RK55 stabilizer bars

[g8erh8er]

When mowing, I prefer to have very little side to side movement of the mower. This doesn't appear possible with my particular mower (PRD8400) and the stabilizer bar setup on the RK55.

The RK55 stabilizer bar system consists of a static black outer tube with several holes and one slot along its length, and a bar with holes along its length that slides in/out of the tube. You have to match up a hole in the bar with a hole in the tube and insert a pin through both. What I've found is that its not possible to set the stabilizer adjustment pins in the same holes side to side and attach to this mower.

To clarify, I cannot place both pins in hole #6 of the bar, which in turn means the pin would also go through a matching hole in the black tube. Instead, I must have the pins in hole #5 of the bar, which places the pins in the slots of the black tube, and thus provides more lateral movement to the mower than I'd like to have. It works fine, but the mower slides to one side depending upon the lay of the land.

I took a pic showing the left bar secured in hole #6 and another of the right bar. Hole #6 is visible on the right bar, just not enough of it to get a pin through, and no amount of fiddling with the mower placement will get more of that hole to show.

Suppose I could run it with one pin through hole #6 (and accompanying hole in black tube) and one pin through hole #5 (and accompanying slot in black tube), and that should effectively cut the movement in half, but I prefer to have everything matching side to side.

Would turnbuckle stabilizers be the only option to achieve what I want to here?

 

[Roadworthy]

I prefer to have a bit of side to side play with my mower but not allow it so much freedom it hits my tires. If you want precise adjustment you will probably require turnbuckle stabilizers or perhaps a different brand of telescoping stabilizers. You may be assuming the dimensions on each of your stabilizers are identical and that may not be the case. Are your lifting arms identical? There are a few variables possible here.

 

[snymat68]

I'm confused as to what's causing this issue. Are the arms not symmetrical? Are the mower attachment points not symmetrical?

 

[g8erh8er]

I'm confused as to what's causing this issue. Are the arms not symmetrical? Are the mower attachment points not symmetrical?

I think it's simply a matter of the lower linkage arms being too wide to attach to the mower when both stabilizer bars are in hole #6. Nothing more.

The PRD8400 attachment points are not what I'm used to. My older Bushhog RDTH had attachment pins that were fastened to the mower and open on one end. You slid the linkage arms on the pins and secured with a cotter pin. The PRD8400 attachment pins are removable. They slide through a bracket that encloses the linkage arms on both sides.



I'll run it the way I have it for now. Not a big deal, I just have to be mindful of which way the land is sloping and adjust my tire placement to ensure I'm getting a slight overlap in the cut and not leaving any uncut portions.

 

[markie61]

I prefer to have a bit of side to side play with my mower but not allow it so much freedom it hits my tires.

I'm of the same mind as Roadworthy - the side-to-side play allows a little "forgiveness" when getting close to immovable objects, like rocks, fence posts, and trees; it's the first line of defense before bending something. The only implement I prefer rock-solid is the PHD, which I have to offset slightly to line up pin holes. Parenthetically, I had to do this with my old NH tractor which also had a "deluxe 3PH".
Peace,
Mark

 

[Tennsawdust]

Can you use the slotted hole and a U bolt to lock it where you want it?

 

[g8erh8er]

Can you use the slotted hole and a U bolt to lock it where you want it?

Excellent point Tennsawdust.

After seeing your post, I tested this by removing one of the pins from one side, and moving it to the other side in the additional hole that's visible in the slot (see pic for reference).

So, if I can obtain two more of the pins that currently secure the arms, it should work to minimize the movement in that slot. It won't take it down to zero since there is still play between the arms and brackets of the mower, but should be greatly improved.

Thanks for the suggestion!