequent turns, which would favor the ZTR. My results showed very little difference on similar, challenging terrain and the versatility of the 2000 series machines in other areas made this an easy decision for me (i.e., to go with a tractor-mounted mower instead of a dedicated ZTR mowing machine.
John M
Hope you are well. I have a 1060E RFM for my 2320, mainly to mow my parents' place (my property has very little grass). It does great. Any of the Frontier RFMs will rival the cuts of the best ZTR's out there. They smash up the cuttings so much that rear discharge leaves almost no residue and I feel it is easier on the engine than an equivalent side discharge deck. I like the E Frontier mower here, because it cuts 95% as well as the more expensive ones in the Frontier line for much less cash. The only real advantage of the upline mowers to me is when they are fitted to larger tractors, such as the 4000 series. Those tractors can travel at greater ground speeds and that is where the 3000+ FPM blade tip speed difference between them is notable. I looked strongly at the mid mount D mowers, but for ease of install/removal I went RFM again. The D series mowers on these machines mow like lawn tractors, except better. None of the 2000 series tractors will appreciably damage or compress the grass, they are as soft on turf as almost anything out there--mine has loaded tires. Whether with a mid mount or rear finish mower they are among the best mowing machines available. I have, as you know, owned about every piece of JD equipment known, and I can say without reservation that in most type mowing these tractors, especially with the mid mount mowers can mow almost as fast as a ZTR--unless the ground is butter smooth and there are frequent turns, which would favor the ZTR. My results showed very little difference on similar, challenging terrain and the versatility of the 2000 series machines in other areas made this an easy decision for me (i.e., to go with a tractor-mounted mower instead of a dedicated ZTR mowing machine.
John M