Front mounted mower for a CUT - can it be done?

larso1 · Jun 23, 2003

Danny,
My Iseki is a 19-HP grey-market tractor, imported from Japan in used condition. Iseki has made smaller tractors for Bolens, White, Massey and Agco, much like Yanmar makes smaller tractors for John Deere. I picked up a front mount PTO designed for a Bolens (Iseki) tractor of the same model, driven off the crank shaft via a splined shaft. I have also thought of driving a mower deck with a hydraulic motor, but I have reservations about maintaining constant cutting blade speed, and heat build-up in the fluid. These may not be an issue, but something to think about. Someone with more operating experience in hydraulic driven motors can give you a better idea.

Bill iin CO

Mosey · Jun 23, 2003

hazmat - "Question is, how much are you willing to pay to cut the grass faster? Off the top of my head, the front mount three point + PTO is gotta be $1,000 +."

I'll have to ponder that question! If I could get it to work with both the finish mower and the brush mower for close to $1000, then I'm thinking it would be worth it in the long run. I have an orchard with apple, cherry, etc trees that have low hanging branches. I back up to them so the rear mower goes under them to mow around them. It would be easier on my neck if the mower was out front. Sometimes I use my sickle mower for that, but I've found that it takes just as long to swap implements as it does to just mow it with the rear mower. The other thing to consider is that having the mower in the front is not just faster, it's also going to do a better job of mowing, since the tractor won't mash the grass down first. This has been a real problem for me with the brush mower when mowing 4'-5' grass. The tractor mashes it down so the mower leaves a row of uncut grass. I'll search around a bit for the front mount 3pt hitch. Thanks.

Mosey · Jun 23, 2003

Bill - "Iseki has made smaller tractors for Bolens, White, Massey and Agco"

Thanks. I'll check with some Bolens, White, Massey and Agco dealers and see if they have any info on Iseki.

markct · Jun 24, 2003

mosey, i agree with ya that the powertrack isnt much of a tractor, from what i have seen they are awfully light built, small tires, and like ya said the front mount is realy only good for a few aplications. they seem to be more of a glorified lawn mower than they are a tractor, i wish some of these guys who are always pushing them would realize that. they arnt a tractor, they are a lawn mower that can do a few "tractor jobs" also

MossRoad · Jun 24, 2003

the ideal tractor would have to be bi-directional, 

Yep, I couldn't agree more. Some things are just better out back, like plows and disks and maybe the tiller, if you have long areas to till...with the exception of flower beds, where I believe a front mounted tiller is better. And some things are better up front, like mowers and FELs, snow moving equipment, etc... there really is no one machine that does it all to perfection, but there are some that come close to doing most things well. As I've said before, if you need to do field plowing, discing, things like that, a conventional tractor would suit your needs better. But I really think the Power Trac design is superior to a conventional tractor of the same size for most things that I do, like mowing, snow clearing, FEL work, brush hogging and switching implements very often.

The Compact Tractrors Are Designed All Wrong thread is a great read.

 The small tires on the Power Trac and the low profile are great for mowing on slopes, but the lack of ground clearance would cause problems. I would bottom out in several areas. Also, the small diameter tires will not provide as much traction as large diameter tires

The full time 4WD seems to be pretty effective so far, even with turfs. And I haven't had any ground clearance problems yet. Of course, you have a much larger tractor than I, so it is hard to compare apples to apples. Maybe a comparison with A larger Power Trac would be better. Click on the picture of the tractor when you follow that link and also click on the attachments link there. They also make smaller and larger models.

 Also, I don't see any offset mowers for the Power Trac 

There is a gentlman on the Power Trac forum (read this thread) that tows two 57" Kunz self powered mowers and runs the 60" Power Trac mower on his PT425. That's around 13' of cut... not too bad. For steep banks, he drops one of the mowers and hangs 57" over the bank. Still not too bad.

 I admit I may be just trying to do too much with a single machine. In retrospect, I probably should have just bought a good ZTR for the mowing and then an old used tractor for the heavy stuff, but I was trying to avoid buying anything used because I wanted something I could just put to work and not have to work on.


That is the hard part... trying to find the single machine to do everything you want to do and sticking with a budget. Sometimes it can't be done. In my case, I'm completely satisfied with our purchase.

MossRoad · Jun 24, 2003

mosey, i agree with ya that the powertrack isnt much of a tractor, from what i have seen they are awfully light built, small tires, and like ya said the front mount is realy only good for a few aplications. they seem to be more of a glorified lawn mower than they are a tractor, i wish some of these guys who are always pushing them would realize that. they arnt a tractor, they are a lawn mower that can do a few "tractor jobs" also 

You're completely correct.

Anonymous Poster · Jun 26, 2003

We use a hydraulic run brushhog at work. 5 ft model, I believe a woods, but will check. We use a Case 480 E tractor(construction model) No rear pto.
That tractor is equipped with oil cooler from factory in front of radiator. I don't know if your CUT would have enough hyd flow to run this mower.

Charlie_Iliff · Jun 26, 2003

i agree with ya that the powertrack isnt much of a tractor, from what i have seen they are awfully light built, small tires, and like ya said the front mount is realy only good for a few aplications. they seem to be more of a glorified lawn mower than they are a tractor, i wish some of these guys who are always pushing them would realize that. they arnt a tractor, they are a lawn mower that can do a few "tractor jobs" also 
Interesting comments. I see in your profile a listing of a Ford 8000, which is a pretty long way from a compact tractor. If 9500 lb. is the lower limit for a real tractor, then there are very few under discussion on this board. To suggest that Power Tracs are lightly built, however, is merely to confirm that you've never seen one. But, my 45 hp 1845 is certainly a glorified lawnmower. It runs a 6 foot rough cut three spindle mower, and tows a 5 foot Acrease, so I cut heavy pasture growth at over 10 feet per pass, at higher speed over rough pastures than we can do with conventional tractors, of which we have four.
As for the other "tractor jobs", which you put in quotes, perhaps you should also add "skid steer jobs", "fork lift jobs", "backhoe jobs" and a few others that I'll no doubt think of presently.
Since I'm definitely one of those always pushing them, I can't agree with you more. Power Tracs are not tractors in the 1930's configuration so dear to us all -- they are much more flexible and capable than any tractor in their weight class on the market.
Your conclusions flow from what i have seen . Perhaps you might post again when you've actually seen a Power Trac, but in the meantime let me know how fast you can drill post holes with an 8000 Ford and 3 point auger (a "tractor job"?). My record is 78 in 80 minutes. And I can change from the auger to the mower in about a minute, including unhooking and hooking the hydraulics. Want to race? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

MossRoad · Jun 26, 2003

Want to race? 

Hee Hee /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

LiveRoll · Mar 21, 2013

MK Martin in Ontario manufactures a front pto drive / three point hitch attachment for CUTs. It has a gear reduction from the hi speed mid mount pto to a 540 rpm, and the hydraulic 3 point would plug into existing loader hydraulics. It looks like a very slick unit. perhaps expensive but certainly opens up the usefullness of the tractor.
mkmartin.ca/products/front_mount.php

Cheers

Roger