Finish mower for my tractor

I didn't buy a finish mower when I bought my tractor, because I knew it would be years until I had something approaching a lawn. The brush hog suited my needs perfectly. It still will on part of my propery, but the time is coming when I need a finer cut. A couple of my acres are approaching lawn status, and, next door, my daughter and son-in-law need a new mower for their 2-1/2 acres -- their old craftsman garden tractor is still running, but is getting tired.

For those who are not familiar, I have a New Holland TC18, which is an 18 HP diesel with about 15 PTO HP. It has a mid-mount PTO, but I'm not ready to mount a belly mower. I still have too many projects that require ground clearance, and I don't want to have to remove and install a mid-mount mower -- that sounds too much like work. Therefore, I think a rear finish mower is my best choice.

But, I don't have a clue what to get. I've never had one, before. I forget which New Holland rear finish mower they recommended to go with this tractor. New Holland doesn't make the TC18 any more, so there is no exact equivalent, today. It's basically the same tractor as the TC24 except for the extra power and some gee-gaws, and whatever works for the TC24 should work for me, too, especially because our totally flat ground means the tractor can put all it's effort into mowing. I use a 4' Rhino brush hog and a 4' box blade.

What size is recommended? What brands are good? What do I need to know? Is a rear discharge better than a side discharge? What is your experience?

OkeeDon said:

What size is recommended? What brands are good? What do I need to know? Is a rear discharge better than a side discharge? What is your experience?

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Don,

Having a TC21D a while back I see no reason that you could not handle a 5 ft rear finish mower. I had a 5 foot mid mower on mine {handled well even with some pretty steep hills} and I am told that a rear finish mower takes less power to run. Over on TBN one guy bought a 72" for his John Deere 2210.

Side discharge versus rear, go rear, less chance of clumps and you can trim from both sides.

Brands. There is a lot of them out there, check some of the prices. Your big box stores will more than likely handle King Kutter which typically is a less expensive unit but I have heard it does not have the quality cut you may want. Check out tip speeds as I think that is important.

Not much advice but just my opinions.

murph

I have a rear finish mower on my TC18...
It is a First Choice brand with a 60 inch cut and rear discharge.

I wanted a mower that could be removed easily so I could work on other projects, and I went with rear discharge because I felt the clippings would be dispersed more evenly.

This has been my primary mower since September 2003. It takes a beating when I run over small sticks that are just large enough I should have stopped to pick them up and when I drive over tree roots that are slightly above the surface.

I bought it for around 1000 dollars from Corriher's in North Carolina (the large New Holland dealer on Ebay) and had it shipped to the receiving dock where I work.

Other than my over-abuse, it's been a good mower, and I'd purchase it again if I had it to do over again!

I don't have any recent pictures of the grass (it's under the snow somewhere), but I dug up a photo showing the mower mounted to my TC18 when both were brand new, and a couple showing the grass after it was recently cut. The middle one is from Spring 2004 where it looks like the grass was too wet when I cut it and the bottom one is from last summer, where it looks like I waited too long to cut it judging by the amount of clipping laying in the yard. Sorry I don't have better pictures handy.

Andy and murph, thanks. Andy, that's exactly what I was looking for. First Choice has a good rep, and Corrihers can't be beat on price. That's where I bought my post hole digger, and I got the digger and 3 augers -- 6", 9" and 12", for less than TSC wanted for the digger alone.

I was headed for North Carolina, anyway, when I bought the PHD, so I stopped in Hickory and picked it up. Good people. If I can still get one anywhere close to that price, I won't even bother looking for a used one.

I'll check them out within the next couple of days.

I just checked, and Corrihers has that very same mower on EBay for $1250. Considering how much prices have gone up in our supposedly non-inflationary era, that's pretty reasonable, and cheaper than I've see it elsewhere' I sent them a message to inquire about shipping costs; that might be the deal-breaker.

Tomorrow, I'll stop at Tractor Tom's place in Okeechobee and see what he can do. I think he's a Woods dealer; the prices are usually higher.

OkeeDon said:

I just checked, and Corrihers has that very same mower on EBay for $1250. Considering how much prices have gone up in our supposedly non-inflationary era, that's pretty reasonable, and cheaper than I've see it elsewhere' I sent them a message to inquire about shipping costs; that might be the deal-breaker.

