Finish Mower for B2650?

[Deuce]

Thank you for your list of features to consider. That will certainly be a big help when I compare brands. The Kubota dealer nearest me sells Woods, in addition to Land Pride, so I'll check out the 72" the next time I'm there. I can see where a wider mower might save considerable time, but I'm not sure how the B2650 would handle the larger unit on my steep hills. It's something that I also have to take into consideration.

It comes down to if your property is more hill or more flat.
If it's all hill I'd say stick with 60 for safety and power. The 2650 will have no problem moving either mower but the heavier mower will have a greater effect on balance naturally just due to weight. Also if all hill it's that much more power your machine has to use just to keep the package moving so you'd have to slow down to maintain rpm.
Then again in the woods prd series there's only a difference of 66 lbs between the 60" and 72" decks.
Another benefit to the 72 is it's wider than the 2650. This I like because I can cut closer to objects and have less equipment close to the objects while cutting so maneuvering is easier.

 

[VT_Kubota]

It comes down to if your property is more hill or more flat.
If it's all hill I'd say stick with 60 for safety and power. The 2650 will have no problem moving either mower but the heavier mower will have a greater effect on balance naturally just due to weight. Also if all hill it's that much more power your machine has to use just to keep the package moving so you'd have to slow down to maintain rpm.
Then again in the woods prd series there's only a difference of 66 lbs between the 60" and 72" decks.
Another benefit to the 72 is it's wider than the 2650. This I like because I can cut closer to objects and have less equipment close to the objects while cutting so maneuvering is easier.

My house is built on the side of a hill, much of which is too steep for any tractor. The only level spot on the entire property is the small area where the house sits!

I can see that the wider deck might make cutting close to objects easier. For my use though, it seems like having a little bit more power for the tractor available, by using the smaller 5' deck, might be more beneficial.

To give you an idea of the elevation, below is a picture that was taken from my dining room window. My driveway is 1/4 mile long, and the elevation difference from the house down to the town road is over 100'.

 

[Deuce]

Some beautiful scenery you have.

I'd definitely stay with the 60" for what you have, especially when paired to the b2650

 

[aaluck]

I plan to purchase a 5' rear-mounted finish mower for my B2650. This will be used for mowing my lawn and a small pasture, about 3 acres in total. I had considered both a 3-point hitch unit and a MMM, but for my property, a 3-point hitch mower is more suitable than a MMM. I do not intend to use it as a brush hog.

There are dealers in my area for a few brands of finish mowers, so I do have a good selection available locally. According to the spec sheets, there isn't much difference between Land Pride, Bush Hog, and Woods. What do you recommend based on your experience? Is any one brand considered to be of better quality than the others?

Like @bird dogger I have the Bush Hog and it is indestructible. Also my experience with Bush Hog has been second to none. On my nearly 10 year old 276 brush cutter I could not get the pivot bolts out to change the blades. I called BH for guidance on how to get them out and two days later they send two guys out that did it for me FOR FREE and used their own pivot bolts ($60.00 to buy) FOR FREE and put the new blades on FOR FREE.

 

[VT_Kubota]

Like @bird dogger I have the Bush Hog and it is indestructible. Also my experience with Bush Hog has been second to none. On my nearly 10 year old 276 brush cutter I could not get the pivot bolts out to change the blades. I called BH for guidance on how to get them out and two days later they send two guys out that did it for me FOR FREE and used their own pivot bolts ($60.00 to buy) FOR FREE and put the new blades on FOR FREE.

Wow, that's amazing! You can't beat that for customer service. Guess I should consider a Bush Hog for sure!

 

[VT_Kubota]

Some beautiful scenery you have.

I'd definitely stay with the 60" for what you have, especially when paired to the b2650

Thank you. Our view is always changing with the seasons and the weather so we never get tired of it.

I think that I will stay with the 60" mower. It seems to be what most people are recommending for me.

 

[bucktail]

Spend the money on fencing and let the sheep take care of it.

 

[VT_Kubota]

Spend the money on fencing and let the sheep take care of it.

Now there's an idea to consider!

 

[JimmyJazz]

I have a very hilly property and mow it with a Steiner tractor powered by a 21 hp Kubota D950 engine pushing a very heavy 72 inch cutting deck with no problem. Pretty much wide open throttle for an hour per week, 7 months per year for 4 years now. That little engine is a beast. You shouldn't have any problems.

 

[VT_Kubota]

I have a very hilly property and mow it with a Steiner tractor powered by a 21 hp Kubota D950 engine pushing a very heavy 72 inch cutting deck with no problem. Pretty much wide open throttle for an hour per week, 7 months per year for 4 years now. That little engine is a beast. You shouldn't have any problems.

Thank you for that info. That's good to know! Those Steiner's are very impressive tractors. I didn't know that some of them had Kubota engines.

