There were several mowers developed for the early jeep. Some mounted on the side and some in the rear. Here are the ones I have so far:
1. NEWTON MOWER: Built by H. G. & S. Manufacturing out of Wisconsin, this mower relied on the Monroe Lift for mounting. Skilled users could attach this mower in only one minute, according the brochure.
2. NEWGREN POWER MOWER: Made by Newgren Company out of Butler, Pennsylvania. It mounted on the rear. (Later, this was marketed as the ‘Jeep” Farm Mower)
3. TURNER MOWER: Turner of Indiana had a front end mounted mower, the first jeep mower ever according to the brochure. It’s powered off a front PTO.
4. K and K MOWER: K AND K Manufacturing built a side mounted mower. The company was located in Denver. It was powered by a V-belt that runs off the PTO.
5. GRADE A MOWER: A rare Grade A Equipment mower brochure and attachment. The owner uses the left hand to operate it. You can see the long lever that reaches to a chain on the mower.
Over the years I’ve found and sold two of these shown, The K&K Jeep Mower, and The Newton Jeep Mower. Both are in good restorers hands. I expect The Newton (Only 2 known) to be on a Jeep displayed at the 2017 Great Willys Picnic June 11 at Kempton, PA. Plan to be there to see more Willys Special Equipment in a one day event AND IT”S ALL FREE. The K&K (Several have survived) will likely appear on a tricked out CJ3A at The Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts Show in Stowe on Aug. 10-13, 2017.
As you can well imagine, conditions had to be excellent for all that iron connected to our CJ’s to function well. One tid bit I especially remember from The K&K Instruction Booklet concerned a built – in Break Away Feature. If the cutter bar hit an obstruction, the bar would disconnect and move backwards. At the same time a switch opened to cut off the ignition. The Instructions said to “Put the Jeep in Reverse and Engage the Starter to Bring the Parts Back Together.” Now, we all know the 6V starter on our CJ’s had all it could do for its regular duty, say nothing about this activity. Thanks Dave for a nice feature today.
Great info Glenn! I should have mentioned that the Grade A mower at the bottom of the post will be undergoing restoration soon. When we have some updated photos I will share them.
– Dave
This is a great post Dave. Would love to see more of this stuff. There were so many different accessories for the Jeeps that it would be hard to see them all. Thats one of the reasons the literature is so interesting. It allows us to see 70 years after the fact what was available for these all-purpose work vehicles. Many would still be useful today if they were still manufactured.
Thanks Lew, I’ve got quite a few early brochures to come. I organize them into posts as I can. I agree that they are fascinating.
I’ve only ever seen the K and K and the newton.
Hi there
Is there anything like this selling now for more modern Jeeps ? I live in a underdeveloped country where we could use things like these Thank you
Hi Javier,
I think the closest thing you’ll find something like this King Kutter Rotary mowers or similar types of mowers: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200325883_200325883
However, every once in a while one of the older mowers shown in the brochures above comes up for sale.
– Dave
I have a Turner mower in great condition. Where is the best place to advertise this mower for sale?
Jason,
Do you still have that mower? I would like it if you are looking to part with it.