Mowing Mower Options for JD 2750

mcashman · Mar 25, 2012

I am in the process of purchasing a property and one of the things that comes with it is a JD 2750.

My understanding is that it has a 75hp PTO. Does this mean I have to buy some sort of gigantic mower / bush hog to be able to mow my pastures, or can I use something smaller (maybe 40hp)? It's my understanding I have to match the gearbox to the PTO - how close does the match have to be??

Thanks in advance for your help.

Martian · Mar 25, 2012

All you wanted to know and more about the 2750 spec wise:
TractorData.com John Deere 2750 tractor information

75PTO HP means you can run anything up to 75PTO HP. Just beware, sometimes the lighter stuff isn't heavy duty enough to be playing with that much power and may be torn apart. You could run a large mower, but you don't have to. You could run a mower rated for 15PTO HP if you wanted.

Welcome to TBN!

beenthere · Mar 25, 2012

As Martian said, and if you go smaller then just be sure the slip clutch is adjusted properly or that the shear bolts are the correct size. You would be good to go then.

mcashman · Mar 26, 2012

Thanks, all!

Many of the reasonably priced mowers seem to have 40-50 hp gearboxes. If I were to use such a mower with a 75 hp PTO, how do I keep the power within the recommended gearbox limit? Is it as simple as keeping the speed of the tractor low? Or is there some gearing associated with the PTO itself?

Thanks for your help!

- Mark

beenthere · Mar 26, 2012

You don't think the slip clutch would protect the gearbox? I would think it would.

mcashman · Mar 26, 2012

Thank you all for being so helpful. It's good to know I don't necessarily have to have a six thousand dollar mower just because of the tractor size.

I'm just getting started with this, so your welcome and your advice is very much appreciated.

Verticaltrx · Mar 26, 2012

mcashman said:
Thank you all for being so helpful. It's good to know I don't necessarily have to have a six thousand dollar mower just because of the tractor size.

I'm just getting started with this, so your welcome and your advice is very much appreciated.

You may not have to buy a large/heavy-duty mower for that tractor, but you'll be somewhat disapointed if you don't.

We have a JD 2550 (65hp) and use it with a JD 1008 bush hog, which is 10' wide pull-type. I've also tried a little 5' Kodiak brand cutter (40hp gearbox, shear pin), a 5' JD 513 cutter (60hp gearbox, slip clutch), and a 6' JD MX6 (75hp gear box, slip clutch.) The little Kodiak is what I use behind my Kubota and was pitiful behind the 2550. It would instantly break the shear pin in any type of heavy grass, and obviously wouldn't cover the wheel tracks. The JD 513 was better, still didn't cover the tracks, but it would hold up if you were careful with it. The MX6 is the only one that I'd say was really useable. It almost covered the wheel tracks and had had a big enough gearbox/clutch to handle moderate work.

Now, that being said, none of those compares to the 1008. It will take anything that tractor can throw at it and is more than twice as fast as any of the aforementioned. A medium duty 8' cutter, lift type, would also be a good fit. I personally don't like the 7' single spindle cutters because they are very long and cumbersome for the size (and often take more hp than the 8'). Bottom line, new or used, look for a bare minimum of a 6-7' medium-duty unit. A heavy-duty 8-10' would be better yet.

Here's the setup we use: