New finish mower needed

[daugen]

I have been mowing the four acres or so of fields around my lawn at the new home with my existing 7 foot super heavy duty Land Pride bush hog mower. With the blades sharpened on it, it does an amazingly good job mowing the field nicely. But it does not, for sure, lay the clippings down nicely, nor was it ever intended to.

So I need a finish mower for my 50hp pto Kubota. Would like a seven foot mower but will stick with a six foot because I think that price point is more competitive and it really doesn't take that long to mow. And I'm in a/c anyway...

Tractor Supply is very close to my home. So is the Kubota dealer with Land Pride.
The challenge is that the Land Pride stuff is usually almost double what TSC or AgSupply or similar have in their own brands.
I own both TSC equipment and Land Pride, and it all works well.

No rocks, flat ground, want a better appearance. This area will be converted to a fruit orchard next year and I want to be able to mow around the trees with this mower also. I have a JD X750 with a 60 deck for the five acres of lawn, but want the field to look like a field, not a lawn.

Does paying twice as much for a finish mower represent any type of value? I see the Italians make a lot of these mowers, Caroni and others.
Would greatly appreciate feedback from finish mower owners as to their experience with quality of cut, reliability of mowers, etc.
I have trees on one side and white plastic horse fencing on the other. Usually mow at about 7 inches height.


thank you. Drew

 

[RickB]

I work at a dealership that sells Landpride, Bush Hog & Woods. We sell predominantly Landpride finish mowers and Bush Hog rotary cutters. Landpride quality and durability is well known. Whether there is sufficient value within the higher price is for the buyer to decide. Look closely at the construction of the deck, gauge wheel components and blade thickness for starters.

 

[JimRB]

How tall is the grass before you mow? You will get windrows if you get a side discharge and you are cutting ridiculously tall weeds and grass. My Befco is rear discharge so even when mowing thick and tall stuff it does not windrow. That said my brush cutter does not windrow that much and not at all if I mow before the weeds and grass get above 2 feet tall.

I use my Befco finish mower to mow at about 2.5-3" which is a bit lower than the height I cut with my brush cutter. Mowing around trees is frustration for me on a big tractor. A zero turn would be easier but I do not have that much lawn to deal with so my 21" Honda will continue the duties. The finish mower gets used in one pasture where there is low growing grass that needs to be tidied up or along the road frontage. The other pastures get the brush cutter as the grass and weeds are too tall and thick for a finish mower.

I just bought a new set of mulching blades for the Befco. Not because the mower does not do well in the front yard or along the road but to see if it does better in the one pasture chewing up the occasional tall weed.

 

[daugen]

Thanks Rick. I have/had two Land Pride swinging blade mowers and they performed beautifully. Far beyond expectations.
So why ask the question? For mowing something six times a year that takes at most two hours if stretching it, not sure I need
the heavier construction. Other than hitting ant hills once in a while, this is very easy mowing.

Normally if the "better" machine or tool was 20 or 30 percent more, and if I thought I could keep it for life, I'd spend the extra money. But the spread in street prices seems much higher. Like spending a dollar more for premium...

the difference also might be that the Land Pride is built in Kansas and the TSC mower is built offshore. If that is the case, I'll pay more for US made. Just trying to be sensible.

Jim,thank you. Not heavy grass, only cutting top third or half, no brush, say mowing 12 inches down to 7.

 

[daugen]

that brings up another question...are there finish mowers that mow that high?
I don't want this to look like a lawn...
7 inches or bust.

 

[wolftree]

Whenever I opted to go cheap on a purchase of a tool, I have ended up regretting it.

 

[farmer2009]

Have a buddy that runs a 7 foot Land Pride. He loves it and can out mow my 60inch Dixie Chopper. He actually mows 8-10 acres every week. It's ten years old and he said he had to change the gauge wheels this year as they wouldn't hold air any longer. He went solid this time. Other than blades he said he hasn't done anything to it. He's trying to talk me into one.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I havent used a landpride. About 10 years ago I bought a new rear mount finish mower from TSC. I used it behind my Ford 2N for about 3 summers and it worked fine. I sold it when I divorced.

 

[daugen]

GP, how did the clippings look? rear or side discharge? thanks

Maybe the safe thing to do is buy the least expensive LP finish mower, but if the cheaper one is say $1400 at most, I bet the Land Pride will be over $2K. I"ll find out and report back after a trip to the Kubota dealer.

