Rotary Cutter Which Rotary Cutter

[davidcbaker]

I'm getting a Kubota M5-111 and need your help with which model of Land Price brush hog to get. We have 61 acres, of which maybe 40 needs to be mowed. Dealer spec'd a RCR2596, but when I read about that particular model, it doesn't seem substantial enough to me. I don't want to buy another one in a couple of years. Land is hilly, sloped, and parts are in the 15 or 20-degree range. I'll use it just for this property. I'd appreciate your Land Pride model suggestions. Thanks!

 

[mddorange]

:welcome:
Welcome to the TBN forum David. We are glad that you joined and You came to the right place to get answers.

If all you are going to do is just cut grass then it would probably be ok. If you are going to cut anything bigger like brush or even small trees, then I would recommend the 3096 and if you really want ruggedness then go for the 3696.

 

[TripleR]

Pretty much what midorange said, only I'd go for a 10'. We use a Woods DS1260 behind our M8540HDC and really like it's size.

 

[davidcbaker]

:welcome:
Welcome to the TBN forum David. We are glad that you joined and You came to the right place to get answers.

If all you are going to do is just cut grass then it would probably be ok. If you are going to cut anything bigger like brush or even small trees, then I would recommend the 3096 and if you really want ruggedness then go for the 3696.

Yes, I should have mentioned that what alarmed me is that it only handled up to 1" stuff. Thanks for the welcome!

 

[davidcbaker]

Pretty much what midorange said, only I'd go for a 10'. We use a Woods DS1260 behind our M8540HDC and really like it's size.

How would you compare the quality of Woods vs. Land Price? Thanks

 

[TripleR]

How would you compare the quality of Woods vs. Land Price? Thanks

Quality is the same from what I've seen, but I'd give the Woods the edge in design. Several years ago Woods had problems with their gear boxes, but that's been remedied. Just figure what model you need and look at the equivalent competition in person if you can, if not at least study the brochures. Woods support and parts in my are are terrible so I went with LP on my last purchase.

 

[LD1]

Is there a reason you are only looking at an 8' cutter for a M5?

Why such large tractor. Do you have alot of other stuff that warrant it? A much smaller tractor handles an 8' mower.

If thick dense brush, 10-12' cutter.

If just pasture grasses....I'd be looking for 15' batwing

 

[davidcbaker]

Is there a reason you are only looking at an 8' cutter for a M5?

Why such large tractor. Do you have alot of other stuff that warrant it? A much smaller tractor handles an 8' mower.

If thick dense brush, 10-12' cutter.

If just pasture grasses....I'd be looking for 15' batwing

Good questions. I was going to go with the a 7060, but decided that I never wanted to buy another tractor in case we ever got into hay. The only reason for not looking at a batwing was cost, but when I think about the value of my time over 10-20 years, I am seriously going to consider a bat wing. If I understand correctly, it'll handle less than flat ground better, too.

 

[LD1]

If I understand correctly, it'll handle less than flat ground better, too.

Yes, because a 15' batwing is basically 3 6' cutter decks (with overlap) that can all follow contours. You might not be able to breeze along fast....but you wont need to either.

An 8' cutter is gonna cut about 7.5' per pass (accounting for inefficiency and overlap). So if you cut your travel speed in half......you will still be mowing the same number of acres per hour...but a much smoother ride.

But in reality.....it will be faster. Because there will be many times with the 8' cutter (or even 10') that you will have a surplus of power. But be forced to go slower for other reasons. Like mowing around things, terrain, ground too rough.

With the 15' cutter....more times power will be the limiting factor.

When I am mowing......The ONLY reason I want to slow down is because the need for more power. That is the ONLY way I know I am maximizing the usage of my horsepower. If I have to slow down for any other reason.....I am wasting the HP I have at my disposal.

 

[davidcbaker]

With the 15' cutter....more times power will be the limiting factor.

If I understand correctly, my M5-111 will have plenty of power...even on a slight slope. When I look at the options on the Land Pride website, it seems like the RC3615 or RC3715. Still trying to understand the difference between the RC and RCM models. I feel kind of stupid--so much to learn.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Like LD said go with a 15 footer with that tractor. I pull a nice Brown 6 footer and plan on getting a 10 footer this season. It takes me close to 8 hours cutting the area and it's tiring.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Yes on wider, yes on heavier duty, yes on batwing if it's an option. And if it were my $$ I'd be looking more to Woods than LP.

Mowing 40 acres will get really old, really fast. You want the fastest mowing setup you can reasonably get.

 

[davidcbaker]

Yes on wider, yes on heavier duty, yes on batwing if it's an option. And if it were my $$ I'd be looking more to Woods than LP.

Mowing 40 acres will get really old, really fast. You want the fastest mowing setup you can reasonably get.

Off to the dealer.

 

[BufordBoone]

David,

I began to go down the M5111 and 15' batwing road but am thinking I'll go with a M7060 and 12' batwing instead.

