Rotary Cutter Which new cutter???

[Skintback]

I am in the "research" stage of looking for a new cutter. The purchase won't be until next spring but I still like gathering data before I make a purchase. First, I have a kubota l3240 4wd tractor with 27.5 pto hp. I want a good 5' medium duty cutter. It will be used on my 117 acre place which is mainly timbered. Uses are for wildlife food plot prep, road clipping, and keeping roughly 8 acres of other open fields under control. It will need to be able to cut 2" or so saplings and brush; ground has basically no rocks but roots and limbs are abundant. My current cutter is a no name that my father totally rebuilt about 15 years ago and is just worn out. I have pretty well narrowed it down to the following (but will listen to any advice on one I may have missed). They are:

1. LandPride RCF 2060

2. BushHog BH 25

3. BushHog 295

4. BushHog 285

LandPride is the easiest because already in stock at local dealership and weight is around 650#s. the BH 25 and BH 295 series are quite a bit heavier at 900#s and may be too much for my tractor. The BH 285 was the series I was most interested in from BH from what I have heard and witnessed but it looks like it is no longer offered as it isn't listed on BH website. It weighs in at around 800#s. The same dealer can get BH cutters so that isn't a big factor.

I am looking on opinions about the cutters but also on what weight would be ok on my size tractor. I just don't think I need 900 #s hung off the back of my sized tractor. Opinions???

 

[Skintback]

Oh, btw.... Dealer is also a LMC dealer and has several in stock. He said he personally bought a 6' LMC over the 6' LandPride because he doesn't like the round back. He tried to steer me to the LMC which is about 600 dollars cheaper but I just don't think that is what I am looking for. Any opinions on a LMC cutter?

 

[kebo]

When I had a JD750, I ran a Landpride RC1048 4ft cutter behind it and thought that was a pretty good unit. I never bent it, although I tried to!! I used to back the tractor up and use the bush hog to push some pretty good sized dead pines that had fallen down in the firebreaks at the hunt club. That was before I got a tractor with a FEL though! It didn't have a rounded back though, more of an angled back with a lip at the bottom. The rounded back will help clear obstacles easier when making sharp turns in tight places. What size material is the RC2060 rated to cut???

I agree with your concern about hanging 900lbs that far back from the tractor, it might be the old "tail wagging the dog" scenario. Good luck with whatever you decide on. If I were in your shoes, I would have to give a serious look at the Landpride RC2060 unit, if it is rated for the 2" stuff.

 

[Skintback]

When I had a JD750, I ran a Landpride RC1048 4ft cutter behind it and thought that was a pretty good unit. I never bent it, although I tried to!! I used to back the tractor up and use the bush hog to push some pretty good sized dead pines that had fallen down in the firebreaks at the hunt club. That was before I got a tractor with a FEL though! It didn't have a rounded back though, more of an angled back with a lip at the bottom. The rounded back will help clear obstacles easier when making sharp turns in tight places. What size material is the RC2060 rated to cut???

I agree with your concern about hanging 900lbs that far back from the tractor, it might be the old "tail wagging the dog" scenario. Good luck with whatever you decide on. If I were in your shoes, I would have to give a serious look at the Landpride RC2060 unit, if it is rated for the 2" stuff.

Thanks for the info! Yes it is rated to cut 2" stuff. Probably will be going that route but just checking on options. The LP is roughly $2000 and I don't have a price on the BH yet. Both have 10 ga decks. Just not sure where all the other weight difference comes from...

 

[Piston]

I was thinking of recommending the Brown 415 cutter when you mentioned medium duty and the BH25, but if your concerned with the Bush Hog being 'too heavy duty' then the Brown cutter would most likely be too heavy duty for your needs as well. However, I figured I'd mention it since your open to other ideas. Depending if you have a dealer who sells Brown nearby or not can make a big difference on pricing.

I wouldn't want to go too much lighter though if your planning on routinely cutting 2" material.

 

[Skintback]

Thanks Piston. I will give brown a look. Definitely no lighter just don't know about the weight on the back of my size tractor. Not really routinely cutting 2" material but it does happen occasionally. I want as good as a cutter as I can for the money without over powering my tractor.

