rfm + rcm or single flail mower?

[dmay]

The more I spend here, the more info I find.... which is great!

I'm trying to decide on 3pt mowers for a JD3320. I have 6.5 acres, 4 in horse pasture, 2.5 in lawn. I thought I had it figured out. Get a 60 in rough cut mower and a 72 finish mower. Then I find lots of threads suggesting a flail mower does a good job of both. I dont need a putting green. Just a level grass cut. One implement to store and service sounds better then two. I also dont want to rake so not interested in MMM side discharge.

Will a flail mower meet my needs?

The Caroni TM1900BSC gets mentioned a lot. Not a lot of mention about other brands. John Deere and LandPride both have units at twice the Caroni price. Is Caroni still everyone's favorite? Is the TM1900 the right size for a JD3320?

 

[greg_g]

Is the TM1900 the right size for a JD3320?

I don't own a Caroni, because they don't make one big enough for me. That said, I'm confident in stating that their 73-incher will be a fine match for your John Deere. In your situation, I see no reason to waste money on both a RC and a RFM

FWIW, I bought a used Jacobsen/Ford flail ($150) to experiment with. I use it behind my 45hp tractor. The results were so pleasing, that I invested another $450 to overhaul it. I've since sold both my 6' rotary cutter and my 7' finish mower. I now use the flail for pasture maintenance, in my orchard, and on ~800' of road frontage (taking up the highway department slack).

I also rent out a 35hp tractor and 5' rotary cutter to a neighbor. I'm giving serious thought to replacing that RC with the six foot Caroni.

//greg//

 

[beenthere]

I'd go with the RFM finish mower, and just do the pasture with it a bit higher. Nothing going to be in the pasture that the RFM won't handle, if you mow it at least twice a year.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm one of the guys with a Caroni TM1900. I run it on a 41hp tractor but I would buy the same size flail if I had a 30hp so you should be fine.

There are numerous threads talking about pros and cons of flail v rfm v bush hog etc so I won't get into that. I will say that I'm starting my fourth season with the Caroni and it has held up very well. I'd say that flails are somewhere in between bullet proof medium duty bush hogs and the more delicate MMM or RFMs. I've had all of them. The flail requires a bit more regular maintenance to keep bushings greased (one minute a day) and I've replaced about half a dozen knives (ten minutes max including getting tools etc) as well as one set of belts (half an hour). I use mine in what would normally be a bush hog application not a finish mowing application. Lots of brush and even cleared fields grow new rocks every year so I hit quite a lot of stuff each time I mow. Rear roller has dents but those are just cosmetic. Bottom line is that I've very happy with the Caroni flail.

I don't know why the US manufacturer's don't make a competitive model pricewise. When you look at Caroni tillers or RFMs they are roughly equivalent in price to good quality (not heavy duty) stuff from Woods, Landpride etc. But for some reason the US made flails are just very very expensive. I understand the cost of the heavy duty flails but the JD and Landpride units are not in that category. Bestco makes an even cheaper flail but that is a Chinese model which explains the cost (which actually is not that much less than the Caroni). Caroni is a very good company and I suspect the reason there is such a disparity in cost relates to the relatively small market for medium duty flails in the USA/Canada. Bush hogs are much more popular here but are not that common in Europe where flails serve the same function it seems. As probably 98% of rough cut mowers sold in the US are bush hogs/rotary cutter (my guesstimate) that means that there is not much price competition for the few medium duty flails sold. You don't see many flails on dealers lots. Maybe this will change as flails become more accepted for uses other than highway depts, Ag and professional grounds maintenance.

 

[whistlepig]

Flail gives a nicer cut than a rotary. If the pastures are in good shape with out any brush or saplings I think the flail would be the better choice. Flail mowers are a lot more expensive than rotary cutters. No way am I going to use my 72" RFM on a pasture. I have had bad experience with mowers made by Caroni and will not buy any more equipment made by them.

 

[IslandTractor]

I have had bad experience with mowers made by Caroni and will not buy any more equipment made by them.

That seems to be a minority opinion regarding Caroni equipment. There are also TBN users who will never use Woods, LandPride or Rhino based on single experiences. There really have not been many complaints at all regarding the Caroni flails and most of those related to the original belts.

 

[whistlepig]

That seems to be a minority opinion regarding Caroni equipment. There are also TBN users who will never use Woods, LandPride or Rhino based on single experiences. There really have not been many complaints at all regarding the Caroni flails and most of those related to the original belts.

And if we don't continue share our experiences we may never know.

 

[SuperCobra]

And if we don't continue share our experiences we may never know.

Agree. But details are more useful than blanket statements. I'd like to hear the specifics of your bad experience. Care to share? Thanks in advance!

 

[KRBrouwer]

The more I spend here, the more info I find.... which is great!

I'm trying to decide on 3pt mowers for a JD3320. I have 6.5 acres, 4 in horse pasture, 2.5 in lawn. I thought I had it figured out. Get a 60 in rough cut mower and a 72 finish mower. Then I find lots of threads suggesting a flail mower does a good job of both. I dont need a putting green. Just a level grass cut. One implement to store and service sounds better then two. I also dont want to rake so not interested in MMM side discharge.

Will a flail mower meet my needs?

The Caroni TM1900BSC gets mentioned a lot. Not a lot of mention about other brands. John Deere and LandPride both have units at twice the Caroni price. Is Caroni still everyone's favorite? Is the TM1900 the right size for a JD3320?

I ran a bush hog and a finish mower on my tractor for about 10 years, and then upgraded to a new tractor (NH T2220) and a Caroni TM1900 flail. I mow pasture, lawn and along the sides of the road. I really like the offset, although it does take some getting used to when you drive it in the barn. It easily does the job of the other two mowers and is much more compact for storage in the barn. I had some trouble with the original belts failing, but since replacing them two summers ago, they have been fine. I would buy another one, if I ever needed one.

Ken

 

[whistlepig]

I owned a Caroni 72" RFM 15 years ago. This mower is very light in weight and won't stay on the ground. So it beats itself to death. The support arms that hold the castor wheels were made of thin metal stampings. These support arms were the first to go. These broke from metal fatigue the first season. The deck itself is also a thin metal stamping. It started stress cracking the second season. I had to have the deck welded several times. Finally I bent a mower spindle hitting a baseball while mowing ball field. The spindle bent but not the blade. If your spindle is the weak link between the blade and the belt drive there is just something terribly wrong. I found out later that the spindles are mild steel welded fabrications and not machined castings. Am I still holding a grudge after 15 years? Maybe. I saw this same mower this spring at an implement dealer. It was identical to the one I had 15 years ago.