 

[VT_Kubota]

You're right. It is just like "old and tired" said...built like a tank. Maybe not much different than the other brands either. If I remember right....at the time....I think the Bush Hog brand had more "tip speed" on the mower blades than the others that were available locally in our area. I use a high lift set of blades and it does a great job for my needs. I use it for the yard, the road ditches, and have even mowed down the 3 acre sweet corn patch with it. Nothing smells as nice as mowing down a large sweet corn patch, but clean up is a chore afterwards!

I'm now seriously considering the 60" Bush Hog finish mower, partly because of everyone's positive comments about them. It weighs in at 672 lbs. which is about 100 lbs. more than the Land Pride and nearly 170 lbs. more than the Woods mower.

More weight and a solidly built implement is a generally good thing, but I'm concerned about how the B2650 will handle it on the hills. Is it better to mow hilly areas with the loader on the tractor for more weight, in order to help keep the front end down? I would prefer to remove it for better maneuverability.

More importantly, how will the B2650 handle almost 700 lbs. hanging out on the 3-point hitch? I'd like to be able to steer normally instead of using only the brakes!

 

[bird dogger]

I'm now seriously considering the 60" Bush Hog finish mower, partly because of everyone's positive comments about them. It weighs in at 672 lbs. which is about 100 lbs. more than the Land Pride and nearly 170 lbs. more than the Woods mower.

More weight and a solidly built implement is a generally good thing, but I'm concerned about how the B2650 will handle it on the hills. Is it better to mow hilly areas with the loader on the tractor for more weight, in order to help keep the front end down? I would prefer to remove it for better maneuverability.

More importantly, how will the B2650 handle almost 700 lbs. hanging out on the 3-point hitch? I'd like to be able to steer normally instead of using only the brakes!

My B2650 handles it just fine. I have the SSQA loader and just remove the bucket for mowing. No front weights added. No ballast in tires. Never had a problem. Of course you don't want to be in high range "road gear" and head for the barn at a full gallop with the mower raised up off the ground.
I shed a little weight off of the mower by removing the rear discharge safety chains as they tended to leave clumps of grass if you're mowing wet grass out of necessity.
Regarding keeping the front end down: It hasn't been a noticeable problem for me. My only hills are the road ditches I mow but coming up out of the bottom of a ditch next to the culverts has never been a problem. The bush hog is a trailing mower so it's riding on its four large caster wheels and shouldn't really affect your steering unless you have it slightly lifted off the ground. What I really appreciate is how easy it is to both hook up and unhook in just a few minutes. Adjusting the "cut height" is made by adding/removing spacer bushings on the caster wheels. I just wish mine had been painted orange instead of green! That'll be another project for a slow day.

 

[Deuce]

Check the woods PRD6000 for a better comparison... weight is close. 8 gauge deck vs the 7 of the bush hog, but it has a reinforced deck lip which is nice, not sure about Bush hog.

PRD6000 - Woods Equipment

60-inch cutting width, rear discharge Ideal for mowing large lawns, sports fields, and parks Features a strong, eight gauge steel deck and a powerful 60 hp gearbox Kevlar® belt with clutching cover protects parts and increases lifespan Floating top link helps prevent scalping Superior...

woodsequipment.com

Also may want to think about leaving the loader off for mowing. When the mower is on the ground the weight is off the tractor. And if you have the loader on you'll have your tractor putting more weight bias on the front axle and in turn will lose it on the rear axle.

Only time the mower will really be up is for transport, and personally if it's on a good slope I'd leave it down for an overall lower center of gravity, and less weight in the air.

On my 2650 I don't have my tires loaded. If I'm mowing and leave the loader off I find myself using 4wd less or lifting the mower less to weight the rear axle for traction (aka accomplishing more or everything in 2wd). If I'm mowing it's typically mower only, loader work is done with the box blade on the rear.

Also with the loader off I'm wasting less power to move dead weight (loader not being used) that is now can be utilized to power the mower more or propel the tractor better. Definitely more noticeable as the slopes get steeper

 

[VT_Kubota]

My B2650 handles it just fine. I have the SSQA loader and just remove the bucket for mowing. No front weights added. No ballast in tires. Never had a problem. Of course you don't want to be in high range "road gear" and head for the barn at a full gallop with the mower raised up off the ground.
I shed a little weight off of the mower by removing the rear discharge safety chains as they tended to leave clumps of grass if you're mowing wet grass out of necessity.
Regarding keeping the front end down: It hasn't been a noticeable problem for me. My only hills are the road ditches I mow but coming up out of the bottom of a ditch next to the culverts has never been a problem. The bush hog is a trailing mower so it's riding on its four large caster wheels and shouldn't really affect your steering unless you have it slightly lifted off the ground. What I really appreciate is how easy it is to both hook up and unhook in just a few minutes. Adjusting the "cut height" is made by adding/removing spacer bushings on the caster wheels. I just wish mine had been painted orange instead of green! That'll be another project for a slow day.

