Lightweight is good and what did I use it for it’s a lawnmower kzfaq.infoUgkxTPN04aT-Qdjr_KS3ql7ng8wnU3wwsCqk also recommend Yes it is lightweight so hence not as robust as our old one. But if you take care it does the job really well.

Had a 60" finish cut for 14 yrs now and love it. I pull it (offset) behind a commercial zero turn for a total of a 120" cut. I mow about 8 acres, 4 yard and 4 pasture. I let the pasture get TALL before mowing, so the 21hp engine I replaced the worn out 13.5hp does a MUCH better job!Because it cuts my mowing time by about 40% for relatively little extra money, I consider it the best $ I've ever spent on yard eqp. !

Didn't read all of the posts so I'm sorry if I'm repeating what someone else has said. I've owned a 60" Swisher mower for 10 years and the term "trail mower" has been a constant source of confusion to a LOT of people since I've been looking at these mowers. Because of the shear magnitude of the confusion, I'm not quite sure why the manufacturers haven't changed the name/terminology. When it comes to Swisher, their terminology "trailmower" is actually referring to the fact that the mower is designed to be pulled, making it a "trailing mower" or "trail mower" (in respect to the machine pulling it). It doesn't mean that the mower is a "trail mower" as in "designed to cut trails"....which is what comes to most people's mind when they hear "trail mower". Swisher uses the terms "finish cut", and "rough cut" to refer to what the mowers are designed to do.....either cut a "finish" cut (as in mowing a yard), or "rough cut" for creating trails in the woods. I think most people that aren't familiar to this little "oddity" are left (as you were) thinking that a "trail mower" would be what they need to cut rough trails in the woods....which is absolutely not the case. As I said, don't know why this source of confusion has been allowed to go on as long as it has. Hope this helps to clear this up for someone. Stan Wilhite

Thanks Nogga, very helpful. I just bought one for our farm and have mowed twice. Great info here, much appreciated.

Thanks for the video, bought one used from a guy for $450 and it was like new. I think he had the neutral switch issue and couldn't solve it. Your video saved me a ton of $$. I'll have to look at removing the chute next, I also need more ground clearance.

I loved the one I had. Neighbor did too. he went and bought one after trying mine out. pulled it offset to the riding mower to double the cutting swath. Welded a hitch to mine so we could double up with 2 trail mowers behind the lawn tractor. measured cut was 120 inches! What I liked the best was the ability to do a counter clockwise zero turn around an object such as a tree. A second loop around the tree was required to get a missed strip between the two but both loops could be done at full speed. stopped using it when I got a commercial 72" zero turn with a much higher ground speed than the old rider.

I bought one of these about 20+ years ago. It was delivered in the same type crate, but that was long before Amazon, so I paid shipping. I think I used it for about 10 years before it died. I mow about 4 acres, so I towed it behind my lawn tractor with the Swisher offset. It cut my mowing time about in half, and did a good job. Too bad you had the problem with the neutral switch, but it at least it was an easy fix once you figured it out. Still, you should never have had to fiddle with it.

Folks considering purchasing a Swisher trailing mower should be aware of a few things. We have had one, same model as shown in the video, for a few years now, pulling it behind a 600cc Yamaha Grizzley. Tried it with a 180cc first - don't do it - you should have at least 400-450cc or you will mess up your final drive or transmission. We use it on several acres of horse pasture and it does a decent job when it works. Both axles have failed at the welds over the last three years, but were easy to get re-welded. These units have a great Briggs & Stratton engine, but the construction and engineering of the mower itself leaves a lot to be desired. As you watch the video, notice behind the cut off switch where the belt runs to the leftmost pulley that there are two bolts sticking up. These are to keep the belt from jumping the pulley when the tension is suddenly released. The innermost of these two bolts is in contact with the back of the belt the whole time you are mowing, with the exposed threads eating away at the belt. This is cheapo engineering, where some sort of pulley or flat metal bar should be and is the main reason Swisher uses a special Kevlar backed belt, which will still get eaten - just check the many complaints online. Service - there pretty much isn't any in my neck of the woods. I recently needed to get this unit repaired and checked the Swisher site and they listed 3 outfits, two of which don't exist and the other hasn't repaired Swishers since they signed up to do so in 2005. When I brought this to Swisher's attention they updated their site and now there are no repair facilities listed within 100 miles of Bellingham, WA. A quick check online will also show that Swisher customer service is pretty much non-existent also. I repaired it myself, including changing out that bolt with the exposed threads that was eating belts.

