Biggest bush hog for L5740?

[JAMESFNP]

I thought it was about time I posted as I have been lurking here since 2004.

I currently have a New Holland TC45DA with 17LA loader. This past summer was about all I could stand without a cab. I'm tired of being swarmed by angry hornets, wasps, and other biting insects. The wife after last summer of having allergies from the dust and pollen as well has decided that a cab tractor isn't a bad ideal either.

We have 123 acres. In 2004, we planted about 40 acres in pine. We roughly have about 3-4 acres that we finish mow. Also, we have about 20 acres that we keep bush hogged. The rest is in hardwoods. We have to trailer the current tractor to my parent’s house to till their garden at the beggining of planting season. Based on our needs we need something that is easy to trailer and a HST. This knocks out that M9540 I've been wanting. We've decided on the Kubota L5740.

I'm having trouble deciding on which bush hog to choose. I'd really like to go up from the Woods BB72 that I've got. Our land is mostly flat and what isn't ; you couldn't mow anyway. I think I could easily go up to a Land Pride RCR3596 (8 foot 3pt lift) based on Land Pride's posted specs on this cutter. It weighs about 1613 lbs and has a pto hp rating of 50-120. The other option is to go with a pull version. I might could evern get by with a 10 foot pull, but not sure on this. All of the Kubota dealers in our area carry bush hog and/or Land Pride. I know I'll have to keep the loader on the front for weight when bush hogging.

What do you all think? I don't want to go too big on the L5740. I'm also going to trade in my Woods RD84 for the Land Pride FDR35 90" rear discharge mower.

I'm just waiting on several of the dealerships to come out in our area next week and see what type of trade they are going to give me on my TC45DA with supersteer, 17LA loader with quick attach and HD bucket with replaceable cutting edge. Tractor has 200 hours and is in excellent condition. It's paid for and if it wasn't for them darn allergies and biting insects I'd just keep it.

Here's a pic of the current toy.

 

[Bob_Young]

I've got a lot of pine planted too, James, maybe 20 acres....and I need to mow between them. I've pretty much dismissed any thought of a cab tractor. It would take too much beating from the limbs. I get in enough trouble already with the ROPS.

I pull a Woods BB720 behind either a Ford 4000 or the L4300. It's a bit heavy for the Kubota. Front wheels would be off the ground for sure when lifting were it not for the FEL. Ask you dealer to show your a manual for the L5740. There's a table in there showing max implement sizes for the tractor. My dealer warned me that the BB720 was well above the max bushhog weight for the L4300. He was right; it's workable on even terrain, but not ideal. I've tried to conform the Kubota's implement table on subsequent purchases.

I've kind of dismissed thought of the pull type hogs as well. There's some backing involved around the trees and the 3 pt. rig is easier to handle.
Bob

 

[thunderworks]

I have a 10' pull type Bush Hog that I use with my 4610 Ford. I also have a 7' 3pt mower that I use with my L5030 Kubota. My gut tells me that a wide pull mower would be a pain in the butte around the trees, and that your bigger hp Kubota could handle the gear box and weight of a 8' 3pt mower. My L5030 handles the 7' well and if your machine is rated to lift the weight of the 8', I'm sure it would work fine. I leave the loader arms on my Kubota, but remove the bucket when I mow. The 3pt mounted mowers are much easier to handle around trees, obstacles etc. than the pull type.

 

[rbargeron]

James - welcome to "posting" at TBN.
I was wondering if you have looked at the Woods RM-990 4-castor mower. I believe it is a bit heavier duty than the Land Pride and it may do both jobs for you, the finish mowing and the field hogging. I have used an RM-990 for maintaining several fields for years now. By adjusting the cut-height to about 7" it does a very nice job on lumpy open land - makes it look much smoother than it is. I have found that my Brown 472 Rotary just sits most years unless there is a "new" unreclaimed lot to cut. The RM-990 has swing-back blades so it stands up to tough conditions. Four castors let the deck follow the land, instead of the rear tractor axle. Lower link connectors can pivot - allowing the float of a pull-type but with the control of a hitch-mount. It weighs about 1200lb but it is short, well within the comfort zone for a 5740. As others have said, the 5740 will handle more mower than you may want, especially trimming between trees. Take care, Dick B

 

[teg]

New Holland Compact Tractor Cab Enclosure from Sims Cab Depot - Models: TC35, TC35A, TC35D, TC35DA, TC40, TC40A, TC40D, TC40DA, TC45, TC45A, TC45D, and TC45DA

Add a cab to what you have???