I have 3 large fields to cut but two of them are in CRP and I typically only cut them two times per year. The way I figure it, going with a 12' instead of a 15' will probably cost me less than 5 hours/year of time. Since I'll be in a cab, that is not a big deal. I do admit that I'll probably miss the open station tractor one or two days of the year. The other days I'll be happy to have the cab.

Edited to add that my Wife's L5740 is capable of running the 12' batwing but not the 10' Bush Hog offset we currently have. The 7060 will run the Bush Hog. Therefore, when we need to cut the big fields, we will be cutting (combined) a little less than 22' per pass. Since it is cut every year, it has no substantial brush.

The M7060 saves me about $18K over the M5111. The 12' batwing saves me about $5k. I plan to use the savings to add top and tilt to the M7060.

You could easily use the savings to purchase a heavy duty brush cutter. The thing about heavy brush is that you usually only cut it once. Or, you only cut it once every 5 or more years. I'd much prefer having a 12' batwing and 6' cutter capable of cutting 3" material than a 15' batwing.

That M5111 is a sweet tractor. The 7060 is just a better fit for me.

Lots of options.

Good luck.

 

[TripleR]

Look closely at your land before springing for a bat-wing. We have a Woods 15ft at our disposal our renter uses. We bought the farm from him and there are several areas he simply can't get to and he can really drive a tractor. Tried an 8' then bought the 10' as it turned out to be the best compromise for speed, cost, maintenance and storage.

 

[davidcbaker]

David,

I began to go down the M5111 and 15' batwing road but am thinking I'll go with a M7060 and 12' batwing instead.

I have 3 large fields to cut but two of them are in CRP and I typically only cut them two times per year. The way I figure it, going with a 12' instead of a 15' will probably cost me less than 5 hours/year of time. Since I'll be in a cab, that is not a big deal. I do admit that I'll probably miss the open station tractor one or two days of the year. The other days I'll be happy to have the cab.

Edited to add that my Wife's L5740 is capable of running the 12' batwing but not the 10' Bush Hog offset we currently have. The 7060 will run the Bush Hog. Therefore, when we need to cut the big fields, we will be cutting (combined) a little less than 22' per pass. Since it is cut every year, it has no substantial brush.

The M7060 saves me about $18K over the M5111. The 12' batwing saves me about $5k. I plan to use the savings to add top and tilt to the M7060.

You could easily use the savings to purchase a heavy duty brush cutter. The thing about heavy brush is that you usually only cut it once. Or, you only cut it once every 5 or more years. I'd much prefer having a 12' batwing and 6' cutter capable of cutting 3" material than a 15' batwing.

That M5111 is a sweet tractor. The 7060 is just a better fit for me.

Lots of options.

Good luck.

Good stuff, sir. I just completed the paperwork this morning. I went with the Land Price 3615 15' batwing. With foam-filled airplane tires, it came to $14,000. I have a full time job, so I think I'll be glad for the time savings.

 

[davidcbaker]

Look closely at your land before springing for a bat-wing. We have a Woods 15ft at our disposal our renter uses. We bought the farm from him and there are several areas he simply can't get to and he can really drive a tractor. Tried an 8' then bought the 10' as it turned out to be the best compromise for speed, cost, maintenance and storage.

By "can't get to" do you mean the rig is too wide? There might be a few places where that's the case. With the purchase of the place, I negotiated the inclusion (no extra cost--and almost an afterthought for them) a Kubota L3130 and an off-brand brush hog. I can probably handle those few places with that...or buy a cheap, used one to pull behind the M5.

 

[Timm250]

If I understand correctly, my M5-111 will have plenty of power...even on a slight slope. When I look at the options on the Land Pride website, it seems like the RC3615 or RC3715. Still trying to understand the difference between the RC and RCM models. I feel kind of stupid--so much to learn.

I think RCM is a 1000 PTO. The RC is 540.

 

[ovrszd]

Good stuff, sir. I just completed the paperwork this morning. I went with the Land Price 3615 15' batwing. With foam-filled airplane tires, it came to $14,000. I have a full time job, so I think I'll be glad for the time savings.

Congrats and welcome to TBN. The M5111 will run circles around my M9540. I think my M9540 would handle a 15' batwing. You'll have no problems at all.

Please post pictures when you get everything. I'm kinda in heat over an M5. Just trying to control myself. You may push me over the edge. But I won't hold that against you.

 

[TripleR]

By "can't get to" do you mean the rig is too wide? There might be a few places where that's the case. With the purchase of the place, I negotiated the inclusion (no extra cost--and almost an afterthought for them) a Kubota L3130 and an off-brand brush hog. I can probably handle those few places with that...or buy a cheap, used one to pull behind the M5.

Too wide in some, can't make some of the turns-too long. A real bear to back on some of our levies. On one of our farms, the 10' is borderline, so I just do it with my L5740HSTC and RCR2672, also have a 5' cutter on an old Ford and 4' LP on my BX2660.