Rear Finish Mower for BX2660

Poopdeck Pappy · Apr 12, 2015

I'm interested in buying a rear finish mower for my BX2660. Will it handle a 60"? Or should I stay with a 48" one?

The BX2660 has 19 pto hp, so I'm pretty sure it has enough power to turn it adequately. But I'm wondering if it has enough lifting power on the 3 point to lift it. I've got a FEL on it so I have plenty of counterweight on the front. But will the BX2660 handle a 600 - 650 pound RFM, which hangs pretty far off the back of it?

David_Kb7uns · Apr 12, 2015

I have a Land Pride FDR 1660 for my L3130 and have tried it behind my BX2230. With the weight and power required to run the mower I say NO on the 60inch being a good match and it was hard on the PTO clutch and having the loader on was a must.

If you want a 60 inch cut get the Mid Mount Mower.

David

JOHNTHOMAS · Apr 13, 2015

I had a Jolle? 60" or 72" (red, light weight, pretty and from France) RFM a few years ago that I pulled with a B7800 with no issues. It kept breaking. I had a rough field turned into a yard, gullies and a few well placed and mowed lime stones. It probably would have lasted oK on a "lawn". Barlows gave me my money back to apply to a 72" Landpride that was a tank with obvious welds and it was not "pretty". It probably weighed twice as much as the "pretty" smooth welds that couldn't even be seen for the bright red paint.

The Landpride would swing the tractor around when I made the turn at the bottom of the hill but with around 31/32hp it was no problem running it, never. Traded the B7800 to a Grand L3240 which is about the same HP and twice the weight. Never noticed the Landpride RFM on the L except when about to crest the steepest hill and the L would start slowing down due to the weight and going up a steep hill where the B7800 (half the weight, same HP) never slowed or stuttered. One of those bigger isn't better actual experience situations.
Never tried a RFM on my previously owned BX2660 so no actual experience info to relate to you. My guess is that your BX2660 (The BX2660 beside my BX23xxs seemed like a V8 car beside a 6 cylinder car of long ago days

) will pull a light weight RFM OK but I wouldn't buy a heavy one like a Woods or Landpride in the 72" size. I really like the RFMs with rear discharge for more open mowing areas.

Poopdeck Pappy · Apr 13, 2015

David and John, thanks for your thoughts. It sounds like the safe thing is to go with a 48" RFM. Dang it. And if I get one, it will definitely be a rear discharge model.

What I really need to do is hit the lottery so I can buy a "F" series front-mount Kubota. :drool:

Leejohn · Apr 13, 2015

I pull a woods 60" all the time with my bx2660. It does make the front light, but I don't mow with the loader on. The only time I lift mine is if I change the cutting hight. Most of the time I don' use my top link, a lot of my land has dips and hilly and the top link well bottom out in some spots. Lifting power is no trouble at all. I have a MMM, but don't use much because I do to many other things that it would be in the way. Even been thinking about selling it, but there is that so called resell thing.

JOHNTHOMAS · Apr 14, 2015

Leejohn said:
I pull a woods 60" all the time with my bx2660. It does make the front light, but I don't mow with the loader on. The only time I lift mine is if I change the cutting hight. Most of the time I don' use my top link, a lot of my land has dips and hilly and the top link well bottom out in some spots. Lifting power is no trouble at all. I have a MMM, but don't use much because I do to many other things that it would be in the way. Even been thinking about selling it, but there is that so called resell thing.

There you go, actual experience. Beats maybe, probably or should.
I know people that don't even play the lottery that have Fs. Just good credit.

:cool2:

Poopdeck Pappy · Apr 14, 2015

Leejohn, thanks for the reply. You've given me something to think about. I sure would like to run 60" because it does make a different mowing time and being able to trim closer to things.

JOHNTHOMAS · Apr 15, 2015

PS I have a F2680e which is the two wheel drive F model with 26HP. I've owned it or used it for about 3 years with a 60" front deck mower and on my second year with a 72" front deck mower on it with no issues in normal sized grass. The HP is there on it. My two F3080s 4wd always had/have 72" decks with 30HP.

chim · Apr 16, 2015

As others have mentioned, different brands / models have different weights. I have a little Ford 1210 that handles a 5 foot Caroni very well. For about 10 years I had a B7500 with a 5 foot Landpride. The B7500 handled that just fine. Out of curiosity I swapped the decks. The B7500 felt like the Caroni wasn't even back there while the Ford really struggled with the Landpride.

Poopdeck Pappy · Apr 28, 2015

Well, I bought a finish mower today. I found a used Woods RDC54 locally and went and looked at it and bought it. The guy didn't have a tractor to hook it up to, so I checked it out as best I could just eyeballing it. I checked gearbox oil with a stick and a flashlight, lifted the mower and checked the blades and spindles for any play, made sure no oil was leaking from underneath the gearbox, etc. The blades are in really good shape and don't look like they've had much use.

Anyway, here it is. It's too wet to mow with it now, but I'll report back on how it works once I have a chance to use it. I want to sharpen the blades, check the belt tension and change the oil in the gearbox before I use it just because I want to.