 

[yelbike]

I've had farm king brands, built in Manitoba, Canada I believe. I use them both to "recover" my yard from field to sort of lawn. I used them as brush mower than as finish mowers, they performed flawlessly. Both were rear discharge. Kept them greased, gear box topped up with oil. The deck never had any caking of grass clippings underneath. The only problem was tires, bad place for inflated tires. I played the game of replacing the damaged ones but a true fix would have been to replace them with solid tires. My friend still has one, its side discharge and doesn't like it.
I don't know if farm king is available to you, but IMO worth checking out.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I havent used a landpride. About 10 years ago I bought a new rear mount finish mower from TSC. I used it behind my Ford 2N for about 3 summers and it worked fine. I sold it when I divorced.

I cant really remember the fine details. It was side discharge. I dont recall a problem with the clippings. I suppose it depends on whether it was allowed to grow too tall or not.

It was my only finish mower at the time. I do remember thinking the deck was quite sturdy. But I think it prudent to look closely at how both brans are made.

Regardless of brand, it wont be very convenient to mow with a rear mower once you have your orchard established. But I suppose you are prepared for that.

 

[tow653]

Woods makes good finish mowers,I cut about 7 acres with mine after it has been baled for hay,side discharge so it does windrow if i let it get to tall or my wife moves and tries to cut it like a golf green,short. Currently looking at a 5' Caroni Flail mower.

 

[leonz]

If you are worried about price purchase a used JD25A finish cut flailmower
and you will never want to go back to cutting at a seven inch height again.

There are lot of good used ones available on tractor house/auction time etc.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I think mine was king kutter.

 

[Larro Darro]

Hey Drew. I had to decide on a RFM a while back. Here is the thread I started at the time. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/285903-600-difference-between-land-pride.html It has some good info and might be a help to you. I ended up buying the 6' Countyline {TSC}, and have been satisfied with it. But not sure if it can be adjusted as high as 7". Or any of them, for that matter.

Good luck in your hunt.

Larro

 

[Turbys_1700]

I've been mowing with a rear finish mower now going on 23 years...
15 years with a light duty 5' Land Pride and 8 years with a heavy duty 6' Woods...
In that time I have replaced a couple of wheels, 1 drive belt, and some blades...
That's it...
Mowing 32 to 36 weeks per year at 3 plus acres per week on rougher than normal ground...
I would not be afraid at all of any of the Land Pride, Woods, or Bush Hog products...
I have no experience with the Italian mowers but I tend to stick with what I know is going to last and be a good value...

 

[RoyJackson]

I've had two BEFCO mowers (one a 60" unit, the other an 84" mower). Both came with the tractors I was buying (at the time) and were great. The only downside of the 84" RFM was the difficulty in backing it into my garage (~7'6" door width).
I sold the 84" BEFCO and bought a Deere Frontier unit 72" wide. the Frontier is made by Woods and it's a very good mower.

I recommend both BEFCO and Woods...with a slight advantage for the Woods.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

Have you looked at everything attachments.

 

[Dale_Alan]

I have a Bush Hog 72" rear discharge with about 300 hours or so. I would not recommend this mower!!!!! The swivel wheels do not have roller bearings, it is a bushing and a pipe and is slap worn out at 100 hours. It costs about $50 for all four wheels, to replace this P--s Poor set up for a small wheel that turns so much and takes such a beating. Other than that it has been okay, but roller bearings on the wheels are a must, the swivel is just a shaft going through a pipe with a zerk, which in my mind is okay and shows little wear for the hours.
I realize the bearings will add cost to the original cost but as my Dad used to say, "Pay now or pay later".

Dale

 

[daugen]

good to know Dale, thanks, I'll look at that for sure. Pretty sure both my LandPrides have bearings back there.
I am waiting for prices on Land Prides' lightest mower, the FDR1672 plus a price on the heavier FDR2584

It seems the "good" companies all have their regular heavy duty mowers, but to increase market share, have all dipped their toes into lighter weight mowers. Wonder how that has done for them, reputation, warranty claims, etc. My lighter weight mower on my smaller tractor, which I just gave to my church, was a Land Pride, definitely lighter weight than the other heavier larger one, but it mowed beautifully; better than the larger one. Just a great field grass mower and it was swinging blade. Just hoping a regular finish mower will leave a better cut appearance.