Finish Mowers

[Anonymous Poster]

What does everyone out there feel are the best quality(as far as sturdiness and cut quality) 3pt finish mowers?

 

[TonyC]

If you do a quick search on finish mowers you will find all the information you could ask for on them. I think you'll find that Woods, Befco and Bush Hog brands in the top names. There are certainly others in the running such as Land Pride. These are all top quality mowers. Try the search and you'll see what everyone has experienced!

 

[JATO_RaT]

Ron, I don't know too much other then what I have. I have a 84" Landpride. I also have a Woods 80" "bush hog" While the Woods seems a little thicker as one would expect from a hog, the Landpride I have has the necessary strength where it needs it. Every place on my Woods that has dings or dents is where Landpride uses the thick steel. They did their homework. I really like the cut with the finish mower and the way it rides on 4 pneumatic tires and follows the ground. They are great unless the grass is really tough and tall. With much shorter blades, the speed of the blades is much higher and the degree to which they mulch the grass is much better. If I had it to do over, I would probably go for the 96" Landpride. Rat...

 

[IndianaPaul]

I use a Bush Hog Brand 72" (RDTH) mower on my TC45. Rear discharge. Use it to cut my 8 acre slawn & 5-6 acres next door about 5 times a year. No complaints. Easy height adjustment, four wheels to follow the ground. Also looked at LandPride which was a great looking unit as well.

Indiana Paul

 

[Mosey]

I think you’re going to get a lot of good feedback on the top names brands, which would certainly include LandPride - I would not consider them just “in the running” but rather one of the top brands. I have over 100 hours on mine now and have never had any problems. When I did my research I found that the blade tip speed on the my FDR2572 was the highest of all the 6’ rear discharge mowers.

 

[RichZ]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the brands that have been mentioned in this thread. It probably will come down to which one you can get the best deal on.

 

[Twanger]

I use a 6 foot rear discharge Woods. It is very solid and cuts great. Tires are solid with springs in the castor supports to absorb shocks. I bought mine before the talk of Woods having some difficulties with the company. Hope this dosen't make problems in getting parts.

 

[TonyC]

<font color=blue>LandPride - I would not consider them just "in the running"</font color=blue>

I agree Danny. I didn't mean to word it that way. Land Pride makes top notch equipment. It's just that there are so many high quality brands I didn't know where to start!

 

[Inspector507]

Ron,
I got a great deal on a "private labeled" Caroni. It has been great for me, but this is the only one I have owned and it's 2 years old. So it's hard for me to compare.

 

[Steve_in_Ont]

Ron - Do you know how to start a discussion or what...

I have a 60" Farm King (manufactured by Buhler - check out: http://www.buhler.com/sitefiles/index1.htm).

Before I got this mower, my dealer loaned me a Rotomec... nice enough, but the FK weighs 552lbs and the Rotomec only weighs around 360lbs. The FK has a much larger gear box, larger wheels and is made of thicker metal.

 

[shade2u2]

Hey Inspector,
Where did you buy the Caroni? Is it a rear discharge? What name is on it?

 

[Tractor_Barn]

You can check them out at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.caroni-spa.com>http://www.caroni-spa.com</A>. Nice unit. They make a nice tiller too.

Vince

My original post looked too much like advertising...My apologies to all.

 

[chim]

I have a right side discharge Caroni that is around 8 years old, and it has been stord outside, used and abused. I used it in brush, pasture and on lawns. It has required some welding - the brackets that hold the wheels has been welded to the top of the deck after the bolts snapped off. I almost bought another for the new tractor, but decided on a Landpride when the dealer discounted it heavily.

My Caroni came from Central Tractor, but the link below sells and ships them all over the place. They have both side and rear discharge:

http://www.agri-supply.com/catmain/2000019.htm

Last year I hit a hidden pipe, and when the blade made the sudden stop, it stripped the threads on the bottom of the spindle ("quill", they call it). A call to Agrisupply and 2 or 3 days later I had a new one....................chim

 

[Inspector507]

shade,
The Caroni is private labeled as a WAC. I think it stands for World Agri Corp. They are out of Bethel, Ohio. Yes, it is rear discharge, I've had too many windrows before with the lawn tractor, look terrible. This thing cuts anything I ask it to.

 

[looch]

Like Steve, I have a Buhler/Farm King 60" rear discharge. This is season 2 and everything is peachy. Of my implements, it is the best looking (welds, paint, etc.) - if that's worth anything. It ran me 1700 CDN (about a grand US). This brand is very well represented in this area - that's important too.

 

[shade2u2]

So that's what a WAC is... I found a dealer about 20 miles south of here that quoted me $1275 form a 6' rear discharge... & $1685 for Bushog, $1825 for Landpride...
Thanx...

 

[Inspector507]

shade,
I had to order parts once for the WAC. I lost some bushings for one of the wheels, called the factory, had the parts in 2-3 days. Very friendly people to deal with.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I bought a sovema 72" rear discharge, only used it two seasons it has worked fine for my 4 acres. Paid $825.00

 

[wichiwichi]

I have an FM60 Rhino rear discharge. Well built machine and plenty of grease zirks.

 

[Inspector507]

Shade,
Little Miami has a 60" Prime Cut for $959, you pick up. They are in Blanchester, Ohio