Buying new finish mower

[Harper]

I have a Woods 7200 72" finish mower that I am not happy with, it clumps pretty bad. See my post #482595 on 8/19/04 and replies if interested. Anyway, taking chain guard off helped some, but it still does not mow as well as a finish mower should.
Any advice or ideas on fairly new models would be apprecitiated. I have read on this forum that many are happy with the Land Pride RDM. Also the side discharges seem to have some pretty happy users.
Thanks

 

[sweettractors]

We have many satisfied customers that have purchased the GM72 "First Choice" 6 ft rear discharge mowers priced at $1295 + shipping of approx $120 to Tx.--Antiscalp wheel is a $100 option and solid tires are standard equipment--Ken Sweet

 

[kayssupply]

I sold Caroni rear discharge mowers for a few years. I liked them so well that I used one at my home. I had very good results. I never had a warranty claim. I say had ,because my wife had me plant so many trees and shrubs I finally had to go to a ZTR mower.

 

[botaman2]

I'am one of those happy Landpride jockey's. My mower is the Landpride 72" (model# 2572) rear discharge. I have been mowing 4acres per week for 3yrs. now,so far no problems.The cut is real good, I would highly recommend it! Good luck,on whatever you decide to buy.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I'm a believer in the BEFCO mowers. Expensive but I think worth it. My experience is nothing but positive. I did trade mine in on a new MMM, but after 10 years of use I got $800 for it!!!

 

[RoyJackson]

I agree...Befco makes one heck of a mower!
I've ran my 60" mower behind a Deere 670 and now a 790.

It was outstanding for the 670...I really need a 72" unit behind the 790.

When I'm ready to go for that 72" mower, it'll be another Befco!

 

[frank_f15]

I AGREE i now have a BEFCO RFM . thing is built like a tank. but to tell the truth, a FINISH MOWER is just that, it is basically a lawnmower, and meant to be used on grass that is not very tall, i do get some clumping at times, but it is not because of the brand mower, it is because the grass got to high. i get the same thing with my GT cutting my reg lawn if the gass gets to high and wet.

 

[kayssupply]

One other point to think about. I sold Jabar mowers. They were "built like a tank". The problem was the weight. The wheels cut the lawn like a plow if it was the least bit soft. The Caroni is a stamped deck using the contours for stength instead of just thick metal.

 

[shade2u2]

I've had this 6ft FirstChoice rear discharge unit for 3 years and couldn't be happier. It's well built & compares to the LandPride 25xx series or better. Mine was about the same price as the KingKutter models, but much better quality. I think the $100 for the antiscalp wheel seems high as I recall mine cost $25, but I could be wrong. I do wish that I had solid tires since I've had to put tubes in 2 of mine...

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

I don't know what to tell you. I have the Woods 7200 rear discharge and am very happy with mine. The only time I've ever had any problems with clumping has been when I was cutting too high grass, cutting too fast or both. Have you tried cutting more often and/or more slowly?

 

[AndyM]

<font color="blue"> I've had this 6ft FirstChoice rear discharge unit for 3 years and couldn't be happier... Mine was about the same price as the KingKutter models, but much better quality. </font>

I agree. First Choice is the best VALUE out there. If you're looking for high quality for a low price, that's the way to go. I would do it all over again!

<font color="blue"> I do wish that I had solid tires since I've had to put tubes in 2 of mine... </font>

When I bought mine, they were out of air tire models. I was told I could wait a month, but I would probably be happier with solid tires. I haven't had too much of a problem with the solid tires, and I don't regret that decision either.

 

[Dargo]

botaman2, you will likely like my post. I have the same model Land Pride mower except mine is the side discharge version. I have used my Land Pride mower to mow 10 acres of my lawn each and every week during the mowing season, about 8 months a year, for over 12 years now. I don't know how many thousands of hours it has on it, but so far all I've done is change the blades once. I do grease each grease zerk each 8 hours without fail, I use compressed air to blow loose grass off of it after use, and I keep the blades sharp. Other than that, it has always been stored inside. It amazes me that I'm still on the original belt, I've had no deck bearings fail (they are all still tight), I have not had any wheel bearings fail, I have not had ever had to add oil to the gear box. With a few thousand hours of fairly heavy use, and zero break downs or failures, it would be hard for me to consider any other brands, even if several are cheaper. I'd like to have the rear discharge version of this mower, but it looks like I'll be at least another 20 years before I begin to wear out this Land Pride mower! I guess I'll have a long wait.

 

[botaman2]

You are right,they are one heck of good mower! At 670#it is one of the heavyiest mowers for its size. It also has one of the fastest blade tip speeds(18,328 fpm).I think the gearbox is rated 40hp.The feature I like is the spring loaded idler pulley for belt tension on kevlar deck belt. Most mowers have fixed tension,where adjustment is made by moving the gear box.