Thank you for your reply. That's very helpful to know. There is ballast in the rear tires so that will give me some extra weight and traction on the hills.

One of the features that I liked about the Bush Hog was that the maximum cutting height is 6-1/2", compared to 4-1/2" for the Woods and 5-1/4" for the Land Pride. That taller mowing height would be better for mowing my sheep pasture and along the edge of my driveway. The maximum gearbox HP rating of the Bush Hog is also slightly greater than the other two brands, which I assume means the build is a little more rugged.

According to the website, the Bush Hog is available in red, green, orange, or blue. I'll have to ask the dealer if he can order an orange one for me!

 

[VT_Kubota]

Check the woods PRD6000 for a better comparison... weight is close. 8 gauge deck vs the 7 of the bush hog, but it has a reinforced deck lip which is nice, not sure about Bush hog.

PRD6000 - Woods Equipment

60-inch cutting width, rear discharge Ideal for mowing large lawns, sports fields, and parks Features a strong, eight gauge steel deck and a powerful 60 hp gearbox Kevlar® belt with clutching cover protects parts and increases lifespan Floating top link helps prevent scalping Superior...

woodsequipment.com

Also may want to think about leaving the loader off for mowing. When the mower is on the ground the weight is off the tractor. And if you have the loader on you'll have your tractor putting more weight bias on the front axle and in turn will lose it on the rear axle.

Only time the mower will really be up is for transport, and personally if it's on a good slope I'd leave it down for an overall lower center of gravity, and less weight in the air.

On my 2650 I don't have my tires loaded. If I'm mowing and leave the loader off I find myself using 4wd less or lifting the mower less to weight the rear axle for traction (aka accomplishing more or everything in 2wd). If I'm mowing it's typically mower only, loader work is done with the box blade on the rear.

Also with the loader off I'm wasting less power to move dead weight (loader not being used) that is now can be utilized to power the mower more or propel the tractor better. Definitely more noticeable as the slopes get steeper

I agree, those are very good reasons to remove the loader when mowing. It seems like the maneuverability would be greatly improved with it off. I've also heard horror stories of people who have run into things with the loader when mowing due to the extra overall length. I don't want to be that guy who remodels his house using a Kubota instead of a hammer!

My B2650 has Rim Guard in the rear tires and I also have a cab, so that extra weight should make some difference too. I hadn't thought about just leaving the mower down during transport. On steep areas, I could certainly do that if I wanted to. That's a good idea!

I'll definitely check out the Land Pride when I can. None of my local dealers have any 60" finish mowers in stock at the moment. They have all told me that if I want a mower for spring, I need to be making a decision within the next one or two weeks. It's hard to think about mowing the lawn when there's 2' of snow on the ground!

 

[GeoHorn]

I’m not sure floating lower arm links are that important, since the 3-pt arms float anyway if the control lever is placed all the way down during use.

The floating top link works well....UNTIL you go down and then back up a swale which is deep enough to cause the top-link-up to sink and to strike the PTO shaft! In such cases, it‘s better to simply remove the toplink and don’t use it. I did not use the toplink for years when using a 72” Rhino shredder behind my little 9N Ford (which couldn’t lift it with it’s 3-pt). I used that heavy Rhino as a “pull behind” mower on 20 acres for 15 years without any problems... I did that because the 9N was my only tractor and it was waay too small for that 1000 lb shredder.... but the little Ford had no difficulty spinning the driveline. It was a good solution ...until I could afford a more powerful tractor.

 

[old and tired]

I’m not sure floating lower arm links are that important, since the 3-pt arms float anyway if the control lever is placed all the way down during use...

3 point arms do float but they are tied together. The mower floating arms are independent, so if the mower needs to lean to the left or right, it can. It's only helpful if you have an uneven yard. If your yard is pretty flat, yea, not so important.

 

[bird dogger]

3 point arms do float but they are tied together. The mower floating arms are independent, so if the mower needs to lean to the left or right, it can. It's only helpful if you have an uneven yard. If your yard is pretty flat, yea, not so important.

Couldn't agree more with you! And they'd be worth it just for the ease of hooking up the lower lift arm links. You only need to be backed up close to and not "dead on" the right spot for hooking up. And especially if your mower is sitting on uneven ground or your lift arms had been adjusted for something else, such as tilting a rear blade, etc.

 

[ThomasH]

I don't ever hook up my top link... I just drag the mower behind. Yes, the two lift arms on the mower have a few inches of travel, as well as your 3ph floats, too. Allows for some side to side float.

I use a chain in place of the top link.

 

[old and tired]

I use a chain in place of the top link.

I may need to try that since so many have said that before... Would help getting over the cattle guards!!!