tractor width vs mower width

[The Red Tractor]

Good evening tractor fans. I'll cut right to the point. My Mahindra 4025 is 82" wide with the industrial tires. The rotary mower I'm buying is 74 inches wide. I'll let you do the math, but all that to say, my brush hog is thinner than the tractor. Is that bad? Will that effect the mowing job? I suppose this question pertains to ALL implements. My tractor only has 31 HP at the PTO so running anything that's 84" wide seems pretty impossible. Would the solution to this issue be to just put on AG tires? Then I run into the question of whether these tires will tear up anything near and dear to me that's green? The advice on this forum is second to none. Thank you for your help. Sorry about the name. I knew I didn't own a green tractor, or a blue one, or an orange one.

 

[RickB]

How ever you do it, you are going to run over the grass before you cut it.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Is there a way to move the tires inward on your tractor? 82" seems wide even with industrial (R4) tires. Look at your rims to see if you can adjust the width of the tires.

I don't think you will be happy with the mower being narrower than the tires. And, I agree that an 84" mower will be too big for a 31 hp tractor.

 

[mikehaugen]

Biggest problem is you won't be able to get as close to stuff, other than that you should be fine, unless maybe you are finish mowing. I'd try to keep the wheels wider unless it's not practical.

 

[The Red Tractor]

I'll have to check the owner's manual on moving the tires in. I went with the industrials thinking they'd be more friendly on grass than the AG tires. But using the AGs would be the only way to make the tractor thinner than the mower. I guess the wider tires would only be impractical if I were using a finish mower. And you're right RickB! I'll be running over a lot of grass. Hmmmmm.

 

[RoMad]

My tractor is about 64" wide and my rotary cutter is 52" wide. It is really noticeable when you are mowing beside fences and things. One good feature is you can travel pretty fast when mowing. I got this set up by buying a bigger tractor and keeping my old cutter. I think overall it is a pain in the but and I am actively looking for a 72" cutter. It seems odd that your tractor width to HP ratio is so high.

 

[CobyRupert]

Your tractor is 4" wider on each side? I'll let Bob say it:

 

[boggen]

on some tractors you can swap rear tires (one for the other to keep tread pattern going in correct direction) and either obtain smaller or wider width. (its all in the rims and were they mount / offset from very center of the rim)

get a bat wing mower, and only keep one wing down at anyone time while mowing.


R4 and swaping to R1's normally means also buying new rims as well.
if tractor is 4x4 / MFWD it may mean also getting new front tires as well to keep the correct ratio for front/ rear tires.

i haven't looked at "pull behind" rotatory cutters in some time. you might find one that "offsets" some to one side.

then again rotatory cutting, tall weeds. is not meant to leave the cleanest mowing.

 

[The Red Tractor]

Touche CobyRupert. Ryan, the tractor is 4x4. Sounds like swapping could be a costly switch. I think I'll make the best with what I have until I NEEEED the R1s. Thanks for the help.

 

[J35]

This year when using a bush hog to mow the pastures I started leaving a 2-3 foot strip between swaths and then I come back and let the ponies run while mowing the strips.

I found I got much nicer looking field when done, and the tracks left by the R 4's when mowing the normal way are gone.

I actually think it's faster and easier on my tractor, been well pleased with the outcome so far.

-----J

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

That's really strange to have a tractor that wide with PTO HP that low. That model must be the smallest HP in that frame size.

One other thought is to perhaps look into a finish mower instead of a brush hog mower. My understanding is that the finish mowers take less HP per foot of width. But I've never run one, so I don't know. And I don't know what type of cutting you have to do.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

According to Tractordata, the width of the Mahindra 4025 4wd is 90". Still seems wide to me for that size tractor.