 

[Glowplug]

Welcome to TBN!! That seems a little strange to say when you've been lurking around for three years.

Ask the dealer to show you that table of Implement Limitations in the manual. It will list the maximum recommended size 3ph rotary cutter in terms of both weight and width. I believe those listings are somewhat of a conservative estimate though. They're well within the safety margin. So you could probably go a little bit over if necessary. For example, for my M7040 it recommends a maximum of 84" and 1200 lbs. even though it has a lift capacity of 4189 lbs at the lower links, 3307 lbs. 24" behind lift point. If I were you though I wouldn't go above 84". Usually the cutters up to 84" have a single spindle and those 96" and over have multiple spindles. Multiple spindles and gearboxes leads to more weight, more maintenance, and especially more cost. So, unless you want a drawbar pull-type mower I'd stick with 72" or 84" if it were me. Good luck!

 

[JAMESFNP]

New Holland Compact Tractor Cab Enclosure from Sims Cab Depot - Models: TC35, TC35A, TC35D, TC35DA, TC40, TC40A, TC40D, TC40DA, TC45, TC45A, TC45D, and TC45DA

Add a cab to what you have???

I really would like to go bigger in the pto hp area, but I'll give it some thought. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[JAMESFNP]

I've got a lot of pine planted too, James, maybe 20 acres....and I need to mow between them. I've pretty much dismissed any thought of a cab tractor. It would take too much beating from the limbs. I get in enough trouble already with the ROPS.

I pull a Woods BB720 behind either a Ford 4000 or the L4300. It's a bit heavy for the Kubota. Front wheels would be off the ground for sure when lifting were it not for the FEL. Ask you dealer to show your a manual for the L5740. There's a table in there showing max implement sizes for the tractor. My dealer warned me that the BB720 was well above the max bushhog weight for the L4300. He was right; it's workable on even terrain, but not ideal. I've tried to conform the Kubota's implement table on subsequent purchases.

I've kind of dismissed thought of the pull type hogs as well. There's some backing involved around the trees and the 3 pt. rig is easier to handle.
Bob

Our pine is growing so well that after this year we will not be able to get the current tractor down the rows. Your right about backing a pull type though. My wife does great with the 3pt hog, but I'm not sure how she would do with a pull type.

 

[JAMESFNP]

Welcome to TBN!! That seems a little strange to say when you've been lurking around for three years.

Ask the dealer to show you that table of Implement Limitations in the manual. It will list the maximum recommended size 3ph rotary cutter in terms of both weight and width. I believe those listings are somewhat of a conservative estimate though. They're well within the safety margin. So you could probably go a little bit over if necessary. For example, for my M7040 it recommends a maximum of 84" and 1200 lbs. even though it has a lift capacity of 4189 lbs at the lower links, 3307 lbs. 24" behind lift point. If I were you though I wouldn't go above 84". Usually the cutters up to 84" have a single spindle and those 96" and over have multiple spindles. Multiple spindles and gearboxes leads to more weight, more maintenance, and especially more cost. So, unless you want a drawbar pull-type mower I'd stick with 72" or 84" if it were me. Good luck!

Chuck you make a good point about the 84" cutter. I'll look at it. The wife said today we might just hire out the lawn work and get a bigger tractor. We're going to have to make up our mind by Tuesday as I have 2 dealers coming that day. 1 at 8am and the other at 2pm. The other one is coming after 12pm next Saturday.