Rhino or Land Pride Rotary cutter?

[otherguy]

Tractor: Kitoti DK45SE (35 PTO HP I believe)

I have narrowed my choices down to 3 cutters and either Land Pride or Rhino.
Only those two brands due to availability/support in my area.

The Rhino has a RH6 and LP is model 1272 (both have pretty much same specs)
LP also has an 1872 (Rhino has a comparable model but cost to much and is pushing the min PTO HP req'd of my tractor, not sure why the LP has such a large range of HP their 1872 mower can be used on but the Rhino version has such a high min for PTO HP)

Is there any reason really to look at the LP 1872 when it weighs 170lbs more?
Wouldn't the 1872 just be more wear and tear on the tractor over time since the tractor has to work harder to make it cut?
The RH6 has an oval blade carrier, the 1272 has a round, does that matter?
I am mostly cutting grass, brush, & saplings, nothing over 1", anything larger I will just cut by hand.
I have 40 acres, not all mowable of course

thanks for any advice.

 

[schmism]

Its my understanding that the min HP rateings have more to do with 3pt weight than what it takes to run the cutter. I Think they are makeing a nod toward the small sub compact peeps that want to put a 6' cutter behind there lawntractor and dont realize that the thing weighs 800lbs and they wont be able to pick it up.

as with anything in the tractor world, weight is never worse. The weight is found in thicker deck material and more braceing. The gear boxes and cutter blades are likely the same between all the models you have mentioned. This means they all take the same work to spin. (The stump jumper being oval vs round is just a material cost savings issue, the oval one is "round" when its spinning)


IMHO, unless your brushogging for a side job (or living) there is little need to spend $1200 on a hog. I use mine about twice a year for about a couple hrs at a time. Even the $200 craigslist version will likely last my lifetime if i simply keep up with the rust it accumulates from sitting outside.
I would seriously consider a craigslist version or a used dealer version before dropping the cash on a brand new one.

 

[caver]

I picked up a like new Rhino 172 for almost half what they cost new. Much more stout in person than it looked in pictures on a website.

 

[jd870]

I run a landpride 1860 rotary cutter on my jd 870 that is rated at 25pto h.p. i cut anything from grass to light brush, the tractor and mower work fine.

 

[orangeandgreen]

Another happy Rhino 172 owner here. I went for the clutch over the shear bolt and 10 gauge deck instead of 12 gauge. I run it behind a L3240 (27 pto hp) and it handles it well in CRP native grass.

 

[phiferpharm]

I run a Rhino unit on my DK45 and run it over some pretty serious brush and new tree growth at times. It has always performed flawlessly.

 

[otherguy]

I picked up a like new Rhino 172 for almost half what they cost new. Much more stout in person than it looked in pictures on a website.

I tried getting a deal on one from the dealer, even when they knew I was looking at Land Pride. The LP 1872 has about the same specs as the Rhino 172, but the Rhino was about $600 more.

Based on what others have said in this thread, it does seem like my tractor would handle the heavier cutters than I am looking at without much issue.

 

[big bubba]

your tractor owners manual should give max specs for various implements. my guess is that weight would be your main concern esp on slopes. weight concerns would be of course different for example on a plow vs brush hog as the ladder extends out more, etc. so as you already know, it's a match of weight & pto hp. a heavy duty 6' brush hog imho would be close to max of what your machine could handle, but within reason esp if you keep the knives sharp!!! i have always erred to heavy duty esp when it comes to rotary cutters. personally, have a rhino (formally servis) twin spindle 8' cutter (2000lbs) and love it. land pride also has an excellent reputation (have their hd 7' box blade) keeping in mind that nearly all manufacturers have several grades of products ranging from finish mowers, consumer entry level, to heavy duty. apologize for stating the obvious, just my experience. if you are able to sharpen the knives on a regular basis and stay away from rocks, you can push the limits of pto hp requirements. best of luck btw do you have a fel to counterweight the rear implements? rear tires loaded as well?

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I bought a Rhino 172 when I bought my Kioti DK50SE. My tractor handles it just fine, and I like it a lot. I bought the one with a slip-clutch, which I don't think is an option on the RH6.

If all you're gonna do is mow grass and really small saplings, the RH6 or an equivalent light duty cutter from LandPride should work fine. But I suspect your DK45 will handle the 172 just fine and that it would hold up better over the long term than the lighter duty RH6.

The 172 weighs about 210 pounds more than the RH6. I suspect most of that weight is in the deck, side plates, gear box and blade pan, which is exactly what you want to be made of beefier material.

 

[TripleR]

Pretty much what big bubba said, I run a LP RCR2672 and it's pretty heavy duty, it's now on my L5740. but worked fine on my L5030. Rhino makes good cutters as well.