Finish Mower Selection ?

Tractor specs:

John Deere 2150, approx 45hp. Ag tires, loader on front end. The ag tires do leave some marks in the yard, but I'm not sure how much I am bothered by that. Moles, dogs, armadillos, etc. do worse (see below).

Lawn situation:

Several acres, not flat, partially terraced (old cotton field). Some sandy dirt areas and the occasional rock. This is very rural and Arkansas so no golf course manicured green this yard. I guess it would qualify as short cut weeds, wildflowers, former hay field, some bermuda. Dogs like to dig under the trees, moles and armadillos are regular disruptions of the smooth surface.

Yes, its rough, but once mowed (I keep it about 1 1/2" with a Massey Furgeson lawn tractor) it doesn't look too bad. The problem is that even with a 42" deck on the MFerg it takes a fair amount of time to cover the several acres. . .

Oh, did I mention, trees (at least on part)?

My thoughts:

84" deck finish mower on back of tractor. This would make short work of the hiking trail and ball field (flat patch in pasture). I also figure it would knock out the treeless part of the yard and finish up with the MFergi. . . and weed wacker.

Brands:

I've been very tempted by the low end Condi sold be AGRI Supply. Cheap enough. I'm open to thoughts and suggestions. . .

and warnings.

Thanks for anything.

George

I run a RM990 Woods finish mower and would recommend it. It is a 90 inch rear discharge mower with six blades (3 spindles). I pull mine behind a 53 pto hp tractor and it does fine. This mower is a gearbox over belt drive. The belt is a double B, kevlar reinforced. I paid around $3k in 2000, so they have probably gone up since then, but if you want a well built unit, in my opinion, this is a good one.

-Vinnie

Going to be hard to justify that unless I can start renting it out. . . course, with fuel prices as they are it might pay for itself in a week.

Thanks for the information - now I know what to watch for in the want ads.

George

KEH