Old Machinist
Member
Equipment
Kubota LX3310 cab, JD 4310, NH 575E cab backhoe, JD F725, Swisher 60", etc.
RC72-30BB Mower: This is long so if you have this mower and are satisfied with your setup you might not want to read it.
I bought a LX3310 cab tractor with this mower mid summer with 200 hours on it. I wanted it primarily to use as an air conditioned mower. I have 55 trouble free hours on it since I set it up.
Here are some observations I have on the set up and removal of the mower. I did receive the factory manuals for the tractor, mower, and loader.
I mowed a little with it as I received it but before long the belt started smoking. I discovered the tabs for holding the lift arms up when the mower is removed were left lying under the belt guards and getting hung in the belt. This was my clue that I needed to go over the whole setup on the mower.
I found that none of the threaded adjusters were set to the specifications in the manual so I corrected those. I found thick washers that weren’t pictured in the manual where the lift tabs should go so I removed those and installed the tabs I found under the belt guards. I had to straighten those back to their original shapes. The manual didn’t show any washers between the tabs and the cotter pin but they clearly need some to keep them in place when the mower is removed. There isn’t room for a thick washer on one side so I just stuck some 1-3/8” snap rings I had on there. After that I set the gauge wheels so they were visually the same above the holders and checked blade height. That’s when I learned they weren’t level by a visual setting. I went back to the manual and set it for a 3” cut height per the instructions and found the designated holes for that were dead on. With that setting the gauge wheel shafts were flush at the top on one side and about a half inch up on the other.
One final tip on setup is replacing the blades. I bought Oregon gator style blades for it and they are thinner than stock. The blades just have round holes and are locked down by a pair of conical shaped washers under a shouldered bolt. I had to go to the dealer and purchase an extra washer for each blade to get them to tighten. The dealer had gator style blades made by a different manufacturer that were the correct thickness but I forgot the brand name. Make sure and add a washer if using thinner blades and torque the bolts to spec. Finally make sure the blades do not spin under the washers. The dealer said even the stock thickness blades may spin if the washers lose their tension.
Today I removed the mower for the first time. Per the manual you are supposed to be able to drive over this mower with the belt guards in place. I went step by step in the instructions but found one suggestion out of place and another I added on my own to facilitate removal. After everything is disconnected per the manual it suggests you chock the gauge wheels and slowly back over the mower but after that it tells you to make sure the belt guards are in place. Clearly the belt guards need to be in place BEFORE you should back over the deck. When I chocked the deck wheels and tried to back over the deck it just slid the chocks and the front wheels would not climb over the deck. I reset the gauge wheel chocks, put the tractor in 4WD, and stacked a couple of pieces of 2x4 in front if the deck to make a progressive ramp for the wheels to climb. This worked like a charm and the tractor backed slowly over the deck without causing any damage.
Hope these suggestions help someone needing to set one of these decks up and also for removing it. Make sure to use the mower manual to get it all as it should be. It mows awesome.
I bought a LX3310 cab tractor with this mower mid summer with 200 hours on it. I wanted it primarily to use as an air conditioned mower. I have 55 trouble free hours on it since I set it up.
Here are some observations I have on the set up and removal of the mower. I did receive the factory manuals for the tractor, mower, and loader.
I mowed a little with it as I received it but before long the belt started smoking. I discovered the tabs for holding the lift arms up when the mower is removed were left lying under the belt guards and getting hung in the belt. This was my clue that I needed to go over the whole setup on the mower.
I found that none of the threaded adjusters were set to the specifications in the manual so I corrected those. I found thick washers that weren’t pictured in the manual where the lift tabs should go so I removed those and installed the tabs I found under the belt guards. I had to straighten those back to their original shapes. The manual didn’t show any washers between the tabs and the cotter pin but they clearly need some to keep them in place when the mower is removed. There isn’t room for a thick washer on one side so I just stuck some 1-3/8” snap rings I had on there. After that I set the gauge wheels so they were visually the same above the holders and checked blade height. That’s when I learned they weren’t level by a visual setting. I went back to the manual and set it for a 3” cut height per the instructions and found the designated holes for that were dead on. With that setting the gauge wheel shafts were flush at the top on one side and about a half inch up on the other.
One final tip on setup is replacing the blades. I bought Oregon gator style blades for it and they are thinner than stock. The blades just have round holes and are locked down by a pair of conical shaped washers under a shouldered bolt. I had to go to the dealer and purchase an extra washer for each blade to get them to tighten. The dealer had gator style blades made by a different manufacturer that were the correct thickness but I forgot the brand name. Make sure and add a washer if using thinner blades and torque the bolts to spec. Finally make sure the blades do not spin under the washers. The dealer said even the stock thickness blades may spin if the washers lose their tension.
Today I removed the mower for the first time. Per the manual you are supposed to be able to drive over this mower with the belt guards in place. I went step by step in the instructions but found one suggestion out of place and another I added on my own to facilitate removal. After everything is disconnected per the manual it suggests you chock the gauge wheels and slowly back over the mower but after that it tells you to make sure the belt guards are in place. Clearly the belt guards need to be in place BEFORE you should back over the deck. When I chocked the deck wheels and tried to back over the deck it just slid the chocks and the front wheels would not climb over the deck. I reset the gauge wheel chocks, put the tractor in 4WD, and stacked a couple of pieces of 2x4 in front if the deck to make a progressive ramp for the wheels to climb. This worked like a charm and the tractor backed slowly over the deck without causing any damage.
Hope these suggestions help someone needing to set one of these decks up and also for removing it. Make sure to use the mower manual to get it all as it should be. It mows awesome.
