woods 121 10ft pull behind mower.. going to look at one next week for sale near me, are these good mowers? anything particular i should be looking for?
Woods makes a very good bush hog....here are a couple listed at TH for more info.......I would check the oil level in the gear box and for cracks in the steel....Also look at the stump jumper, blades, PTO components to see condition.
I never had a Woods but they seem to be recommended by anyone posting about them that I've seen.
Actually I never have seen a "bad" rotary mower. I've seen things like a 6' with a 45 hp gearbox (light duty) which my experience says is stretching things....to keep the cost down when a medium duty with a 90 would do better, like the 6' MD Kodiac I use with my 6530 Branson.
I've had decks crack after 20 years of hard use which have responded well to scab plates and a welding rod...... Gearbox seals wear out after many 100's of hours but that is currently mitigated by OEMs finally installing vented fill plugs so that the pressure doesn't build up as the machine warms up assisting in forcing oil out the bottom shaft......grease rather than oil fixes that if you have a leaker and don't feel like going through the repair process. If you don't have a vented fill plug, auto parts retailers stock them.
Rear wheels/no flat tires are pretty much standard and available for 50 bucks....ASC for one source.
We have a Woods 16' and its been great. I cut some scary big stuff with it. The paint and every thing seems to be to hold up really well. I would say its a slight step up on our Bushhogs as far as quality.
We used a Woods 315, 15' Batwing that my parents bought used. Gear boxes finally started leaking and we put grease in them for several seasons and it held up. Traded for a newer one around 3 years ago. Another 15' Woods, they seem to hold up pretty good on these rough and rocky hills. Keep the gear boxes checked and shafts greased and they are good machinery.