Rotary Cutter Bush Hog 297 or Landpride 2784 and front weights

[xring100]

I'm looking at a Bush Hog 297 or Landpride 2784 need some advice.
seriously considering the dual tail wheel models as they are 8" or so shorter and i think they will probably be less likely to scalp over uneven terrain.

Leaning towards the Bush hog looks like the rear dual tail wheel structure is probably more robust to accidental lateral input than the landpride due to it having a very large gusset. However on the single rear wheel model i'd pick the landpride construction is otherwise similar. I Don't find much negative feedback on either model. Bush hog is $350 - $400 cheaper ~10% I believe both use USA made components but its hard to be sure.

Both look to be well made. Might be a tad overkill for my normal use but ive seen what my neighbors King cutter looks like after 10 years of use (its not pretty).
id rather have 3" capacity and generally only need 1" or less.

I'm assuming At 1350 lbs hanging a total length of 10' i will probably need front weights added if i remove my loader. Anyone have an idea on how much i will need i do not currently have a weight bracket or weights. The king cutter i used was 1/2 the weight and didn't even phase my tractor without the loader it was also shorter.

Any comments would be appreciated

 

[Zebrafive]

I assume the cutter will be used on the Kubota M8540, not the small one pictured with it. I do not think any front weights will be needed when the loader is off.
I think dual tail wheels is a good idea for that wide of a cutter. I bought a used Bush Hog 297. It came with the single tail wheel and front and rear chains. Had I bought new I would have got the dual tail wheels.

 

[Piston]

I second dual tail wheels, I would like them on my 6' cutter and would order a 7' with them.


During, have you looked at the Brown 417 and compared to Bush Hog? I have the older model of the 416 (the 472) and am VERY impressed by it. If I ever buy another cutter it's going to be another Brown. Very heavy duty, well built, and incredibly good people to deal with. They have a great reputation and build some insanely strong cutters, the 400 series is their "lightest duty" cutter, and is still heavier duty than the Bush Hog if I remember correctly.

 

[xring100]

Thanks Zebrafive,
Yes it will be used on the M8540 Not my Neighbor B2400. Thanks for the feedback on the dual tail wheels I think i will definitely go that route on what ever i end up with.

I assume the cutter will be used on the Kubota M8540, not the small one pictured with it. I do not think any front weights will be needed when the loader is off.
I think dual tail wheels is a good idea for that wide of a cutter. I bought a used Bush Hog 297. It came with the single tail wheel and front and rear chains. Had I bought new I would have got the dual tail wheels.

 

[xring100]

Piston, Thanks for the recommendation on the Dual Wheels. I called Brown , got a distributor and found a few dealers i have requested quotes. I like the setup for the top link better on the Brown 417 it looks to be rated at 2" capacity rather than 3" due to the entire deck being made out of 7 gauge metal including the skirts. The landpride and bush hog both use 10 gauge deck and 1/4" side skirts. You are correct that the Brown is built heavier than the other two but i'm concerned that its heavier all around but as heavy where its most needed. The Rear wheels also seem to have a pretty sturdy attachment with gussets on the vertical tabs.

Thanks for turning me onto them the Brown 684 looks like a real monster if I had $7500 to spend i a rotary cutter i would get that one for sure

I second dual tail wheels, I would like them on my 6' cutter and would order a 7' with them.


During, have you looked at the Brown 417 and compared to Bush Hog? I have the older model of the 416 (the 472) and am VERY impressed by it. If I ever buy another cutter it's going to be another Brown. Very heavy duty, well built, and incredibly good people to deal with. They have a great reputation and build some insanely strong cutters, the 400 series is their "lightest duty" cutter, and is still heavier duty than the Bush Hog if I remember correctly.

 

[xring100]

Thanks TripleR,
I mow some areas that are not a whole lot wider than my tractor I looked at a used RCR2596 for a descent deal but the its 8'10" long making it 1'3" narrower than the Dual wheel 7 footer but i think i'm going to run into width issues if i go any wider than the 7 foot. The other concern is that the 2596 is only 1" capacity. I'm not sure i really want to step down to a 6' cutter if i had a M7040 instead i'd buy a 6 footer for sure, like the RCR2672.
What would your thoughts be on putting a 6 footer on your M8540 I have 18.4" R30's and the overall width is about 81"-82"?

