Rotary Cutter Pull Behind Rotary Cutter - Pros/Cons/Dangerous

[mhalla]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Looks as though it says manufactured by MONO MFG Co. S.A.
S.A. in Mexico is a designation of a private company much like INC. is here.
John )</font>

<font color="green">The way serial tag looks it could be the U. is missing from the S.A. giving you a rotary cutter made in the USA not Mexico.

There is a Mono Manufacturing in Missouri http://www.mono-equipment.com/contactus.htm

At this web site they make a reference to replacement parts for Mono lawn mowers, tillers, and brush hogs.

Mike </font>

 

[JoeinTX]

I didn't notice that you had attached a pic in the original post.... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Well, it looks sound enough but those rear wheels are.......uh....well, they're unusual. If you buy it, you might want to replace them if you can pick up something cheap...

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I didn't notice that you had attached a pic in the original post.... )</font>
you're not going crazy, it was added later.
You're probably right, the U. is just missing, hard to tell on here.
I think it looks like it'll do the job for you. Is there a stump jumper with the blades that swing out on increased RPM like in many other cutters, or are they fixed blades. Better to have the swingers for those times it hits a stationary object. For the price, it's a great deal from what I can tell.
I couldn't find that site.
John

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Also, it doesn't seem to put as much wear and tear on your tractor because you don't have all of that weight hanging on your 3 PT hitch. )</font>

Seems like that is a non issue.. even a drag mower is going to have weight ont he tractor.. it's got to attach somewhwere. If your tractor has a swinging drawbar, that's great.. if not, it's in a 3pt drawbar. in any case.. the weight is felt by the rear of the tractor.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[EastTexFrank]

We use both pull-behind and 3-pt bush hogs at the farm. Our pull-behind has a single tongue which attaches to the draw bar of the tractor. This one seems to be what I think they call a "semi mount" which attaches to the rocker arms and the PTO but without a top link. That would make it basically a 3-pt mower when in use but without the ability to raise it off the ground.

For $150, if it cuts your 40 acres once, it'll have paid for itself. I think I'd do something about those wheels though. It doesn't look as if it would take much rough pasture to do them some serious damage.

 

[BB_TX]

I took the liberty to lighten up your picture a little to see it better.

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

Over the years, I've tried about every configuration of mower I could get my paws on. 3-point, pull-type, semi-mount, side mount, boom mounted, even one front-mounted model.

For general use,(under 10') I'd stick with 3-point any day. You can back out OVER a ditch with one. Try that with a towed model..... Easier to load/unload from a trailer by leaps and bounds. They do tend to make a tractor light on the front end when carrying them lifted, but suitcase weights take care of that.

There are obvious reasons why the 3-point models outsell drawn mowers 10 to 1 in sizes smaller than 8'..... People who've used BOTH tend to go with 3-point when buying their NEXT mower.

If you have open, relatively flat land, a drawn mower is just fine.

As far as the mower mentioned in the original post, for that price, you ALMOST can't go wrong....

But about those WHEELS...............?

 

[jpierce]

Thanks for all the great info and input!! (and Bill for lightening up the pic, as it was dusk when I took it last night)

The front of the mower is simply a tongue attachment to the tractor. I can't really see a way to attach it to the 3 point.

I think for what I am going to use it for, it will be fine. Basically, it will be a trailer mower for now. We have some brush to get down and who knows what I might hit in doing so. Feel alot better ruining a $150 mower, than $1000 one...

The person I got it from bought from his Grandpa here in NE Kansas, so probably bought locally. He did use it several season ago, replaced the yoke, and the gear box held oil fine. I will look at the blade tonight and post another pic of it...

Thanks again!!

 

[BB_TX]

If you haven't already, you should take some time to read the safety forum about the dangers associated with an exposed PTO shaft. Can cause some pretty gruesome injuries and/or death.
And there are many dangers with operating a rotary cutter in general. If you are not already familiar with those, you should read those also.

 

[N9PDL]

3 PT mowers do put more wear and tear on your tractor. You have all of that weight hanging on all moving points of your 3 PT hitch. It sways from side to side, up and down, etc. We havae all seen worn-out three point hitches. Not to mention how light it makes the front of your tractor. Granted this is a small point to make, but if we're looking at pros and cons we might as well discuss it. Furthermore, you only have half of the weight of the mower on your tractor from a pull-behind as opposed to all of the weight on a 3 PT hitch model. As I stated before, each ones have their place and their benefits. For my type of mowing I prefer the pull-behind.