 

[xring100]

I just bought a BH27 and now have about 10 hours on it and am very impressed with the build quality and construction. i was also interested in the landpride 2684 and 2784 all have similar construction. I looked at the browns as well but no dealer in a 100 mile radius had one and it was between $400 & 600 more mainly due to freight as the distributor in oh also did not have one. 5 footer might be a different story. I believe the brown had thicker deck construction but the side skirts were thinner were land pride and bush hog had 1/4" wall. which is why i believe the brown gets a 2" rating. That said if you can find a good price on a brown I'd go for it. The dealer told me the new BH20 series is using a higher yield strength steel in the deck. Not sure why bush hog does not advertise this if its true.

I think both the landpride and bush hog that your looking at have clevis style lower think attachment which is nice and strong. The recommended minimum pto hp for the bh25 is 35 but I'm sure you could run but its heavy. Would you intend on running with a loader or front weights?

The landpride might be more appropriate for your tractor. I would pass on the bh squealer series though as its not a clevis style attachment inn the lower links.
To bad the 285 was discontinued your right it would have been a good fit

Here is my BH27 fyi if it was any heavier i would need front weights on mine

 

[Piston]

Dave, that is one heck of a NICE looking setup!

 

[Skintback]

I just bought a BH27 and now have about 10 hours on it and am very impressed with the build quality and construction. i was also interested in the landpride 2684 and 2784 all have similar construction. I looked at the browns as well but no dealer in a 100 mile radius had one and it was between $400 & 600 more mainly due to freight as the distributor in oh also did not have one. 5 footer might be a different story. I believe the brown had thicker deck construction but the side skirts were thinner were land pride and bush hog had 1/4" wall. which is why i believe the brown gets a 2" rating. That said if you can find a good price on a brown I'd go for it. The dealer told me the new BH20 series is using a higher yield strength steel in the deck. Not sure why bush hog does not advertise this if its true.

I think both the landpride and bush hog that your looking at have clevis style lower think attachment which is nice and strong. The recommended minimum pto hp for the bh25 is 35 but I'm sure you could run but its heavy. Would you intend on running with a loader or front weights?

The landpride might be more appropriate for your tractor. I would pass on the bh squealer series though as its not a clevis style attachment inn the lower links.
To bad the 285 was discontinued your right it would have been a good fit

Here is my BH27 fyi if it was any heavier i would need front weights on mine

View attachment 333828

No frontend loader yet. Judging from your post, with your tractor being light or close to it in the front end, I'm pretty sure 900#s is going to put me in the upper limits of my tractor. Going off the kubota website, your 8540 weighs roughly 5500# dry and the BH 27 weighs roughly 1350#. My 3240 weighs roughly 3300#s and either the BH25 or BH295 weigh roughly 900#s. If I put that in a percentage ratio, 25% of your tractor weight is in a cutter and 27% would be in the BH's I listed above. When you said yours was at the limit of being light on the front, that is without a loader or weights, correct? This is very useful info for me.

 

[Skintback]

Dave, that is one heck of a NICE looking setup!

Ditto as well.

 

[xring100]

Dave, that is one heck of a NICE looking setup!

Thanks Piston, I'm very satisfied in its price range it was a very tough decision between the Bush hog and Land pride If the dealer that gave me the better price on the Land Pride would have had one in stock when i was out there i would have paid for it that day but they are about 100 miles round trip The dealer i got my BH27 is only about 28 miles round trip. I really liked the looks of the Brown 684 but it was way out of my budget

No frontend loader yet. Judging from your post, with your tractor being light or close to it in the front end, I'm pretty sure 900#s is going to put me in the upper limits of my tractor. Going off the kubota website, your 8540 weighs roughly 5500# dry and the BH 27 weighs roughly 1350#. My 3240 weighs roughly 3300#s and either the BH25 or BH295 weigh roughly 900#s. If I put that in a percentage ratio, 25% of your tractor weight is in a cutter and 27% would be in the BH's I listed above. When you said yours was at the limit of being light on the front, that is without a loader or weights, correct? This is very useful info for me.

Good morning,
Your welcome, Yes this would be about my limit for weight on the 3 point with the loader off. even with the Tail wheel down and in contact with the ground i can feel the front tires pushing when on slight upward inclines its not to bad on level ground but ever so slight. With the tail wheel up in transport mode the front end pushes much more I have to many trees to navigate through to leave the loader on. As pictured my setup is a tad over 23' in length. I want to get a CAT 2 quick hitch but will probably have to add some front weights before i and when decide to purchase the QH.

I know my 7 footer is a lot longer than the 5 footer but its probably almost proportional to the difference in wheel base length going from My M8540 to your L3240. So i think you'd also be in a similar state
The loader Mounts on mine Also add several Hundred pounds between the tires it helps but would be better if it was out front.

