Buying Advice It's the Wife - Please help! :)

[RockCreek]

Gentlemen,

I want to buy my husband a bush hog and/or a harley rake for our anniversary.
He has a L4240 we bought new in 2008. I need recommendations on brands/models and pros/cons of both.
He has mentioned several times that he wants these, but has never purchased.
Rapid responses are GREATLY appreciated - our anniversary is today and he already got me a FANTASTIC gift....

Oh - my budget is $1000....

Thank you!

 

[devildog1]

OK I'll be the first------------ $1000. will not buy a good quility Bush Hog, and the Harley rake is $4000. to $5000.00 new.
DevilDog

 

[Grandad4]

I think a Harley rake may not fit with your budget, but you should be able to find a bush hog type mower. L4240 should handle a 72" size. There are many brands. The pricey brands will include Woods, LandPride, Rhino, Bush Hog. They are probably going to run somewhat higher than your $1000 budget, but will be better made and last longer. You'll mostly find them at a farm equipment dealer. I have had a Befco mower for 9 years, another good regional brand (made here in NC, by the way). Cheaper brands include King Kutter, Fred Cain and Howse. Also sold by farm dealers, but you'll also find the lower priced models at Tractor Supply or Agri-Supply, if there is one of those stores near you.

These mowers come in light, medium and heavy-duty versions. Mowing pastures and overgrown fields is light to medium duty work; mowing down small trees, hitting stumps and rocks, going into rough terrain as one does when clearing land calls for a heavy-duty cutter. The heavy cutters cost more, weigh more, demand more from the tractor.

Hope these thoughts help. Suggest you take time to get the right type of mower for what is needed. If the work calls for a heavy mower, buying a light duty one is a waste of time and money.

 

[dex3361]

Since you gave a $1000 and I wouldn't want you to not get the hubby what he wants for his tractor here is a link to
Brush Hog - Tractor Bush Hog, Field Mower, Rotary Cutter, Agricutter, Brush CutterBrush Hog - Tractor Bush Hog, Field Mower, Rotary Cutter, Agricutter, Brush Cutter His tractor will handle a 72" cutter and that would probably be the size cutter he would choose. You could print this out and take it to a tractor dealer and see what price they would quote. Great gift giving.:thumbsup:

 

[beppington]

Gentlemen,

I want to buy my husband a bush hog and/or a harley rake for our anniversary.
He has a L4240 we bought new in 2008. I need recommendations on brands/models and pros/cons of both.
He has mentioned several times that he wants these, but has never purchased.
Rapid responses are GREATLY appreciated - our anniversary is today and he already got me a FANTASTIC gift....

Oh - my budget is $1000....

I think this is going to be difficult. $1000 is not enough to get a good quality, new bush hog or rake. You may have to look at used. Or look at lesser quality ... or yikes, maybe both.

As for a bush hog, what size does he want? I'd recommend 5' wide as a minimum, but some want the 6' width his L4240 can handle.

(I'm not knowledgeable about harley rakes)

 

[nybirdman]

Go to your tractor dealer..see what brands they carry and recommend.I purchased a BUSH HOG branded ,it has 700hrs on it with no problems.
I also have a L4240...buy a 72inch.medium duty SQ 172 .
I would guess about $1500..have hubby kick in the difference...he won't regret it.

 

[cdaigle430]

Have you tried Craigs list?

 

[teg]

Giving him permission to buy it!!! That is WORTH $1,000 in my mind.

Let him pick it out, and if he goes over budget, don't complain. Not knowing you or your husband, I don't know if this would work. Me and my wife buy our own gifts, but give credit to the other.

I bought her a 6' finishing mower... she bought her ticket to Auburn's championship game (she spent more than me).

 

[RockCreek]

Excellent information and advice...
I can get more $ - so that's not a problem...So - new question:
If you were to select a new rotary cutter, either 5 or 6 ft, what brand/model would you pick?
We have 60 acres - only ~12 of which is cleared and only 10 has grass....we would be using it on small hills, stumps, etc, so I would want a heavy duty one...

Thanks again!!

 

[RogerMc]

I think you need to get a nice card and put a check in it and say its for you tractor. What you buy may not be what he wants. This is not a new tie. :laughing:

Roger

 

[TripleR]

Excellent information and advice...
I can get more $ - so that's not a problem...So - new question:
If you were to select a new rotary cutter, either 5 or 6 ft, what brand/model would you pick?
We have 60 acres - only ~12 of which is cleared and only 10 has grass....we would be using it on small hills, stumps, etc, so I would want a heavy duty one...

Thanks again!!

OK, for me that is easy, my wife and I bought a Land Pride RCR2672 to use with our L5030 and use it alongside our M8540 with Woods DS1260 rotary cutter and it works great. It is a fairy heavy duty mower, but that is what we need. An RCR18 or 25 would work well also. My second choice and only because the LP dealer is closer would be a Woods. There are other good brands such as Bush Hog, but we don't have a near by dealer.