Dimensions:
2WD Weight (operating): 4,,389 lbs [1990 kg]
4WD Weight (operating): 4,950 lbs [2245 kg]
2WD Length: 115.3 inches [292 cm]
4WD Length: 129 inches [327 cm]
2WD Width: 69.4 inches [176 cm]
4WD Width: 90 inches [228 cm]
Height (backhoe transport): 90 inches [228 cm]
2WD turn radius: 9.5 feet [2.9 m]

 

[Baby Grand]

This year when using a bush hog to mow the pastures I started leaving a 2-3 foot strip between swaths and then I come back and let the ponies run while mowing the strips.

I found I got much nicer looking field when done, and the tracks left by the R 4's when mowing the normal way are gone.

I actually think it's faster and easier on my tractor, been well pleased with the outcome so far.

-----J

That sounds like a really good idea.
I'll have to give that a try.
Thanks for posting!

 

[Hill Billy Bob]

Have you given any thought to one of the twin spindle 7' rotary mowers. Bush hog, and Land Pride both make them....9 or 10 inch offset to the right, gets your left side tires rolling over already mowed material. Don't think you would have a problem powering either of those mowers with the horse you have.

I ran a 5' Bush Hog with a Kubota B8200 (16 PTO HP...maybe) for 24 years. Horse pastures, hay field in late fall before the onset of winter snows, and etc. There were times when grass was as high as, or higher than the hood. Sold the Kubota in 2010, over 2000hrs on it, still ran like new, not a sign of any oil seepage or leaking anywhere from front to back. Still have the Bush Hog, still works great. Most of my mowing now is done with a 6' flail mower and an advertised 23 PTO hp tractor.

No law stating that if you have a 7' mower, you have cut 7' swaths all of the time.....but I'd bet you and your tractor could 95 percent of the time.....Hill Billy Bob

 

[Texasmark]

And, I agree that an 84" mower will be too big for a 31 hp tractor.

A big 10-4 good buddy on that. More like 50 PTO HP for that. The area of the cut is 1/2 the diameter of the blades squared x pi (22/7). Since the radius goes up as the second order, it goes up logarithmically not linearly. Your 7' mower is twice the area of a 5' which is what your 31 hp tractor needs to be turning.

Mark

 

[oosik]

All that being said, I'd go with the plan you propose and see if it works and you like it. If its a problem, then you can look for solutions. I certainly would not suggest going narrow with the rear tires. Wide stance is definitely a plus for safety.

 

[schmism]

Id offset the 3pt hitch in the back to swing the mower to the side you like to cut on. Then make shure your always mowing in that direction. eg decked shifted to the right, uncut grass is on the right. this means the extra tread from the left wheel is always running on already cut grass.

 

[taylor6400]

Like others said...check to see if you can move them in. Me deere is either 72 or 84 wide depending on which side the rims are on. I keep them wide for stability on side hills and cut with a 6' hog. Not a big deal to me.

 

[JCByrd24]

Id offset the 3pt hitch in the back to swing the mower to the side you like to cut on. Then make shure your always mowing in that direction. eg decked shifted to the right, uncut grass is on the right. this means the extra tread from the left wheel is always running on already cut grass.

This is correct. Offset the mower to one side. First outside pass in one direction and the rest in the opposite direction. You will actually get no less cut than most people running a full width mower as most people run passes tire on tire anyway. You will be able to maximize cut by running one wheel in uncut grass as schmism said. You eliminate the effect of one tire bending over the grass before the cut as well. This also is ideal for equal or wider mowers if you can offset far enough. My mower is 48" and tractor 42" wide. I offset as far as possible to maximize cut. Just need to keep the mower overlapping the inside of the tire by a couple inches, then run that tire in the cut stuff. Opposite side is reaching out as far as possible, which is good near ponds, ditches, etc. If you have a wider mower than tractor and not offset and run tire on tire you are wasting cut width. Most folks with riding mowers do this I'm sure, losing probably 1/3 of their width per cut.

 

[DT86]

...get a bat wing mower, and only keep one wing down at anyone time while mowing...

boggen,

Please show us all a mower, other than a very expensive 15'+ commercial model with hydraulically driven blades, that would allow this.