Ferris field and brush mower.

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Sep 27, 2005 | 08:41 PM

boxcar1974

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From: Massachusetts

Ferris field and brush mower.

I have been looking at field and brush mowers for my 15 acre property. I only am looking at the walk behind units for $$ reasons. I currenty have a troy-bilt trail blazer sicle bar mower and it works ok. I have been looking at the DR lineup and the ferris line up. I currently have a DR chipper and very happy with the quality of DR. I have to opportunity to buy a year old Ferris field and brush for about $1300. The DR is $2300.

So does anyone have a Ferris mower? Do you like it? Quality of machine. Sapling cutting ability? Problems in general?

Thanks in advance, Boxcar

Sep 27, 2005 | 09:37 PM

1956MarkII

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From: Tampa Bay, FL USA

I've got a Ferris 60-inch zero-turn mower w/ a 20-horse Kawasaki motor. Absolutely the best mower I've ever owned, totally superior to the 2 John Deeres I used to have. Their factory customer support is outstanding, and the dealer I bought it from is top-notch. My only complaint is that it doesn't mow as smoothly as the John Deeres (some scalping), but I'll put up with that knowing that Ferris is there to stand behind the mower. JDs service absolutely sucked. But I can't comment on the brush mowers capabilities.

Sep 28, 2005 | 07:43 AM

76supercab2

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15 acres is a lot. How much of that do you actually have to mow?

Sep 28, 2005 | 09:52 AM

boxcar1974

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From: Massachusetts

As of right now, I maintain 1 or 2 times a year about 2-3 acres. The rest is forest. Every fall I cut down a few more trees for firewood and to get the property more open. The following year suckers from the stumps grow along with underbrush from the added sunlight. So 2-3 acres and I add 1/4 acre a year. I do it in October November. It usually takes me a few nights after work or a couple weekend days.

Sep 28, 2005 | 11:26 AM

azdrawdy

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From: North Augusta, SC

We use the DR

My mountain bike group owns two 30" 15HP (Kawasaki) DR Field and Brush mowers. They are used on some very rough terrain, and hitting stumps, roots and rocks is not uncommon. We use them for keeping the side of the mtb trails clear, since our singletrack is only 18" wide and it doesn't take too much brush growth to make them nearly impassable.

ANYWAY, after spending many hours behind one, I can tell you that these things are stout! Knocking down two inch saplings is a no-brainer. I have not used any competing brands. If you can try one out, do it...

Michael

Sep 28, 2005 | 11:31 AM

thorseshoeing

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From: Right Behind You

If you only do it once or twice a year you might want to consider just renting one. I don't think it is very expensive to rent one for a few days, and you don't have to worry about mantiance(sp) cost.

Tim

Sep 28, 2005 | 08:05 PM

boxcar1974

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From: Massachusetts

I would not mind renting if there were a place that rented these things. I would much rather own it and work on my schedule.

My two choices are DR or Ferris. There is a guy on ebay who is only about 40 miles from me selling a ferris field and brush mower for $1300. Like a said that is about half the cost of the DR. This one on ebay is a year old and used a half dozen times. I never new about Ferris until this ebay listing. It seems that Ferris is a quality company. I wish I had some info from customers about how the brush mower is. The only down side to the Ferris is the lack of attachments like a snow thrower and a trim mower. The DR has both.

There are dealers very close to me so I can look at both and probably Demo each. The ebay auction ends friday.