The 6 footers run about $1000 cheaper than the 7's Thanks for the comment about the weights too.

Not what you are looking for, but this works well for us. I have found little to no use for a 7' cutter as it is too big, in my opinion for a single spindle, lot of load on PTO and kind of awkward, but would go with dual tail wheels if I had to have one. If I "needed a 7', I would just go on up to a dual spindle 8'. The dual spindle mounted won't stick back as far as a 7' single spindle.

Land Pride makes a couple of nice models which should work on your 8540.

We used mounted and pull type cutters over the years and to get the cutting capacity, coverage we need, we went with a Woods DS1260 10'6" cut as it is easy to pull on hills and can be easily pulled with FEL or front weights. We still have a mounted Woods 121, but its cutting capacity is only about 1 1/2".

As to weight, I pull a Land Pride RCR2672 with my L5740 and on level ground without a FEL or weights, so by extrapolation, I see no problem pulling a 7' on your 8540 without weights.

I spent a little time researching, but I am sure you will find more checking all the various brands, I like Woods, Land Pride and Bush Hog, no experience with other brands so I can't really say.

 

[xring100]

Just noticed that the 7' dual tail wheel Bush Hog 297 is actually shorter than the RCR2672 you pull behind the L 121" versus 126"
Not sure if Bush Hog is including tail wheel length or not

 

[TripleR]

Thanks TripleR,
I mow some areas that are not a whole lot wider than my tractor I looked at a used RCR2596 for a descent deal but the its 8'10" long making it 1'3" narrower than the Dual wheel 7 footer but i think i'm going to run into width issues if i go any wider than the 7 foot. The other concern is that the 2596 is only 1" capacity. I'm not sure i really want to step down to a 6' cutter if i had a M7040 instead i'd buy a 6 footer for sure, like the RCR2672.
What would your thoughts be on putting a 6 footer on your M8540 I have 18.4" R30's and the overall width is about 81"-82"?

The 6 footers run about $1000 cheaper than the 7's Thanks for the comment about the weights too.

No, I wouldn't want to go down to a 6' on our M8540 either and it seems like for your needs a 7' may be the best way to go and I definitely would go with a dual tail wheel. My 6' cutter will even occasionally dig into the ground on a turn on uneven ground if I am cutting very low.

I can sure identify mowing where your tractor barely fits, why we own several tractors. In some places a 10' won't fit and if we only use a 6'-7' we will spend WAY too much time mowing. We also got tired of running equipment between farms so much, no way out totally, but cut it down quite a bit.

Good luck.

 

[TripleR]

Just noticed that the 7' dual tail wheel Bush Hog 297 is actually shorter than the RCR2672 you pull behind the L 121" versus 126"

Yep, on another thread I mentioned how long a single vs dual tail wheel stuck out in the back, but turns easier in tight woods if you are just weaving around. In a turn those wheels sticking out to the side catch on stuff easier than the trailing single wheel, I guess there is no such thing as a free lunch. The Woods 6' single tail wheel cutters are shorter than LP, as LP really sticks out there.

The Woods BB720X is only 116".

 

[Piston]

Dave,
I believe any of the manufacturers mentioned would serve you very well, and I'm sure you'll be happy with whichever one you get. I can only give you good experience with Brown as that is what I have experience with. About the only thing I do NOT do with it is field mowing, although I've done a few small ones and been really happy with the results. Most of what I "mow" is small saplings and undergrowth between trees. I routinely bang into trees/stumps mow over rocks, and occasionally do some light grading with the rotary cutter, not on purpose :laughing:

Don't worry too much about the ratings that Brown gives. I looked into that quite a bit when I started searching for a HD cutter, and found that they are very "under rated". They are certainly every bit as capable as the other two your looking into. The friend I bought my 472 from also has a Bush Hog 287, he sold the Brown because he bought a bigger tractor and the Brown didn't cover his wheelbase anymore. He said he liked the Brown better and if he was buying new, he'd go with the 7' Brown over the BH, but when I asked him "why" he liked it better, he couldn't really give a convincing argument.

