Deere MX5 Rotary Brush Mower Equivalent

[rwinter]

I recently rented a Deere 4400 with a MX5 brush mower that worked great. I wonder what other rotary brush mowers would have the same or more capacity and be good buys. Any ideas?

 

[jbrumberg]

rwinter:
Welcome to TBN ! I suggest that you provide more information as to where and what you intend to cut (i.e. what size and type of saplings, vegetation types, etc.). Do you think you will need a heavy duty, medium, and/or light duty rotary cutter? There are a lot of opinions out there in TBN land. Jay

 

[rwinter]

Thanks. We will be cutting down lots of bramble and occasionally trees perhaps up to 3 inches of trees, but that would be the exception.

 

[shvl73]

I've got a Woods BB60 and have taken out pines that size, but that is over what it is rated for. I've been told that the gearbox will pay the price for too much abuse. Overall its a good cutter and seems to be well liked on TBN. Go to the Woods site and look at the specs. They'll rate the different models for power requirements and cutting capacity.

 

[jbrumberg]

rwinter:

I would use the TBN search engine to read all the threads regarding rotary cutters. There is a lot of information concerning many good brands. Many of the better brands come in economy/light, medium, and heavy duty models. Shvl73 is right- the gearbox and seals pay the price of abuse. Somewhere buried in a thread is the cutting capacity of the L/M/HD models. I "killed" my HD Woods rotary cutter after years of abuse. I no longer need an HD model as I am currently keeping ahead of Mother Nature- I now have and use a medium duty cutter to keep the poplars and brambles "managed". Jay

 

[jeffinsgf]

I recently rented a Deere 4400 with a MX5 brush mower that worked great. I will be buying a NH 40DA and wondered what other rotary brush mowers would have the same or more capacity and be good buys. Any ideas?

Equivalent to the MX-5? It doesn't exist.

That's a joke from a happy MX-5 owner. Woods, Bush Hog, and others I can't think of right now make fine heavy duty rotary cutters. But, you'll not go wrong with an MX-5.

 

[HillbillyFarmer]

I recently rented a Deere 4400 with a MX5 brush mower that worked great. I will be buying a NH 40DA and wondered what other rotary brush mowers would have the same or more capacity and be good buys. Any ideas?

Why not just buy a Deere 4400 with an MX5?
There are a lot of bush hogs on a lot of machines in my community, but none are built like my MX6.

 

[browns40]

Hi rwinter,

I have a MX-5, and it is great... put it side by side with a Woods Brush Bull 600 and it looks anemic though.

If I had 30 PTO when I bought the cutter, I'd have gone for the Woods, hands down. More cutter for the money, heavier steel, bigger gearbox, step up in driveline... that'd be my .02.

 

[Airmale]

My woods bb60 is a monster in the thickest brush.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Hi rwinter,

I have a MX-5, and it is great... put it side by side with a Woods Brush Bull 600 and it looks anemic though.

If I had 30 PTO when I bought the cutter, I'd have gone for the Woods, hands down. More cutter for the money, heavier steel, bigger gearbox, step up in driveline... that'd be my .02.

Are you sure you're not talking about an LX-5? Looking at pictures and spec sheets, I think the Brush Bull and the MX are pretty closely matched.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I recently rented a Deere 4400 with a MX5 brush mower that worked great. I will be buying a NH 40DA and wondered what other rotary brush mowers would have the same or more capacity and be good buys. Any ideas?

My son owns a Deere MX-7. I've got a Woods BB840 and a Bush Hog 286. Granted, those aren't 5'ers, but they represent the three most popular choices. All things considered, I'd buy the Bush Hog over the other 2 if I could only have one mower. But that's just me. All 3 are high quality equipment. I did have a bad warranty experience with Woods a couple years back. The dealer quit handling them right after I bought mine and Woods wouldn't take up the slack. Also take a good look at Rhino mowers. They make good extra-heavy duty mowers, especially in the batwing area. Their smaller single-spindle mowers are on par with the others mentioned.

In the end, I like the way the Bush Hog mower cuts. Better cut, better scattering of clippings. The Bush Hog seems to lift the grass/weeds better after the tractor tires mash them down. The job looks better the day after cutting. (No actual "hands on experience with Rhino)

 

[Turkeyman]

I own an MX6 and it does not compare to my Woods BB600. Both are rated for 2" capacity but I have had to put 2 new wheel units on the Deere. I am very dispointed with its durability but I am hard on cutters.
Currently looking for a 8-10 ft model and it will not be a Deere.

 

[browns40]

Like Turkeyman said, the Woods 600 gets another step up in driveline (PTO shaft at cat. 4 instead of 3 if I recall) rating, 50%+ on the gearbox rating (with 6 instead of 4 bolts attaching it to the deck), and over 200 pounds more steel into their 2 inch rated cutter...

The Deere is a nice unit, but for the same money, the Woods is more cutter if your tractor can handle the additional weight & PTO requirement.

 

[rwinter]

Thanks guys, good suggestions all!

 

[john_bud]

I agree with Farmwithjunk. The Bushog medium duty 5'cutter and the Woods BB600 would both be in the same class, but a step above the Deere.

I have used the BB600 for 5-6 years and have no complaints. It will eat everything it can push over. 2" hardwoods are no problem. 3" softwoods are pretty easy too. Once you get larger than that, pushing them over gets tough and it gets pretty obvious that a larger cutter is what you ought to be using!

A set of safety chains is (my opinion) a must buy.

jb