flex wing mower

[SuperDutyDave]

Guys

I have a chance to buy a nice used Frontier FM2115R 15' flex wing mower. Very expensive new...can buy for about 50 cents on the dollar. Any expirence opinion on these?

My current tractor is at the low end of the HP requirement...dealer thinks there is no issue as I am just mowing fairly short grass in level fields...think golf course rough...about 20 acres every ten days.

May move up in tractor size again soon but for now I am hanging with my 3720 Deere...deal won't last long so either I act or not...Help

Anyone have one etc.

thanks

Dave

 

[FLHayman]

I have a Rhino 15' mower, and have had a Woods 15' mower. I always prefer seeing that nice large swath behind the tractor with each pass. One concern might be the PTO load to start it. I always idle the engine and engage the PTO as smoothly as possible, with blades lifted to not contact any foliage. Another consideration might be to have a main drive shaft slip clutch put on the mower if it doesn't have it. That way, if you encounter a scalping spot, or heavy growth, the clutch will slip rather than putting that tremendous load on your PTO mechanism. Adjust the springs on the slip clutch loose enough so that they will slip at some point, though.....yes, you may have to someday tighten them up or even, way down the line replace the slip clutch, but I think it's good to cushion those unexpected big loads.
I have pulled those mowers with one tractor at, and another below recommended power, and it's all down to the speed that you move. Keep the blades moving at max continuous rpm, and adjust forward speed to match the tractor's power to the amount of foliage. It can vary tremendously what thickness of grass you are cutting. Thick bermuda can be more of a load than plowing into a big, bushy weed patch that's 3 feet high.

 

[Soundguy]

TD shows the deer 3720 as a 44 eng hp machine... I'm not sure of the pto hp. but guess 40/41 or so. Also shows hydro trans, and ind 540 pto, and shows it is a cat 1 machine ( big cat one... ).

I dl'd the pdf spec sheet covering that finish mower.

It does show a tractor hp rating of 35-80 and 540 pto rpm.. so.. it sounds like if you really are just cutting 'rough' type grass.. then you are probably ok.. assuming you have the remotes to handle the lift.

I have a JD 1517 15' flexwing mower. I echo the sentiments of the other poster.. it's nice to look behind you and see such a wide swath cut.

Soundguy

Guys

I have a chance to buy a nice used Frontier FM2115R 15' flex wing mower. Very expensive new...can buy for about 50 cents on the dollar. Any expirence opinion on these?

My current tractor is at the low end of the HP requirement...dealer thinks there is no issue as I am just mowing fairly short grass in level fields...think golf course rough...about 20 acres every ten days.

May move up in tractor size again soon but for now I am hanging with my 3720 Deere...deal won't last long so either I act or not...Help

Anyone have one etc.

thanks

Dave

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Guys

I have a chance to buy a nice used Frontier FM2115R 15' flex wing mower. Very expensive new...can buy for about 50 cents on the dollar. Any expirence opinion on these?

My current tractor is at the low end of the HP requirement...dealer thinks there is no issue as I am just mowing fairly short grass in level fields...think golf course rough...about 20 acres every ten days.

May move up in tractor size again soon but for now I am hanging with my 3720 Deere...deal won't last long so either I act or not...Help

Anyone have one etc.

thanks

Dave

I'm sure there are a few "experts" that can confirm or dispell this but I THINK Woods makes that mower for Frontier/John Deere. It should be a decent mower for the use you described. Woods folding deck mowers, both "finish" and rough cut have a rep for gearbox troubles, but that's in hard commercial/AG use where they earned the bad rep. A Deere dealer told me that their mowers have had a high failure rate on the deck hinges. I'm thinking he was talking about big heavy duty batwings, and NOT including the Frontier line, but then again, he was speaking to heavy duty commercial use issues. (I was shopping for a new batwing. Ended up with Bush Hog)

I'd be a little skeptical as to how that much mower will effect your tractor over the long haul though. Components like the PTO brake take a pounding with mowers bigger than the tractor is really intended for. (Idle down with PTO in gear, THEN shut off the PTO so the brake doesn't need to deal with all the pent up energy of a spinning BIG mower.)

 

[riptides]

Can someone dig up some prices for me on the Woods 15 foot batwings?