 

[bevojoe]

I agree with TEG...give him a card with "your permission to buy". that's what my wife did when I bought my front end loader. I was a kid with a new toy. as for the shredder to buy for 60 acres...you're right. get the heavy duty. that way he can convert more acres to pastures. I have a deere MX6 and can really appreciate the heavy duty part when I hit downed branches or find the hidden stump. don't get hung up on colors...just steel thickness.

 

[beppington]

Excellent information and advice...
I can get more $ - so that's not a problem...So - new question:
If you were to select a new rotary cutter, either 5 or 6 ft, what brand/model would you pick?
We have 60 acres - only ~12 of which is cleared and only 10 has grass....we would be using it on small hills, stumps, etc, so I would want a heavy duty one...

12 acres is still a lot of cutting.

With his L4240 (I have the L3940), I'd get the 6' wide Woods BB72X (804 lbs). $2,100 - $2,500.

A 6' wide Land Pride RCR2672 is great, too. This is probably the biggest/ heaviest cutter (960 lbs) you should use on an L4240. I have a quote from my Kubota dealer from last July for $2,500. Prob somewhat higher now?

Slightly less tough, but by no means "economy", is the 6' wide Land Pride RCR1872 (749 lbs). Probably closer to $2,000.

Not positive on prices, haven't checked in a while.

If your land has lots of trees he'll be cutting around, consider the 5' version of any of those instead. Easier to maneuver, lighter on the tractor ... & cheaper.

 

[RockCreek]

I'm stubborn and, while I would normally agree withe folks who recommend letting him buy it, I prefer to do my own research and buy it so he is surprised... (I did this for his b-day with a gun a while back and won him the best-wife award at work )
Anyhow.
I've found the RCR 1872 at my local dealer or the SQ172 (and I can order the 5ft models). They sell LP and BushHog...
Of the two above - what is your preference?
Also, to go more heavy duty with better flexibility, would anyone recommend the RCR2660?
I'll just be giving my husband a card at dinner this evening and then go get the cutter tomorrow....
If anyone has any other recommendations, I have about 18 hours before I go buy it or order it tomorrow.
Is slip clutch the only recommended change if I order from the catalog?

Thanks SO much y'all!!

 

[radioman]

If I were you, you have 2 choices. either have a card ready with your notes say lets go get your tractor toys so he can get exactly what he knows should work or prefer. reason? some prefer to get a bush hog not wider then the tire tracks so they can squeeze in tight places, or others prefer the widest one their tractor can handle to save time in open field.

Or second choice, but risky in my mind knowing my wife is to go to the dealer you bought the tractor from and ask THEM for advice as they can work out the details with you for delivery surprise, sizing, and they know the tractor and area better then us on TBN.

just my humble opinion.

 

[Grandad4]

Excellent information and advice...
I can get more $ - so that's not a problem...So - new question:
If you were to select a new rotary cutter, either 5 or 6 ft, what brand/model would you pick?
We have 60 acres - only ~12 of which is cleared and only 10 has grass....we would be using it on small hills, stumps, etc, so I would want a heavy duty one...

Thanks again!!

Just to name a couple of places near you, Sink Farm Equipment in Lexington (Kubota dealer... seem to be nice people), will have Landpride and Clapp's in Siler City (Case-IH dealer... some guys I know have bought from them and thought they were OK), handles Bush Hog brand. Not to favor them over other dealers in the area - by all means shop around - but they are close and handle good brands.

You'll have a bit of a tradeoff... a true heavy duty cutter is a beast... built for extreme duty. It will eat anything you can drive over. But, it may not be the handiest thing to mow 10 acres regularly. Some of the guys have recommended something like the Landpride RCR26 at 72", and I'd agree. Heavy enough for serious work, but also something you can use for regular mowing. Bush Hog and others will have a comparable model. Only you and your lucky husband know your place... we don't. Let him have a say in which model...

 

[teg]

...second choice, but risky in my mind knowing my wife is to go to the dealer you bought the tractor from and ask THEM for advice as they can work out the details with you for delivery surprise, sizing...

If you go through a dealer, maybe you could return it for another model... Good luck, he'll love whatever you get him... Next year, think about a cab :laughing: with AC/heat... (need to send this thread to MY wife!!!)

Me and my wife quit buying gifts when she got ME a pasta maker and I bought her an electric keyboard - both were given away without ever being used.

 

[Usta]

I like shirts. In fact I wear one everyday.
I have received shirts as gifts that I will never wear but would never tell the gift giver.

Like others have mentioned.

Take him with you on the trip to the tractor dealership.

 

[dex3361]

If you buy it get a 6 foot cutter for cutting that much area.

 

[Rockgod]

OK, for me that is easy, my wife and I bought a Land Pride RCR2672 to use with our L5030 and use it alongside our M8540 with Woods DS1260 rotary cutter and it works great. It is a fairy heavy duty mower, but that is what we need. An RCR18 or 25 would work well also.

TripleR is right, these would be my choices as well. Top of the line models that are pretty much bullet proof.

Guns/implements for gifts, your husband is a lucky man :thumbsup: