Frontier RC2060 question

[nsmustang55ol]

I noticed the manual said to measure the front of the cutter vs the rear to set the angle. But as far as cut height, are y’all measuring from the bottom of deck to the ground? It looks as if these blades are even with the bottom of the cutter. MAYBE 1/4” higher. Other cutters I’ve seen the blades are higher into the deck.

 

[Runner]

If it's only 1/4" difference, doesn't matter where you measure from, but I measure from the blades. Just a couple of helpful tips from an amateur operator:

First, deck angle on the RC should be determined by a couple of factors.

First, if you have really tall/thick material to cut (like the first cut on an overgrown property), it is generally better to have the front of the deck angled slightly down, so as not to be cutting the same material twice and bog down the machine. However, in my experience, this tends to leave clumps of cut material and looks bad. If you are cutting really tall/thick material, it's probably just not going to look that good after the first cut.

Angling the front of the deck up, lets the blades cut the material twice and mulch it up and also tends to leave it more evenly dispersed and with less clumping. Maybe if you have a high-horsepower machine, it doesn't matter and you can just run with the front of the deck high anytime, but I only have 21 PTO HP, so it is a consideration for me.

Second, you need to just experiment with the adjustments to see the best way to get the cut quality and final cut height you want. The way I do it is set the deck angle for the cut quality, i.e., do I want front rake for rough cut or do I want rear rake for more finished look. Then, I use the three-point lever to set the lowest point of the blades, measured from the ground, to get the height of cut I want. Then, I adjust the tail wheel as necessary to hold the desired cut height.

Finally, I keep a notebook with several settings listed that I can refer to depending on cut height, etc. The settings in the book are: cut height, tail wheel setting (i.e. which bolt holes are used in the adjustment), the number showing on the rockshaft (three-point) lever, and the number of threads showing on the top link (measured with a tape measure) so that I can refer to that dimension to set it the next time.

Sounds complicated, but since I only cut the same pasture the same height every time I mow, I have gotten it down now to the point where I always use the same settings so all I have to do is refer to the top link setting and re-adjust that. The tail wheel and rock shaft lever settings stay the same.

The only reason I have to change the top link setting is because it is different from the setting I normally use for my finish mower which is normally on the tractor.

Hopefully, this makes some sense. Maybe the old pros on here have some better ideas, but this is the method I settled on.

 

[nsmustang55ol]

If it's only 1/4" difference, doesn't matter where you measure from, but I measure from the blades. Just a couple of helpful tips from an amateur operator:

First, deck angle on the RC should be determined by a couple of factors.

First, if you have really tall/thick material to cut (like the first cut on an overgrown property), it is generally better to have the front of the deck angled slightly down, so as not to be cutting the same material twice and bog down the machine. However, in my experience, this tends to leave clumps of cut material and looks bad. If you are cutting really tall/thick material, it's probably just not going to look that good after the first cut.

Angling the front of the deck up, lets the blades cut the material twice and mulch it up and also tends to leave it more evenly dispersed and with less clumping. Maybe if you have a high-horsepower machine, it doesn't matter and you can just run with the front of the deck high anytime, but I only have 21 PTO HP, so it is a consideration for me.

Second, you need to just experiment with the adjustments to see the best way to get the cut quality and final cut height you want. The way I do it is set the deck angle for the cut quality, i.e., do I want front rake for rough cut or do I want rear rake for more finished look. Then, I use the three-point lever to set the lowest point of the blades, measured from the ground, to get the height of cut I want. Then, I adjust the tail wheel as necessary to hold the desired cut height.

Finally, I keep a notebook with several settings listed that I can refer to depending on cut height, etc. The settings in the book are: cut height, tail wheel setting (i.e. which bolt holes are used in the adjustment), the number showing on the rockshaft (three-point) lever, and the number of threads showing on the top link (measured with a tape measure) so that I can refer to that dimension to set it the next time.

Sounds complicated, but since I only cut the same pasture the same height every time I mow, I have gotten it down now to the point where I always use the same settings so all I have to do is refer to the top link setting and re-adjust that. The tail wheel and rock shaft lever settings stay the same.

The only reason I have to change the top link setting is because it is different from the setting I normally use for my finish mower which is normally on the tractor.

Hopefully, this makes some sense. Maybe the old pros on here have some better ideas, but this is the method I settled on.

thanks for the suggestions. It was just weird to me that the blades are about even with the bottom lip of the deck and not “up in there.” Seems like it would throw a lot of debris out the sides instead of the rear. I haven’t had a chance to get up to property to mow the fields yet, and when I do it will be my first time ever using a brush hog. We had the property overgrowth cleared and mulched last year so now it’s up to me to maintain our area. The hayfields will be taken care of by someone else.

 

[bigtiller]

I have the same RC2060 as you do. When I park mine, I set the front on a 4x4 and the back on a 6x6. So when I hook up to it, the height is just about where I want it.

I never looked under it to see exactly where the blades are. It is a ruff cut mower. As long as the height is close enough, it is good enough for me.

 

[nsmustang55ol]

I have the same RC2060 as you do. When I park mine, I set the front on a 4x4 and the back on a 6x6. So when I hook up to it, the height is just about where I want it.

I never looked under it to see exactly where the blades are. It is a ruff cut mower. As long as the height is close enough, it is good enough for me.

I like the mower, but when I had it apart to repaint it, I noticed the deck is warped. The back left corner is kicked up. No evidence of it being hit and restraightened. Also the angle iron that runs from front to back is crooked and wavy. It’s like whoever build it didn’t have a square or straight edge!!! I’m suprised

 

[bigtiller]

How old is it?

 

[nsmustang55ol]

How old is it?

I was told about 10 years old but I’m not too sure. It had some rust in the corners where water sat I guess, I cleaned it all up, repainted, grease, oil, replaced all the bolts and nuts, even added washers between where the metal will rub kind of like bushings and reassembled. I know the deck being warped a little won’t affect the cut, long as I level the cutter off of the gearbox. just drives me crazy.
You can see the curve up in the picture from the rear.

 

[bigtiller]

It looks nice, even the tire looks new

 

[nsmustang55ol]

It looks nice, even the tire looks new

Thank you. Ima use it soon I hope, knock off some of the rust underneath, then spray it from underneath while it sits, it will be stored outside but under an awning, off the ground of course

 

[Runner]

That warpage is so strange. It doesn't look like it's been damaged or repaired. I have an RC1060 and have not noticed anything like that.

Not sure what the difference is between the 1060 and 2060, but it looks like your top deck is thicker and the seam between the top deck and side/rear skirt is a continuous weld as opposed to a stitch weld on the 1060. So I presume the 2060 is a heaver-duty unit.