I am going auction shopping this w/e. I would like quick pointers on what to look for.

Thanks.

-Mike Z.

 

[gabby]

You're gonna need a bigger tractor. Pulling a batwing with a little tractor is like pulling a big trailer with a little truck.

 

[Gatorboy]

Can someone dig up some prices for me on the Woods 15 foot batwings?

As far as batwings go -- stay away from Woods! Rhino and Bush Hog are the two brands I would recommend.

REPOSTING:
I've posted this in the past, but there have been many new members, so some may find this of use. Before my dad retired, his business mowed 400-600 acres PER DAY down in Cape Coral, Florida. He has tried most of the mowers out there. Several years ago Bush Hog gave him a mower to use for a season to get his feedback on what the company could do to improve their mowers. Two years ago Rhino did the same. These companies love to get input from my dad to see how their mowers fair with such extended use.

I'm sorry if I offend the Woods believers, but of all of all the mowers he has used, Woods is by far the worst. He was constantly having to repair the darn things. Even the wheels would fall off for Pete's sake! To be fair, he tested the Woods' mowers over 15 years ago, so perhaps the quality has improved since then.

His company ONLY mowed with the Rhino 15' and 20' flex-wings (Super Heavy Duty Models). He does say the Bush Hog would be his second choice.

I am sure that for the average Joe out there any NEW mower would work fine, but if one is considering buying a USED mower, Woods would be a risk. I am just giving my 2 cents to those that may want to know how some mowers stack up when fully exercised.

Oh, for those wondering -- the tractors he uses are John Deere 7210's, and he was in this business for over 20 years.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

As far as batwings go -- stay away from Woods! Rhino and Bush Hog are the two brands I would recommend.

REPOSTING:
I've posted this in the past, but there have been many new members, so some may find this of use. Before my dad retired, his business mowed 400-600 acres PER DAY down in Cape Coral, Florida. He has tried most of the mowers out there. Several years ago Bush Hog gave him a mower to use for a season to get his feedback on what the company could do to improve their mowers. Two years ago Rhino did the same. These companies love to get input from my dad to see how their mowers fair with such extended use.

I'm sorry if I offend the Woods believers, but of all of all the mowers he has used, Woods is by far the worst. He was constantly having to repair the darn things. Even the wheels would fall off for Pete's sake! To be fair, he tested the Woods' mowers over 15 years ago, so perhaps the quality has improved since then.

His company ONLY mowed with the Rhino 15' and 20' flex-wings (Super Heavy Duty Models). He does say the Bush Hog would be his second choice.

I am sure that for the average Joe out there any NEW mower would work fine, but if one is considering buying a USED mower, Woods would be a risk. I am just giving my 2 cents to those that may want to know how some mowers stack up when fully exercised.

Oh, for those wondering -- the tractors he uses are John Deere 7210's, and he was in this business for over 20 years.

It seems that the troubles remain with Woods batwings. I just recently purchased a new Bush Hog 2715 "Legend". While the search was on for the right mower, I ran on to several disgruntled Woods owners and even a couple Woods dealers that just about refused to order one should I have decided to go that route. Seems they have issues with the gear boxes and drive lines. The last Woods dealer told me he would refuse to handle my warranty if I bought one because it would be back in no time broke AGAIN and he just didn't want the bad karma with a steady customer.

A quick look at the majority of highway right-of-way mowing contractors equipment will almost always see Rhino or Bush Hog.

Woods seems to have their act together on smaller mowers, but the bad rep with their batwings lives on.

 

[riptides]

Thanks for the info, I didn't make it to the auction, but am still shopping for a bigger tractor and dreaming of a reliable batwing. I shall heed your advise Gatorboy and Farmwithjunk

-Mike Z.

 

[Soundguy]

If you have any large horse farms in the area.. check with them. Many farms will sell much of their used equipment when they get newer equipment. It may be high 'hours' But if it was well maintained.. it should still be good and fairly cheap.

I paid 2k$ for my JD 1517 batwing mower. It's a 98 model. has see quite a few hours usage as evidenced for many 'good' repairs that are evident on it. Even had a new side gearbox.

I probably put less than 120$ into it in paint, oil, and a few fasteners and new SMV signs, plus about 4 weekends worth of sweat equity.

It's turned out to be a real good mower..

Soundguy