Finish mowers for 3pt tractors

[Custom 68]

Hi all, I am looking at used finish mowers. I have a Kubota tractor and wanted to compliment it with a used finish mower. I want a 6 foot version. There are a few different makes. What do you have and how does it work? I am looking at the Frontier, Bulher and Woods. There are others as well. Any thoughts?
Dave

[mongocanfly]

I see alot of woods products around here...I think fronteir is a jd brand isnt it?
Before you buy, I'd look at what the Individual replacement parts cost....make a list of things that might have to be replaced over the life of the mower...spindles,blades,belts,wheels and such...some brands these parts are very high priced...do a comparison between brands..
Does your tractor have turf tires?...reg tractor tires will tear a yard up...

[Custom 68]

Thanks Mongo.
that's a good idea, I know so many of the parts like you mentioned are replaceable.
Frontier is sold by JD but they have it built so they can be a one stop shop so to speak. I understand it is built by either Woods or Behuler.
I have what they called the industrial tires. They are a cross between the turf and ag tires. I will still need to mow close to the house with the regular mower but we have a few acres we do mow sometimes that can be accessed better with the tractor.
Dave

[burnin oil]

If you care about it I would strongly suggest against a finish mower. Industrials are similar to AG tires and will tear your yard up and probably remove some grass in the process. Turf tires will help but you will end up making ruts. Whenever you mow the same basic patterns tend to used over and over and that is where the ruts come from. My dad did that and eventually got a riding mower. Tractors are a great tool but brush hogging is about the extent for yard maintenance.

[Bigdually]

I have a well used thirdhand Fred Cain brand 72" mower I use behind an old but reliable MF35. It is side discharge and I don't care for that. I'm currently looking at a new 72" rear discharge model at Rural King, it's a King Kutter. I've also looked at Woods, but they are pricey and I have several hundred dollars saved up in gift cards to Rural King.

I would strongly advocate for rear discharge and making sure replacement parts like belts, spindles, blades, and idler pulleys are common and available for a reasonable amount of money. Also a good beefy gearbox and sturdy well braced deck construction. If it's thin and small looking it's probably junk.

[1976gmc20]

Also remember 3 pt stuff swings way out when you turn. It doesn't exactly follow the tractor. It goes the opposite direction than the front wheels.

[mongocanfly]

My tractor also has the R4 (construction) tires...they'll still tear the world up..

[Custom 68]

Thanks guys. It sounds like I better watch the tires. I haven't had much problems with them but I do know it's possible. I am looking at the rear discharge ones.
Dave

[Getter-Done]

Great points made.
I will add this.

If your tractor has a float (Position lever) .
I would look for a finishing mower with 4 wheels.
If you run this type of mower in float position it will give you a better cut.
This will be like pulling a mower deck around your yard.

If your tractor does not have a float lever.
I would try to find a Finishing mower with 2 wheels in the back and run it with the front tilted upward slightly.













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[1976gmc20]

Well, there's also those trailer type mowers with their own engine mostly designed to pull behind an ATV. I've got a neighbor that has one of those and I ran it for her once or twice. It works okay for large fairly open areas, and alongside long driveways.

[Custom 68]

Thanks guys, I thought about those with their own engine but since I have a tractor I hoped this might be a better option.
I am looking at the ones with the 4 tires. I think like you stated do a better job for me, I am afraid if I have one without the front wheels I will be more likely to scalp or drag the front into the ground over some of my humps and bumps.
We keep the immediate area around the house done with the regular mower. I also have about a 1 acre pond so I do like to keep a portion around it mowed as well. I am set way back on my property so my "front" yard is pretty big if I mow it all. That happens some in the beginning but then it gets kinda old...
Dave

[joedoh]

how much acreage?

have you looked into a ztr? available 72" cut, trees and fences dont increase the mowing time appreciably, and 8-12 mph with a really fine cut. you can find good used commercial (not homer derpt or lowesend) mowers for only a little more than a good finish mower.

