BestCo vs Woodmaxx..or ?

[prof fate]

Gonna sell my Bush Hog rotary mower and land pride finish mower and get a flail.

I mow 20 acres of pasture monthly too keep the weeds down, grass down. No sticks or brush.
I mow 3-4 acres weekly finish mower type application. it's not 'the front lawn' so I don't need perfection.

but that adds to 120-140 hours of mowing a year.

I'm poor...a workin' guy so the $4500 landpride, $11,000 italian ones are out of the question.

Titan..seems they have issues, talked to titan and got an idiot - I can read the website myself, not sure why their customer service guy knows less than me, can't tell a 3pt from a qtach flail...

Talked to Bestco - very knowledgable woman there. $1600 delivered with hammer blades.
talked to woodmaxx - avg knowledge guy, had some specs VERY wrong (rotation of the drum/blades being one...), $2600 with Y blades, delivered.

Both take 2-3 weeks. Both have 2 year warranty.

Seems the woodmaxx has a bigger rear roller...and $1000 higher price. Perhaps better bearings, well, they talk them up a lot on their website.


Mowing speed...I want to spend LESS time mower, not more. Seems much of the info i've read has flails going slower than other mowers.
Can't go backwards on any of them (read the manuals). that sucks. Not that I mow in reverse, but do back up at times to get into corners.

I've got 30pto HP...some sites list a max width of 60" or even less, others seem to say 30-45hp with 72" I want a 68-72" size. Will 30hp (PTO) work in the real world?



Which blades are best? of course each company includes different blades and insist their std blades are the best choice for my application....

 

[ericm979]

Agri Supply has 73" Caroni for $2200. They're the only source for parts though. But the situation is the same with Woodmaxx... even though their mower is Chinese made it's designed by/for Woodmaxx. Betstco sells generic China designed mowers but while those often look the same there's a number of factories and each makes changes to the design. So you're probably dependent on Betstco for parts. Betstco has a lot of models listed. The former owner posted here at times but sold out not long ago.

I got to look at a Woodmaxx flail the other day and it looks fairly well made. The grease zerks are all in easy to get to places yet out of the way of damage, which is a problem on some cheaper models. Its got an automatic belt adjuster and a guard for the belt cover. There's a rear door which seems like a very useful feature for working on the blades. This one had Y blades and rakers and cut grass very nicely. Not finish mower nice but better than a rotary. My friend with the Woodmaxx said that Woodmaxx told him the hammers take more HP than the Y blades. I think Y blades can deal with rocks better than hammers. It's interesting that the US manufacturers use Y blades except for orchard mulchers that are made to chew up rows of tree trimmings and are built much heavier than these mowers.

 

[Rebeldad1]

Im looking as well. Bestco you can add 2 more years to the warrantee. You seem pleased with their support as well.
Maybe a good fit.

 

[FredH]

68″ Commercial Centered Flail Mower, FH-FMC175 - Betst Products

If their flail mowers are anything compared to their roto tillers and backhoe's , then this is the route I would go . Their tiller that my brother has
does a tremendous job , something that even my brother's neighbor noticed . Said his garden area never looked that ready for planting . We
had no issue with shipping .

Fred H.

 

[leonz]

Buy John Deere;

They have a network of dealers; look for a used JD25A or JD290 flail mower with the 7 foot cut with side slicer knives which
will let you recut the material you have previously cut to shred it more.

Oh, and by the way you can reverse with a flail mower as you make your first cut knocking it down and then you drive forward to shred it a second time.
The tall brush will take longer to shred so keep that in mind.

If your mowing 5 acre blocks the simplest way it to find the center of the block and then mow in a spiral pattern and you don't have to brake and back up and turn around
constantly.

You will have to spend time doing the trimming on the edges and the corners but you will
spend much less time mowing per 5 acre block.

 

[prof fate]

I chose Woodmaxx flail.

Why?

Well, did lots of research on bestco, woodmaxx and caroni.