I had to remove the 2 side plates. Whenever I stored it mice would somehow get in and make a home. I haven’t found any problem running without them. Great tip on the safety switch, I’m going to try that.

I have had the same mower for a few yrs now , And had same issues , I just by passed my switch, and i leave the top covers off, tired of putting them on and off, I just clean after each mow and put away in the shed , Mine is a rough cut , and ive done some pretty rough cutting with it , 1" shrubs with ease ! and tall grass , no problem, It sits all winter and 1 or 2 pulls and away she goes , over all very happy, Have had to replace where tow arm to mower as maybe i was to rough, it bent up pretty good , i offset mow all the time , so my quad tires arn't making flat grass that getts missed by the blades ..good vid ...

Good info - I use mine hard around my farm and it's been a great mower behind my ATV. I noticed Ethanol gas will eat through the gas line if it is not prepped before storing.

I bought the 44" rough cut Swisher in 2001 and still using it. It came with a 10.5hp briggs that did a fantastic job, but since replaced it with an 18hp v-twin briggs. The rough cut has 'slinging' blades (like a brush-hog), rather than fixed blades like a finish mower. I found that, if I can get my four-wheeler over it (saplings, cedars, etc..), the mower will cut it (within reason). I consider it one of my 'great buys'!

Thanks for the share with the repair

i love mine. i mowed 20ac in a day. went through 4 belts but the weeds were 2 to 4 ft tall. i towed it behind a 14hp craftsman mower. this lil thing is a beast.

Good video, thanks for the tip on the switch.

If you got the same model (T11544 finish cut) it should work fine. I did a little math and at 2 mph it should take 1.4 hours to mow 2.5 acres, not including gas and beer stops. 2.5 acres = 108900 sq. ft. You cover 38702.4 sq. ft. per mile per hour. If you hit it at 3 mph you'll be done in less than an hour, minus any stops. Enjoy.

Nice job. Thanks for sharing.

My brother and I used that same mower for two years on our family farm. The offset hitch is junk and it broke more times than you could count. Burned up afew belts also. Not intended to use for tall grass like in the video. We bought a small brush hog after the Swisher became a total piece of junk. Just like you said early in video it is a finish mower meant to cut your lawn.

Awesome vid, thank you cuz im debating on buying one.

I have had one for about ten years. Engine went on me, I replaced that. Just about every component has worn out or broke on me. I have welding and cutting equipment...THANK GOD!!!

Yes!! I agree with the comment below, FCLC Mankato . . . this is an awesome video, and very helpful too!! Quick and to-the-point! Thank you very much!

have you look into altering the attachment point to allow it to mow in the offset to cut ditches?

I cut grass for a long time on golf course, athletic fields, parks and residential. I'm not sure why there's all this weird terminology, esp when ordering parts. Finish cut almost always means higher quality of cut. Trailmower can mean anything including trail behind. I think Tow Behind, then finish or rough cut for whichever mower it is.Twenty years ago when I was bidding on mowers, they actually did have categories. as Stan mentioned BTW, Good fix on the safety switch. It happens on the big stuff too. Our mowers had 3-5 safety switches, tough to troubleshoot sometimes... I hope this last comment helps: try using a blower to remove the grass clippings. I used to wash mine out but, the deck would finally rust out. When I started using the blower or compressed air, they didn't rust near as quickly. I noticed your pulley was already rusting (but, sometimes they're rusty right out of the factory). Everybodys' situations are different. I don't know if you can apply what I said, but, I hope I helped you or someone seeing this comment.

I had the same problem with the neutral switch. Mine was made in 2011, so I'm surprised they still let that defect ride thru to your model year.

