Rear or mid mount mower?

[d90boy]

I just bought a new John Deere 4310 MFWD eHydro to do some mowing with. It's got the mid PTO and dual SCVs so that I could attach a 72" belly mover under it. Now I'm thinking a belly mover will be a PITA sometimes and maybe I should go with a 72" Bush Hog finish mower.



Cons of a belly are: Difficult blade access for sharpening, harder to remove for other tractor chores, more expensive, hangs down low when not in use. Pros: Easy to look down and see where you're mowing for edging.



Cons of rear mower: have to turn around to see where you're at around trees, can sway side to side Pros: cheaper, can lift it way up for blade access and otherwise better accessibility, cheaper by $1000 or so.



What are your guy's experience?

 

[Jeff Clark]

My old man runs a belly mower on his (41something) and has no problems with it. The only problem I see is the height control for the deck is the same for the 3 point so when he uses the brush hog and sets it down to mow, the belly deck moves too. Seems to me it would be better with two controls.

 

[illflem]

Depends on what kind of mowing you're planning on. Belly mowers are for lawns, three point for fields. Some folks use them for both but they really only do one job well. A belly mower will cut closer but isn't intended for debris like branches, rocks, etc. Most three points won't cut much lower than 3 inches, don't leave clippings as fine as most would like on their lawn, plus they windrow the trimmings. A 3 pt will handle debris and is much less maintenance than a belly mower.

 

[d90boy]

Originally posted by Jeff Clark

My old man runs a belly mower on his (41something) and has no problems with it. The only problem I see is the height control for the deck is the same for the 3 point so when he uses the brush hog and sets it down to mow, the belly deck moves too. Seems to me it would be better with two controls.

The controls are independent for the two but I wouldn't be running both anyway. The belly is on a hydraulic cylinder under the tractor.



The finish mower is a side discharge which is supposed to not windrow as bad as a rear discharge. I'd rather be able to trim on both sides though.

 

[bmoeller]

I've run both kinds. Belly mower on a Farmall B and a Farm King 6 ft. finishing mower. I prefer rear mount in most cases. The belly mowers are better for watching since you don't have to keep looking behind you. I like the rear mount best, mostly from a sevicing stand point. Can block the 3pt. up and work underneath alot easier, particularly for removing junk that go wrapped up if it was hiding in the grass. Also when you get used to them, they are alot nicer for going around trees.

 

[QRTRHRS]

These small MFWD tractors tend to pitch and roll while driving along. I don't have any 3pt finish experiance but with the brush hog, it is easy to have it sway not where you want it. How does the 3pt finish mount up? If it floats free, no problem. A brush hog tends to undulate with the terrain. You end up with a cut that is not even so it is no good for that "well groomed yard look".



All attachments are a compromise if you use several with one tractor. After some time, you learn to schedule your activities and how to quickly change them out.

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by QRTRHRS

How does the 3pt finish mount up? If it floats free, no problem.

The Farm King that I used, was able to float. Also the tractor that I used with it, had bars on it that limited sway in the lift arms. Wasn't a problem.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have sway bars set up for about an inch of play. Maybe it is the ag tires. My neighbors Kubota does it too. Driving along even on minimally rough terrain, they tend to pitch or rock side to side.



Sometime ago, someone mentioned something in a thread about the belly mount that makes sense. You can get closer and tighter as opposed to the rear mount.

 

[Little Bill]

I've got a 6' Farm King finishing mower that I use for cutting pastures and 95% of my lawn. 3 pt hookup but it is totally free floating and tows along on it's own 4 wheel landing gear. The cut quality is excellent and it tows straight as long as you adjust the sideswing of the lift arms. It is side discharge and will wind row if cuttings are really heavy or wet. They have a new model with full rear discharge. A friend has a 6' Bush Hog finisher and the cut quality is the same as mine.



I only have one tractor so I prefer 3 pt implements that hook up fast.

 

[fbaurley]

Another thing to consider is that you run over and mash the grass down more with a rear mount than you do with a belly mount, because the back tires travel over it.

