Rotary Cutter 3 Point or draw hitch on a bush hog.

[What do I know]

Hey all, new here and new at the whole tractor thing. Fast and steep learning curve in progress. Lucky I did not kill my self yet. LOL. So my question is, I am going to buy a brush cutter. Looking at a 7 foot wide 3 point Bush Hog and also a 6.6 foot wide WOODS D80 hitch type cutter. My property is some what hilly and some off camber. Sort of like rolling hill golf course. Will be making walking trails around the perimeter of my fields and towing through the woods to clear trails. Good amount of up and down action on hills. So which one is better, easier to use and some pros and cons of each. Both are used and around the same price. Thanx few picks of my rig.

 

[Areeves08]

My first thought after seeing your tractor is Go Bigger! With the amount of power that you've got on tap, you could power a much larger cutter and cover a lot more ground in the same amount of time. But, that's not your question.

As far as 3pt vs pull-type, the 3pt will typically put a little more strain on the tractor because it is connected to the 3pt arms instead of the drawbar and it will allow you to turn around quicker. The pull-type typically requires less tractor (which is no problem for you) and is less manueverable. If you're cutting in tighter areas, you'll be doing lots of 3-point turns or the PTO shaft and joints will make a racket.

I'd recommend something like a BH 2010/3210 of Woods MDS 10.50. A 12' or 14' cutter would still be an easy task for a 100HP tractor.

 

[joeu235]

From my experience, a draw bar shredder is much better over hilly land

 

[bcp]

Will be making walking trails around the perimeter of my fields and towing through the woods to clear trails.

A 12' or 14' cutter would still be an easy task for a 100HP tractor.

Maybe he needs two cutters.

Bruce

 

[Catchad81]

If you go hitch go wider. Not worth the effort with the 6.6 foot listed. 12' min in my opinion.

 

[What do I know]

Holly smokes a 12 footer!! Thats major size. The place I was looking at has a big 9 foot Bush Hog. They want $5000 Canadian used for it. its a 3 point unit with 2 gear boxes on top and the pto shafts split to power the 2 gear boxes on top of the unit. Very robust looking tool. I dont know if 5k is to much though.

 

[Catchad81]

Holly smokes a 12 footer!! Thats major size. The place I was looking at has a big 9 foot Bush Hog. They want $5000 Canadian used for it. its a 3 point unit with 2 gear boxes on top and the pto shafts split to power the 2 gear boxes on top of the unit. Very robust looking tool. I dont know if 5k is to much though.

You have the tractor for it. Ha. The bushhog price may be good. Depends on the condition it is in. I just priced a bushhog 3308 which is 8' lift type for around 5200.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I'd say get a 10' or 12' pull type. I'd lean towards the 12' because it will be a batwing and will fold up to a much narrower width for trailering or getting through gates, barn doors, etc. The 10' are all fixed deck.

Most people will typically say to get a 3 point cutter, but for hilly land a pull type will allow you to follow the contours of the property much easier. And you can set the height of the pull type cutter with the hydraulic cylinder and forget it. It cuts at the same height regardless of whether the rear of your tractor is going up and/or down.

You can buy some stroke control donuts at your local farm store for the hydraulic cylinder that controls the height of cut of the pull type mower. When you find the height you want to run the cutter at, just extend the cylinder and put enough donuts on it to keep it from retracting past the desired height and you never have to worry about getting the cylinder back to that setting when you lower the cutter after raising it.

People talk about the maneuverability of a 3 point vs. a pull type, but if you can back a trailer up you can back a pull type cutter up.

 

[MF283]

I like the pull type myself, as other's have stated, it's less strain on the tractor & the over all cut is better. In a perfect world, we'll have both with a smaller 3 pt for those real tight areas.

Ronnie

 

[RedNeckRacin]

You guys can keep those 3pt PITA mowers. I mowed for years with a 6' behind a JD 850 and I'd never go back unless it was for a batwing with wide open spaces. I'll take my 3pt everyday of the week. I mow some hills that are steep enough that I would easily roll going across. Yes the 3pt takes some more tractor to handle, but that MX10 (10 footer) and the 5083E is a decent match except in the tallest vegetation I'd take some more HP.

OP, I would look at a twin spindle mower for your tractor. That 7 footer is probably not the best idea and a 6 footer is almost silly. it won't even cover your tire tracks will it? By getting a 100hp tractor, your implements are going to be painful to buy the first time, but they will far and away outlast the smaller tractor supply implements.