DAN:
I ALSO HAD BEEN TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER THE 40" OR 48" ROTARY CUTTER WOULD BE THE CORRECT FIT FOR MY BX 2200. I FINALLY DECIDED ON THE WOODS M40 (40")CUTTER, FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
1. I LOOKED AT WOODS, LAND PRIDE, BUSH HOG AND KING KUTTER UNITS. THIS IMPLEMENT WILL TAKE A BEATING, AND NEEDS TO BE STURDILY BUILT. THE PEOPLE IN MY AREA (CT.) THAT USE A SMALL CUTTER ARE THE X-MAS TREE & FRUIT FARMERS. THOSE I ASKED WERE SATISFIED WITH WOODS EQUIPMENT.
2. THE M40 CUTTER LENGTH IS 66", FROM 3 PT. HITCH TO THE TAILWHEEL.. THE 48" CUTTERS RANGE FROM 85" TO 92". YOU NEED TO COMPARE THE CUTTERS SIDE BY SIDE, TO TRUELY APPRECIATE THE SIZE DIFFERENCE. IF YOU ARE USING THE CUTTER FOR FIELD USE, VS. BRUSH CUTTING AROUND TREES ETC. THAT MAY NOT MATTER TO YOU.
3. BASED ON MY FARMBOY YOUTH, I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE HIGH STRESS THAT A ROTARY CUTTER PLACES ON THE TRACTOR & CUTTER. THAT MADE ME OPT FOR A MEDIUM DUTY UNIT, VS. A LIGHT DUTY ONE.
4. I WANTED CHAIN SHIELDING AND SLIP-CLUTCH PROTECTION. THAT IS NOT AVAILIBLE ON ALL BRANDS/MODELS.
5. THE M40 WEIGHT W/CHAIN SHIELDING IS APPROX. 400LBS., WHILE THE 48" CUTTERS AVERAGED 450 LBS. THE WEIGHT ALSO SITS FURTHER REARWARD OFF THE 3 PT. HITCH, LIGHTENING THE FRONT END.
6. A COMPROMISE IS THAT THE 40" CUTTER WILL NOT COVER THE 45" TIRE TRACK OF THE BX 2200.
TO STOP MY RAMBLING, I CLOSE WITH THIS: I BOUGHT THE M40 FOR APPROX. $1250 AND AM AWAITING DELIVERY. WHILE THIS IS MORE THAN 2X SOME OF THE PRICES POSTED ON YOUR THREAD, I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT WITH TOOLS, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. I ALSO PLAN ON USING THIS FOR SIDE JOBS. AS SUCH, I AM WILLING TO PAY EXTRA FOR THE RELIABILITY A WELL CONSTRUCTED IMPLEMENT WILL PROVIDE.(I'M HOPING)
I WILL RE-POST WHEN I GET SOME HOURS ON THE CUTTER.
HAPPY TRACTORING:
WALT