Rear mount finish mowers

[BWSwede]

TnFarm,

Thanks for the heads-up on the Bush Hog mower. They weren't on my radar, but they are now.

BWSwede

 

[pmsmechanic]

Do you have before and after pic's of the mod? I would like to see how it was done.

No unfortunately I have no pictures of the mod.

It's not hard to do. Farm King mowers have a flat deck. You weld the side hole shut and cut about half the width of the lip of off the rear of the mower. I had a 4" wide piece of 1/4" flat metal bent with a 45 degree angle and welded it onto the rear of the deck to reinforce what I had cut away. I basically copied what Farm King does with their mowers so if you stop at a dealer and have a look you can see what I did.

My mower is a 1991 model that had the crazy wheels following each other front to back. Newer mowers have the crazy wheel mount bolted on so that the rear wheels are closer together than the front wheels. So I drilled new holes in my deck to copy the way the new mowers are built. My rear wheels were interfering with the new extended deck with changing it to a rear discharge and also mounting the wheels at an angle. The crazy wheel mount is made out of 2" square tube so it was easy to cut the mount in half weld in a piece of tubing to extend the rear wheels out enough to clear the rear of the deck.

I also added a 12" wide 4" roller under the deck just behind the middle blade. It reduced scalping considerably.

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

I also added a 12" wide 4" roller under the deck just behind the middle blade. It reduced scalping considerably.

Interesting idea. Scalping is an issue with any of these wide decks. even after 10 years of mowing you always seem to find new rocks or swails to find...

Note: my times for mowing are based off of running at 6.5 MPH on the open and flat areas

 

[leonz]

I have spent several hours over the last couple of evenings looking into the pros and cons of rear discharge and side discharge finish mowers. I will be operating it on two different properties. The smaller of the two properties will require a higher than normal percentage of mowing in reverse. I have no concern about wind rows, grass clumps left behind, striping, or blowing leaves.

A rear discharge is appealing for the obvious reason that I would not have to plan my "route" as much since it throws the clippings out the back instead of to the side.

The mower I am looking to get will be 72" wide and be run on a 70 horse power pto.

My question:

Can a rear mount, rear discharge mower, mow in reverse on short grass that gets mowed weekly during the growing season without clogging up, burning up the belt, or causing other undesirable problems?

TIA,
BWSwede

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You should consider a Landpride offset flail mower(Maschio) or Vrisimo Offset Flail Mower(made in California)
for what you want to do as they will handle your mowing needs with zero issues. Another option would be the Caroni TM1900 with the hydraulic offset option, They offer a scoop knife that is not cast iron but still mows very well.


Any one of the three will give you trouble free mowing but the Land Pride units have the cast hammer knives and a trash door to allow you to mow in heavy brush without clogging.


A flail mower will mow in reverse so no worries there wherein you back over heavy brush and when you drive forward it mows it down a second time.

 

[bspeedy]

TnFarm,

Thanks for the heads-up on the Bush Hog mower. They weren't on my radar, but they are now.

BWSwede

Another satisfied owner / user of the ATH900 Bush Hog RFM. Built MUCH heavier than 6 and 7 foot models that I have seen. I've seen them used for around a grand.

 

[stevem5215]

I mow backwards with my 72" rear finish Woods deck on my Ford 1900 without issues. (for short backup segments of the yard where needed). Even on grass that's 12" high the worst it does is bunch it all up in piles. Never a whimper from the tractor (other than the loading of the motor). It is a rear discharge deck mower.

Steve

 

[DK35vince]

I asked about the left/right tilt because I was trying to determine if there are provisions for the mower deck to follow the ground instead of following the tractor as it tilts left and right over uneven ground.

Yes, most have a floating hitch so the mower can move on uneven ground.

 

[Will_C]

As Vince said, one of the lower 3 pt hook ups is able to slide up and down, following the contours of the ground. I have no scalping on the field I mow, which is quite rough.

Will

 

[clemsonfor]

I like the rear discharge. I think it takes less HP to run as all the grass does not have to be thrown out the side of it all the way from the left, also think this takes more power to do which is the reason. I run a 72" bush hog brand side discharge on my 24hp yanmar and its all it wants in anything other than short weekly mowed grass.

 

[BWSwede]

Thanks again guys for the continued replies. It is good to hear that not just a few, but many of you find backing up with a rear discharge mower not a big deal.

Leonz: It would be nice to have a flail mower but they seem to cost a lot more that a finish mower of similar quality and condition. I have also heard that they can require a lot more maintenance due to all the individual knives that need to be maintained.

I stopped into a local tractor dealer to get a top link and saw that they had a used Befco 84" rear discharge rear finish mower in the back lot. They wanted $2500 for it, which seems high to me. The salesman thinks it is about 10 years old.


BWSwede

 

[widefat]

Thanks again guys for the continued replies. It is good to hear that not just a few, but many of you find backing up with a rear discharge mower not a big deal.

Leonz: It would be nice to have a flail mower but they seem to cost a lot more that a finish mower of similar quality and condition. I have also heard that they can require a lot more maintenance due to all the individual knives that need to be maintained.

I stopped into a local tractor dealer to get a top link and saw that they had a used Befco 84" rear discharge rear finish mower in the back lot. They wanted $2500 for it, which seems high to me. The salesman thinks it is about 10 years old.


BWSwede

I just bought a new 72" Land Pride for around 2300; I am very pleased with how it cuts. I mow some very bumpy areas (was a hay field last year), and it is doing a great job of evenly cutting.

 

[Wild Bill the 2nd]

Last year I was looking into buying a new mower for my tractor but passed.
I was quoted between $3600 and $4300 for the Landpride 84" rear discharge and between $4500 and $5800 for their 90".

I bought my existing 84" Woods for $2000 used. It was probably 5-7 years old when I bought it and I have had it for 10 years now.

 

[GManBart]

Thanks again guys for the continued replies. It is good to hear that not just a few, but many of you find backing up with a rear discharge mower not a big deal.

Leonz: It would be nice to have a flail mower but they seem to cost a lot more that a finish mower of similar quality and condition. I have also heard that they can require a lot more maintenance due to all the individual knives that need to be maintained.

I stopped into a local tractor dealer to get a top link and saw that they had a used Befco 84" rear discharge rear finish mower in the back lot. They wanted $2500 for it, which seems high to me. The salesman thinks it is about 10 years old.


BWSwede

I don't know about a flail having much higher maintenance than an RFM. There might be a bit more, but I suspect it's one of those things you do once a year and forget about it. I know I changes/sharpened the 5 blades on my 90" RFM more than I've had to my 87" flail that replaced it.

I sold my 90" RFM (Sitrex which is also sold as Rhino) for around $1250 and it was in really good shape.

 

[TnFarm]

TnFarm,

Thanks for the heads-up on the Bush Hog mower. They weren't on my radar, but they are now.

BWSwede

You're welcome.