New guy with a few questions.

[jdr7919]

Hello everyone,
Im new here and was hoping some of you could help me out.
I live in central Florida and own a Lawn company that does commercial properties. Right now I use 60" mowers for most of my accounts.
I will be getting a few larger accounts 50 acres.
Im trying to figure out what size tractor, hp, and bush hog, or batwing I would need to do this property. The account will be taken care of every week in the summer and every other week in the winter.
Also with a larger account do you price by the acre or by the hour?
I have done some searching but would like some direction.
Thanks for the help!!!

Jon

 

[Thomas]

Welcome to TBN.
Great folks w/good advice here,soooo kick back enjoy.

 

[MarkV]

Welcome, as a starting point the rule of thumb for a rotary mower, Bush hog, is 5 PTO hp per foot of mower. If you are mowing as often as mentioned you can get by with a little less. A finish mower is more in the range of 3 PTO hp per foot.

MarkV

 

[Ken45101]

Welcome to the board.

If you are talking large mowers or batwing mowers, I assume there is a LOT of unobstructed areas to mow? I don't think a big mower/tractor would be productive if there are lots of trees, bushes, or other obstacles to mow around.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'm in the commercial mowing business also. I do large acreage tracts and highway right-of-ways. Here's some of my thoughts to mull over.

Batwings are EXTREMELY productive in big areas. They are no more difficult to use around trees and obsticals than any other sort of mower. (so long as you aren't in a confined area) They are EXTREMELY difficult and can be rather costly if you need to move them constantly. You need either a tow rig big enough to haul the tractor and mower OR you'll need to flat tow the mower behind a truck, then haul the tractor. If jobs are reasonably close, you can always road march the entire rig, but that's not something I'd recommend on a regular basis.

A good operator with good equipment can mow CLOSER to many obsticals than with a small "rigid deck" mower. The overhang and extention of the mower beyond the width of the tractor allows you to get next to, or in some cases, UNDER obstructions. They're a great solution to mowing large areas, IF you have means to transport.

Then there's cost. Look at $12,000 to $14,000 for a new commercial grade (ie HEAVY duty) batwing. (bush hog style cutter) In SOME situations, you can mow with a 15' mower and as low as 60 hp. More frequently, you need more power. I wouldn't even consider a tractor less than 80hp, and probably closer to 100. That will prevent you from being "shut out" of more difficult mowing jobs due to lack of enough tractor power. That sort of tractor and mower will require a MUCH heavier truck and trailer than a small tractor would. You see where this is going? Big rig = Big bucks in order to get it to the job.

Unless you plan on getting numerous 50 acre(+) jobs, I'd elect to go a bit smaller. I've got one rig now that would fit your needs. It's a 10' single wing twin spindle "batwing" that's more than adaquately powered by a 70hp tractor. I haul it on a 20,000gvwr gooseneck behind a 1-ton Dodge pick-up. Easy on/easy off loading..... In ideal conditions, it'll mow 6 acres (+) an hour. Typically, that would mow 50 acres in a single (albiet long) day. It still has the extended overhang (on one side) like a full sized double wing batwing mower.

Avoid rigid deck mowers bigger than 8' wide. (Hauling issues)

 

[Johndeere3720]

it depends on how many 50 acre jobs and your budget.

 

[jdr7919]

Thanks for all the help guys.
I think Im going to need something that is not going to be a pain to move around and also not take up a ton of room to store.

What do you guys think about this?
TN-70A TRACTOR W/ MOWER

How fast are tractors able to pull while cutting? Im wondering if I would be better off with some 72" mowers

I have a lot to learn!!!!

Thanks again

 

[whistlepig]

I'm in the commercial mowing business also. I do large acreage tracts and highway right-of-ways. Here's some of my thoughts to mull over.

Batwings are EXTREMELY productive in big areas. They are no more difficult to use around trees and obsticals than any other sort of mower. (so long as you aren't in a confined area) They are EXTREMELY difficult and can be rather costly if you need to move them constantly. You need either a tow rig big enough to haul the tractor and mower OR you'll need to flat tow the mower behind a truck, then haul the tractor. If jobs are reasonably close, you can always road march the entire rig, but that's not something I'd recommend on a regular basis.

A good operator with good equipment can mow CLOSER to many obsticals than with a small "rigid deck" mower. The overhang and extention of the mower beyond the width of the tractor allows you to get next to, or in some cases, UNDER obstructions. They're a great solution to mowing large areas, IF you have means to transport.

