DR Brush Mower - Warning

JML755 · Oct 26, 2012

Kind of tractor related as I use my DR Brush Mower to get into places my Ford 3600 & brush hog won't go. Been a good machine for 5 yrs but this week it threw the drive chain. Cause? The 4 bolts that hold the differential together along with the driven sprocket had NO lock washer, NO nylock nuts or NO loctite. 2 of the 4 bolts were missing (anybody's guess how long they've been gone) and the 3rd was mangled in half on my garage floor and the 4th was almost out, leaving the sprocket wobbling.

Called DR and they said they buy the drive train as a unit from a supplier and there are supposed to be nylock nuts on the bolts. Basically they were saying it's not their fault.

Anyway, just a warning to anyone who's got a DR Brush Mower to check the driven sprocket for something more than just a nut holding it on.

Bill(Wis) · Oct 26, 2012

I bought a much overpriced DR Trimmer mower from them. My advice? DON"T BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM! I got mailings from them for years and threw them away as fast as they came in. Never again. In this day and age there is no excuse for the kind of merchandise they try to sell.

730d se · Oct 26, 2012

Not so fast Bill. The "excuse" is real.
It is called high mark up and very creative marketing.
You can always tell when accountants and greedy people try to run a business. When it finally spirals in the dirt, they blame everyone else but themselves.

retired farmer · Oct 26, 2012

Evidentally you do not do a pre-trip inspection on your equipment before using it. Every operators manual I have ever gotten says right in it, CHECK NUTS AND BOLTS AND FASTENERS DAILY FOR TIGHTNESS.

DownSouth · Oct 26, 2012

I was looking into buying one of those several years ago, finally decided they were just overpriced. Kept watching Fleabay and Craigscrud and spotted this old Gravely for a bargain. Only use it 2 or 3 times a year, and I"m thinking it will probably outlast me. It"s a beast and will walk through almost anything and chop it down. Had a pile of palm fronds that I planned to burn and we just couldn"t get a calm day so I laid them out and started running over them with the Gravely. Made a nice pile of mulch in minutes. So far only repair I"ve made is a flat tire.

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JML755 · Oct 26, 2012

(quoted from post at 17:35:55 10/26/12) Evidentally you do not do a pre-trip inspection on your equipment before using it. Every operators manual I have ever gotten says right in it, CHECK NUTS AND BOLTS AND FASTENERS DAILY FOR TIGHTNESS.

LOL, No, I do not lay on the ground, wriggle underneath it and use a mirror and flashlight to look underneath this mower every time I use it. Just as I do not check EVERY bolt and fastener on my backhoe or my Ford tractor or my car or my truck. And anyone who says they do is lying. And even if I did look and saw 2 bolts holding the sprocket on AND went and checked the parts manual, it doesn't even SAY how many bolts are used on the assembly.

What I do check is engine oil, tire pressure, belt tension, linkages, blade tightness, you know, the common things that don't require tearing the machine apart.

As for some of the other posts, I can't complain about the machine's performance. It does the job I want it to do. Nothing against the Gravely, but the stuff I cut down is routinely saplings, brambles you can't walk through and I also use it to cut up branches from trees I cut down instead of firing up my wood chipper.

Anyway, didn't mean to fire up everyone, just thought I'd pass along a tip.

DR Brush Mower - Warning

JML755

Well-known Member

Bill(Wis)

Well-known Member

730d se

Well-known Member

retired farmer

Well-known Member

DownSouth

Member

JML755

Well-known Member

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