3m trailered mower conditioner

[dave mountain]

I don’t know they last a long time a trailed in particular I think will last double what a mounted will due to even loading on the discs our old tarrup would of been 30 years + when we sold it. I really believe that his mowing could be more cost effective than somebody with 10 times more as it just wears out 10 times faster

All very true, but you are still talking 2.5k a year on depreciation and parts when you could get the job done by a contractor for the same and not have to tie up all that money

 

[mf7480]

We have a Krone can’t fault it bought it for 2013 but it did replace an ancient tarrup 307 so was a big step forward View attachment 1011807

Looks a perfect swath for a forager. It must be a struggle to get wilt though especially on a lovely green ley like that?

 

[dave mountain]

Hrn tractors dud have a new jd1365 with a price tag of £23,500 not sure if its still there!

That is about right tbh

 

[dave mountain]

They were probably fine in the 90s with 100hp in front of them or they would do someone who just wanted to mow a few acres of their own and needed something cheap, but they're an old, overrated design.

I would agree that they (like a lot of Deere machines) are overrated, but in terms of reliability and diesel consumption mine was fine

 

[tr250]

Looks a perfect swath for a forager. It must be a struggle to get wilt though especially on a lovely green ley like that?

Yes the forager loves the swaths. Second and third cut it’s great but First cut can be a struggle we sometimes leave in single rows if it’s very green but it doesn’t make that much difference as we have the belt going quite slow so it lays the two swaths side by side. Spreading and raking seems fashionable now but i prefer picking up straight behind the mower

 

[dairydurham]

We had a 1360 JD, changed to a Tarrap 4032, then to a Kuhn FC302G and are now back to a JD1365.

The Tarrap is the only one I could fault.

Used a Pottinger (can't recall the number) and a JD 530, and wasn't that keen on either.

We had a 1360 JD, changed to a Tarrap 4032, then to a Kuhn FC302G and are now back to a JD1365.

The Tarrap is the only one I could fault.

Used a Pottinger (can't recall the number) and a JD 530, and wasn't that keen on either.

We had a 4032 for 18 yrs brilliant mower much better than the replacement 4332

 

[tr250]

All very true, but you are still talking 2.5k a year on depreciation and parts when you could get the job done by a contractor for the same and not have to tie up all that money

How do you work that out a 19 grand mower kept for 20 years is £950 a year and contractors fees will be a lot more in that time and purchase price will seem cheap on that acreage a set of blades every few years and a grease cartridge or 2 and some gear oil will be it done and a few tractor hours. And most importantly it will be done in the right weather can just mow in the afternoons etc

 

[dave mountain]

How do you work that out a 19 grand mower kept for 20 years is £950 a year and contractors fees will be a lot more in that time and purchase price will seem cheap on that acreage a set of blades every few years and a grease cartridge or 2 and some gear oil will be it done and a few tractor hours. And most importantly it will be done in the right weather can just mow in the afternoons etc

Agree with the opportunity to do at right time, guess it depends on your financial situation. Tying up borrowed money in a trailed mower would work out far worse off financially but if you have the money spare and like machinery then why not?
Mower would be more than 19k now, I know exactly what you mean about contractor fees but if you have to borrow money to pay for the mower it has the same effect

 

[Boohoo]

Yes the forager loves the swaths. Second and third cut it’s great but First cut can be a struggle we sometimes leave in single rows if it’s very green but it doesn’t make that much difference as we have the belt going quite slow so it lays the two swaths side by side. Spreading and raking seems fashionable now but i prefer picking up straight behind the mower

Stick with the belt, output will drop if you spread and rake.

 

[DefenderDave]

How do you work that out a 19 grand mower kept for 20 years is £950 a year and contractors fees will be a lot more in that time and purchase price will seem cheap on that acreage a set of blades every few years and a grease cartridge or 2 and some gear oil will be it done and a few tractor hours. And most importantly it will be done in the right weather can just mow in the afternoons etc

Also you’d like to think the mower would still be worth 4-5k in 20 years time if well maintained. We do the rest of our silaging in house so I can’t think of anything more frustrating than not being able to make the most of a weather window as we have to wait for a contractor to come mowing.

 

[dave mountain]

Also you’d like to think the mower would still be worth 4-5k in 20 years time if well maintained. We do the rest of our silaging in house so I can’t think of anything more frustrating than not being able to make the most of a weather window as we have to wait for a contractor to come mowing.

If you can justify doing 200 acres silage in house then a mower is easy to justify, justifying the while silage outfit is more difficult though

 

[tr250]

Stick with the belt, output will drop if you spread and rake.

Yes forager loves it purrs along with a constant sound

 

[KB6930]

Looking for a new 3m trailered mower conditioner. It would be replacing a 20 year old krone, cutting around 200 acres a year. Currently considering either a Claas, krone or Kuhn but would be interested on people’s thoughts on other makes too?

Claas side pull trailed are very light on the drive end of the bed so if you turn left too fast they lift the wheel off the ground and the far end of the bed will dig in the ground . The centre pivot will be a good mower tho.

 

[tr250]

If you can justify doing 200 acres silage in house then a mower is easy to justify, justifying the while silage outfit is more difficult though

You make it sound like it’s nothing 200 acres of ryegrass will feed just a fair herd of cows. You could argue can you afford to have contractors to come and do a bad or leave it till the weather is bad.

