Thread: Mowing season again

Originally Posted by johntins

Second the Toro stuff. A woman I know, should say widow, had a steep block near me that hadn't been cut in three years. She had a broken Toro XL 380H in the shed. I think it cost me about $150 to fix it. I was staggered what it would do. Much easier to handle around trees etc. than a tractor.
Still, maybe there's a need to 'justify' a tractor to someone...

All fun aside. I have no interest in mowers or slashers commercially. With respect to the Toro device I was talking about, my experience is genuine. I have no knowledge beyond what I reported. I respectfully suggest that that is the position that we all hold. I guess thar's what's called a disclaimer. What a world we live in...

Originally Posted by johntins

Now, if it had a funny little throw back roof, and odd little corrugated sides, and an odd little 375 cc carburettor engine that delvers basically 0 hp, and even less torque, that would be OK? I've often considered a deux chevaux as a lawn mower, but have given it up as not being powerful enough...
Welcome your thoughts..

sweet.... I've never driven a 375cc version .... I hope it's all downhill around your place there motors are used in motorbikes. I've seen the 1220cc 4cylinder motors used in mowers ( Citroen GS ) they are air cooled.... No good IMO ... Why would anyone want an overhead cam peaky engine on a mower.

seeya,
Shane Ll

Originally Posted by johntins

All fun aside. I have no interest in mowers or slashers commercially. With respect to the Toro device I was talking about, my experience is genuine. I have no knowledge beyond what I reported. I respectfully suggest that that is the position that we all hold. I guess thar's what's called a disclaimer. What a world we live in...

Yeah same here ... Everyone is different. My uncle raved about his new john deere a few years back... Reckoned it was the best mower "ever" ... he bought it over to our place as he was so impressed with it .... So we head straight to the grass the is usually the hardest to cut ... ( It wasn't even long, but was thick, green and had onion grass throgh it ). Just like every other twin deck mower it came to a screaming halt, cutter belt screaming, deck clogged... Creaping forward a small hop at a time using 2/3rds of the deck. The very tired and smokey single deck mower we had had a tiny cut compared to it ... but at least it could cut grass.

He never mentioned how brilliant the John Deere was again If you have level lawns and keep them nice and short .... there better than good. there brilliant. Most of the small ride on ares ( big motors, big decks ... etc... ). You just need to use them for the designed use ( well kept lawns).

seeya
Shane L.

Originally Posted by johntins

I simply find it hard to tell you just how wrong you are. The thing was amazing There was nothing I threw at it that it wouldn't cut. I'm not talking sugar cane, but it waded into stuff that would have taken weeks with a brushcutter and a mower, ( Stihl/honda ) with alacrity . I believe you are confusing Anerican with Chinese. An easy mistake to make.
The Toro I'm talking about did around 40 hours solid work, and I mean SOLID, this was a neglected for three years nursery, in the Dandenongs, The growth was impressive, as it is here. No soft succulents, I'm talking hard growing hard stalk stuff. Down here the blackberries have half lives. I wanted her to sell me this machine, because dollar for dollar, it was the best thing around.
I'm sure there are better. Anything comes down to how rich you are, but if you base your experience on$$ then I guess you'll always come out on top.
Me, I'll go with what I see. The Toro, at least "that" Toro, was, in one word, amazing. And it had been doing service on the property for years.
I would have bought it on the spot.
Perhaps I should choose a block with rocks next time....

Hey ... go with what you know ... It sounds excellent to me. If you have found something good, stick with it ... and let others know. That's why I always like greenfields ( I find it quite suprising the few mower places I talked to said there no good and too hard to work on ). I'm guessing the driving system is a right PITA to re-cork when it's worn... so they hate the things.

The local mower place here has Victa mowers... once again all the cheaper "tractor" look ones appeared to be lower quality rebranded american mowers... What suprised me was the zero turn model ( Victa ). Huge fabricated deck, reasonable looking body. It wasn't very expensive for a brand new zero turn mower either. The zero turn models must get into the commercially designed stuff. It looks liek a baby version of the big Toro commercial mowers linked above.

seyea,
Shane L.

