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I have a Freedom Z and would like to be able to mow up to 6"-7" cutting height, which would require a couple inches of lift to the mower. I assume taller tires is about the only way to do this but was wondering if other folks have already done this and how they did it. I'm not sure I can fit big enough tires under it for 2" of lift. Thanks for any advice!

Missouri Grant said:

I have a Freedom Z and would like to be able to mow up to 6"-7" cutting height, which would require a couple inches of lift to the mower. I assume taller tires is about the only way to do this but was wondering if other folks have already done this and how they did it. I'm not sure I can fit big enough tires under it for 2" of lift. Thanks for any advice!

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That's a high cutting height!

Missouri Grant said:

I have a Freedom Z and would like to be able to mow up to 6"-7" cutting height, which would require a couple inches of lift to the mower. I assume taller tires is about the only way to do this but was wondering if other folks have already done this and how they did it. I'm not sure I can fit big enough tires under it for 2" of lift. Thanks for any advice!

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I believe the deck on the freedom z is chain hung. Shorten the chains and the deck will be higher. I agree with zmister11 that is an unusually high cutting height.

Missouri Grant said:

I have a Freedom Z and would like to be able to mow up to 6"-7" cutting height, which would require a couple inches of lift to the mower. I assume taller tires is about the only way to do this but was wondering if other folks have already done this and how they did it. I'm not sure I can fit big enough tires under it for 2" of lift. Thanks for any advice!

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If I'm not mistaken the Freedon Z top cutting height 4 1/2 inches and transport is only going to be about a half inch more so doing anything deck wise is out. Using larger tires will cost you an arm and leg and I doubt you'll be able to go big enough to get what your looking for. I don't know what your trying to cut but it sounds like you need something other than a mower. Commercial mowers wont get you much over a 5 inch cutting height.

Can you picture this?

Before I jacked my mower up it was occasionally chomping twigs and small tree limbs about thumb size with no problems but now it's hitting branches the size of my arm and bigger that I can't see. Do you think it will hurt it? :laughing:

Yeah that's a really tall height. Our soil is really poor and dries out terribly fast and the grass burns up quickly. I always mow our lawn areas in transport height and the grass stays green much longer than if I mow lower. I'd like to get even more height for the really hot and dry times. I've been able to gain some height by over-inflating the tires and it helps some with the burning up but it's a terribly rough ride. We can't just quit mowing altogether when it's hot because there are always some weeds that shoot up and look pretty bad. The grass actually looks really nice with a tall even cut and the taller it is the darker the green.

Missouri Grant said:

Yeah that's a really tall height. Our soil is really poor and dries out terribly fast and the grass burns up quickly. I always mow our lawn areas in transport height and the grass stays green much longer than if I mow lower. I'd like to get even more height for the really hot and dry times. I've been able to gain some height by over-inflating the tires and it helps some with the burning up but it's a terribly rough ride. We can't just quit mowing altogether when it's hot because there are always some weeds that shoot up and look pretty bad. The grass actually looks really nice with a tall even cut and the taller it is the darker the green.

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What type of grass do you have? Also what part of Missouri do you live in? Watering and fertilizing might be a better option than trying to alter your mower. That is unless you have large acrage to mow.

I'm in SW MO and my grass is mostly fescue. We mow 3-4 acres total and that's spread over a few areas so watering really isn't feasible but I can fertilize. This year we've had good rain so the grass still looks nice. I want to try to keep it tall and see if I can make it last a while longer. I've found that a tall mowing height looks just as good--or better--in any conditions than a short one as long as it's even.

Missouri Grant said:

I'm in SW MO and my grass is mostly fescue. We mow 3-4 acres total and that's spread over a few areas so watering really isn't feasible but I can fertilize. This year we've had good rain so the grass still looks nice. I want to try to keep it tall and see if I can make it last a while longer. I've found that a tall mowing height looks just as good--or better--in any conditions than a short one as long as it's even.

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Your mowing Tall fescue and you want to mow it at 6 or 7 inches? Is this for a lawn or are you just cutting it as a field? I ask because you should mow tall fescue at 2 inches during the fall and spring, raise to 3 to 3 1/2 inches in heavy shade and during the heat of the summer months.

Ric said:

Your mowing Tall fescue and you want to mow it at 6 or 7 inches? Is this for a lawn or are you just cutting it as a field? I ask because you should mow tall fescue at 2 inches during the fall and spring, raise to 3 to 3 1/2 inches in heavy shade and during the heat of the summer months.

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I agree with Rick on this one. Fescue does slow its growth in the hot part of summer seeing as how it's a cool season grass, but cutting it 6 to 7 inches seems to be more for a livestock pasture than for a lawn. One problem I see with cutting your lawn that high would be that it would attract rodents and snakes. Not to mention an increase in insects (Mosquitos, ticks, chiggers, etc). If you feel that you need to cut it at that height, then you may be better suited purchasing a tractor with a bush hog. If you want a green lawn throughout the summer months, then you should look into removing the fescue and replacing it with a warm season grass. This would be somewhat costly and very time consuming, but you would probably have better luck keeping your lawn green during summer.

I live in a similar type climate as you (west Tennessee). We are somewhat limited in the types of grass we can grow in our region because our summers are typically hot and dry as well. Grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass don't grow well in our area due to the low amounts of rain fall during summer months. Around here the most common lawn is Bermuda. However, I did have zoysia in the lawn at my old home, and it handled the climate well. It made for a very beautiful lawn.

6 to 7 inches is really high.
We keep ours at 4 inches this time of year and cut every 7 to 10 days.