Pull Type Mower Questions

[MinnesotaMuskie]

We have 80 acres up north and we want to mow some of our food plots and grassy areas. He have access to a jeep, ATV...considering a pull behind mower with a seperate engine for the ATV. Any experience or recommendations?

[Dave S]

I remember this topic was brought up a couple years ago. It depends if you're looking for a finishing mower or rough cut. You can expect to pay anywhere from $1500 for the box store brands to $3500+ for the name brands.

In the thread I mentioned, the general consensus was it didn't really matter which brand you purchase as either, based on past experiences, performed well. Definitely look the mower over for things such as weld quality. If it's going to be bouncing around on rough terrain, I would opt for something that's built a little heavier.

The another thing I would recommened is something in the higher HP range. Nothing smaller than 13-15 hp. I would also avoid the mowers that mount "under" the ATV.

[lovebigbluegills]

Also, if you get a trail-type brush mower, check the deck thickness. I've seen some that aren't very thick, and they have dents/holes in a number of spots.

Personally, I have a swisher 44" pull-behind brush mower, and I absolutely love it. The deck is plenty thick, there's plenty of horsepower, and the blades stay pretty sharp for a long time if you can avoid the rocks. My rule of thumb for this mower is if I can run over it with my ATV, the mower will handle it (keeping in mind that you've gotta go quite slow for the bigger stuff).

[swedishpimple]

we have a Bush hog brand with a 12 hp Honda. It is a brsuh/trail mower and not a very good machine considering the quality of the brand name.

The blades are belt driven which allows for a lot os "slipage" compared to a PTO mower for a tractor.

The 12 hp motor does not give us the power I would expect.

[luckey]

I have used the Swisher 44" brush mower (rough cut) for the past 4 years. I have to say it held together much better than I thought it would. Believe me it really takes a pounding around stumps, rocks and trees. The hitch was rinky dink so I removed what they had and connected a 1 7/8 inch ball hitch. (several of us use it and have ball hitches on the ATVs. The mower works best for clearing/maintaining trails but does ok for mowing food plots. It does have a hard time with tall tough grass (like swamp grass). So far now issues. (other than the one guy who didn't bungy the control cable to his ATV and ended up cutting the cable in half).

[PerchJerker]

I've also got a Swisher Rough Cut mower and it's awesome. It's been great on the atv trails and clearing brush, and gets the job done for mowing my clover food plots. I use it to mow the driveway and the yard too and it works okay for that but a belt-drive finishing mower would be much better on grass --- wouldn't want to use a belt-drive finishing mower on the trails or in the rough stuff though ......

[ChuckN]

Check out the DR brand. It's one sweet heavy duty mowing/trail blazing machine. Full controls on the ATV (electric start, throttle, blade engagement) and outrigging hitch is nice.

[sparkydm]

I also have the 44" rough cut made by Swisher. I love this machine! Dogwood clumps are no match for this thing. I also use it to mow the yard at my cabin, it does an ok job for that purpose. Overall a great machine for the money.

[JK22]

I bought a used 44" Swisher rough cut this year. I used to rent one for $75/day and figured it would pay for itself in 3-4 years and I can mow whenever I wanted. It goes through whatever my ATV will go through. Had to make a fixed bracket for the cable to the ATV since the last owner had it vibrate off and got chopped up.