He Runs Two Riding Mowers At Once

2007 - Volume #31, Issue #3, Page #32

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Cutting grass isn't the big chore it once was for Bob Kessi of Scappoose, Oregon, thanks to the double mower he rigged up.
    He uses his 42-in. cut MTD hydrostatic riding mower to pull a Craftsman 42-in. mower behind and off to one side.
    "It lets me make an 84-in. cut," he says. "It used to take about 4 1/2 hours to cut my whole yard and now we can do it in only about 1 1/2 hours because we're also saving time on turns," Kessi says.
    He was able to purchase the two-year-old Craftsman for only $200 because the transaxle was bad. Kessi didn't need that to work anyway and says the unit's deck drive is the best that he's seen.
    "I removed all the extra weight by taking off the transaxle and the seat. This also prevents the grandkids from wanting to ride on it, which wouldn't be safe," he explains.
    "Instead of tearing everything apart and rebuilding to make a big mower, I figured out a simple offset towing system by making a compact hitch. Now, I have a total of 34 hp and an 84-in wide swath without having to do hardly any modifications, plus I've got electric start, nearly new parts, and I spent minimum time and cost on it. This system is different than anything I've ever seen."
    According to Kessi, the "pull point" comes directly off the Craftsman's right front king pin. The hitch is made from a 3/4-in. rod, with a right hand bend in front of the Craftsman's steering tire. Just outside the MTD's left rear tire, the pin hitch connects to the towing tractor.
    The simple hitch lets the Craftsman trail very closely in line, without any binding.        "Instead of drilling a lot of holes for the pin, I used 3/4-in. square nuts for the clevis hitch," he says. "I also added another simple 3/4-in. rod hitch so that the trailing mower can be pulled directly behind for transport."
    Kessi adds that he has the original set of blades on the Craftsman, but on the MTD, he adapted an idea he saw in an earlier issue of FARM SHOW, using Deere disc mower blades.
    "I got tired of buying $50 worth of blades each season, so I shortened the worn out blades and first tried to drill mounting holes for the disc mower tips, but the steel was destroying my drill bits, so I welded on nuts that were just a hair bigger than the hole in the Deere mounting bolts. With the disc mower blades on, I can't see any difference in the cut, and they'll last far longer."
    Kessi says he had been thinking about building a big mower for 30 years, but this system works so much better than he ever dreamed it would.
    "I made my 84-in. mowing system in one day, including testing and debugging," he says.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Bob Kessi, 34172 Elm St., Scappoose, Oregon 97056 (ph 503 543-7378).

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He Runs Two Riding Mowers At Once FARM HOME Lawn Mowers 31h 38 Cutting grass isn t the big chore it once was for Bob Kessi of Scappoose Oregon thanks to the double mower he rigged up He uses his 42-in cut MTD hydrostatic riding mower to pull a Craftsman 42-in mower behind and off to one side It lets me make an 84-in cut he says It used to take about 4 1/2 hours to cut my whole yard and now we can do it in only about 1 1/2 hours because we re also saving time on turns Kessi says He was able to purchase the two-year-old Craftsman for only $200 because the transaxle was bad Kessi didn t need that to work anyway and says the unit s deck drive is the best that he s seen I removed all the extra weight by taking off the transaxle and the seat This also prevents the grandkids from wanting to ride on it which wouldn t be safe he explains Instead of tearing everything apart and rebuilding to make a big mower I figured out a simple offset towing system by making a compact hitch Now I have a total of 34 hp and an 84-in wide swath without having to do hardly any modifications plus I ve got electric start nearly new parts and I spent minimum time and cost on it This system is different than anything I ve ever seen According to Kessi the pull point comes directly off the Craftsman s right front king pin The hitch is made from a 3/4-in rod with a right hand bend in front of the Craftsman s steering tire Just outside the MTD s left rear tire the pin hitch connects to the towing tractor The simple hitch lets the Craftsman trail very closely in line without any binding Instead of drilling a lot of holes for the pin I used 3/4-in square nuts for the clevis hitch he says I also added another simple 3/4-in rod hitch so that the trailing mower can be pulled directly behind for transport Kessi adds that he has the original set of blades on the Craftsman but on the MTD he adapted an idea he saw in an earlier issue of FARM SHOW using Deere disc mower blades I got tired of buying $50 worth of blades each season so I shortened the worn out blades and first tried to drill mounting holes for the disc mower tips but the steel was destroying my drill bits so I welded on nuts that were just a hair bigger than the hole in the Deere mounting bolts With the disc mower blades on I can t see any difference in the cut and they ll last far longer Kessi says he had been thinking about building a big mower for 30 years but this system works so much better than he ever dreamed it would I made my 84-in mowing system in one day including testing and debugging he says Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bob Kessi 34172 Elm St Scappoose Oregon 97056 ph 503 543-7378

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