Mowing B7800 MM Mower Size?

[JPinnell]

For those of you with the belly mower do you wish you'd gone with the other available deck?

I'm pretty close to deciding which model and brand I'm going to get. I think it's B7800 (although I considered the B7510/7610 and Deere 2320) even though I don't need 30hp but want more than 20hp. But the price jump to go from 7510 to 7610 seemed steep and if I can keep a 72" deck I'd prefer to.

Some background: 9.5 acres in mid MO and 5.5 is currently mowed in a park type setting. Plenty of trees but none of the landscaping is so close together that the 72" deck won't pass. It's currently mowed with an Exmark 72" ZTR and I'm contemplating trading it in on a B7800 w/loader and mmm. Tractor duties will be 90% mowing but future landscaping(patio, retaining wall, garden, flattening a dry pond), firewood, snow removal, etc. In my mind I can't justify a ZTR and a Tractor for finance, storage, and maintenance reasons. I'm willing for some longer mowing times in exchange for expanded capabilities with a tractor. My concerns are less maneuverability with the tractor therefore going for a 60" deck balanced against covering more ground, closer trimming, while keeping the mowing speed with the 72". I can mow the 5.5-6 acres in 4 hrs if I'm in a good mood and have tunes on the iPod The "yard" is not really that smooth, gopher hills, ditches, and hidden stumps so the ZTR doesn't really "fly" on most of it.

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Overall cut quality not a big concern as I realize I'm spoiled with my Exmark. I do want the mmm and not a rear finish mower. The Exmark has a suspended deck and does scalp in a few places, whereas the tractor would have a ground contact deck.

I've also considered keeping the ZTR since it excels at mowing and buying a used tractor with loader for landscaping and other duties. The market seems setup to make it easy to buy new with cheap interest and when you factor in higher interest rates on something used it seems smarter to buy new with warranty for the 20% difference. I've got enough vehicles to park, maintain, etc as it is

 

[DWW68]

As far as wishing I went with the 72" mmm insted of the 60" mmm I would say sometimes. I think that the 72" would allow me to get closer to the landscaping in the inside corners. I find with the 60" to get these areas the front tires have to run onto the landscaping. I do have an area with alot of trees that i can fit with the 60" that the 72" would not. That is the reason for choosing the 60". I think that it is much easier to push mow the inside corners than it would be to push mow the area with trees.

Financing rates on the new ones lead me to buy new also. I felt more comfortable knowing that this tractor has not been beat. When you buy used you realy cant tell what type of life it lived in other hands. Yes you may be able to gauge the prior life on ouside appearance in some cases, but that is not always acurate. Being free of dents and scratches does not mean proper main. has been done. Just my oppinion.

If you have the room for the 72" mmm go for it. good luck!

 

[Stef]

If your ground is quite flat (no bumps) and you don't want to add a bagger later on then go for a 72". 60" is for me because I have some uneven ground around the house and I plan to add a bagger later on (I have so much leaves to bag when fall comes).

 

[Fug1000]

I haven't used my mower yet but the picture you see below is basically what your after, minus the PHD. Don't forget to get those R3 Turf Tires!

 

[bigdad]

No matter what model of B tractor you decide on, and time is not an issue in mowing, you may want to stay with a 60" deck. It looks like you live in Missouri which means you may want to use the tractor for snow removal. A five foot deck will be much easier to remove/handle/store than a six footer during the winter months. From my experiences, that mower deck can really impead your efforts when doing excavation/chore projects.

You may be surprised at the quality of the mowing those MMM's will give you. Tractor speed and RPM make a difference.

Best of luck!

 

[JPinnell]

I had thought I would get the R4 tires asI do have some cleanup in about 3 acres of woods and it's on a hill. I thought the turfs would be sliding on the oak leaves too much. I will be mowing 90% of the time though so maybe I should get turfs and a set of chains?

Is the LA402 loader under rated in the specs but capable? It seems to be rated a little low to me.

- JP

 

[Fug1000]

Its enough for me. My dealer explained that you can take the model number (in this case, 402) and times it by two and you have the approx. loader capacity.

So thats about 800 pounds although I have heard of folks pushing it to 1000 with no problems.

Dealer said that formula held true for all the LA series Kubota FELS. I don't know if that's true but it makes sense I guess. If you need a bigger FEL I'm sure your dealer would be happy to oblige!

Also..I don't know because I haven't even had a chance to mow even one time yet (I only have 2 hours on this tractor) how the turfs act on leaves. However it seems to me that Turfs with chains would tear up more lawn than R4s.

Also since the B7800 is 4WD, would slippery leaves really be much of a factor? I mean you have it in 4WD, you have the MMM running and as you cross the leaves with the front tires, the MMM is chomping them before they get under your rears...... or am I totally wrong here ?