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I found the orignal email from September 2, 2003. The price was $1075 plus $75 for shipping. They shipped Yellow Freight on a pallet to where I work, and I put it in the back of my pickup truck with a forklift.

Given the change in the price of fuel since then, I'd probably guess shipping may be more now than it was in 2003.

OkeeDon said:

Considering how much prices have gone up in our supposedly non-inflationary era. . .

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Don, for the record, Alan Greenspan had been raising interest rates for the last couple years of his term as Fed Chairman and the new replacement has continued raising rates; this in a feeble attempt to stop inflation, but it has only slowed it overall while some economic sectors, namely energy and steel, are seeing steady inflation. Steel prices, largely fueled by global demand, have been increasing for the past 8 years and China has been buying scrap steel for the past decade at rates that are ever increasing. I'm actually amazed at how low the prices of tractor implements have remained given the steel inflation.

As for Corrihers, I've purchased several non-PTO driven implements from them and gotten great service, but shipping costs are always a factor.

I had a 60" rear discharge Befco finish mower and switched to a MMM a couple years ago. The Befco is an amazingly well made, high quality tool. The Befco was a rear discharge and did not clump up the grass unless it was very long when I cut it. My MMM is a side discharge and I get clumping if I wait too long between cuts.

Nice looking setup you got there Andy.

I also have rear discharge on my RFM, and it has little chains hanging down to stop anything other than grass from flying out and doing damage. I think this feature is a must for saftey purposes.

I paid 1800 for a 72" Brush Hog brand RFM in 2002. Sounds like you've found a darn good price as long as shipping doesn't kill the deal.

I would have a RFM if it wasn't for all the dang trees that I have. I hate taking my 72" Beast off and putting it back on. And I am not getting any younger. I still wished someone made a pull type rear finish mower that you could get around trees easier.


murph

Murph, sounds like you need a ZTR for some of your mowing duties (around the trees). Since we got a ZTR my RFM sits more than it works.

Don,
I got tired of fighting when changing my 3PH implements, so I got Pat's easy change system. It works like a champ. Highly recommended. Makes changing those heavy 3PH implements a breeze.

Doc said:

Murph, sounds like you need a ZTR for some of your mowing duties (around the trees). Since we got a ZTR my RFM sits more than it works.

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I would love a ZTR. But you have to remember when I wanted a tractor I told my wife all the things I could do with one rig. I just don't think I am ready to ask for another expensive piece of equipment. Now I am sure you all are wondering who wears the pants in this family??? Your right, she does

No seriously, if I had the money I would get one, but busisness has not been well for me and I have everything down to the nitty gritty right now.


murph

I have heard from Corrihers; the freight is $120 all the way to Florida, either to a business address or to the Yellow Freight terminal. First of all, that is not a deal breaker -- considering the price of fuel, I think it's reasonable. I can use the warehouse address of the contractor who is working on a price for myh house; the freight terminal is a 90 mile round trip. There would be no sales tax; the total would be $1,370. Frankly, I was ready to budget $2k, so I'm pleasantly surprised.

I still have to give TractorTom a try (some of you may remember him from TBN), he's local and would deliver it, but that's a tough price to beat, and he'd have to charge sales tax, which at the same price would be almost as much as the freight from NC.

I also have lots of trees and would prefer a midmount for that reason, but I'm not up to the challenge of taking it off and on. I would LOVE a ZTR. A friend of my s-i-l brought over his ZTR when Doug's garden tractor was in for repair; he zipped over the 2.5 acres in half the time and did a better job. But, unless I could get one for close to the same price as a RFM, it ain't happening.

OkeeDon said:

I have heard from Corrihers; the freight is $120 all the way to Florida, either to a business address or to the Yellow Freight terminal.

