Well, maybe not weekend yard work, but definitely work prepping for weekend yard work. Some of you following may know that we recently moved to Vermont. Well we sold most of our yard tools, ATV, mower, snowplow, etc. basically anything you wouldn't want to pay to move over 2,000 miles.
So, now that we're here, we have to replace some of those items. While we downsized the house, we upsized the land and yard. That means I now have about 3-5 acres to mow. Luckily the rest is forest and trees, but still a good amount of land to keep maintained.
In order to do that, we bought a pull behind mower. Of course this was my idea, because I can use the excuse to now also get a new UTV to pull it. Going with a side by side UTV vs. ATV this time, but that will come in a following post. Much more fun than a tractor to mow with, and will also serve double duty as a snow plow this winter.
Back to the mower. I decided on a Swisher 60 inch pull behind "finish" mower. This leaves a nice finish cut for yards, golf courses, etc. They also make a trail mower or bush hog style mower, but those are more for heavy weeds and brush. I'm wanting to just keep the mowed part nice. I've had a 44 inch in the past that I used on a 2 acre lot. It was great.
This has the benefit of being able to use either as a straight pull behind, or to use as an offset by putting the pull bar on the left or right. That is another reason I bought this. Should I need (or want) to expand, I could buy a riding mower or tractor with belly mower and then still pull this to the side next to it, doubling the mowing width. I don't think I'll need that, but it is still a good option to have.
My other main reason for using the UTV is just for sheer comfort. I've had a few back injuries over the years, and the UTV with pull behind will provide a more comfortable experience for my back than a riding mower or tractor would be able to provide.
It was a bit of an adventure getting it home and put together. First, the semi-tractor-trailer could not make the turn onto my road from the highway. (There's a short turn radius with a bridge). I had to meet him a few miles away at a school parking lot and then xfer from the lift gate of the truck onto my trailer. Keep in mind this weighs over 500 lbs without the crate it was in. Once on the trailer, I drove home, had to shove it off the trailer myself (actually drove the trailer out from under it last half). Then had to put wheels on, assemble some of the other pieces, which required partially sawing off the crate around it, and using a floor jack to lift part of it to put wheels under and on it before rolling it off the portions of crate remaining.
I then had to run to the store for a battery, because of course, that was not included. My previous one did not have the electric start. Was a chore even in my 30's using pull-start with the old one. Certainly not doing that now that I'm pushing 60 years old. All electric start for me now (until I can go all electric!) Charged the battery, now all good to go except I need the UTV to pull it behind. My wife was not willing to let me hitch her up to pull it around, lol.
This thing is a beast! It has it's own 14.5 HP engine, just for the mowing. My other one with a much smaller engine could easily take knee high grass (or higher) down to 3 inches in one swipe. I'm sure this one will do even better. I love the design with the mower deck "floating" from the support arms that form a square over it. Hoping to get the UTV and get mowing next weekend! How was your weekend? Have you ever used one of these pull-behind or similar mowers? What's your favorite?