Buying Advice need some mower advice

[SI2305]

Recently I have been the proud owner of both a JD 2305 that I use for general utility work and bush hogging, and an L-120 that I use to mow around the house and some light landscapping. Unfortunately, I think the tranny is gone in the 120. I had it taken to the shop, they replaced the tranny belt, but about 45 min into mowing my yard, the L-120 will go slower and slower and now sits a the bottom of a shallow hill and can not move.

I think I am going to replace the L-120 with a dedicated finish mower and I have narrowed it down to the following options

62c belly mower $2000 and a pain to take on and off

JD 1060e RFM W/ chains $2460, on hand at JD dealership and has safety of
having chains

Bush hog RFM 60 $2250, on hand at JD, but no safety chains

Kubota/Land Pride FDR 1660 $1750 available in about 5 days



Belly mower seems like the ideal mower for a 2305, but I use my machine extensively for utility work. Would I have to take the belly mower off the bush hog or dig dirt or use a subsoiler? It seems like I would. It it as hard to remove as I think it is?


How about the other mowers? are they up to the task of finish mowing? Are chains a necessity? I would appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.




SI 2305
200cx loader
LX4
5' grader blade
subsoiler
Pat's easy change

 

[beenthere]

I think the RFM would be your best option, with the flexibility that you mention you want.

The belt issue sounds like an adjustment is needed, or the wrong belt (non-Deere maybe? ) was mounted. You didn't mention if it was done by a Deere shop.

 

[JeffinNE]

You will really like the Land Pride RFM---unless you have a lot of obstacles to mow around. Then, I agree with above poster who mentioned getting another Deere lawn tractor, perhaps an X320?

 

[kennyd]

I am a fan of MMM's, but I have tree's and other obstacles that would present a huge problem to mow around with a RFM.

This statement however:

62c belly mower $2000 and a pain to take on and off

Is very untrue. The MMM's are in fact very easy to remove and replace. Less the 5 minutes once you do it a few times. And $2K is a good price for one.

 

[TripleR]

I usually prefer a MMM for what you describe, but I have had nothing but problems out of my MMM on my 2305; just got it out of the shop for the third time and had to replace the lift cylinder.$$$$$$$$$$

I have seen other threads regarding this on this forum. I was initially pretty impressed with mine but time has changed that. One thing though, when it is working properly it gives a very good cut, is very tough and not too hard to remove though I wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis. Since the deck does not lift very high, you would need to take it off when doing tractor stuff.

 

[whistlepig]

Recently I have been the proud owner of both a JD 2305 that I use for general utility work and bush hogging, and an L-120 that I use to mow around the house and some light landscapping. Unfortunately, I think the tranny is gone in the 120. I had it taken to the shop, they replaced the tranny belt, but about 45 min into mowing my yard, the L-120 will go slower and slower and now sits a the bottom of a shallow hill and can not move.

I think I am going to replace the L-120 with a dedicated finish mower and I have narrowed it down to the following options

62c belly mower $2000 and a pain to take on and off

JD 1060e RFM W/ chains $2460, on hand at JD dealership and has safety of
having chains

Bush hog RFM 60 $2250, on hand at JD, but no safety chains

Kubota/Land Pride FDR 1660 $1750 available in about 5 days



Belly mower seems like the ideal mower for a 2305, but I use my machine extensively for utility work. Would I have to take the belly mower off the bush hog or dig dirt or use a subsoiler? It seems like I would. It it as hard to remove as I think it is?


How about the other mowers? are they up to the task of finish mowing? Are chains a necessity? I would appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.




SI 2305
200cx loader
LX4
5' grader blade
subsoiler
Pat's easy change

MMM mowers are easier to see and better for mowing close to objects. RFM's are easier to take on and off and easier to maintain 'cause they aren't wedged underneath a tractor. As far as brush hogging and loader work I have found that the mid-mount is always getting scrunched or hung up on something. I can't watch two things at once. Can't watch the loader and the MMM at the same time. Can't watch the brush hog and MMM at the same time. A MMM severely reduces the ground clearance on a tractor. If I have to take a mower off and on for other tasks the RFM wins hands down. If the mower can be left on with out any issues I think the MMM would be the better choice.

 

[jcmseven]

With regard to cut quality, a top-end RFM will cut as well or better than a belly mower. I have had a Bush Hog brand for a larger tractor and we had some top link problems that made the mower "ride-up" over certain terrain irregularities and not cut well in those cases. I have had two Frontier RFMs, one of which was an economy level 1060E. It cut well, but was not as heavy duty as my 20 series was. I think the 20 series would be worth the extra money and the Frontier line is solid and sub-contracted to really good producers. I like RFM's but they do have some compromises. One real advantage of your 2305 is its ability to maneuver in small places. You would lose a good bit of that adding a RFM. In addition, it is a pain to mow a finished lawn with trees, etc, having to crane back often to assess how much grass you might be missing. With experience one gets better at this, but never at the level of a belly mount. My advice here would be to consider an X 300 series mower. I have used an X360 mower that I had bought for my dad. I have since upgraded him to a 700 series but that 360 was a great mower. 48" or 54" cut, power steering, hydraulic lift, the business, for a purchase of about $4500.00/tax. True it is more expensive than a RFM, and in this economy $2K is not chump change but when looking at it over the life of the piece of equipment it is well worth looking at. These machines have Kawasaki engines and will mow 800-1000 hours before giving any trouble and they INCLUDE the mower deck with the power unit. For those that think they cannot store an extra machine, this machine would actually take up no more floor space in storage than a large RFM or deck when off and can be hauled easily in the back of a pickup truck. Your 2305 with a RFM would take up a fairly good-sized utility trailer to haul it around and would have to be removed for real tractor work (or at least some of it).

John M

 

[mjncad]

I vote for finding a dedicated mower to replace your L(emon)-120.

Since you haven't mentioned how many acres you are mowing, how many obstacles, how physically able you are to wrestle with installing and removing a MMM deck on a regular basis, etc; it's tough for us to get specific with our advice.

If the tranny in my L(emon)-130 pukes, I'll probably scrap the little beast as its been a disappointment.

 

[Nuru]

I use both a MMM and a smaller GTX 255 for mowing. I use the smaller unit for the areas that I am a bit too scared to run my big unit upon (slopes:shocked

 

[mjncad]

I use both a MMM and a smaller GTX 255 for mowing. I use the smaller unit for the areas that I am a bit too scared to run my big unit upon (slopes:shocked

At least the big unit has a ROPS!