 

[Todd T]

answer these two questions and you'll have your answer



1. will your wife be mowing with it?



2. will any younger children be mowing with it?



my wife stays at home with the kids. she does nearly all the mowing with exception to around the pond up close and the pasture which gets brush hogged. she would not do this on a zero turn (too rough riding) or with a rear mount finish mower.



we have the only tractor in the county with a rumble seat for two kids under the rops

 

[onestackdram]

D90Boy,



I mow grass for a living as a contractor for KCMO parks and rec. (NO I AM NOT A CITY EMPLOYEE I AM A CONTRACTOR THEREFORE I HAVE TO WORK TO GET PAID) I ran that style of mower for years, and as far as a small utility tractor they are pretty good. I can tell you this, once you get belly mower you will realize that they are not that hard to remove 20 min tops, thats for the first few times. Secondly they do lift fairly high, so you should be able to do most utility work that tractor can do anyway, short of dirt moving and grading and things of that nature. But for the mow quality it is much better than ANY pull behind you can buy. Now to contradict myself a little. One of the cons you did not list for said belly mower are that the gear boxes that run them are CRAP they will be destroyed about once a year atleast. Secondly the spindles used for the blades again SUCK. As far as the pull behind mowers the two I have had SUCKED all the way around.



IMHO (and money is not an object ) I would keep the tractor for utility work only and buy an EXMARK 72" with the 30 HP Diahatsu (i think I spelled that right I am too lazy to run out and check right now) diesel motor. A little pricey but this is a bad a$$ machine. I run 2 of them and I mow almost 40 acres of city property a day with just those two mowers and they take a HELL of a beating and are by far the best mowers I have ever owned and I have been mowing for the city for almost 14 years now.



Russell

 

[Chief USA]

I have the John Deere 4410 ehydro and the John Deere 72inch mid mounted mower. It gets in the way when you are not using it with things like rotor tillling or drive way grading but it is not that hard to remove and install. It cuts really nice and you don't have to constantly crane your neck and back around to look behind you as with a rear finishing mower. Mind you, expect a case of sticker shock with the John Deere mid mounted mower but it is a VERY heavy duty built unit weighing nearly 500 pounds. (7 guage stamped steel) I use it to cut my pasture and driveway but find it is too big and heavy for the yard and over my drain field lines. I use my John Deere 525 for that ;-). Just make sure you walk the area you are going to cut first and pull up all of the rocks and debry. I use my 430 loader on the 4410 to pull the big rocks out. If you plan on cutting brush or heavier stuff, you may want to consider an JD MX5 rotary cutter or a Land Pride RCR 2660 Rotary Cutter. They cut grass fairly good but can take the abuse of rocks, small trees, etc. You can get the Land Pride rotary cutter for about 1/4 the price of the mid mounted mower. I plan on getting a rotary cutter in the future as I am not to keen on tearing up a $4,000. 00 mid mounted mower. Congratulations on your new tractor... ... you're going to love it!

 

[d90boy]

Thanks for all the replies. I should be the only one using it, no children around. The dealership is letting me try out a 72" air tunnel bush hog tomorrow so we'll see how that goes. I fully agree that I should buy a Scag with a turbo diesel in it but the idea was to be able to do many things with one unit. I also fully expect the belly mower to do the best job and after watching the video that came with the tractor it does look pretty easy to remove and install. The bush hog has 4 large wheels on it but more or less floats across the ground so i can see how the cut may not be the best. I'll have more to report later.



It sounds like onestackdram needs to just volunteer to mow it for me since he's the expert and closeby!



Next question is how I'm going to bomb this thing. I've found that Yanmar makes this same motor in a turbocharged version. I figure I can do away with the underhood muffler and have room for a turbo. I also thought about having DD hone out the injectors on it. I also need to figure out how to turn the pump up. I figure by turning up the pump I should get the extra 3hp the 4410 has since they have the same engines. I also like the xtra armor stuff like that hood plate and other skid plates.