 

[ronjhall]

I would get the 72" mower. It is easy to take off and remove with the FEL. The thing I would be concerned about is height. The B7800 is very high with the ROP's up compared to a ZTR. A folding ROP's would help. But you will be sitting about 2' higher on the B7800.
The 72" mower will cut 2 acres per hour on flat ground. Add about 10 more minutes with the 60". Plus you may have to do more hand trimming because you will not be able to get as close to trees etc.

 

[twodogs]

I have a B7800 with a 60" mmm and a FEL. I think that the 60 is probably your best bet unless you have extremely level ground and a lot of storage space. I have a 3 car garage & a shed, with one bay of my garage dedicated to my tractor, and I am still squeezed for space in the winter when I take the deck off of my tractor. You can store the deck upright if you buy/craft some stands. I cut about an acre per hour - more or less - depending on the height of the grass & how picky I am that day. I wouldn't bother with the 72", but that is my opinion. Good luck, I have no regrets with the 7800.

 

[rtrent]

LA402 specs:
Lift Capacity at Full Height at Bucket Pivot Pin 1060 lbs (481 kg)
Lift Capacity at Full Height (Bucket Center) 760 lbs (400 kg)
Breakout Force 1684 lbs (734 kg)

 

[JPinnell]

Thanks everyone for your input . . .

Well, I inked a deal for a new B7800, LA402, and 72" MMM for $18,500. The other dealer in the area was a little better ($18K) on price, but this guy gave me $7K for my trade (Exmark Lazer Z 72" 27hp <200hrs) which was about retail market value. I figure he made his money on the new tractor price. This dealer also lets me "harvest" from his scrap steel anytime I want

I signed on the last day of 0%/24mo and I'm hoping I can move to the 0%/36mo program?

I take delivery in another week as he had tractor and loader, but no mower deck in stock.

I hope I'm happy with the 72" deck. With the height of the tractor I'll be running the trimmer more and I'll have to prune some of the trees.

- JP

 

[KubotaSteve]

I have the 60" deck on my 7800 but my main reason was for storage. My shed only has a 72" door opening and I still have to raise the mower guard on the 60" to get in the shed. I think the 72" would have been pushing it to fit on some of the trails in the back of my land.And as far as loader strength with real life situation. I moved 8 bags (94 pounds each) of cement in the loader bucket with nothing on the rear and it moved it fine but the rear was very light (glad the tires were loaded). Also when moving wet sand, dirt or stone, I've always found that I run out of space in the bucket before I run out of lifting capacity. Now using my clamp on forks, I have run into some issues (translated as stupidity on my part). I took a skid put on the forks lifted it up and had it hovering over the tailgate of dad's truck. Then proceeded to put two layers of cinder blocks on the skid. I would say I had about 20 to 25 blocks on there (a lot of weight that far away from the bucket). I raised the loader slightly and backed out hit a little rough spot in the yard and the skid nosedived to the ground raising the rear of the tractor in the air. Two problems (none of which were the tractor), I should have tilted the bucket more and not put blocks out at the end of the skid and finally, I should have had my boxblade on the back of the tractor for weight.It's an awesome machine, have fun but most importantly BE SAFE.

 

[JPinnell]

A follow up: I got the 72" MMM on the B7800 and I'm glad I went with it as it allows closer trimming. It doesn't "float" as well as I'd like but overall does a good job. I'm not running at full PTO speeds yet until the engine is broken in a few more hrs so the deck isn't lifting the grass completely and after a couple of days weeds spring back up. I may see if there's a high lift blade option for the deck. I went with the R4 tires and they do tear on the slopes when turning, but surprisingly not much worse than the Turfs on the ExMark did.

I love the loader and toothbar

- JP

 

[art]

I'd go with the 72" deck since that is what you've been using. The quality of cut on the Kubota deck will amaze you!

 

[crbr]

I have a B7800 with a 60" mmm and a FEL. I think that the 60 is probably your best bet unless you have extremely level ground and a lot of storage space. I have a 3 car garage & a shed, with one bay of my garage dedicated to my tractor, and I am still squeezed for space in the winter when I take the deck off of my tractor. You can store the deck upright if you buy/craft some stands. I cut about an acre per hour - more or less - depending on the height of the grass & how picky I am that day. I wouldn't bother with the 72", but that is my opinion. Good luck, I have no regrets with the 7800.

Same as TDF here on the MMM. I have the 60" on a B7800. It's all I'd consider now that I have used it. However I cut down an acre in about 40 minutes or even less. Mid-range gear, throttled at about 2200 RPM. Gets it done.