BX Series Land Pride Grooming Mower vs. Belly Mower

[jampy00]

Howdy Folks,

Was browsing the Land Pride site today and noticed "Grooming mowers" Specifically the FDR16 series

Land Pride

www.landpride.com

I was wondering if anyone has any insight on how these perform versus the standard Kubota Belly mowers.

In reality it would be best if you had both available.. I see maneuverability being one set back

Also while not perfect having the mower on the rear would allow me to back into hard(er) to reach area's

Anyone uses these and has any input, I'd love to hear it.

 

[chim]

My first tractor had a belly mower. I liked it, but my second, third, fourth and fifth have all had rear finish mowers. I've had 5 and 6 foot LandPrides and 5 and 7-1/2 foot Caroni decks. There's no question about build quality of the LandPride decks. They're heavier than the Caroni decks. I've bent gage wheel shafts on both brands hitting tree roots and the edge of raised concrete or blacktop.

Your BX is the same weight as my Ford 1210. I'd suggest that if you choose LandPride you limit the width to 4 feet. I once swapped decks between a Kubota B7500 that had a 5' LandPride and the Ford that wears a 5' Caroni. The 5' LandPride was max for the B7500 if the grass got tall while cutting the full width.

The Ford was happy with the Caroni deck regardless of grass height. I often used it where I should have used a bush hog. However, when I tried the 5' LandPride on it the poor thing struggled doing any uphill mowing regardless of the height of the grass. The heavier deck handled the tractor more than the tractor handled the deck. Even with the two suitcase weights on the Ford, the front tires sometimes skidded when they should have steered.

Note that I mow in 2WD and never have the loader on while mowing. The Ford has R1's without any tire fill and everything else had liquid-filled R4's except the original tractor (2WD Cub 154 LoBoy with diamond pattern rears).

 

[Elliott in GA]

I mow a less than 2 acre field with my FDR 1660 on my LX SU. The small field is part of our property in north Georgia; it is where our full hook ups RV site with shed and our tractor shed are located. I mow the field at 5.25 inches, and we are up there once a month for 4-7 days. The field looks very good, but it is obviously not a pristine lawn. I do not have any trouble cutting around the sheds, newly planted bushes and a power pole cable. I really like the easy on/off of the 3 pt. mount with a quick hitch; I mow other fields with my LP rotary cutter.

No experience with a belly mower.

 

[Mitjam]

Howdy Folks,

Was browsing the Land Pride site today and noticed "Grooming mowers" Specifically the FDR16 series

Land Pride

www.landpride.com

I was wondering if anyone has any insight on how these perform versus the standard Kubota Belly mowers.

In reality it would be best if you had both available.. I see maneuverability being one set back

Also while not perfect having the mower on the rear would allow me to back into hard(er) to reach area's

Anyone uses these and has any input, I'd love to hear it.

I have a FDR1672 on my lx tractor does a beautiful job. Mmm also do a beautiful job but most are specific to that model tractor, if you decide to upgrade/downgrade tractors chances are mmm will not be compatible. I find rear mowers easier to hook up, service and clean out underneath. But that being said they also have their place, if you have lots of obstructions to go around you will get closer with mmm. Had both for my needs a 3pt hitch grooming works best. The money I saved on the landpride compared to the mmm for lx I can buy a cheap 48 inch box store zero turn for the tight places I can’t get with the landpride.

 

[Mitjam]

My first tractor had a belly mower. I liked it, but my second, third, fourth and fifth have all had rear finish mowers. I've had 5 and 6 foot LandPrides and 5 and 7-1/2 foot Caroni decks. There's no question about build quality of the LandPride decks. They're heavier than the Caroni decks. I've bent gage wheel shafts on both brands hitting tree roots and the edge of raised concrete or blacktop.

Your BX is the same weight as my Ford 1210. I'd suggest that if you choose LandPride you limit the width to 4 feet. I once swapped decks between a Kubota B7500 that had a 5' LandPride and the Ford that wears a 5' Caroni. The 5' LandPride was max for the B7500 if the grass got tall while cutting the full width.

The Ford was happy with the Caroni deck regardless of grass height. I often used it where I should have used a bush hog. However, when I tried the 5' LandPride on it the poor thing struggled doing any uphill mowing regardless of the height of the grass. The heavier deck handled the tractor more than the tractor handled the deck. Even with the two suitcase weights on the Ford, the front tires sometimes skidded when they should have steered.

Note that I mow in 2WD and never have the loader on while mowing. The Ford has R1's without any tire fill and everything else had liquid-filled R4's except the original tractor (2WD Cub 154 LoBoy with diamond pattern rears).