Thanks for an excellent video

I like it now that I've done a little modification to it. It's a lot easier to hook this up to mow along the driveway than hooking up a 10 foot bush hog for 10 minutes of work.

super helpful. thanks.

Good Vid, Thanks!

Thanks for the video

Excellent review and hopefully they’ll make some changes. This really isn’t for trails it’s a finish mower.

I have one of these mowers... Works very well... I have had mine for over 15 years. I've put mine through it all. Even heavy brush. Takes multiple passes . Just go slower..

I have one of those ( Swisher Trail King 44 ) bought it to mow my 4 acre yard and using a riding mower to pull the unit, it has been nothing but a major headache since I got it. First it was a blade pulley tower bearing that went out causing it to destroy the entire pulley tower, then after replacing that, it started "eating" the drive belt faster than it took to replace it, and at 34 bucks per each belt, at the rate it was breaking the belts it would have cost me more for belts just for one summers use than I paid for the entire mower. The problem with the belt is due to the excessive back bend placed on the belt at the tensioner pulley by the way the belt was configured, causing it to crack the inside diameter of the belt and the constant bending around each pulley would cause the belt to start peeling until a piece of it would break out about 6 to 7 inches long leaving just the outer most portion of the belt to carry the load UNTIL you hit an area of tough grass then the engine would overpower the belt and cause it to pull completely apart. The last and final problem was the engine, a junky B/S 10 horse counter balanced engine, the first problem with it was the recoil rope pulley, it collapsed when attempting to start the engine, replaced it with a metal type pulley from an older riding mower I had, then what ended the life of this poorly designed piece of equipment was the internal counter balance weight that is connected to the crankshaft by a very flimsy connecting rod broke at idle speed and punched a huge hole through the block and also destroyed the camshaft and bottom oil pan of the engine. This unit was less than a month old and when used everything was checked, oil, gasoline before even starting it, so I know it was not due to any negligence on my part. It was solely due to poor design of the unit and also on B/S for coming up with such shoddy design of a connecting rod for counterbalance weight that weighed approx. 6 pounds and had a connecting rod for it that was less than 1/2 width and 5/16" thick at the crankshaft. That particular item could have been eliminated completely at assembly as the engine is mounted on a unit that the operator is not having to hold onto and absorbing what vibrations (if any) that would be associated with it running regardless of engine speed. I hope you don't encounter problems as I have with mine, it now sits in the barn waiting to be scrapped!!! After that headache, I bought a Dixie Chopper Classic 3360, 33 horse power with a 60 inch cut and it will cut anything that gets in front of it. By the way I am in Ky too, northern portion half way between Louisville Ky. and Cincinnati Ohio

Have you checked out the Model #RTB12544 Swisher 44" trail cutter. I have this one and it knocks down some thick stuff!! Great unit but I'm now replacing the blade/shaft assy. But it is very reasonably priced. $124.00. Nice video and thanks for sharing...EE

does this mower mow good enough to mow your whole yard? I have a 2.5 acre yard and I just bought one today but it wont arrive for about a week

I believe that's the model they use to trim Rosie o Donnells back hair.

Could you replace the finishing blades with straight bush hog-like blades?

A suggestion for anyone who constantly has the belt come off the pulley when engaging, slow the engine down then carefully and slowly put the lever in the on position.

I have a swisher 60" trail mower. I hate it! Been nothing but problems this yr. Mowing around trees is horrible , under fences etc... Im looking into a 60" zero turn now. This trail mower is going to drive me crazy

Thanks

First "trail" in Swisher's definition means it trails your lawn mower or ATV. It's not a bush hog and it is designed for finish cut, not blaze new trails. The engage handle loosens up and misaligns with the neutral switch. I keep my covers off, and disengage the neutral start switch and live with the risk.

