Rear mount finish mowers

[TnFarm]

If you have quite a bit to mow I would check out a Bush Hog ATH-900. This is a 90" mower and may be overkill but they are top notch. I've been using one for well over 20 years without any problems. I've replaced the belt a few times over the years and had a non greaseable idler pulley go out once or twice but other than that it has been bullet proof. This is a side discharge mower and I actually prefer a side discharge for finish mowing.

 

[The Fred]

Landpride mowers use a belt made of Kevlar, not sure about others.

I mow with a 72" rear discharge and also use it for brushing up to 2" saplings( I know stupid right). I just replaced the original belt this Spring as a maintenance ( yup 16 years old), it still worked fine and the number of times it would get caught up in brush and squeal with little damage to the belt intrigues me.You might check deck clearance against your rear tires. Mine rubs on the tires if I use it behind the Kubota L3940 with the 3PH all the way down.

Regards, Fred

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

I am also concerned with the excess power. I have an 84" Woods and with my old 35 hp tractor I would break the shear bolts on a pulley once every one or two years. Now that I have a 60 HP I am shearing them 2 or 3 times a year..

I have a feeling that I will eventually be upgrading to a 90" since they are rated for more power. (Also 2x the price)

FYI I mow a ton in reverse, no issues, except it does tend to put more strain on things.


Orange sheave was the original, no more room for shear bolts. I drilled and tapped a bunch of new holes in the new sheave so I don't have to take the belt off in order to put a new set of bolts in.

 

[kebo]

I modified my 72" Farm King mower from a side discharge to a rear discharge. It wasn't hard to do and it cut my lawn mowing time by about an hour on a 2.5 acre lawn.

Do you have before and after pic's of the mod? I would like to see how it was done.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

. . .

One more question, how much port/starboard tilt does a rear mount finish mower typically have? Is this something that is adjustable?

. . . .

Why would you want left-to-right or right-to-left tilt?

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

There are pivots plates that the end links connect to so that the deck can articulate left /right independent from the tractor.

Also the center anti scalp roller is height adjustable at least on my Woods.

 

[countrybumpkin]

So about how many acres a hour can a 6 foot cover if its fairly smooth and not letting it get to tall, maybe cutting up to 3 inches or less each mowing? Been looking at 14-15 foot folding but a good used ones hard to come by.

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

I can mow my neighbors 6 acre yard an hour and 15 to an hour and a half with my 7' mower.
My 5 acre yard is more like two and a half hours due to all our trees.

Those figures are probably more for cutting 2" and maybe some thicker / taller 3".

 

[Will_C]

I can mow a rough 3 acres, no obstacles, in about an hour and a half with a 60" RFM. It doesn't master whether I am cutting 2 inches or 6.

Will

 

[BWSwede]

Thanks guys for answering my specific questions. I have started looking for an 84" rear discharge based on your guys comments. Before I make a purchase though I am going to walk the tight spaces in my yard with a tape measure to make sure I am not biting off more than I can chew.

Pappy: I asked about the left/right tilt because I was trying to determine if there are provisions for the mower deck to follow the ground instead of following the tractor as it tilts left and right over uneven ground.


Thanks again for all the replies. I really appreciate it.

BWSwede