Good luck on your shopping your looking at some very good models so I'm sure whatever you purchase you'll be happy as long as you can keep the front wheels on the ground

 

[TripleR]

You are on the right track as to width and weight at least in opinion, I run a Land Pride RCR2672 on my L5740 and really like Land Pride products, the RCF2060 looks like it will fit your tractor and needs. It lists "up to 2 inches" and their specs are pretty conservative. Mine is rated "up to 2 inches" and I have exceeded that without any noticeable effect though it makes quite the racket. Cutting as you describe will present no problems. Bush Hog also makes good cutters, I just don't have have recent experience with them and my Kubota dealer handles LP, so that is what I get though we do run a Woods 10' on our M8540.

On my cutters, I like chain guards as well as a slip clutch, I have tried rubber guards and shear pin.

 

[jimmysisson]

If you routinely drive over 2" saplings to mow the you may want to protect some of your wiring and plumbing under the tractor too.

 

[xring100]

If you routinely drive over 2" saplings to mow the you may want to protect some of your wiring and plumbing under the tractor too.

Yes this is a must lots of low hanging fruit on these newer tractors. unless you want to figure out that it only takes 60 seconds to pump out $200 in hydraulic oil i know from experience on an older tractor, That was much better protected. OVRSZD has a pretty good thread for an M series as far as ideas

 

[orangeandgreen]

I have a L3240 and just purchased a Rhino 172, it weight just shy of 800# and is rated for up to 1.5 diameter brush. The tractor handles it just fine with the loader but would probably be a little light in the front end without the loader. I have been doing the annual trimming of my CRP native grass that is just a little taller than my tractor and it is going well. I looked at Bush Hog SQ172, Land Pride 2072, Woods BB72X, and several box store brands in 72 and ended up choosing the Rhino as the best bang for my buck.

 

[Skintback]

Okay. I am likely obsessed with all things tractor!

Wehhh! I feel better after saying that. Now I understand dads love of tractors more than ever!!

I have relentlessly researched rotary cutters on this site and the net. I got to run a brand new MX5100 and LandPride 2072 a few days ago. A good friend bought a new tractor and cutter. I love the tractor; the cutter, well, not so much.... It has no way of releasing the cut grass out from under the cutter and I just was not real enthusiastic about this cutter. I like how it is built but his got bent in the first two hours of use in a green field. So, I have been looking at woods and rhino harder than I was. The bush hog brand looks like it is pretty much built the same way. I am really liking the way the woods is built more than any of the other cutters I have looked at: LandPride, John Deere, Bush Hog, Rhino, LMC, King Kutter, and Woods. I am looking for any experiences with either the Woods (specifically the BB60) or Rhino (specifically 160) cutters. I am not crazy about the rhinos tail wheel at all. Woods seems to have everyone beat on the tail wheel design in my opinion. The only experience I have with a woods cutter is an older one my dad has that is 6 foot. It has been great but I haven't used it much and it's not built the same (doesn't have a complete round back).

So, I have pretty much ruled out landpride (as much as I didn't want to- really liked these) and am looking at Woods as 1st and Rhino as a 2nd, with Bush Hog being a distant 3rd. As far as an earlier post where I stated being a me to cut 2" saplings, it will not happen very often. Most of my cutting is green fields, roads,'and a few old pastures. Not looking to get into land clearing.

So there it is. Sorry for beating a dead horse over and over; just wanting to make an informed decision. I want this cutter to be a good one that lasts a long time. I don't mind spending the money for a good piece of equipment. I also realize I probably couldn't go wrong with any of the above, just wanting to hear about problems/experiences with the above

 

[dbaer78]

For what it's worth I run a 172 rhino behind my mx5100. Bought the cutter this spring and have used it hard. I'd buy another. No issues with the tail wheel at all. Buy the chain guards as they help the clippings disperse from rear of the cutter much better.

 

[TripleR]

Okay. I am likely obsessed with all things tractor!

Wehhh! I feel better after saying that. Now I understand dads love of tractors more than ever!!