Sorry I forgot to add when I had my bx2680 I had the mmm I liked it on to protect the HST fan but also it limited ground clearance when I needed to do other tasks

Howdy Folks,

Was browsing the Land Pride site today and noticed "Grooming mowers" Specifically the FDR16 series

Land Pride

www.landpride.com

I was wondering if anyone has any insight on how these perform versus the standard Kubota Belly mowers.

In reality it would be best if you had both available.. I see maneuverability being one set back

Also while not perfect having the mower on the rear would allow me to back into hard(er) to reach area's

Anyone uses these and has any input, I'd love to hear it.

sorry I forgot to add when I had my bx2680 I had the 60 inch mmm I liked when it was on to protect the hst fan but found if I needed to use tractor for other task the limited ground clearance sometime was a issue. Both will do a great job all in preference

 

[Shotgun Merwin]

A belly mower is a heck of a lot more maneuverable than a finish mower. My property has way too many trees and flower beds and all that, so there's basically no way i could even use a finish mower if i wanted to. Finish mowers are more for if you got a wide open space and you're doing long straight cuts without as much turning.

As far as the quality of the cut, pretty much any mower i've ever come across is capable of a good quality cut. It all depends more on how you set the mower up, make sure the deck is leveled, actually set your wheels properly, and all that more so than how high quality the deck is.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Howdy Folks,

Was browsing the Land Pride site today and noticed "Grooming mowers" Specifically the FDR16 series

Land Pride

www.landpride.com

I was wondering if anyone has any insight on how these perform versus the standard Kubota Belly mowers.

In reality it would be best if you had both available.. I see maneuverability being one set back

Also while not perfect having the mower on the rear would allow me to back into hard(er) to reach area's

Anyone uses these and has any input, I'd love to hear it.

I have both and have used both for many years.

The Kubota midmount decks are heavy duty, highly manueverable, and produce a superior quality cut.

My Woods finish mower is far less manueverable but can mow areas the mid mount can't. Cut quality is good but not on par with the Kubota decks.

I use the mid mounts in the congested areas around the house because they mow easier around buildings, trees, and beds, are faster in that environment, and produce a tighter golf course level groom. The 3pt is used in the larger open areas because it is faster in open fields and the higher and poorer cut quality is not a concern.

To continue the golf course analogy the mid mounts are my fairway mowers and the 3pt is my rough mower.

Dan

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I put the MMM on and back off every three weeks and have gotten relatively good at it, though hooking a mower up to a three-point hitch would be much easier.

With a MMM I can back up and make three-point turns which at the cabin property is required (a lot), so over-all a MMM saves me a lot of work. I can also adjust the height of the MMM via the Kubota numbered-dial so it's easy to accurately change between 3", 3-1/4", and 3-1/2" as needed. As I continue level my lawn that's less necessary, but for now there's a lot to manage at once and this setting helps.

Hopefully this and the other posts helps you figure out what's right for your situation.

 

[jampy00]

Hopefully this and the other posts helps you figure out what's right for your situation.

My situation is fine, with the MMM I don't take it off during the summer (unless required to) I just remove the loader and ballast box, to drop the weight. I typically always mow in 2wd and in high as I cut weekly I never get bogged down. But I would not see an issue adding a rear mount finish mower to my collection in the future, between watching YT and the feedback here I have just the right scenario's to you it.

Just enjoy talking tractor..

 

[WhatnxtBX]

For my 5 acres, with a BX2380, I use the MMM for the tight areas and a pull-behind finishing mower with the MMM for the rest. MMM is limited to 4” cut height, with the pull-behind up to 6”. Pull behind can be offset to either side or pulled directly behind. Great for mowing my ditches where the angle is too steep for just the MMM and for under trees. With the offset, can mow a 120” wide patch. Pull- behind just gives me greater versatility and is less $$$. Cut finish is the same for both.

 

[jampy00]

For my 5 acres, with a BX2380, I use the MMM for the tight areas and a pull-behind finishing mower with the MMM for the rest. MMM is limited to 4” cut height, with the pull-behind up to 6”. Pull behind can be offset to either side or pulled directly behind. Great for mowing my ditches where the angle is too steep for just the MMM and for under trees. With the offset, can mow a 120” wide patch. Pull- behind just gives me greater versatility and is less $$$. Cut finish is the same for both.

What pull behind mower are you using, I love the offset idea.

 

[WhatnxtBX]

Swisher 60” Fast Finish Mower with the Kawasaki engine.
A lot more expensive now. Mine is 5yo and only replaced a battery. Not as hd the others shown above, but I take my time. Will cut blackberries and small tree starts.