Then there's cost. Look at $12,000 to $14,000 for a new commercial grade (ie HEAVY duty) batwing. (bush hog style cutter) In SOME situations, you can mow with a 15' mower and as low as 60 hp. More frequently, you need more power. I wouldn't even consider a tractor less than 80hp, and probably closer to 100. That will prevent you from being "shut out" of more difficult mowing jobs due to lack of enough tractor power. That sort of tractor and mower will require a MUCH heavier truck and trailer than a small tractor would. You see where this is going? Big rig = Big bucks in order to get it to the job.

Unless you plan on getting numerous 50 acre(+) jobs, I'd elect to go a bit smaller. I've got one rig now that would fit your needs. It's a 10' single wing twin spindle "batwing" that's more than adaquately powered by a 70hp tractor. I haul it on a 20,000gvwr gooseneck behind a 1-ton Dodge pick-up. Easy on/easy off loading..... In ideal conditions, it'll mow 6 acres (+) an hour. Typically, that would mow 50 acres in a single (albiet long) day. It still has the extended overhang (on one side) like a full sized double wing batwing mower.

Avoid rigid deck mowers bigger than 8' wide. (Hauling issues)

Give us a brand name and model mower that works best for you. I would be interested in that.

 

[PSDStu]

I'm in the commercial mowing business also. I do large acreage tracts and highway right-of-ways. Here's some of my thoughts to mull over.

Batwings are EXTREMELY productive in big areas. They are no more difficult to use around trees and obsticals than any other sort of mower. (so long as you aren't in a confined area) They are EXTREMELY difficult and can be rather costly if you need to move them constantly. You need either a tow rig big enough to haul the tractor and mower OR you'll need to flat tow the mower behind a truck, then haul the tractor. If jobs are reasonably close, you can always road march the entire rig, but that's not something I'd recommend on a regular basis.

A good operator with good equipment can mow CLOSER to many obsticals than with a small "rigid deck" mower. The overhang and extention of the mower beyond the width of the tractor allows you to get next to, or in some cases, UNDER obstructions. They're a great solution to mowing large areas, IF you have means to transport.

Then there's cost. Look at $12,000 to $14,000 for a new commercial grade (ie HEAVY duty) batwing. (bush hog style cutter) In SOME situations, you can mow with a 15' mower and as low as 60 hp. More frequently, you need more power. I wouldn't even consider a tractor less than 80hp, and probably closer to 100. That will prevent you from being "shut out" of more difficult mowing jobs due to lack of enough tractor power. That sort of tractor and mower will require a MUCH heavier truck and trailer than a small tractor would. You see where this is going? Big rig = Big bucks in order to get it to the job.

Unless you plan on getting numerous 50 acre(+) jobs, I'd elect to go a bit smaller. I've got one rig now that would fit your needs. It's a 10' single wing twin spindle "batwing" that's more than adaquately powered by a 70hp tractor. I haul it on a 20,000gvwr gooseneck behind a 1-ton Dodge pick-up. Easy on/easy off loading..... In ideal conditions, it'll mow 6 acres (+) an hour. Typically, that would mow 50 acres in a single (albiet long) day. It still has the extended overhang (on one side) like a full sized double wing batwing mower.

Avoid rigid deck mowers bigger than 8' wide. (Hauling issues)

I often wondered how you move your big tractors and 15' batwings back and forth from your shop to the various job sites and ROW's you cut? Sounds like you might use the 20K trailer and 1ton truck?

Stu

 

[Ken45101]

New Holland tractors have long turning radius, maybe twice the turning radius of a Kubota. That means a lot of unmowed grass when you make a turn and a lot of wasted time going back to clean up those areas. A 6' bush hog is going to take you a lot of time to mow 50 acres, 16 or 17 hours at a minumum.

I am trading in a almost new (32 hours) New Holland TT-60A that I've been using with a 6' cutter for a Kubota M9540 with a 15' batwing Bush Hog. The new tractor should be here today or tomorrow.

You never specified if the customer expects a smooth cut (finish mower) or just a rough cut with a bush hog rotary cutter.

As for "how fast", my 6' Woods rotary cutter specifies 1-5 mph. However, if I go fast (5 mph), the result is a rough, uneven cut. Of course, that depends on how often the grass is mowed and how high it is.

If you are considering only a 6' mower, I think you would be better off with a zero turn mower. Less cost AND faster. That assumes you are mowing a lawn type environment, not rough pasture. If it is rough ground, then you are pretty much limited to a rotary cutter.

Thanks for all the help guys.
I think Im going to need something that is not going to be a pain to move around and also not take up a ton of room to store.

What do you guys think about this?
TN-70A TRACTOR W/ MOWER

How fast are tractors able to pull while cutting? Im wondering if I would be better off with some 72" mowers

I have a lot to learn!!!!

Thanks again