72" rear discharge mower on B2601?

[JVthePT]

Hello all. First post here. I have a Land Pride AT2560 finish mower that I used behind an 8N tractor years ago and when I pulled it out this week it is frozen up. I plan to work on it this weekend.
Even if I get it moving, I am considering a rear discharge. I am wondering if anyone has used a 6' finish mower behind a B2601?

 

[SDT]

Hello all. First post here. I have a Land Pride AT2560 finish mower that I used behind an 8N tractor years ago and when I pulled it out this week it is frozen up. I plan to work on it this weekend.
Even if I get it moving, I am considering a rear discharge. I am wondering if anyone has used a 6' finish mower behind a B2601?

Might be OK if cover is not heavy and ground is level and/or front weights.

 

[trueg50]

What are the conditions and grass?

Fdr1660 is a pretty heavy attachment but goes fine with just the loader up front and no bucket. Last night I mowed for the first time in two weeks and with a very wet lawn and it handled it fine except for a few areas of thick grass and weeds where I had to slow down.

 

[chim]

My B7500 handled an AT in the 60" width OK, but it was the upper limit with regard to HP. The HST got a bit too hot on a few occasions when the grass was tall. The steering got "lumpy" and felt like it was ratcheting while turning. After cooling down it was OK. The B2601 is a slightly larger unit, so I'd guess it's OK

I have always removed the loader and its frame to mow (B7500HST w/ 60", L3200HST w/ 72" and L4240 HSTC w/ 91"). These tractors all had filled R4's on them and worked very well.

The last two decks have been rear discharge and the only downside is not being able to use them for leaf gathering in the Fall. That's when the Ford with the 60" side discharge gets pressed into service.

 

[Elliott in GA]

I mow a less than 2 acre field (a mix of fescue and other grasses) with the RCR1860 rotary cutter (around the perimeter and a few rough areas) and an FDR1660 (1.5 acres plus) rear discharge. The field is mostly flat with about 1/3 of it being a downward slope ranging from gentle to significant). I mow with the loader on, and the FDR1660 of course is fully supported on it own wheels and floats behind the QH10 (pivot links/arms top and bottom).

The FDR1660 does a great job on appropriately tall grass (up to 3-4 inches above cut height), and I am mowing to a cut height of 5 inches. The rear discharge leaves almost no trace - any cuttings are nearly invisible by the next day. If the grass has grown too much, I cut it with the rotary cutter.

If you are mowing regularly (cutting a few inches) and your topography is relatively flat, you should be able to do it.

 

[JVthePT]

Update: looks like my AT 2560 is a go! I have 2 tires that don't take air. I am interested to see if I can find airless or solid tires for this mower.
We mow about 4 acres. Lot's of trees, buildings, shrubs. The ground is varying slopes, hills and some fairly flat. We use a zero turn and generally cut to 3.5 or 4". I want a finish mower as a backup and adding a little more of a fine cut around my timber line. I was looking at a used 6' land pride locally, but really if this old gal can make the cut (pun intended), I would rather save that money for another implement.

 

[JVthePT]

Mowed with the old Land Pride today and other than the blades needing sharpened, it did well!

 

[chim]

I mentioned the downside of not being able to "rake leaves" in a previous post. That is far outweighed by having the ability to mow in any direction. With the side discharge, it's easy to blow clippings into flower beds etc. It also makes it easier to differ the mowing patterns.

 

[JVthePT]

I mentioned the downside of not being able to "rake leaves" in a previous post. That is far outweighed by having the ability to mow in any direction. With the side discharge, it's easy to blow clippings into flower beds etc. It also makes it easier to differ the mowing patterns.

I agree, those are really good points. The major upside to the side discharge, for me is it's already paid for.
I'm not sure if the positives make up for the cost of a different mower.
There is a Woods Heritage 60" for sale fairly local for about $850. Looks like a well built rear discharge mower. Wonder what my Land Pride AT2560 is worth?

 

[Flintknapper]

I agree, those are really good points. The major upside to the side discharge, for me is it's already paid for.
I'm not sure if the positives make up for the cost of a different mower.
There is a Woods Heritage 60" for sale fairly local for about $850. Looks like a well built rear discharge mower. Wonder what my Land Pride AT2560 is worth?

That's a good price for that unit. Also, if you put mulching type blades on it....it pretty much chops up leafs enough that they don't need to blown into rows.

 

[JVthePT]

That's another good point. Now you guys need to give me good ideas on how to convince my wife that the finish mower is a necessity even though we have a zero-turn.

 

[Flintknapper]

That's another good point. Now you guys need to give me good ideas on how to convince my wife that the finish mower is a necessity even though we have a zero-turn.

Hah......well that's an entirely different matter and goes sharply up the difficulty scale, if She's anything like my Wife.

I have part of one pasture (about 5 acres) that I actually mow with my Zero Turn (deck up in transport position) simply because its faster than my tractor and does a better job.

I'd say it literally knocks half the mowing time off. Of course, I wouldn't mow 30 acres of pasture with it....but in some places, its just the ticket. Especially paddock areas up around the barn, down fence lines that are near the house, road frontage, etc....

Probably sacrilege to post a non-Kubota product, but its almost the right color.

 

[jkrubi12]

@Flintknapper, if I had that Zero Turn I'd be posting pics of it as well! Nice machine

 

[JVthePT]

That Scag is a very nice looking machine. We have a Cub Cadet steering wheel version. It tracks better on the hills and slopes we have on our property. That Cub has had a couple of summers where it was down more than it ran. That's the primary reason I would like a good, reliable finish mower now that I have a tractor with enough power to pull it again.

 

[TomRC]

NO WAY would I pull a 6' mower behind the B2601. I pull a 5' LP finish mower behind my B2601 and I have to be VERY VERY careful when I lift in on anything other than level ground even with the loader and bucket attached to offset the weight. I'm sure it could turn a 6 footer but that's not the issue. The front wheel will come off the ground!

 

[Elliott in GA]

Just for perspective, a Landpride FDR 1672 only weighs 42lbs. more and is 5 inches longer than the FDR 1660.

The 3 Point lift capacity of a B2601 is 1800/1400 lbs., and the weight of the FDR 1672 is 619 lbs.

I have an LX (slightly bigger machine), and I often go up and down a steep driveway (loader with grapple on) with my rotary cutter (heavier and longer) raised without any issues.

 

[TomRC]

LP rates nothing larger than a 4 footer for the B2601. I can ASSURE YOU on the B2601 I've had several instances where I almost needed to change my drawers with the 5 foot FDR1660 when I've had to lift on anything other than level ground on my B2601 and I am careful. Plus if you have any slopes the B2601 struggles in medium gear going uphill with the 5 footer and if you have to drop down to low gear then mowing becomes a SLOWWWWW process.

I've actually considering upgrading because a 6 footer would help me tremendously but after much feedback a L3301 would be the minimum. An L2501 could handle the weight of a 6 footer even though not recommended but an L3301 could handle the weight and have the power to pull a 6 footer up a slope at a decent pace where apparently even the L2501 struggles based on feedback from others.