Belly mower vs 3-point finish mower

[Sodo]

It seems MUCH easier (and cheaper) to attach a 3-point finish mower than a belly mower.
These 3-point hitch (finish) mowers roll on four casters, same as many of the belly mowers.

3-point mower.
Here's a pic from Titan Attachments website. Price: $1617.00

3-point hitch mower R&R is substantially easier, quicker.

Has anyone compared both?

The 3-point finish mowers don't seem to be very popular.

 

[brewdog]

I’ve had a belly mower on one of my New Holland Tractors and it was constantly getting hung up things. The belly mower did a good job mowing but the maintenance and removal were miserable. I bought a woods finishing mower and will never go back to a belly mower.

 

[zzvyb6]

I have both. Belly (finish) 72" mower came with my JD1070. Barely fits under it. Negates use of the 3 pt hitch. Takes time to install and remove, best done on a smooth concrete surface. Not the best location to service blades or for cleaning it. Side discharge only, not the best cutter for very tall grass, weeds, or leaves. Rear mowers come a lot wider if you have the power. Can take some study to get around fences, trees, and buildings. I only used a 2 pt hookup with a chain. On and off in a minute. Comes in side or rear discharge versions.

But I quit all those options and went with a front mower which can handle 72" side discharge finish, 76" rear discharge (for the very tall stuff), a broom for snow, and even my PTO generator. Easy to clean and service blades. As a dedicated machine, it's ready to go in a moments notice. Has a steering wheel. Can be run by anyone.

 

[dodge man]

John Deere has an Auto Connect system for the mid mount mowers on its smaller tractors. It’s pretty quick and painless and as quick as a rear finish mower hook up.

I had a Kubota BX before my JD2025r and it was a bit of a pain. The pto hookup was sometimes easy and other times frustrating.

 

[anomad]

I love my rear finish mower. I have a Kubota B2601 and a 6 foot land pride rear discharge. Very nice to mow with. You can sneak it around to avoid weed eating and get under trees or down banks. Nothing is perfect of course. A 6 footer is pretty heavy for the B and I have to use 4wd almost all the time. That also makes it an excellent counterweight for using the front end loader.

I wouldn't buy anything from Titan Attachments. They are importers of stuff at the lowest possible price point. That isn't for me. You can find good American made used finish mowers for very reasonable prices.

 

[Sodo]

Woods mowers are something like $3,000 used - $5,000 new. Betsco is $2000 new, probably not american-made. Mechmaxx is $1900.

A front mower thats visible, and cuts before the wheels knock it down makes a sense. Like a belly mower that attaches to a bucket. Hmmmm very long driveshaft. Is a driveshaft that long even feasible? I don't think I've ever seen a front mower. There must be a significant reason they're not generally available tractor attachment.

 

[anomad]

Used Finish Mowers

Finish Mowers

www.messicks.com

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I have a belly mower on NH TC29D, and it is a PIA to change, that is until I figured out I could lift front end off ground with bucket. That made it much easier for me. I do like my flail mower too though.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Woods mowers are something like $3,000 used - $5,000 new. Betsco is $2000 new, probably not american-made. Mechmaxx is $1900.

A front mower thats visible, and cuts before the wheels knock it down makes a sense. Like a belly mower that attaches to a bucket. Hmmmm very long driveshaft. Is a driveshaft that long even feasible? I don't think I've ever seen a front mower. There must be a significant reason they're not generally available tractor attachment.

No, it doesn't go on a tractor, it's a dedicated machine, some can add other specialty attachments to them ... https://www.kubotausa.com/products/mowers/front-mount-mowers

Generally a mid mount mower on a tractor is more manageable in tight spots, but are tractor specific, a rear finish mower can be used on most any brand, as long as it has the same category 3 point hitch and PTO, they can be backed under low hanging branches ...

 

[duffer]

I've had a 3 pt finsih mower for 8 years, mowing 10 acres of turf once a week. Works just fine, easy to hook/unhook, and today I got the first part that I need to replace on it. A pully.

Mine is an 84" 3 blade PTO made by Sicma (Italian). Supposedly one of the largest mfr's of finish mowers. My tractor is a 38 hp and has no trouble pulling/running it.

 

[RjCorazza]

I prefer 3 point finish mowers for their ease of hooking up, and for many years I used them to back over my stream bank.
The Befco 84" mower I've had for 20 years has served me well, only needing the gearbox seal replaced once.

 

[zzvyb6]

John Deere has an Auto Connect system for the mid mount mowers on its smaller tractors. It’s pretty quick and painless and as quick as a rear finish mower hook up.

