Mowing Leveling a Land Pride Pull-Type Cutter

[Snakebit12]

Hi all.

I am having difficulty leveling my RCR2596 (8') LP rotary mower. The mower comes with 2 leveling rods (front to back) and I am able to level the mower "side to side" by adjusting the rods separately. It's the "front to back" measurement that has me stumped.

The manual states that the front should be slightly lower than the back. If I set the deck at 2" off the ground in the back, the front is almost 4" off the ground. The manual states that by extending the leveling rods, the front will drop. I have extended them equally (to maintain side-to-side leveling) as far as they will go...to the point where there is almost no tension on the rods. The front remains higher than the back. The only way I could see having the front lower is if I mow 12" high.

I am beginning to wonder if the drawbar on my Kubota M7040 is simply too high. With literally no tension on the leveling rods, it seems logical that the front is being held up by the drawpin connection to the drawbar.

Is there such a thing as a drawbar reducer? I have seen drop-down hitches...a similar concept for the drawbar might work?

Any suggestions most appreciated.

 

[npalen]

Might try a smaller diameter pin in the drawbar. It sounds like the pin may be large enough that it is actually keeping the front of the mower tongue suspended. That would put a lot of strain on "things".
Posting a picture taken from the side at a low elevation might help diagnose.

 

[Snakebit12]

Thank you for your reply.

A couple of points:
1) The drawbar is 20" off the ground
2) I am using the OEM pin that came with the mower
3) I am concerned that I am missing something really simple (that happens sometimes!).

In any event, (hopefully) attached are 3 pics:

View attachment 652908View attachment 652909View attachment 652910

The 3rd is the leveling rods and stroke control spacers which allow me to adjust the height of the cut.
The 2nd is a side view of the mower - it is at the level which I typically use to cut. The pic should show that the front is clearly higher than the rear.
The 1st is the connection at the drawbar. The clevis slopes down a bit. If it didn't, the front would likely be even higher.

 

[old and tired]

no photos in your post

 

[Snakebit12]

Rats...I was afraid of that.

 

[farmeratheart]

I don’t have this kind of mower and maybe I’m missing something, but it looks to me like that assembly in the last picture adjusts like a 3pt top link. By lengthening it you will draw the tail wheel in thereby raising the back of the deck preferentially. It looks like it is at its shortest adjustment currently. ???

 

[npalen]

The turnbuckle adjustment looks to me like it needs to be shortened to get the front of the mower to drop.

 

[Snakebit12]

Fixed.



The hydraulic cylinder on the back sets the rear height. One uses the turnbuckle to adjust the front. As the back end is fixed, lengthening the two leveling rods push the front end down (just like the manual stated!).

It bothers me a little that the two rods (one long, one short) that screw into each turnbuckle have 3" of thread...to get the front end lower, I had to expose 2" of thread thereby leaving 1" of thread in each end of the turnbuckles. Wish the turnbuckle was longer than 5" as I would prefer to have more than 1" of "connectivity".

If it ever quits raining (5.6" so far this month), I will give it a go.

Thanks to all. This was driving me nuts.

 

[npalen]

Sorry, I told you wrong. I wasn't looking at the linkage correctly.

I am curious, though, what you did differently now that allowed you to get the front down. I wouldn't be concerned about the 1" of adjustment left in the turnbuckle ends as I'm guessing the leveling won't change much unless you switch to a tractor with a higher drawbar. I doubt that many tractors have a drawbar much over 20" above the ground.

The hydraulic cylinder actually raises the front and rear simultaneously and keeps it level at any height right? That is known in the AG industry as "self-leveling tongue".

 

[Snakebit12]

I ignored the lack of tension on the turnbuckle and kept lengthening the leveling rod.

It regained tension as I went and the front came down about 2X as much as the back. Had to add another stroke control spacer but when I was done, I was level. A few more twists pushed the front down lower than the back. So, I tightened up the jam nuts and declared victory.

I'm not 100% sure that it will be level at the travel setting (12-15') but it cuts better when level or slightly sloping forward...which is where it is now.

Thank you so much for your feedback.