My ten cents worth.
I have 3.5 Acres I bought a 30 hp deisel tractor that came with a front end loader, rear detachable backhoe and 6 foot slasher all brand new from China in 2013.
So far I have clocked up 184 hrs. It has had its little problems but I am very happy with what it is and what it can do.
The slasher is great except when going around trees and funny angles. You are continually stopping and reversing and your knees get very tired pushing in the clutch all the time, mine is manual. In hindsite an auto would have been Much better. The slasher in reverse has a mind of its own as its on the 3 point linkage and one rear wheel so it floats around. This can be devestating for the bottoms of the trees when you accidentally hit them. Most of my property is flat so apart from the trees I don't really have any other issues. My neighbor has a 4wd quad bike and behind that he tows a lawnmower trailer with its own motor and this does the job really well. As its easier to manoeuvre.
Don't get me wrong I love the tractor and slasher but if I had a property with lots of things to mow around I would be using something else.
The slasher is great for all the weeds that I get.
Soon I will have lawn around and close to my house and when I have this I will be looking at a ride on mower as the tractor won't be able to turn in the available space I will have.
The tractor package I got cost 13 k landed and all brand new and I can get spare parts albeit with a small delay from China and other places.
I will post some pictures when I get a chance.
Brad

Originally Posted by Bradtot

My ten cents worth.
I have 3.5 Acres I bought a 30 hp deisel tractor that came with a front end loader, rear detachable backhoe and 6 foot slasher all brand new from China in 2013.
So far I have clocked up 184 hrs. It has had its little problems but I am very happy with what it is and what it can do.
The slasher is great except when going around trees and funny angles. You are continually stopping and reversing and your knees get very tired pushing in the clutch all the time, mine is manual. In hindsite an auto would have been Much better. The slasher in reverse has a mind of its own as its on the 3 point linkage and one rear wheel so it floats around. This can be devestating for the bottoms of the trees when you accidentally hit them. Most of my property is flat so apart from the trees I don't really have any other issues. My neighbor has a 4wd quad bike and behind that he tows a lawnmower trailer with its own motor and this does the job really well. As its easier to manoeuvre.
Don't get me wrong I love the tractor and slasher but if I had a property with lots of things to mow around I would be using something else.
The slasher is great for all the weeds that I get.
Soon I will have lawn around and close to my house and when I have this I will be looking at a ride on mower as the tractor won't be able to turn in the available space I will have.
The tractor package I got cost 13 k landed and all brand new and I can get spare parts albeit with a small delay from China and other places.
I will post some pictures when I get a chance.
Brad

Wow that is cheap with a 6 foot slasher and FEL.... you must get over your acreage in about 1/2 an hour with a 6 foot slasher. If you look on ebay, you can get quite large powered finishing mowers and flail mowers.... If I had a 4wd motorbike I'd probably already have bought one.... I don't though and 4wd motorbikes are expensive... and I'd have another bit of machinary to upkeep and buy batteries for ( both quad bike and mower).

I'd never considered trying to use a slasher for anything other than "empty" paddocks. I have two smaller paddocks here and an open area behind the house. You'd slash all that ... get the ride-on mower out to do the rest... I'd just knock everything down and drive myself insane trying to move a tractor around all the trees around the house

You know the easiest solution is probably just to pay someone to come out and slahs the paddocks a few times a year ........... but where is the fun in that!

seeya,
Shane L.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

That's a serious bit of gear. Look at the massive fabricated deck .. big chassis, big wheels. That thing is a full industrial mower... "slightly" out of my price range

Sorry if I sounded insulting. I didn't mean too ... I just go on why I've found personally.... Ovals are great for american mowers too. Always very short and billiard table smooth. There made for it !!

Look up a Toro dealer,find out what ex shire trade in are worth,there must be thousands of them out there as most shires use them.We are about to trade our larger slasher,pretty sure the local golf course is buying it,7 years old,deck re-furbished for the first time 12months ago.They are tough machines,has a Kubota diesel engine.
Andrew

Find a guy with a bobcat or a tractor with a smudge bar / screen .
Pay him the level out what sounds like a rally cross circuit .
Mow with your rover rancher every 2 weeks - not too low which is what you are trying to do .
If not enough slots in adjuster - cut some more which are more suitable for your ground .
Run the tyres at approx 6-8 pounds .
Slow down , you will break anything if you go at it like a bull at a gate .

In my experience - 10 yrs with a lawn mowing contracting business , a greenfield is a weapon !
Seconded only by a good , well maintained rover .
Both mowers cut everything from lawn to grass to clearing ground where the grass was 4 foot high !
The rover was my "rough mower " .
It's now 18 years old and cuts my lawn at home - I no longer have a lawn mowing business .
It's hard bloody work , but very rewarding .

Go over to Kyneton and have a look at the greenfield , they are still one of the best built small tractor ride ons - you may get a bargain with a pre loved one , but a newie will be the last mower you buy .

Ps mow often and not too short after a couple of goes the lawn ' learns ' where to grow to .

Pps , I don't know if they still make them but have a look for Scag zero turns , they were beasts also .