Use a leaf blower to clean out the grass I bet the four wheeler is a lot more comfortable than a riding mower

PS. A little word of unsolicited advice (and we all know how plentiful that is!) :-). I'd be really careful in swapping positions (from using directly behind, to offset on either side). Reason being, it's very easy to forget where the Swisher is in respect to whatever you're pulling it with....and it doesn't take much of an imagination to realize what kind of damage that could do! A nice 100K car would look a little unusual with half of a Swisher mower hanging out of the grill! :-) Enjoy your mower, I just swapped the original 13.5 hp B/S (with 1000 trouble free hrs on it) for a new 21 hp B/S and man....what a difference! Stan in N AL

i have 13 achers and i broke my back a few years ago i have a quade i like the d&r is it dosent through shit evrey whare

nice vid

Trail means it follows behind the tractor or it must be towed.

it looks like they drilled the holes in the wrong posisition?

I am thinking about buying a similar mower. Can this mower handle mustard/nettle weeds ? need to maintain pastures to stay free of weeds ? Is is still working to your satisfaction ? any recommendation of further increasing the blade height?

Didn't see that...anyway how do u like it

I got one of them and for the life of me I can't figure out why they still use a manual belt tensioner! Nothing but trouble! All they have to do is remove the engine pulley and install an electric clutch like all new equipment has done. I burned up so many belts I put in under my tractor shed and never used it again. I'm old and can't change it anymore. Luckily a friend asked if he could try it and it caught on fire and burned completely up along with four acres of his horse pasture! I would like to get one with a remote control box, electric start and a ELECTRIC CLUTCH THAT CAN BE TURNED ON AND OFF WITH THE REMOTE CONTROL BOX THAT CAN BE MOUNTED ON THE TRACTOR! but until they make some changes I'm not gonna be getting another one!

Quality control needs a kick in the nuts!!!

I have a 44" Swisher but the one i have it has the Key and the blade disengage is up on the trailer tongue the mower deck looks the same the key start an to turn blades on only diff, I use mine behind my lawnmower and off set the swisher make about 7 ft cut.

What are pulling it with a 4 wheeler? I wonder if an 18hp Murry type lawn tractor would pull it OK???

I have an older model and cannot find blades. It has a 44 inch deck and I lost the model and serial years ago. It has been a great mower, came standard with 8hp which is adequate, but should have been larger with electric start, I changed it over. Back to the blade problem. The blades are 22" long with a "D" center hole that isn't very good, I have had problems with blades. The other drawback is its' rear discharge shield drops down too far and I have modified that. I also changed mine to a trailer hitch ball setup instead of a pin and hole setup.

its great, but looks like it is not high up enough to clear large rocks.

mine starts but when i go to engage the blades it wont engage them.

Use air not water to wash !

Does anyone know what belt is used/needed for the style mower??

You like to "hose down " your equipment after use? No ! The equipment will rust fast doing that! Always blow it off with compressed air (or at least a leaf blower) , it will last longer and the paint won't rust away.

Do they call it a "trail" mower because it trails behind an ATV rather than a mower for trails?

That's the bad? Seems like an easy fix. Not too bad if that was the only bad.

Still have this mower? I have some questions about it I just bought one that’s in some disarray

Trail... as in, trail behind the 4x4 Not trail cutter lol

Swisher pumping them out to fast and no testing of the equipment? Simple fix to starting but, it could be fixed on their end so easy. The grass getting in where the belts are, that’s an issue.

'Made in the USA' meant something different, back in the 50s. #CutFromDifferentCloth

Definitely needs guards removed somewhat regularly for cleaning

My belt has snapped, after about 10 mows. Have a new one here. Has anyone ever done this repair? The engine will have to come off.

Looks like that belt pulley is already starting to rust because of bad galvanizing. Goes to show just because it has Made In USA on it doesn’t mean it’s going to be great quality. That steel was probably made in India or Pakistan. They should start putting Assembled in USA on there.

its called a trail mower not because it mows trails, it trails behind whatever is pulling it.

Trail means it trails behind not trail mower

Its called a trail mower because it trails behind u

Made in China crap. Should have bought a good old Made in USA product. Our family has a Swisher from 85 years ago and still works like a charm.

These are a nightmare! Absolute crap. Never again.