Finish mower suggestion please

[Brick Axelrod]

I have a L4701 and am looking for the best 72” finish mower I can afford, $3000 being the approximate budget give or take. I have approximately 5 acres to mow, mostly flat, lots of clover. I use a zero turn but the clover slows me down and it’s taking its toll on the poor zero turn. Any suggestions? I have been looking at bushhog, lands pride and that’s about all I am familiar with. I want to buy something that’s gonna last and is easy to get parts for and maintain.

Thanks

Brick

 

[D2Cat]

Might take a look at a flail mower. I can find a good used flail mower for under $1000 on CL.

Flails can have different knives. Vineyard and orchards will use cast hammer flail knives. These can be use for lawn service, just a little rougher cut. They're knives called duck foot and side slicers for nice finished grass.

A flail mower cuts and basically grinds up the grass as it gets rechopped by the flails as the suction created by the mower keeps things in circulation.

I prefer the Y shaped flails for a nice cut on grass w/o rocks.

 

[Beaudeane]

Look at Woods brand also. My dealer pushes them as better than the other brands but I don’t know that for sure or not. They can be pricey new

 

[KennysNewFarm]

I have a 6' Rhino and it cuts through clover with ease. It also has four wheels to keep from scalping. Cuts very clean and level. My dad has a Woods and really likes it as well. Pretty sure I found the Rhino used for $800.00. I purchased a new set of blades, belt, and greased it for maintenance. One thing I can say is the deeper the deck the better it will cut taller grass. With clover keep the deck clean and it will blow out better. Recommend putting a weed killer down to help as well. Trimec, 2,4D Amine 400, or Weed B Gon for clover will knock it down but may take multiple applications.

 

[rkidd]

I have been running a Land Pride FDR 1672 for 3 years now. It is a very solid unit and mows really well. Has been a great mower. I really like the rear discharge also.


View attachment 35973

 

[Ridger]

I have a Bush Hog brand and it is very well made. All of those mentioned above are well made. You won't go wrong with any of those. Pick one that you can find belts, blades, bushings, etc.

 

[SDT]

I have a L4701 and am looking for the best 72” finish mower I can afford, $3000 being the approximate budget give or take. I have approximately 5 acres to mow, mostly flat, lots of clover. I use a zero turn but the clover slows me down and it’s taking its toll on the poor zero turn. Any suggestions? I have been looking at bushhog, lands pride and that’s about all I am familiar with. I want to buy something that’s gonna last and is easy to get parts for and maintain.

Thanks

Brick

Why not a rough cut ("bush hog") type mower.

If insistent upon a finish mower, Woods, Bush Hog and Land Pride make good mowers and have been around for years.

SDT

 

[mikester]

Land pride all the way. I had 72" Woods originally and it died/broke - light duty and not well built IMO. I replaced it with a 72" Land Pride which is built like a tank in comparison. It's lasted twice as long as the Woods so far and I doubt I'll need to buy a replacement.

Avoid stamped sheet metal decks unless you are looking for lots of welding practice.

Make sure everything has metal hubs and protected greasable fittings everywhere. Cast iron mower blade spindles will take more abuse than aluminum ones. Avoid plastic wheels and plastic anything on the mower.

 

[Creature Meadow]

Looks like you have a good starting place from the posts.

I will comment not relating to your mower question but about Woods since I see some are recommending them.

I purchased a Wood land plane and just shy of 2 years the paint began to flake off in large sections. I contacted Woods to discuss and expressed I understood it was 2 years old but this seemed odd. Response was I could buy some paint and paint the places that were peeling off but nothing they could do sorry.

I was not impressed so no more Woods products for me. I would have at least thought they would send me a couple cans of paint but nope sorry.

Maybe an isolated case but it sure put a bad taste in my mouth.

Jay

 

[majorwager]

Have operated a walco (Canadian) for 20 years, still going strong. Also saw positive reviews and prices for the mowers sold by Agri- Supply (Italian made)

Advise rear discharge. Prefer air tires as they are less prone to rutting in wet spring sod.

 

[Brick Axelrod]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the feedback. I will talk to some dealers about the options above and let you know what I end up with.

 

[chim]

I've had a few different mowers since building here in '89. Started with a Cub LoBoy 154 and a 5' side discharge belly mower. All these being rear-mounted PTO finish decks: LandPride 5' side discharge, LandPride 6' rear discharge, Caroni 5' side discharge.

I do like the rear discharge so the mowing pattern can be whatever I want, and it doesn't toss clippings into flower beds.

The Caroni is a cheaper mower and I can't tell you how often I've welded on it since buying it new in 1992. HOWEVER, it is still in service behind my old Ford 1210 and absolutely does the nicest job if the grass gets too tall or wet for the 6' LandPride. The LandPride will cut anything, but it leaves a pretty good windrow on the right side that needs to be picked up on the next pass.

The old Caroni doesn't care. I have worn a rain suit and mowed while it was raining with the Caroni. It spreads the clipping neatly regardless.

 

[Brick Axelrod]

Just pulled the trigger on a Lands Pride FDR2572. Will have it in 2 weeks, they had to order it because they sold the last one yesterday.

 

[Dave_eng]

Here is my Landpride info.

May 8, 1990 Laplante Farm Machinery $2,289 (Canada)
Model FD 2572
Serial number 31108

I buy Carlisle or other name brand kevlar belts. BP158 for about $20 on amazon or Ebay.

Dave

 

[Brick Axelrod]

Here is my Landpride info.

May 8, 1990 Laplante Farm Machinery $2,289 (Canada)
Model FD 2572
Serial number 31108

I buy Carlisle or other name brand kevlar belts. BP158 for about $20 on amazon or Ebay.

Dave

Thanks Dave

 

[Sammy3700]

Take a look at Caroni Ag Supply sells them and has parts in stock. I have a 6’ rear discharge and it work great

 

[mrwgtsr]

Re: Love my Bush Hog Brand

I just purchased a Bush Hog RDTH-72 for under $3K. I checked out land pride, woods, rhino, phoenix, and king cutter. I went back to Bush Hog, because of the first one I bought, used (TH-60) in 1994, that finally rusted out the deck under the belts, that could have been fixed, but I decided to buy a new one. I can honestly say that I got my money's worth out of it. The RDTH-72, is a discontinued model, but there are still some around for sale at a good price, and comes with a 7-guage deck. I use this on a 4 acre plot that has everything from grass to clover to briars, and it performs excellent with my Kubota L3200DT. I'm sure you will get replies from other owners that use other brands, but I will testify about Bush Hog Brand.

 

[D2Cat]

mrwgtsr, yep they're good mowers. In fact they are good enough they became the "name" of all rotary mowers. BushHog is like Crescent, Kleenex, Xerox, Skill, and others. They're made down there by you in Selma, Al.