Mowing How do you mow rough ground quickly?

[mbleill]

I have 15 rolling to hilly acres that I mow and I am finding that the speed of mowing is not limited by the tractor or mower but limited by the bouncing and rough ride caused by my rough ground. I am looking at purchasing a front mounted 4x4 dedicated mower Kubota f series or New Holland MC. A dealer loaned me a used NH MC-35 to try and I found that it was bouncing all over the place when I tried to mow fast. The seat was comfortable but really had no suspension other than the basic padding. Would a seat with suspension or a mower with suspension really help? I have been told to stay away from zero turn mowers due the the hilly terrain I have on some of my property. Anyone with experience using a mower that can travel fast and mow over rough ground (not bounce you out of your seat) that can also mow sideways on hills? The older I get, sorer my back gets!

 

[Larro Darro]

Are you hitting rocks with the blades? Or is it just the bumps that are slowing you down? It sounds like to me you are just going to have to slow down enough to not beat the equipment and yourself to death. What kind of tractor are you using now? And are you bush hogging, or using a finish mower? Whatever it is, it is going to ride better than a ZT mower. Unless you get the very top of the line, they are not going to have any suspension.

 

[mbleill]

No rocks, just rough pasture ground that probably was made rough by running over it when the ground was a little soft and now is dry. We have a lot of clay in south eastern Indiana. I use a L3400 Kubota with a Woods FM. I was using an ATV pulling a 60 in swisher pull-behind mower but it took a toll on my ATV. It is not water cooled and slow going under load in this hot weather causes it to overheat. I don't mind getting the top of the line as long as it works for me. Thanks for the input.

 

[Sysop]

Better option than searching for a machine that can be beaten across rough ground would be to smooth the ground out. Drag an aerator, plugger, and compactor around a few times and help it smooth out, till then slow down.

If searching for a machine, keep in mind bigger tires will roll over smaller bumps easier and with less impact than small tires.

 

[xtn]

I put an athletic mouth guard in and hold on tight.

 

[radioman]

try looking at it in a different way. how can you mow quicker at a slow speed? answer: larger mower with tractor that can handle the mower. The larger the tractor, the larger the tires and less bumpy it is esp. at lower ground speed. batwing mower is a great way to handle a large area mowed at once.

 

[mbleill]

good point radioman, I pretty much need to stick with my L3400 though. It has less than 200 hrs on it. I guess I can look into getting a 72" finish mower to help with the mowing time. Have a 60" now.

 

[mbleill]

Already use that with a hard cup! :confused2:

 

[compact]

Wider (and thus heavier...) mower going slower, bigger (way bigger) tractor going faster, air ride seat. On a small tractor trying to do too much too fast, at some point stuff starts breaking more often and that really drops the average acres / hour.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Better option than searching for a machine that can be beaten across rough ground would be to smooth the ground out. Drag an aerator, plugger, and compactor around a few times and help it smooth out, till then slow down.

If searching for a machine, keep in mind bigger tires will roll over smaller bumps easier and with less impact than small tires.

+1. Gotta figure out how to get rid of the bumps and holes.

 

[murphy1244]

Try a Ventrac with a Suspension seat.

 

[corl]

I have a Kubota F2100 with a 60 inch deck on it. I mow about 6 acres some of which was pasture. I drag a chain harrow around in the Spring to even out and smooth the surface. It works pretty well. The F2100 has a suspension adjustable seat. This year I added a 7 foot Phoenix finishing mower to my MX5100 HST Kubota. The tractor can mow faster than the F series mower. The wider cut makes it even faster. A 7 foot mower needs a gentle contour surface to cut properly.

Nothing will make you happy if its a rough surface you are cutting. If you go fast enough the mower will bounce and not cut well anyway. Smooth it out and use a wider cut to mow more quickly.

 

[Gary Fowler]

try looking at it in a different way. how can you mow quicker at a slow speed? answer: larger mower with tractor that can handle the mower. The larger the tractor, the larger the tires and less bumpy it is esp. at lower ground speed. batwing mower is a great way to handle a large area mowed at once.

That is only partially true. On lawn mowers, bigger tires might get a bit better ride, but on tractors, the larger tractor you get the higher you are off the ground at the operators platform, so movement at ground level translates to much more movement at higher elevation (large tractor) vs lower to the tires elevation (small tractor) All tractors are rough riding due to lack of suspension. Lowering the tire pressure can help a bit, smoothing the ground is an option but would require reseeding. A larger width mower that you could pull slower might be an option but very expensive one (ie larger tractor needed to pull it and cost of larger mower)
We have been trying to smooth the ground in some pasture land via light disking and pulling a drag over it which has helped a lot but still rough. It timed right, disking and dragging right before a rain so the grass remains alive works pretty good but requires multiple times to get it smooth. We try to do a section every year and then keep the cattle off till it re-establishes itself.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Rather than cushion the seat, try cushioning the frame like the Ferris mowers. I just got mine and it is 1000% better than my stiff frame Craftsman or my garden tractor John Deere 332.

 

[Sysop]

I'll second the idea of finding a suspension seat. My tractor came with one that is adjustable for the weight of the rider and it hurts my back less driving it through the field than my pickup...

 

[chim]

With my B7500 there were times when going over a sharp bump made the seat smack body parts that don't tolerate slapping very well. When the L3200 came along, the seat really made a difference. Now it is a whole lot more comfortable, and a foot wider deck means fewer trips around the yard.

It would be possible to go a good bit faster because I don't take a beating. I sometimes need to remind myself that although I'm not taking a beating at speed - the equipment is.

 

[Larro Darro]

Twelve or fifteen years ago we sold some pines. The heavy log trucks made deep tracks on the sandy pasture land, now part of my front yard. For years I have been mowing it with a 42" mower behind the B7500. The short, narrow frame just about beat me to death. A couple of months ago I bought a 6' RFM and use the 3930 to pull it. It is like night and day. I mowed 6 1/2 acres today in 3 hours 45 minutes. While it is still rough, the bigger tractor takes the bumps so much better.

 

[Egon]

Think "SHEEP" and sit in shady comfort watching the mowing/fertilizing process in action.:thumbsup:

If it's rough bigger tires or cultivation. The cultivation may be best bet.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Twelve or fifteen years ago we sold some pines. The heavy log trucks made deep tracks on the sandy pasture land, now part of my front yard. For years I have been mowing it with a 42" mower behind the B7500. The short, narrow frame just about beat me to death. A couple of months ago I bought a 6' RFM and use the 3930 to pull it. It is like night and day. I mowed 6 1/2 acres today in 3 hours 45 minutes. While it is still rough, the bigger tractor takes the bumps so much better.

That sounds like any easy fix to remove the ruts, just back drag with the FEL to knock down the high spots back into the low ruts. Ruts wont necessarily need addition of fill dirt since the ruts just displaced the soil for the most part. Sure you may temporarily remove some of the grass but it will come back quickly.

 

[flusher]

Disc and drag are the only way to ensure a really smooth surface. You'll have to make several passes to get it done.

Use caution when working on hills. I assume you don't have a tractor yet based on your initial post in this thread and lack of information in your profile. If so, I'd get a tractor that permits the wheels to be adjusted for a sufficiently wide stance to minimize rollover risk.

Good luck.