Quality of various aftermarket companies

RoyK · Sep 25, 2006

Is there any consensus among the members here as to brands that are generally thought to be of good quality and, more importantly, brands to definitely stay away from? The only aftermarket attachment I have is a Leinbach 8' rake. It is built like a tank compared to some brands I see at TSC and other dealers. I'd like to get a rotary cutter. I'm pretty hard on my equipment, so I try to get the toughest quality for the best price I can.

Roy

Bob_Skurka · Sep 25, 2006

Just my $0.02, but for NON-PTO powered attachements I think some of the best are Woods, Gannon, and Midwest. Their designs are usually a little better, finish is usually a little better, etc, than many of the other brands. I think Midwest is the value leader of the group, they also have some of the best design for basic items like Box Blades and Landscape Rakes, but they do not have the wide product selection or super heavy duty stuff that you find in some other brands.

For PTO powered stuff I like BEFCO brand the best of all. Linebaugh, Woods, LandPride and Bush Hog are good too. Expensive, but I think worth it. About the only exception that would suggest would be in a spreader/seeder, for that I like Hurd Seeders.

Realize that most brands also sell some low priced, light duty stuff. I have never recommended that stuff from any brand and my brand choices are based on their mid-duty and heavy-duty stuff only.

N80 · Sep 25, 2006

Bob_Skurka said:
[*]Realize that most brands also sell some low priced, light duty stuff. I have never recommended that stuff from any brand and my brand choices are based on their mid-duty and heavy-duty stuff only.[/LIST]

Bob, interesting comment. I'm fairly new to all this and I only have two implements. Both are name brand stuff but both are called 'light' duty by the manufacturer. One is a JD LX-6, the other is a Bush Hog BB720 box blade. The specs on both of these (weight, materials, design features) generally exceed their TSC (KK, Howse, etc) counterparts and are more comparable to what they call medium duty.

My requirements are light duty generally so that is what I was looking for, so that's not the issue. I guess what I'm trying to say is that 'light duty' and 'medium duty' can mean different things.

Birdhunter1 · Sep 25, 2006

Landpride, Bushhog, Woods/Gill, Rhino, all make some of the heaviest stuff I've found for tractors under 100 hp. Midwest makes some good stuff too, but nothing comparable to the heavy duty stuff from Bushhog, Landpride, Rhino or Woods.

IslandTractor · Sep 25, 2006

Birdhunter1 said:
Landpride, Bushhog, Woods/Gill, Rhino, all make some of the heaviest stuff I've found for tractors under 100 hp. Midwest makes some good stuff too, but nothing comparable to the heavy duty stuff from Bushhog, Landpride, Rhino or Woods.

From my experience looking at these four brands (not counting Midwest which I've never seen), I agree they are all top tier. Their "light duty" equipment is much heavier than the standard equipment from several of the popular second/third tier brands. I personally don't see any need for a casual user/homeowner/non-farmer to need anything heavier than the entry level equipment from these four companies.