I found no issues with bestco, BUT - and it's a big one - I didn't find ANYONE recomending them..."would you buy again?" was always answered with a no. Hmm. Reading their manual it needs greased every 25 hours of use. Not a big deal, but woodmaxx is 250 hours...TEN TIMES more...better bearings? Sealed bearings? Speaks to the longevity expectations I think.

Caroni was a top choice, but they make 4 models (types of blades, plus diff sizes) but I only found agrisupply at the source, and $2150 ish PLUS shipping and TAX...suddenly it's $2700 to my door. And I'm interested in the hyd offset - it's a $1050 option...so now we're at $3800. Ouch. And nobody else imports it? And Agrisupply only imports the ONE model?

Titan - bad reviews all over the place, issues with the roller grease zerks and more. I've bought other titan stuff and been very happy, but when EVERYONE it seems has issues or has to make modifications to a brand new unit...no thanks.

I did price LandPride... $8000. Non-offset. Made by maschio. Too rich for my wallet.

Woodmaxx - seems most if not all owners recommend them, which is good. Didn't find any issues. Lower maintenance on the belts and greasing, better belt tension system than the bestco design.

I mow about 140 hours a year (4 ac finish a week, 20 acres horse pastures about once a month 5 or 6 times a year) so I need something that will be reliable and last. I'm tired pissing with issues on older used equipment, so looking at used/auctions wasn't really a consideration.

They estimate 10-14 days till it arrives. I'll report back on my use of it, compare it to my landpride finish mower and bush hog brush hog as well.

As for folks saying there's only one source for supply/parts/service on machines...well, you might have different dealers but there's only one manufacturer/importer for ANYTHING...so it's sorta a moot point when you think about it.

 

[LVS LLC]

I chose Woodmaxx flail.

Why?

Well, did lots of research on bestco, woodmaxx and caroni.

I found no issues with bestco, BUT - and it's a big one - I didn't find ANYONE recomending them..."would you buy again?" was always answered with a no. Hmm. Reading their manual it needs greased every 25 hours of use. Not a big deal, but woodmaxx is 250 hours...TEN TIMES more...better bearings? Sealed bearings? Speaks to the longevity expectations I think.

Caroni was a top choice, but they make 4 models (types of blades, plus diff sizes) but I only found agrisupply at the source, and $2150 ish PLUS shipping and TAX...suddenly it's $2700 to my door. And I'm interested in the hyd offset - it's a $1050 option...so now we're at $3800. Ouch. And nobody else imports it? And Agrisupply only imports the ONE model?

Titan - bad reviews all over the place, issues with the roller grease zerks and more. I've bought other titan stuff and been very happy, but when EVERYONE it seems has issues or has to make modifications to a brand new unit...no thanks.

I did price LandPride... $8000. Non-offset. Made by maschio. Too rich for my wallet.

Woodmaxx - seems most if not all owners recommend them, which is good. Didn't find any issues. Lower maintenance on the belts and greasing, better belt tension system than the bestco design.

I mow about 140 hours a year (4 ac finish a week, 20 acres horse pastures about once a month 5 or 6 times a year) so I need something that will be reliable and last. I'm tired pissing with issues on older used equipment, so looking at used/auctions wasn't really a consideration.

They estimate 10-14 days till it arrives. I'll report back on my use of it, compare it to my landpride finish mower and bush hog brush hog as well.

As for folks saying there's only one source for supply/parts/service on machines...well, you might have different dealers but there's only one manufacturer/importer for ANYTHING...so it's sorta a moot point when you think about it.

Wanted to check in to see how that Woodmax has held up for you and what model you bought. I am on the cusp of buying one.

 

[sea2summit]

Wanted to check in to see how that Woodmax has held up for you and what model you bought. I am on the cusp of buying one.

Might need to see if you can send him an email, he hasn't been on the forum in over a year.

 

[diesel85]

I've got a Woodmaxx FM62 and I've had mine since 2017 and I use it on a BX2200. I use it a couple times a year to clear tall grass that would otherwise be rough on my finishing mower. No issues to report.

FWIW, I live somewhat close by to Woodmaxx and I picked it up. They gave me a ball cap, t-shirt, and some chips and a drink for my journey back home. Nice folks!