Brad is now driving a flatbed semi; it pays much better than farming. Brad bought two 492 mowers a couple years ago, and we finally swapped parts to make on good one. A 9ft. cut is hard to maneuver down the road, but sure makes cutting faster when two are cutting together. Brad's mower has standard sickle guards, mine has stub guards. Two mowers still aren't fast enough to keep ahead of the tedder. Somehow, through the dry spells, I managed to make more hay than ever this year, but I think it's because I had the time to pick up more backyards to mow. Can't make hay when it rains, that's why I like drought.