 

[dave mountain]

You make it sound like it’s nothing 200 acres of ryegrass will feed just a fair herd of cows. You could argue can you afford to have contractors to come and do a bad or leave it till the weather is bad.

No I wouldnt argue that if they do a bad job, but tbh contractors have always done a fine job for the few jobs that I can't justify machinery for, and have far superior machinery to what I could justify, and I do a lot more than 200 acres. But as said before, plenty ways to skin a cat

 

[fermerboy]

All mowers work and last grand in soft 3 or 4 cut grass in nice level fields, what tests them out is flat twisted up one cut stemmy grass for suckler cow silage where bulk is everything, being cut on the side of a stony hill somewhere.
We've tried a few brands over the years and my choice in order is,
Kuhn, hard as nails, got a 32 year old one that despite my fathers best atempts wont die. Our newer one is just as good.
JD, pretty good, arguably better conditioner.
Krone, very strong, better working conditioner than Kuhn, but doesnt cut as clean, or leave such a tidy swath.
Potinginer, neighbours ones go very well and no bother so far over big acreages.
Claas, soft overated crap, wont stand up like any of the above.
Lely, even worse junk, nice working but soft.
No experience of much else.

I run older kit as its the only way I can justify it for my acreage.
Trailed 3m mower is our preference over any lift one, brand irrelevant, try working on some seriously steep land with 10ft of mower hanging off the side of a tractor and its soon apparent why. Of course you can stick some massive oversized tractor on it but buy a trailed and enjoy!, my favourite job on the place.

 

[M-J-G]

All mowers work and last grand in soft 3 or 4 cut grass in nice level fields, what tests them out is flat twisted up one cut stemmy grass for suckler cow silage where bulk is everything, being cut on the side of a stony hill somewhere.
We've tried a few brands over the years and my choice in order is,
Kuhn, hard as nails, got a 32 year old one that despite my fathers best atempts wont die. Our newer one is just as good.
JD, pretty good, arguably better conditioner.
Krone, very strong, better working conditioner than Kuhn, but doesnt cut as clean, or leave such a tidy swath.
Potinginer, neighbours ones go very well and no bother so far over big acreages.
Claas, soft overated crap, wont stand up like any of the above.
Lely, even worse junk, nice working but soft.
No experience of much else.

I run older kit as its the only way I can justify it for my acreage.
Trailed 3m mower is our preference over any lift one, brand irrelevant, try working on some seriously steep land with 10ft of mower hanging off the side of a tractor and its soon apparent why. Of course you can stick some massive oversized tractor on it but buy a trailed and enjoy!, my favourite job on the place.

I'd agree with most if that, but a trailed mower isn't always great on very steep ground. We run trailed and there ard a couple of our worst fields where the mower will slide down the hill even when the bed is lifted slightly to transfer weight ti the wheels. This wouldn't happen with a mounted version.

 

[DefenderDave]

All mowers work and last grand in soft 3 or 4 cut grass in nice level fields, what tests them out is flat twisted up one cut stemmy grass for suckler cow silage where bulk is everything, being cut on the side of a stony hill somewhere.
We've tried a few brands over the years and my choice in order is,
Kuhn, hard as nails, got a 32 year old one that despite my fathers best atempts wont die. Our newer one is just as good.
JD, pretty good, arguably better conditioner.
Krone, very strong, better working conditioner than Kuhn, but doesnt cut as clean, or leave such a tidy swath.
Potinginer, neighbours ones go very well and no bother so far over big acreages.
Claas, soft overated crap, wont stand up like any of the above.
Lely, even worse junk, nice working but soft.
No experience of much else.

I run older kit as its the only way I can justify it for my acreage.
Trailed 3m mower is our preference over any lift one, brand irrelevant, try working on some seriously steep land with 10ft of mower hanging off the side of a tractor and its soon apparent why. Of course you can stick some massive oversized tractor on it but buy a trailed and enjoy!, my favourite job on the place.

That’s very much what we have, we don’t have big acres but they are heavy crops on the fields we can’t put to arable as they are too rough or steep.
Totally agree on having a trailered on the steep fields too, would sooner have a trailered mower slip down the bank than then tractor carrying the mounted one!

I’ve always liked the look of the Kuhn, I’d say they are the more popular mower for the smaller farms round here, where as the large contractors run their triple krone and Claas outfits. But interesting what you say about Claas as I haven’t heard they were poorly made before.

 

[KB6930]

That’s very much what we have, we don’t have big acres but they are heavy crops on the fields we can’t put to arable as they are too rough or steep.
Totally agree on having a trailered on the steep fields too, would sooner have a trailered mower slip down the bank than then tractor carrying the mounted one!

I’ve always liked the look of the Kuhn, I’d say they are the more popular mower for the smaller farms round here, where as the large contractors run their triple krone and Claas outfits. But interesting what you say about Claas as I haven’t heard they were poorly made before.

I'd have to disagree with that our really steep stuff I prefer the mounted as the trailed is heavy and pushes the tractor around I've ended up Jack knifed round onto the trailed several times when I ran trailed Kuhn where the mounted claas never gives me any bother .

 

[Dog Bowl]

I shopped about last autumn for quotes on rear mowers. Got quotes for both mounted and trailed equivalents.

Pottinger 3.2 rear mounted roughly £15k
Pottinger 3.2 Centre pull trailed £25k

With a few extras it's roughly £10k difference. As much as I love my trailed mowers I can't see myself buying another when a mounted is so much cheaper.