Mowing 12' finish mower

[sandman2234]

On terrain like around your area (Cedartown) I can understand stability, but does loading the tires help with a pull behind mower?
(I came thru Cedartown TWICE yesterday...)
David from jax

 

[orlo]

Just curious, why would anyone want to load the tires on a mowing machine that they are concerned about ground compaction? (or is this a shootoff of the original post?) I would think the widest tire size available and zero added weight would be the best deal...
David from jax

I loaded the tires since I use a loader, not for the mower. I do find the R3's hook up a ton better than the R4's I had on dry grass. Much more surface area. I do think the ride quality suffers when you load the tires (much less air to compress, a higher rate also).

I've had loaded R4's and R3's. If I were to do it again I'd probably leave them unloaded and use wheel weights when needed. I do think the loading helps with stability on side slopes though.

 

[jd3020u]

I've got a 13'6" Rhino mower that made my 1020 overheat on my hill. Its 35 pto hp. I think 1020's are around 3800 lbs but I haven't felt I needed more weight. Power isn't a problem now that I'm getting my 3020 utility broke in with it!

Tim

 

[jenkinsph]

Tim,
Welcome to TBN!
A 1020 weighs in about 4800 lbs without ballast or weights and is about 38 to 40 hp. So it would compare closer to a 5000 series tractor handling implements, horsepower not withstanding. Compare the `1020 to the current 4320 for hp purposes.

The 1020 and 3020 are a great pair of tractors to have I have had 820, 3020 and 4020 all were very good.



Steve

 

[jd3020u]

Thanks Steve,
I dug out my 1020 manual and it is heavier than I thought, but the horsepower is 38 at 2500 rpm, less at 2100 which is the 540 pto speed. It should be able to handle the mower w/o overheating but maybe 42 years of use has something to do with it.

Tim

 

[jenkinsph]

Thanks Steve,
I dug out my 1020 manual and it is heavier than I thought, but the horsepower is 38 at 2500 rpm, less at 2100 which is the 540 pto speed. It should be able to handle the mower w/o overheating but maybe 42 years of use has something to do with it.

Tim

With the 3020 for heavier work I would use the 1020 without ballast or weights to handle the lighter chores.

See TractorData.com John Deere 1020 tractor information



Steve

 

[herrick]

Lots of good info here, thanks guys!!!

Now the question in my mind is can I actually fit a 11-12' batwing mower in enough places to justify the cost of the tractor big enough to run it, plus the mower itself... At this point I'm leaning towards a no. Just seems like it would take such a large area to turn it around, and be hard enough to trim with, that I'd be better off with a 72" MMM, RFM, or just getting a big ZTR. I like the idea of having the tractor to do all the other stuff with also though. Mainly the idea of having a loader to move snow, mulch, gravel, etc... plus the multitude of attachments for the 3pt. Starting to back off to something in the size of a 2305/2320/2520. The 2305 doesn't seem like much of a step up from my x720, but I don't know.

 

[jenkinsph]

herrick,

For commercial work where you make your living I still lean towards a 4x20 series. I would assume you already have the trimming mowers covered.

As far as a batwing mower that depends on the terrain too, not much info to go on about obstacles, tree spacing to advise on.


Steve

 

[herrick]

The location I would be using a batwing is greatly varried... there are a couple wide open 2-3 arce areas where I have no dout it would work great. From there I have everything from big ditches to small front yards. One of the things I was hoping was to be able to pick up a school or park district mowing contract where something like the batwing would come in handy for the sports fields.

 

[ddivinia]

It sure seems that 2-3 acres is a hard way to justify a batwing unless it pays big time and they want it done in a very short period of time.

Maybe you can find a used one to make it more viable.

D.

 

[KB9UDE]

It sure seems that 2-3 acres is a hard way to justify a batwing unless it pays big time and they want it done in a very short period of time.

Maybe you can find a used one to make it more viable.

D.

Frontier makes a real nice 90inch finish mower that I would imagine makes short time of mowing. I looked at one when buying my last 4120 but have not bought it yet...

I know it has to be cheaper than a batwing.

 

[herrick]

There's a total of about 5-6 acres open that I have now, and I'm hoping to pick up another large account where something of this size may be useful (like a school or park). I will not be making any purchases until I have a contract from another place, as it would definately be a waste with only this one account. Still a lot of thoughts running through my head, and I have pleanty of time to think for now.

 

[jenkinsph]

What I have found that works for me is design/build the parks and outdoor areas rather than mowing and maintaining them. Much more room for profit this way, people are much more likely to pay a higher one time fee to landscape initially.


Steve