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Don, you can use my business address if you wish

OkeeDon said:

There would be no sales tax;

I still have to give TractorTom a try (some of you may remember him from TBN), he's local and would deliver it, but that's a tough price to beat, and he'd have to charge sales tax,

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Don, I am not so sure the Democratic Party would appreciate you getting around the sales tax issue. I thought you were still responsible for major purchases out of state???? Hey I would do the same thing


murph

Don,
I have the same tractor that you and Andy have. I run a 5' WAC (aka Sicma) behind mine some of the time. Other times I use the MMM. The RFM gives as good a cut if not better than the MMM.

well, it gets interestinger and interestinger. I stopped by All Coast Tractor in Okeechobee, today -- that's TractorTom's place. He's running the second store of an outfit in LaBelle, FL that was owned by inlaws. They handle Woods products. I looked up Woods on the 'net last night; they have a standard duty and a premium rear finish mower.

The standard duty comes in 54", 60" and 72". The 54" is rated for 15 to 25 HP, the 60" is rated from 25 to 35 HP. According to them, my 18 HP isn't enough to run their 60" standard duty.

Their Premium duty models come in 60" and 72"; the 60" is rated from 15 HP to 40HP. Of course, it's considerably more money. What that sounds like to me is that the gearbox, bearings and blade and deck design are all so superior on the Premium model that 15 HP can run it, while the standard duty is so bogged down it takes 25 HP to run the 60". That sounds like a pretty crummy design on the standard duty; I wonder if they even make it? Or buy it from some 4th world outfit?

Anyway, the list price on the 54" std is around $2,100 and they would sell it for around $1,800; they don't have any in stock. If I could use the std 60", they sell it for 1round $1,700 and have 3 in stock getting old, so they would further discount it. But, according to Woods, my tractor won't handle it.

Then, they tell me that their inlaws suffered some health problems and sold the dealerships, so they have a new owner. They called over to the home office, and were told that the new owner is bringing in a new line of mowers. They didn't know the brand, but apparently the 60" rear discharge will be in the range of $1,000! I said I'd wait and see what it looks like; the grass isn't growing much, now, anyway. They said it would be about a month.

I also stopped at the used equipment place where I bought my mini-excavator. They have a slew of tractors in stock right now, and they always separate the tractors and implements rather than keeping them as a package. They had a beautiful Woods Premium 72" for around $700. It just looks way too big for my tractor, and Woods says it needs around 35 HP - about double what I have. everything else they had was junk.

Guess I'm either going to have to be patient or buy the First Choice unit from Corrihers. For $300 or so, I'll be patient for a few weeks...

Doc said:

Since we got a ZTR my RFM sits more than it works.

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Since we got a ZTR, my RFM found itself a new owner and provided me with enough cash to make a few months payments on the ZTR.
As soon as the grass starts growing and I actually get to use it, I plan on posting a review of my new ZG23!

Don, for reference I paid $1675 in 2003 for a Bush Hog brand 60" rear discharge from my local dealer. The model was RDTH60.

Don,
Check out what Wayne at Little Miami has to offer on a private label Sitrex, a very good Italian mower. Click Here

I see he has a rear discharge at about $1100 with as low as $130 shipping to Ft. Myers via R&L

Don,

I suppose you don't have any good farm auctions around there. We have a couple of places every year have a few auctions on consignment. Last fall there was some brand new Frontier Rear Finish Mowers that were 6 ft wide and I think rear discharge brand new that went for less than $375.00. But you could probably save yourself some good money if there was auctions around.

They also had a 6' aerator that I was bidding on and stopped at $475 as I felt I was bidding against the owner. It was the same guy bidding on all of the stuff and I think he went until he figured he was getting some kind of decent deal. That aerator was quoted to me brand new $2900.00 I know that price is high but I would have gone up to about $700 before I stopped if I thought that guy was legit.




murph

There is at least one dealer auction; that's where the used equipment guy down the road from me gets his stuff. It works just like a car dealer auction; dealers bring stuff for other dealers to bid on.

There are no farm auctions to the best of my knowledge, maybe up in the Panhandle of North Florida where there is more small agriculture. In my area, the ranches, citrus groves and sugar cane fields all use gigantic equipment. I'm more likely to find a batwing mower than a 60" finish mower.

Good idea, though -- I've already checked the machinery advertiser guys (free newspaper-type ads).

OH, that private-labeled Sitrex is tempting; I'll keep it on file until I see what the local dealer comes up with in a few weeks. It's a better price than Corrihers, and the mower sounds really good.