If I were buying brand new, I'd go with Brown because I've had great experience with them. I also really like their customer service, not that I've needed it for problems, but I've called numerous times with questions and they've been overly helpful. I would probably be just as happy if I had another manufactures heavy duty cutter, and would recommend it just as much. Brown is certainly "up there" as an option with the big names.

Here are a couple threads I started regarding them.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/258488-brown-472-brush-cutter-max.html
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/282786-brown-manufacturing-rotary-cutter-heavy.html A couple pics in this one..
Rotary Cutter Heavy Duty Rotary Mower options on the used market???

I'm sure you've read many posts by "farmwithjunk" when he was an active poster, and he would always recommend Bush Hog cutters as he had great experience with them (although stay away from the lighter duty Squealer models as you know). The only other manufacturer he recommended was Brown, and even stated that for the most part, they are more heavy duty than you really need.

I think the most important thing is that your going with a heavy duty mower, rather than the manufacturer.

Triple R has a really good point about the single tail wheel, although it sticks out further behind, it often makes turning in the woods easier, because the dual tail wheel isn't sticking out to the side. This is the one disadvantage I could see with the dual tail wheel, although I would still go dual with a 7' cutter, but this is certainly something to consider.

 

[xring100]

Well thanks Piston and TripleR I was almost set on the dual tail wheel idea until you mentioned the fact that they stick off to the side farther and create a bigger arc. While my ground is not level its pretty smooth meaning i don't have many rough transitions to catch the singular wheel but about 50% of what i mow now on my own property is weaving in and around trees. I'm always conscious of the tail wheel on my buddies using his JD2040.

Piston. I called one dealer on the Brown and was quoted $4600 because they didn't have one and the distributor in OHIO did not have one so it would have been special order and the freight was the killer part. He could not even come close to the $4200 list price. The High Volume brown dealer the distributor told me about is about 125 mile round trip I tried them but they were in some sales training class today.

I can go pick up a single wheel bush hog or land pride from Rosy Brothers as they have them in stock. The woods dealer "Hodges" 5 miles from my house will never ever get my business after dealing with them once i was treated poorly and then given an price several hundred dollars higher than Rosy Brothers then he got up set when i told him i was not interested in list price and walked out

 

[Piston]

Dave,
That sounds high, I'd forgo the Brown at that price too. Seems like it's down to the BH or LP, I'm sure you can't go wrong with either. The only thing I can think of, is the BH red would match your Split Fire.

Keep us posted!

 

[Bass Ackwards]

Dave, if I can chime in a little, one thing to keep in mind with Bush Hog is you can still get parts for most models that are 20 to 30 years old.
That's why I went with BH brand, and I suspect they will have parts for my 297 long down the road. By the way my 297 has the single tailwheel and it works great behind my M7040. I too was concerned about the single tailwheel when I first bought it but now that is laid to rest.


Bass

 

[Zebrafive]

Just noticed that the 7' dual tail wheel Bush Hog 297 is actually shorter than the RCR2672 you pull behind the L 121" versus 126"
Not sure if Bush Hog is including tail wheel length or not

I have a BH 297 single tail wheel. LMK if you need any measurements

 

[Zebrafive]

If you buy the BH and dual tail wheels and do not like them. I'll swap you my single tail wheel parts. Plus you can keep one of the new wheels.

 

[8404]

My dealer sells both the Bush Hog and the Land Pride. so I picked the Land Pride, After some use I found two things I like better on the Bush Hog style. 1 the Bush Hog used a round stump Jumper, Land Pride 2784 uses a oval one. most oval style jumper will get a huge dent at some point where the round ones are nearly invinsable. 2 the Rear chain set up on the Bush Hog is better IMO. it lets more cutting exit the cutter faster.
But I feel the land Pride will be just fine for years who know if I had bought the Bush Hog I might have found something I didn't like too.