I had a Kubota BX before my JD2025r and it was a bit of a pain. The pto hookup was sometimes easy and other times frustrating.

So sell the Kubota and buy a Deere ???

 

[dodge man]

So sell the Kubota and buy a Deere ???

I did but not because of how the mid mount mower hooks up but because of age and size. I was responding more to the oft repeated arguments about mid mount vs rear finish mowers. I know Kubota has its own auto connect setup up now too.

 

[chim]

My first tractor had a belly mower. It did a good job. The biggest problem was the design. The tractor was a Cub 154 LoBoy. It didn't have a 3-point hitch. It did have a very heavy duty front blade. The front blade and belly mower used the same rock shaft to raise/lower both implements, so it could only wear one of them at a time. It was a challenge to swap them without losing a finger with the heavy floppy steel mounting hardware. This was before our driveway was paved, so dressing up the gravel meant spending a couple hours to do 15 minutes of work. A couple years of that convinced me I'd never have a tractor without a 3-point hitch.

The next four tractors have all been equipped with rear finish mowers (5' side discharge, 6' rear discharge and 7-1/2' rear discharge). I really prefer mowing with the rear discharge type because I can mow in any direction without piling clippings or blowing them into the mulch.

I have kept one 5' side discharge for the Ford for just-in-case and rough work. I made one set of blades modified for blowing leaves. It was pressed into service last week and did a good job. However, right now the 5' deck is on the back of the L4240. The little deck looks wrong on the larger tractor BUT the cab keeps me from breathing dust and having leaf debris go down my shirt collar.

 

[Torvy]

+1 on avoiding Titan, especially with something with moving parts. They don't make anything. If you are going to buy Chinese equipment, at least buy it from a company that is honest about it.

They literally put their 'offices' in TN to make people think they were buying from Titan Equipment (now Ironcraft). Ironcraft changed their name to stop the confusion.

 

[JTKub]

...However, right now the 5' deck is on the back of the L4240. The little deck looks wrong on the larger tractor BUT the cab keeps me from breathing dust and having leaf debris go down my shirt collar.

The dust and debris seems to be a feature I didn't think about with my little TYM T224 and 54" MMM. Given the way the radiator cooling fan pulls air in by the operator's knees, that area is right in line with all the dust, leaf powder, etc that the mid mount mower kicks up. That kick panel screen gets covered with stuff quickly. The whole machine gets coated. Because of this, I blow the entire machine off with my gas leaf blower before I park it. I'm thinking a 3-pt finish mower would keep some of the mess away from the tractor, especially the way the hydrostat cooling fan blows out the rear of the tractor, like it does on the little guys like mine.

 

[chim]

The dust and debris seems to be a feature I didn't think about with my little TYM T224 and 54" MMM. Given the way the radiator cooling fan pulls air in by the operator's knees, that area is right in line with all the dust, leaf powder, etc that the mid mount mower kicks up. That kick panel screen gets covered with stuff quickly. The whole machine gets coated. Because of this, I blow the entire machine off with my gas leaf blower before I park it. I'm thinking a 3-pt finish mower would keep some of the mess away from the tractor, especially the way the hydrostat cooling fan blows out the rear of the tractor, like it does on the little guys like mine.

When the wind is blowing the wrong way I get debris with the RFM on the open station Ford.

 

[chim]

Here's a shot from the third and what will likely be the last of the leaf blowing on this side of the creek. Almost all of the leaves on these trees are down. The strip of land on the other side of the creek will still get a bunch of oak leaves from the neighbor's lot across the road. It generated some serious dust in a few places like the gravel driveway at the left of the picture.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

The mid-mount mower that I originally had with my BX22 was certainly functional for cutting, but that was well before "drive over", etc., came to be and it was a 300 lb burden to install and remove, especially since at that point, the driveway was gravel, not paved. I sold it and bought a ZTR for mowing and still have both, despite a significant "downsize" in property in 2021. 3pt finish mowers are great for when you have expansive areas to mow, but are less convenient when there are tight spaces that need to be addressed. So the real bottom line for anyone relative to mowing is "where" you need to mow relative to physical constraints. Big, wide open spaces with little constriction, a big 3pt finisher is a great solution, IMHO. Smaller spaces and a lot of tight turns and/or obstacles...something more compact may be the better solution. And some folks need both!

 

[chim]

I mowed the 0.36 acre property below from 1992 till a couple of years ago for an older couple after the guy had surgery back in '92. The mower was whatever I had for our place at the time. All were RFM's. It went from 5' to 6' and finally the 7-1/2'. They were fine with me trimming the trees so the tractors would fit under them. It is 100' wide and only took a very short time to mow, plus a quick trip around stuff with the string trimmer.