Mowing Finish mowing with the 2320 / 2520
- Thread starter ChuckinNH
- Start date
Birdmayon
Silver Member
2520 with 72" finish mower, loaded R4's. Works great, better finish by far than I used to get with my 332 garden tractor. Tires leave no marks unless it's wet, and those go away pretty quickly. Lots of trees in the lawn to mow around and with a little practice, it isn't a problem.
Runner
Veteran Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2007
- Messages
- 1,716
- Location
- Missouri
- Tractor
- John Deere 2520, 1989 John Deere 185, 1960 Panzer T70B
I regularly finish mow 2 acres with a 2520 and Frontier GM1072R rear finish mower. The 2520 has 360 lbs of rear wheel weights (180 per side) and R4 tires. I also keep the loader frame on. My property is hilly enough that I have to be in 4WD virtually all of the time. If I take it slow on the tight turns and turns on hills, it doesn't tear up the grass too much.
As for the mower, this rig does a beautiful job with the GM1072R. I also have a 62D, however, I believe the rear mower leaves a better cut, primarily because it follows the contours of the land better.
The rear mower is heavy (675 lbs) and tends to drag the rear of the tractor down hill a little when on side hills, but just have to be aware and careful with it. Otherwise, the tractor seems to have plenty of power to handle the 72 inch rear mower.
As for the mower, this rig does a beautiful job with the GM1072R. I also have a 62D, however, I believe the rear mower leaves a better cut, primarily because it follows the contours of the land better.
The rear mower is heavy (675 lbs) and tends to drag the rear of the tractor down hill a little when on side hills, but just have to be aware and careful with it. Otherwise, the tractor seems to have plenty of power to handle the 72 inch rear mower.
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boughtaJD
Bronze Member
I'll second Gary's comments. My 2320/54DMMM setup works great - especially since I upgraded from the standard blades to Gator mulching blades. With these blades I can go longer in between mowings and still don't have any windrows of cut grass anymore. More time for other tractor activities. You can use a 3pt finish mower (they are cheaper in most cases and allow you to back under fence rails and the like but are less maneuverable than a mmm in tight areas) but for me, part of the tractor price of a 23/2520 is the mid pto - why not use it (unless you've got your eye on a nice front snowblower or rotary broom)?
JeffinNE
Bronze Member
Runner--why the rear wheel weights? I would think more weight in the front and less in back would help keep your 2520 from slipping on side hills?
I have 3 acres with lots of obstacles (trees,berms,house) in the front 1 1/4 acre and wide open for the remainder. Most is fairly flat. Using a LT190 with 48in deck now but want to upgrade to a 2320 and keep debating on the 62D or a 60in rear discharge finish mower. I don't like the windrowing effects of the side discharge 62D, but it's more manueverable. Probably need to test out both types. I don't want to have to use both the 2320 and LT190 to finish the yard. If do have to use both, maybe should look at the 2520 and a 72in rear discharge for the majority and finish up with the LT190 to git r done faster.
I have 3 acres with lots of obstacles (trees,berms,house) in the front 1 1/4 acre and wide open for the remainder. Most is fairly flat. Using a LT190 with 48in deck now but want to upgrade to a 2320 and keep debating on the 62D or a 60in rear discharge finish mower. I don't like the windrowing effects of the side discharge 62D, but it's more manueverable. Probably need to test out both types. I don't want to have to use both the 2320 and LT190 to finish the yard. If do have to use both, maybe should look at the 2520 and a 72in rear discharge for the majority and finish up with the LT190 to git r done faster.
Runner
Veteran Member
- Joined
- May 12, 2007
- Messages
- 1,716
- Location
- Missouri
- Tractor
- John Deere 2520, 1989 John Deere 185, 1960 Panzer T70B
Jeff,
The reason for the wheel weights is because the rear mower is so heavy, I was getting wheel spin on the hills and when turning corners that was tearing up the grass. The rear mower normally rides on it's own wheels so there is not a problem with too much weight on the back end. The problem is getting enough weight on the tires to provide traction. In fact, I would like to have a couple of hundred more lbs in each rear tire, but just didn't want the hassle of filling the tires.
I've even considered the idea of hanging the 62D on the machine while using the rear finish mower just for more traction but it would get in the way when doing other things with the machine....
I do keep the loader frame on just to act as a little counter balance for when I am moving around with the rear mower in the raised position.
RE: using the 72 inch rear mower to mow faster - what I found is that I didn't cut much time off of the time it takes to do it with the 62D (or even my lawn tractor with the 38 inch deck). This is because the big mower is not very maneuverable and I still have to do quite a bit of cutting in around the edges with the lawn tractor.