in my admittedly limited opinion, pto finish mowers make sense for really wide cut like 100" or more on really long straight yards without trees or fences, so you arent losing time turning around or weedwhacking. its hard to beat the finished look of a ZTR with its super high speed cut too.

just an alternative.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by Custom 68

Thanks guys, I thought about those with their own engine but since I have a tractor I hoped this might be a better option.
I am looking at the ones with the 4 tires. I think like you stated do a better job for me, I am afraid if I have one without the front wheels I will be more likely to scalp or drag the front into the ground over some of my humps and bumps.
We keep the immediate area around the house done with the regular mower. I also have about a 1 acre pond so I do like to keep a portion around it mowed as well. I am set way back on my property so my "front" yard is pretty big if I mow it all. That happens some in the beginning but then it gets kinda old...
Dave

I also have seen a PTO driven pull behind mower deck, but it was a big ag unit so I'm not sure if they make a smaller one. You can put a cross bar with a ball on your 3 pt arms and just pick up the tongue hitch, which also lets you adjust the approach angle of your mower on the fly.

The "advantage" if there is one of something like that is that it follows your tractor around like a trailer instead of a 3 pt swinging out when you turn. That can really hang you up when you try to turn away from an obstacle, and your 3 pt implement first goes toward the obstacle instead of away from it! But of course a 3 pt mower is handy because you can pick it up and back into a corner and then set it down and mow out.

That lady I mentioned used to have a little tractor with a 3 pt mower and it had four wheels. The front ones kept jamming up and gouging the ground so I finally took them off and it worked much better (it still was a POS!). I just used the 3 pt lever and the top link adjustment to get the right angle so the front didn't drag the ground. I found a "front high" angle of attack to work best; it gave me a chance to stop or lift the mower higher if I ran over some rocks (which were everywhere). Then she sold that outfit and bought the ATV towed mower.

[62c30]

I have a 72" Buhler Farm King finish mower and it works ok. I bought it used and is probably 10 years old or so. If I were buying another one I would buy a Land Pride. I know several people with them and never heard a complaint.

[Bigdav160]

I ended up buying a zero turn. Much much faster mowing and it doesn't rut up my yard like the tractor would sometimes do

[67C10Step]

I see a lot of Woods and Land Pride models around here. My neighbor used to mow his 11 acres with a Land Pride behind a Kubota but switched to a 60" cut Gravely about four years ago.

[Custom 68]

I have about 6 acres with a 1 acre pond in the middle. That said I do have a ZTR for around the house and if I feel ambitious or my bride does we will mow it all. Its only a 54 inch. I can pickup a decent 72 inch finish mower for about a grand. A new(er) bigger ztr is several times that price that's why I kind shyed away from them due to the price.

Originally Posted by 62c30

I have a 72" Buhler Farm King finish mower and it works ok. I bought it used and is probably 10 years old or so. If I were buying another one I would buy a Land Pride. I know several people with them and never heard a complaint.

Thanks for that, this is one of the brands I was looking at. I know with a finish mower I cant cut tall stuff like I can with my brush hog but hoped for a cleaner cut with the finish mower. I do have a couple more acres in the back but so far it just gets cut a couple times a year.

[joedoh]

thats not bad, 43560 (acre square footage)/6 (cut width) * 5 (6 acres minus the pond) and / 5280 (feet in a mile) is only about 7 miles of mowing, at 3 mph on a tractor and allowing for turns thats still only about 3 hrs of mowing. I can do my acre on a treed lot front and back in about 40 min with a 8mph ztr with 54" cut, so it would still be 3.5 hrs for 5 acres, that smaller cut really adds up!

[Custom 68]

Joe you bring up some good math. That makes sense as well. One other thing to me that makes this appealing that we can have 2 machines going at once. Plus I think it would save wear and tear on my ztr. Anyway if I get one I will post some pictures and a review of how it works for me.

[notsolo]

Stay away from the blow up tires, they are useless. I have a 60" land pride it hangs or floats off the back.