Snowman7, I’ve used a 5 foot MMM on my old JD750 tractor for 25 years. It sure beat a push mower and even a small riding lawn mower. But I cussed every time I had to take it off to put something on the 3 point if the mower would’ve been in the way. If I mow everything all at once it’s probably 4+ acres. But I also use the tractor for backhoe work, tilling, cultivating, spraying, loader work, and anything else that comes up around here. With those different jobs popping up and with threat of rain always of concern, the MMM was on/off regularly and seldom (almost never) was left on between mowings. When things went well (and I was 25 yrs younger, too) it was only a 20 minute or less job to change implements with the MMM. But that’s 40 minutes to get it back to finish mowing again. Do that 2 or three times and you’ve wasted a good hour or more. Week after week during the summer it adds up to a lot of work.
Even with a big shed with concrete floor it was a pain to slide that MMM in and out from under the tractor and then hook up all the linkages. It might take up less storage space in the winter but you need double the space when you consider the room needed to get it under and out from the tractor’s belly. If I could have a dedicated mowing rig, the MMM would rule. But there goes that compact space and you lose some valuable floor space for your dedicated mower. Not to mention all the maintenance of that dedicated mower as well.
When my MMM was needing rebuilding I opted against it for the time being and bought a 3 point rear discharge finish mower. Three minutes on, three minutes off, sure made for some convenient swap out of implements. And no crawling under to hook up pto and no tugging and pulling to get the MMM out from underneath. Now it’s just back up, hook up and go. It can be dropped off anywhere….doesn’t need to be on a smooth hard surface like the old MMM.
I don’t have a one acre, irregularly shaped, obstacle infested and some places steep lawn so my circumstances must be unusual. I do have different sections of lawn, tight spaces, many trees of all kinds including pines, road ditches to mow, along with all the other duties that the compact tractor fulfills.
A MMM will shine in some circumstances and a 3 point finish mower shines in others. It’s a fast learning curve to mow with the rear mower and it takes no more time with that than it did with the MMM. Especially with the tight turn radius of the B2650 and the ease of backup/forward HST. You’ll quickly develop mowing patterns around your trees that will make it much easier than you think. Backing up into tight spaces is a breeze.
I’m glad I fought and struggled with a MMM when I was young! I’m like a kitten in a bowl of cream with my rear finish mower now behind the B2650. I lose no time in mowing with it and save both time and energy in being able to swap between implements so easily. And that is another big plus: I used to put off doing something because I had the MMM on and needed to mow again in a few days or after it dried up from a rain, etc., etc. It seemed it was never convenient to swap the mower out for a small task. And the conditions to do it in never seemed ideal. Maybe others always operate in ideal conditions but I’m not so lucky. Now it’s a piece of cake to swap between mowing and all the other chores and back to mowing again. Even if it’s just to do a 5 minute landscaping job for the wife.
Snowman7, one type mower isn’t better than the other. You have to decide which is better for you. If your other occasional tractor chores can be done with the MMM in place, then that’s a good choice. If those other chores require the MMM to come off frequently then you might want to consider a rear finish mower. And take it with a grain of salt when someone says there’s only one choice for a mower. I sure wish the JD dealer would’ve laid out the pros and cons to me 30 years ago.
