Grooming/Finish Mower ?'s

[FireKraKer]

Evening All,

Newbie to the forum and tractors with my first post. (be gentle) I recently purchased 10 acres of land here in Washington state after returning home from Iraq. I soon found out I was going to need something bigger than a lawn tractor to maintain all of this so I purchased a new JD 2305.

I have 75 hours on it now and have put it in the shop 4 times so far.
As my dad used to say, I could tear up a bowling ball with a feather duster!!

Anyway on to my questions. I got a Mid Mount Mower and soon began having troubles. First off, it sheared off my break linkage 3 times until I found out about an "updated" linkage on this site. I called my dealer and gave them the info and they finally fixed the problem.

Now, I have managed to bend the deck and shear off my hydaulic line. I had already grown tired of removing and installing this thing everytime I needed to go stump jumping in the woods to clear brush, so now I am thinking of trading this in for a rear unit. It is just not going to work for me to have a MMM. (learned that abbrev tonight )

So, after reading much on the site, I think I will go with a Land Pride due to all the support around here for those. I was looking at the FDR2584 84". However, I am confused by all the options.

Blades = High or Med or Low lift and/or mulching????
Front Roller?

Any help would be appreciated.

Also, should I just remove the extra hydraulic line and MMM lifts off of the tractor now? The line is shot, it tore the threads off when the fitting pulled.

And if you guys have time...I will take advice on other attachments I think I will need.

Sprayer, Landscaping rake, Power Rake...



Thanks all,

Brandon

 

[CDsdad]

Welcome to TBN, Brandon.

I can't really help you with the tractor questions, I'm totally unfamiliar with JD. But I'm sure plenty others will chime in.

As far as the rear finish mower, Landpride is a good choice, Bushhog makes a good one, and some folks here like the Befcos and Caronis.

I have a Landpride 1672, which is a lighter duty 6' version of the one you are looking at, that I run with a 26 pto HP tractor. If you have real sandy soil, you'll wear out high lift blades faster and they also take more HP to run. I don't know what HP your tractor is but 84" is pretty good size and will probably need close to 30 HP regardless. I use the medium blades on mine, that were factory sent, and haven't needed sharpening after almost a season of use. I have and recommend the front roller, it makes a difference, though the bigger the mower, the more tendency to scalp in uneven spots and the roller won't stop all scalping. Hope this helps you.

 

[FireKraKer]

Thanks alot CD!!!

 

[FireKraKer]

CD,

I went with the landpride 1672....with optional front roller. I will let you know how it works out.

FireKraker

 

[mobilus]

I have been impressed by my LandPride 1660 finish mower. It cuts great! My only suggestion is to pull the rear caster linch pins, walk out of the shop, and throw them as far as you can. It'll save you a lot of headaches down the road.
Twice now, I have backed up into bushes/trees/fences and have had the linch pin pulled out. The first time it happened, I raised my lift arms just enough for the top spacers to fall off, then as I lowered the mower the shaft punched out the top bushing. Ordered new bushing, and instead of a linch pin, I used a large cotter key.
Always the slow learner, I didn't replace the other linch pin, and you guessed it, the same thing happened yesterday afternoon. Only this time the caster fell all of the way out, and I backed the mower over it. I got lucky and only lost the tire to the blades, but it could have been worse.
As for tires, I suggest going with the solid rubber ones, because you can pop the pneumatic ones off the rim pretty easy. If you have to replace a tire, LP wants about $42 for one, so go down to your local Atwoods, TSC, whatever, and get one for about $10. I bought two, just in case.
Just my learnin's,
mobilus

 

[CDsdad]

I hope you like the new mower and it serves you well. mobilus was very correct on the solid tires. I forgot to mention them earlier. I used a 5' RFM in the past and had trouble keeping pneumatic tires on it. I haven't had any trouble with the pins, though.

 

[joeberry]

I just picked up my 5-foot l/p mower and I couldn't be more pumped. I looked at several brands and I did not like what was available. I think the money was well worth the quality. It cuts great and after some learming, I have I dialed in to suit my needs. I cut 3 acres with it and am now hoping for more rain so I can mow again, it's dry here anyway. I too lost a pin and a spacer, so my first day was cut short. TSC did not have them so I had to go back to the dealer. They gave me some spacers free and that is was customer service is all about. I also chunked the pins and went with a pin like is used on trailers, what ever they are called....Power is by way of TC-30..........

 

[greg_g]

Am I the only one here who noticed the bit about stump jumping and brush cutting in the woods with a finish mower? Considering what you've been doing, that kind of (self-inflicted) damage isn't really unexpected. What you've described is a job for a rotary cutter - or at the very least a flail mower. And not only does a finish mower sound like the wrong tool for the job, that particular Landpride is definitely the wrong mower for your tractor.

Even if you had enough PTO horsepower to efficiently spin it (you've only got 18), have you considered lifting an 812 pound mower with a 1450 pound tractor? If you even looked at the 2305 specs, you'll see that the TPH itself is rated to lift only 681 pounds.

Sit down with the 2305 spec sheet. Determine the capabilities and limitation of the tractor BEFORE selecting the right implement for the job at hand.

//greg//

 

[RoyJackson]

That was a good catch, Greg!
FireKraKer probably need a 48" cutter (might be able to go 60" if he goes pretty slow and uses a lot of common sense)

 

[EddieWalker]

Firekraker,

Since you bought the finish mower, you should know that the gear box and blades are not designed for anything bigger then grass. It will take down small saplings and weeds if they are VERY SMALL, but only in very small quantities. I have pines, sweet gums and oaks that sprout like weeds on my place. I justkeep them mowed with my finish mower and they give up after awhile.

I have problems with flat tires and have decided to get solid tires the next time I have a flat. It's just $3 to have them fixed, but it's a pain to have to stop mowing and take the tire to the shop to have it fixed. It's either buy solids and iliminate the problem, or learn to fix them myself. Since it's an ongoing issue, I think I'll solve the problem and not deal with it anymore.

My mower was used when I bought it, so you might not have the tire issues I've run into.

Eddie