Size Matters (but not as much as weight)

[chim]

There are posts from time to time where someone asks what size mower will work on a certain tractor. From my experience, I believe the weight of the mower has a lot to do with it. I have a Ford 1210 with a 60" Caroni RFM, and a Kubota B7500 with a 60" Landpride RFM. Both tractors are HST, and both mowers are right-side discharge. Both setups work just fine in this configuration, although a 60" deck is larger than recommended for the Ford. I have been using the Ford since around 1992 with the Caroni deck.

Recently I swapped the decks so #3 Son could use the Kubota (nice guy that I am - power steering, suspensiion seat). The 'Bota didn't mind a bit, but the Ford complained about it. The Caroni deck is a lightweight compared with the Landpride, so when the Ford got hooked to the Landpride, the difference was very substantial. When carrying the mower in the raised position, the tractor was too light in the front even with a pair of suitcase weights. The tractor didn't have any trouble running the blades, but the weight was a bit much to drag up hills easily. The Ford also wanted to slip a lot more when mowing on a sidehill........................chim

 

[slowrev]

Weight of the implement and the tractor both matter especiially on slopes. For example a 3500 lb 40 hp tractor might have trouble on a slope with a heavy 6 foot chopper, however a 4500 LB 40 hp tractor might handle it just fine.

You have to have both the HP and the weight to handle the attachment.