Opinions on finish mower size

[Sammy3700]

Looking at buying a L3902 and trying to decide on 6’ or 7’ mower currently I have L3800’s with 6’ mowers one land pride 1672 and one Caroni (ag supply)
the new setup will be for mowing large open school playground areas just curious if anyone is using land pride 2584 if so what they think of it.

 

[mcfarmall]

Frontier used to make a very nice 7 footer. Whatever you decide, I'd go with the bigger one of the 2.

 

[Velma]

Can’t believe how expensive finish mowers are. Just got mine last year and prices are already way up. That 2584 is $7k at my dealer in MI. Yikes!!

 

[Sammy3700]

Thanks guys

 

[Foxrunfarms]

I've been on the hunt for a brush hog and been reading around on different sites or forums for options on that. In your situation where you're wide open, and not a lot of obstacles the bigger one would fit the tractor and your needs. Mowing can be enjoyable but don't need to be doing it all day. For a brush hog going around trees, fence, etc something more narrow for those jobs seem to be the answer

 

[chim]

You may want to compare weights as well as widths. At one point I had two 5 foot RFM's - one LandPride and one Caroni. The LandPride was on a Kubota B7500, and the Caroni was on a Ford 1210. They worked well in that combination. I once swapped the decks just to see how it would work.

The 16HP Ford handled the Caroni deck well (and still does). The LandPride on the Ford was a no-go. The deck handled the tractor. Even with a pair of suitcase weights on the Ford it was too light in the front.

The Kubota B7500 generally handled the 5 foot LandPride well. When it came to uphill with tall grass the Kubota was working hard. Following the B7500, I ran an L3200 with a 6 foot LandPride for several years and that worked fine.

The current setup is the L4240 with a 7-1/2' Caroni that I bought used and refurbed a couple years ago. I also rebuilt the 5 footer on the old Ford a while back.

LandPride does make very sturdy decks. I've had both a 5 foot on a B7500 and a 6' on an L3200. That said, I have been quite pleased with Caroni decks.

The one issue I've had with the Caroni decks was bending the shafts on the wheel yoke assembly. This has happened when using the decks with an L-sized Kubota and swinging the deck into something like the raised edge of the road. It hasn't been a problem with the lightweight Ford. To cut the grass to the length I want requires stacking most of the spacers under the support. This gives the obstacle a lot of leverage on the 1" shaft. I have a plan to address this but need to find the time.