Customer Reviews for Swisher 52 in. 17.5-HP Briggs & Stratton Electric Start Rough Cut Trail Commercial Tow Behind Mower

Mower tows very easy. Have only used it once, but it performed flawlessly. Don't know what else to say

This mower is big and sturdy. Very well built and tough enough to handle pounding over rough fields like I have. I like how you can back it into brushy areas or under low-hanging branches without having to duck down or risk injury. As advertised, it does not do a real clean finished cut like you need on a nice lawn. That is what a regular mower is for. This does the heavy work. I really like the electric start. Engine starts easy and runs great.

This is quite a piece of machinery. Setup was easy. Add some gas (comes with oil installed), a battery and start it up. This is a rough cut mower so don't expect the nice smooth surface of a lawn but it does a good job cutting a meadow and all the stuff that grows in one. I probably won't be making trails through the woods but the machine is a brute and I have no doubt it will if I decide to. Changing the mower cut height looks like a major ordeal - nothing automatic here - jack it up; unbolt the front unit holding the wheels; put the bolts in different holes to lower or raise; reinstall the bolts and repeat in the back remembering all the time this machine weighs over 700 pounds. It pulls easy behind my 425cc Polaris 4-wheeler. Top recommended speed of 5 miles an hour allows for a good cut. Oh yes, keep the kids away. This machine is closer to a piece of farm machinery than it is a lawn mower. It does as expected so I'm happy. I rated features as good as, other than height adjustment which would be major, there isn't much more to offer than all ready offered. Ease of use is only good because it is so big and heavy but that adds to the quality and durability of the machine so I'll take it as is and, it's a good value.

... until catastrophic failure. This cutter was difficult to offload as it would barely fit on the lift gate but we got it done. Un-crating and assembly are easy and once we added gas and a battery it started-up right away. We broke-in the belt for 10 minutes and started mowing. After 20 minutes the cutter stopped mowing and rattled loudly. I expected a broken belt (after reading other reviews) but instead found that the Blade Driver Housing had completely sheared-off. We went back where we mowed and saw 1 rock that was chipped and some branches about 1/2" thick. The rest was grass and weeds. This is an area I mowed several times before with a zero-turn finish mower so this expensive and tough-looking trail cutter should never have failed so badly in such a short time! It is a major task to replace the Housing or whole Blade Driver Kit and it gets tricky without the correct torque wrench as applying the wrong torque could cease-up the blades and destroy the deck. And then it fails again after 20 minutes?? We are sending this product back to Swisher! I ended-up renting a tractor/shredder combo and finished the 15-acre job between that and the zero turn. Home Depot Customer Service was great and instructed me well on how to return it. Thank you HD for being loyal to your loyal customers!

Mower was really well crated and shipped to my house. Have used it a couple of times and it performs better than expected. Really like the 2 inch hitch and no flat tires.

Free delivery to the front lawn was a plus. Removing the crate required a crow and hammer. Remember to purchase and charge the battery before delivery. Oil is already installed. Gas is not.

I bought this 1 year ago and used it twice on my 100AC hunting property. I fell it is large, heavy but not built as tough as a brush hog. I must say I regret not having bought an old tractor and brush hog, but I already have a UTV so this is much less $. I am so glad I bought this one since it is the largest and has 4 wheels, which is a huge advantage. DO NOT GO SMALLER. Buy twice the machine you need. These machines are built to take abuse. If you do get this go online and buy a kevlar belt - they are MUCH better than the cheap rubber belt that comes with this. Recently I hit one large stone and the bearings all fell out of it. Now I am ordering a $100 part to arrive to fix it. Overall this is a great purchase. It is just not a brush hog.

Pulls a little rough thru tall grass, but by going slow I was able to cut 6 ft tall meadow grass. Engine seemed borderline but did a good job. 3 adjustment levels for cutting.

This is the second Trailcutter I have owned. The first was used 15yrs ago. I thought it was time to upgrade. I did not upgrade. The 20yr old mower worked better than the new one. I know it is not a finish mower, but it will not cut as well as the old one. I don't think the engine runs fast enough to use the swing out blades. Very difficult to adjust mow height.

I couldn't find any customer reviews anywhere on this mower but I liked the fact it had airless tires (no flats) and a 2 in. ball hitch. When reading reviews of other models the only complaints I read were about tires going flat and the hitches were cheap and flimsy pin hitches. Swisher solved the problem with this machine. I just used it for the first time today. It is a beast and ripped through 2 inch saplings with no problem. I pull it behind my Kubota RTV 500 and had no issues taking it into thick overgrown woods to clear the underbrush and saplings. It helps that my Kubota is the same width as the mower so I know if I can drive between two large trees the mower will follow without fail. I can't give any review on durability since I just got it but considering what I put it through today I don't think there will be any issues in that category. One point to note is the mower does not come with a battery but takes a standard U1 battery so if you order one go get yourself a battery. Can't wait to get back out tomorrow and clear more undergrowth. This was also the best price I could find anywhere on this product. Well worth it.