 

[TripleR]

My dealer sells both the Bush Hog and the Land Pride. so I picked the Land Pride, After some use I found two things I like better on the Bush Hog style. 1 the Bush Hog used a round stump Jumper, Land Pride 2784 uses a oval one. most oval style jumper will get a huge dent at some point where the round ones are nearly invinsable. 2 the Rear chain set up on the Bush Hog is better IMO. it lets more cutting exit the cutter faster.
But I feel the land Pride will be just fine for years who know if I had bought the Bush Hog I might have found something I didn't like too.



View attachment 328164

I "think" mine has the round stump jumper but really haven't looked, no problems however in several years of HEAVY use. I don't care for the chains on that model either, I like the ones on my RCR2672 though.

 

[xring100]

Well i Stopped and looked at very old and well abused woods 7 footer today In Gaines after much deliberation I decided to go with a Bush Hog I ordered an Orange BH27 Single Tail Wheel bassed on TripleR's and Bass Ackwards feedback of mowing in the woods. This is a new for this year replaces the 297 It looks like they updated the Tail Wheel assemblies but the rest of the machine looks to be very similar. Theres a chance it might be built next week if not it will be built the week of august 5th

Thanks for everyone's feed back

Dave,
That sounds high, I'd forgo the Brown at that price too. Seems like it's down to the BH or LP, I'm sure you can't go wrong with either. The only thing I can think of, is the BH red would match your Split Fire.

Keep us posted!

Piston, I heard back from the second Jansons in Reese MI his price was also $4500 something he said the big problem is the freight which is the same story i got from the local dealer since the distributor did not have any in stock it would have had to go out by itself right from brown. With regards to the Split Fire being Red I picked up a Quart of the Kubota Bright Orange II from the dealer while i was there today and plan on resolving that issue if it ever cools off. I'm going to call split fire and see if i can order Black decals instead of the yellow ones. I hope going orange does not effect the overall performance of the split fire :laughing: because its a real monster right now.

Dave, if I can chime in a little, one thing to keep in mind with Bush Hog is you can still get parts for most models that are 20 to 30 years old.
That's why I went with BH brand, and I suspect they will have parts for my 297 long down the road. By the way my 297 has the single tailwheel and it works great behind my M7040. I too was concerned about the single tailwheel when I first bought it but now that is laid to rest.
Bass

Thanks Bass,
Glad to hear that the single tail wheel works good. Joe at Flint Newholland sells both landpride and Bush Hog he sells mostly smaller land prides, but the municipality's and business generally want the Bush Hog because of the the parts availability and past experiences with them.

If you buy the BH and dual tail wheels and do not like them. I'll swap you my single tail wheel parts. Plus you can keep one of the new wheels.

Sorry, ZebraFive decided to get the single tail wheel hopefully i don't regret this decision but it sounds like others get buy okay. Thanks again for your input

My dealer sells both the Bush Hog and the Land Pride. so I picked the Land Pride, After some use I found two things I like better on the Bush Hog style. 1 the Bush Hog used a round stump Jumper, Land Pride 2784 uses a oval one. most oval style jumper will get a huge dent at some point where the round ones are nearly invinsable. 2 the Rear chain set up on the Bush Hog is better IMO. it lets more cutting exit the cutter faster.
But I feel the land Pride will be just fine for years who know if I had bought the Bush Hog I might have found something I didn't like too.

View attachment 328164

After looking at both i can see strengths and weaknesses in both designs and i think either model will easily outlast me.

 

[xring100]

I "think" mine has the round stump jumper but really haven't looked, no problems however in several years of HEAVY use. I don't care for the chains on that model either, I like the ones on my RCR2672 though.

Looks like the new Bush Hog BH27 has a similar tail wheel setup to the landpride

 

[TripleR]

Looks like the new Bush Hog BH27 has a similar tail wheel setup to the landpride

Sure do look alike.