I have relentlessly researched rotary cutters on this site and the net. I got to run a brand new MX5100 and LandPride 2072 a few days ago. A good friend bought a new tractor and cutter. I love the tractor; the cutter, well, not so much.... It has no way of releasing the cut grass out from under the cutter and I just was not real enthusiastic about this cutter. I like how it is built but his got bent in the first two hours of use in a green field. So, I have been looking at woods and rhino harder than I was. The bush hog brand looks like it is pretty much built the same way. I am really liking the way the woods is built more than any of the other cutters I have looked at: LandPride, John Deere, Bush Hog, Rhino, LMC, King Kutter, and Woods. I am looking for any experiences with either the Woods (specifically the BB60) or Rhino (specifically 160) cutters. I am not crazy about the rhinos tail wheel at all. Woods seems to have everyone beat on the tail wheel design in my opinion. The only experience I have with a woods cutter is an older one my dad has that is 6 foot. It has been great but I haven't used it much and it's not built the same (doesn't have a complete round back).

So, I have pretty much ruled out landpride (as much as I didn't want to- really liked these) and am looking at Woods as 1st and Rhino as a 2nd, with Bush Hog being a distant 3rd. As far as an earlier post where I stated being a me to cut 2" saplings, it will not happen very often. Most of my cutting is green fields, roads,'and a few old pastures. Not looking to get into land clearing.

So there it is. Sorry for beating a dead horse over and over; just wanting to make an informed decision. I want this cutter to be a good one that lasts a long time. I don't mind spending the money for a good piece of equipment. I also realize I probably couldn't go wrong with any of the above, just wanting to hear about problems/experiences with the above

Having run Land Pride as well as Woods for years, I am confused at how poorly the Land Pride performed, I run an RCR2672 and it is one of the best cutters I have used including Woods. I have routinely cut grass, weeds and brush as high as my cab and it has held up to it without problems and produces a great cut. I did put chains front and rear as I dislike rubber guards. The Woods BB60 is a nice cutter, but the weight, 1,320 pounds, was a bit more than I wanted, I have to keep the loader on my L5740 to keep the front end on the ground with the RCR2672 and it only weighs 1,046 pounds. I did consider the BB600X, but the Woods dealer is about 60 miles away and LP about 40 and a much better dealer. We do use a Woods DS1260 we really like and ran a 121 for years.

All cutters mentioned are good though, so whichever one you get will be a good choice.

EDIT: Wrong specs.

 

[Skintback]

Having run Land Pride as well as Woods for years, I am confused at how poorly the Land Pride performed, I run an RCR2672 and it is one of the best cutters I have used including Woods. I have routinely cut grass, weeds and brush as high as my cab and it has held up to it without problems and produces a great cut. I did put chains front and rear as I dislike rubber guards. The Woods BB60 is a nice cutter, but the weight, 1,320 pounds, was a bit more than I wanted, I have to keep the loader on my L5740 to keep the front end on the ground with the RCR2672 and it only weighs 1,046 pounds. I did consider the BB600X, but the Woods dealer is about 60 miles away and LP about 40 and a much better dealer. We do use a Woods DS1260 we really like and ran a 121 for years.

All cutters mentioned are good though, so whichever one you get will be a good choice.

Triple R

I value your opinion greatly on these boards. Your experiences match my findings quite often and I have found you to be quite the gentleman in both your approach and explanations. Let me alter my previous post while at the same time standing by my meaning.
The only LandPride brush cutter I have ever run was within the last week. It was a brand new 2072 6' medium duty cutter. I like the way it is built and it did cut well. However, the rear of this cutter seems to be more "covered" than the other round back cutters I have seen. It had an additional black shield on the rear that I assumed was adjustable to release the cut grass/brush. I was wrong. It is not adjustable and my friend totally removed it trying to gain a "relief opening" for the grass to discharge through. This is we're I was not impressed with the LandPride unit. Not sure if this is technically right, but it appears to me that the design is to create a type of vacuum to keep the clippings inside of the cutter and mulch them up. That in itself is ok but where we use a cutter it is usually tall and needs to be discharged away from the cutter instead of recirculating inside the cutter. My theory is that This caused the tractor to bog down and actually ran the temp gauge up causing the operator to have to shut down the tractor to an idle while the tractor cooled off. My friend disliked this so much he brought the cutter to our vo-tech Ag shop and had the back cut out opening up a relief for the grass to be discharged. I/we are hoping this will make it quit bogging and run cooler. The cutter itself is great. I like the design a lot, the clevis hitch is strong and the gearbox is bombproof. It just needs some help discharging the grass.

That lead up to the newest post from me. If the woods has a way to discharge out the rear, that's probay the way I'm going to go. No disrespect at all to LandPride just not what I was expecting

 

[Skintback]

Links to the cutters I am looking at:

BB60X Rotary Cutters
100 SERIES (MEDIUM DUTY) | Rhino

Five footers...