Swisher mowers

[MikeBurr]

Thinking of getting a swisher T44 trailmower to use behind my mule and tractor mower. Questions,
1 - can you back up with the mower attached and/or offset, the long reach of the connecting arm looks like it may not work too well.
2 - some models come with the electric start, is it worth the extra money and is the control unit useable while driving? Or do you have to goto the mower each time it is to be started/stopped?

 

[hockeyhead]

I had a 60" swisher finish mower, I was not impressed with the quality or engineering of the unit. I considered it poor, and its durability very weak. It did have electric start as a matter of fact on muggy damp days the starter would start to crank on its own. all the wiring is exposed to the elements. . Personally when I see the name swisher I turn and walk the other way
I bought it in 2000 and scrapped it in 2003

I hope their trail mowers are a more sound product.

 

[warthog]

I agree completely...... I own a swisher 60 incher and I must say this was one of my worst purchases in quite a while. This thing is a complete pile of junk. I am in my second season and I am working on it all the time.

However, this concept is genious. When it is working it is great. Combined with my 72" mmm I am cutting nearly an 11 foot swath. Another unexpected benefit is that it is great for going around trees. The way that it trails inward toward the radius of your turn it makes weedeatings obselete.

If only someone made one besides swisher........

 

[darkday]

I have a 60" mower for my HPX with the electric start. I don't know if its worth it or not because it's all ive used. So far i haven't had any problems but have only had it for a couple months. backing up is just like backing up with a trailer, can be done except on steep hills.

 

[jswan]

I have an Acre ease MR55k and it works great. Mower engine stalls if you hit a large dirt clump (like basketball size) like a large anthill. It chews up 2" saplings with no problem. Would recommend filling the tires so as not to puncture them.

 

[warthog]

I agree with the backing up part. It is easy... even if you have it off set to the side. I pull mine mostly off set behind a 30 horse tractor with a belly mower. Just used it again last evening. I really love using this.... just wish someone made a good one. Try to find something besides a swisher. I was looking last night and saw 2 other companies. One was Agri fab and the other was Acrease. Don't know anything about them though.

 

[MikeBurr]

Sounds like the larger one has problems, but I am looking at the 44 inch one that is suppost to be for ruff cutting. I would hope it would be better built...
Looked at other makes, but the Swisher is the only one that I can find around here. Good to know that they backup easily.
Still don't know if I would need the electric start, doesn't sound like it works from the drivers seat. I would need to get out and start/stop it from the mower? And the speed is set at a constant speed? Will it work with my TV remote? For the price they are charging I would hope that it would work from the drivers station via remote.

 

[kc5dlo]

I dont have the trail cutter model, but I do have the 44 inch trail mower. I really like mine and have used it for over 6 years with only some minor issues mostly related to the Tecuseh motor. My neighbor used it enough that he bought his own. We added a hitch to the back of my trail mower and connected in series offset behind the garden tractor, It really cuts a wide path. I like the rear discharge. Backs up fine when offset but you cant back up very far with 2 of them on there. When I bought mine several years ago, one could get an optional electric start. It had a control box on the front of the hitch so that all you needed to do was reach behind you to work the throttle or ignition switch.
Hope this helps.

 

[darkday]

For mine it's just a key on the motor nothing else. no remotes ect. Sorry I meant to mention that before in my earlier post

 

[LBrown59]

1* The way that it trails inward toward the radius of your turn it makes weedeatings obselete.

2*If only someone made one besides swisher........

//////////
1* It don't for ditches.
2* I'm thinking of building something better.

 

[LBrown59]

. Combined with my 72" mmm I am cutting nearly an 11 foot swath.
QUOTE]
I get a 9 foot swath with the bx23 5 foot MMM and my powerCraft 4 foot deck.

 

[curvecrazy]

Anyone with experience with the Bush Hog Brand GPF 50 self powered 8hp flail mowers that you pull behind an ATV? Thinking of buying one but not sure if it would work. I'm just wanting to cut grass with it. fwiw Thanks George

 

[mustangsallysdad]

Based on my personal experience...if it says "SWISHER" anywhere on it, run the other way. Their stuff is junk. I would never buy another Swisher product...I don't think they could build a hammer that works.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Based on my personal experience...if it says "SWISHER" anywhere on it, run the other way. Their stuff is junk. I would never buy another Swisher product...I don't think they could build a hammer that works.

Mustangsallysday what Swisher product did you own? I read your post last week when looking for a zero turn mower and decided against going with a Swisher initially. After more research I found many to say Swisher products tend to work well and are locally built using standard bearings, etc making them easy to service.

In the end we bought a 2010 Swisher ZT2760B mower from a guy that parked it after putting 27 hours on it. After using it for two hours yesterday I saw I was not going to be able to use it too because I was not strong enough to push the right control forward for long periods of time.

Last night I emailed Swisher customer service about the issue and received a reply back today along with a marketed up color photo with arrows to what needed to be adjusted and with text boxes telling how to do it that the rep created just for me. He also attached a 'repair' manual for the entire mower.

The seller purchased another zero turn mower that sold for 250% more from a local dealer vs. buying it off the web from a remote dealer.

Could you provide what product you are slamming and what brand you then went with that worked well so we can better be aware of what to look out for.