However, I am getting better at this and I think I am cutting a little more time off each mowing session.
One thing that is helping me (don't tell the SAFETY POLICE this...) is I'm now mowing with the ROPS folded down which allows me to get around my trees with the big machine so I don't have to spend an hour trimming around them with the lawn tractor and weed eater.
I know it's safer to run with the ROPS up, but it just makes it too hard to mow, so I'm just being real careful with it.
The reason for the wheel weights is because the rear mower is so heavy, I was getting wheel spin on the hills and when turning corners that was tearing up the grass. The rear mower normally rides on it's own wheels so there is not a problem with too much weight on the back end. The problem is getting enough weight on the tires to provide traction. In fact, I would like to have a couple of hundred more lbs in each rear tire, but just didn't want the hassle of filling the tires.
I've even considered the idea of hanging the 62D on the machine while using the rear finish mower just for more traction but it would get in the way when doing other things with the machine....
I do keep the loader frame on just to act as a little counter balance for when I am moving around with the rear mower in the raised position.
RE: using the 72 inch rear mower to mow faster - what I found is that I didn't cut much time off of the time it takes to do it with the 62D (or even my lawn tractor with the 38 inch deck). This is because the big mower is not very maneuverable and I still have to do quite a bit of cutting in around the edges with the lawn tractor.
However, I am getting better at this and I think I am cutting a little more time off each mowing session.
One thing that is helping me (don't tell the SAFETY POLICE this...) is I'm now mowing with the ROPS folded down which allows me to get around my trees with the big machine so I don't have to spend an hour trimming around them with the lawn tractor and weed eater.
I know it's safer to run with the ROPS up, but it just makes it too hard to mow, so I'm just being real careful with it.
Deadman
Veteran Member
I sure wish my 2520 would accept the 54C deck that all the JD garden tractors use, because I have one! I'd love to try it on the 2520, but I won't buy a deck just for it at this point! I'm sure it would mow like fricken crazy tho!
I use a 2520 with the 62D belly mower, R4s - unloaded and cut @ 2 acres with lots of trees, some uneven terrain. Occassionally use it to cut a 5 acre field. I love the cut, tires don't leave marks except in the swale and they go away in a few hours to a day. I used a rear Woods finish mower twice while waiting to get a replacement belt of the deck (the store is a 40 min drive with lousy hours so took 2 weeks to get the belt). The rear mower was nice for getting under some scrub trees at the property's edge but limited my ability to get in close to the trees. I usually cut up to .25" from the tree, so only use a lawn mower to edge once a month. I previously used a LT180 to cut the yard with a 48in deck. For awhile, I used my dad's old IH LoBoy with a 60in deck in addition to the LT, just to get the yard done faster. Cutting time is 50% faster now, and I can cut a swale with the 2520 while before I had to use the weed eater as the LT would get stuck in the water soaked ground.
I used a neighbors brand new Toro zero turn while mine was in for servicing, and found the finish to be essentially equivalent. Come winter time, I can clear the driveway of snow with my 2520 and his zeroturn sits waiting for spring. Same for bringing firewood out of the woods loaded in the bucket up to the house.
In short, I'm very happy with my selection. I know others that say forego the mower, get the 2520 and a nice zero turn. My view is that is now 2 vehicles to store and maintain.
Good luck with your decision.
I used a neighbors brand new Toro zero turn while mine was in for servicing, and found the finish to be essentially equivalent. Come winter time, I can clear the driveway of snow with my 2520 and his zeroturn sits waiting for spring. Same for bringing firewood out of the woods loaded in the bucket up to the house.
In short, I'm very happy with my selection. I know others that say forego the mower, get the 2520 and a nice zero turn. My view is that is now 2 vehicles to store and maintain.
Good luck with your decision.
miserymule
New member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2009
- Messages
- 9
I am finish mowing with a JD 2520 and 62 inch MMM. The tires are R4's, and they are not filled. It seems to do fine. I mowed today with pretty wet conditions, and except for a few hills where I turned sharply with 4wd engaged it didn't tear up any ground. (Turf tires would have made marks, also). No stability problems, and the mowing quality is fine. The grass was pretty long when I mowed, too. This is my first mow with this tractor. I had a smaller tractor (4100) before with turf tires. The 4100 turned a little more sharply, but not much. I like being able to lower the ROPS on the 2520 to get under low tree branches, something I couldn't do with the 4100. Unfortunately, nothing speeds up the job -- it still takes 4 hours!