Which mower

[sweettractors]

Ken, roughly how much would shipping be to a local truck terminal in 38351. This would be a commercial delivery to a dock, no residential, or liftgate required. What other brands do you carry?

$98 to a business with loading dock and forklift in that zip code--Ken Sweet

Phone TOLL FREE 1-866-528-3323-Mon-Fri-8-5-CST
Email: sweet@scrtc.com

 

[NewToy]

I recently purchased a used Landpride FDR2572 for $1200. You can see pictures of it in my gallery. It was in good shape and the same unit would have cost me at least $2300 new in this area with pneumatic tires. It came with a spare tire and a spare blade. The only option it did not come with was the anti-scalp roller but I recently ordered this and I will be adding it on.

I usually prefer to buy new and I was about to buy a First Choice unit since they seemed like a good value for the money. However, I had always wanted a heavy duty Landpride FDR25 series but I wasn't about to pay over $2000 for a mower. I had to take the chance with used when this came up.

The gentleman I purchased it from was using it to "roughcut" his fields a couple of times a year. There probably was not too much heavy brush in the fields but I'm sure it was pretty thick grass. He said he had over 300 acres and was using it on a good portion of this, which I find hard to believe. Ultimately, he only used this for a couple of seasons then he traded up for an 8' unit. Considering this "abuse", it was in pretty good shape. It was always stored indoors. I simply sharpened the blades and greased all the fittings. It did have one bent blade so I replaced it with the spare. The metal dividers below the deck were also bent but were easily bent back into place. The gearbox oil still looked like new in it. In terms of rust, I have seen new ones on dealer lots that looked worse than this one. This unit seems to stand up well to the abuse.

Since he had already put it to the test, I decided to do the same. I mowed about 4 acres of wild field with it to see how it would do. The field was mostly thick grass & weeds. There was little to no heavy brush. The grass was easily taller than the operator platform in most areas and up to 4' in others. I kept the FEL on and simply lowered my bucket near the ground to push over the grass and probe for large mounds and rocks. I also kept the mower deck fairly high off the ground on the first pass and went slow. It mowed it without a problem and my 3320 rarely even bogged down. However, I did notice my ground speed slowed down a few times, presumably due to the load match feature.

With all of that said, the cut was not the greatest but it is coming around quite nicely after an additional pass. One or two more passes and you will have never known it was a field.

Assuming you have no major brush, I would start with a heavy duty RFM. Your machine can certainly handle it. If you are not happy with the results, you can always buy an inexpensive new or used Rotary Cutter later. The ideal thing would be to have both but it will cost you more and it takes up more room if you plan to store it indoors.

I can tell you one thing, I would certainly recommend the LandPride FDR2572 after seeing the way this thing has held up.

Whatever you get, make sure it is iMatch compatible if you have an iMatch.

I installed an anti-scalp roller on my 60" LandPride and man, what a difference it made. It's also a real nice heavily constructed piece, you'll be pleased.

John

 

[Neophyte]

Wow.. I wouldn't even consider cutting 5-6-7' tall.. -anything- with a finish mower that i paid for... That's deffinately rough cutter teritory!

The grass was not quite that tall; I think the tallest was about 4'. Normally I would have used my rotary cutter on this but it was out of commission. I would have never dared to try it with the RFM except for the fact that the gentleman before me was using it regularly for this sort of task, which I still find hard to believe. Once I have my Rotary Cutter going, I will not be using my RFM for this sort of task again.

 

[Soundguy]

4' even seems to high. I just can't see cutting anything with a 'finish' mower that a rider lawnmower 'couldn't cut.. or perhaps just a tad more... like.. inches.. like 8-10" max.. etc.

It's not my unit.. so.. good luck!!

Soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The grass was not quite that tall; I think the tallest was about 4'. Normally I would have used my rotary cutter on this but it was out of commission. I would have never dared to try it with the RFM except for the fact that the gentleman before me was using it regularly for this sort of task, which I still find hard to believe. Once I have my Rotary Cutter going, I will not be using my RFM for this sort of task again.

Sometimes you just do what you have to do. In a different situation you might do things another way. I recall (with horror) when I bought my first house at age 19, having to mow a little over an acre of 2' tall red fescue with a 22" push mower. It was either that or a weedeater. Sure wouldn't do it again. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone else either. But I had no other choice at the time. Poor old Crapsman push mower died a horrible death that afternoon.

 

[Neophyte]

4' even seems to high. I just can't see cutting anything with a 'finish' mower that a rider lawnmower 'couldn't cut.. or perhaps just a tad more... like.. inches.. like 8-10" max.. etc.

Funny you should say that. Previous to my tractor purchase, a friend of mine was mowing parts of these same fields with his lawn mower that he got from Home Depot. He had to go slow but he seemed to be doing OK with it.

I knew there was a chance I could regret it, however, I was not about to wait to get my rotary cutter fixed when I had a brand new 3320 sitting in my yard waiting to be put to the test.

 

[Soundguy]

Like I said.. your equipment and your money.. treat it however you want to. Personally.. I'd have waited till the ruff mower was finished then beat it down with that.. it's what it's made for.

My neighbor is on his 3rd name brand lawnmower in the last 7 years.. from mowing a 3 ac pasture. The neighbor across the street buys 2 lawnmowers at a time.. then runs them for about 10 years.. then gets 2 more..

Soundguy

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I have a 24 year old Wheelhorse C-125 with a 42 inch deck that has been cutting grass that high for a good part of its life. It's now on its third deck, but I think the twelve year old decks just rusted away more than dying from abuse. The only really limiting factor is the tiny 14 inch blades. Because any grass higher than this can bridge the deck and much longer grass and weeds can get pinned by the front wheels, it can't always suck up the stuff into the deck, so you have to go back in the exact opposite direction. This usually gets the knocked down tall stuff into the blades. As long as the ground is dry, I have never seen any grass that this machine can't eat, as long as you go in a low enough gear. And, probably since the blades are so short and stocky, it will chop up small brush (I don't mean inch thick, but say half that) with no problems at all. For really out-of-control grass, it takes two cuts from opposite directions to get it under control and then another cut a few days later to make it look good. Really thick windrows in spots need to be picked up, just the heavy stuff, before the final finish cut. After that, it's like lawn until it gets out of control again. Now that I'm retired and up here more, hopefully it won't happen for a while. And I got a NH TC26 DA with a 5' RFM to let the old guy get a break from doing the big parts.

The newest deck on the Wheelhorse, btw, is nowhere near as heavy as the first two, so I have a suspicion it might not take as kindly to the ultra-high grass cutting or rock slamming as the old ones did.

 

[Soundguy]

Back in 82' they may have still been making machines good. Not like the wimpy throw-aways that get passed around now.. even the brand name ones.. etc.

Wow.. the thought of having to cut the same grass 3 times just to get it cut would be enough to make me cringe.

I don't have enough time on my farm as it is.. If I had to do everything 3 times I'd be in big trouble. Doing it once.. then having to do it again 4 days later ( cutting lawn during growing season ) is bad enough.. had to sacrifice part of my morning to that chore.. after having already cut it on wednesday, and the friday before that too... Wish my pasture grew as fast as my lawn...

Soundguy

 

[bigdeer2000]

i have used land pride 72 inch side discharge with extra set of blades in very good condition that i would sell for 750. bought zd 21 so don't use any more mower is located in middle tn