BUSH HOG or RHINO?

   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #1  

Travis_R

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2004
Messages
1,477
Location
South Louisiana
Tractor
'98 MASSEY FERGUSON 231
Looking at the Bush Hog Squealer SQ172, and the Rhino 172 rotary cutters. Anyone own one of these? Which is the better buy/cutter? WHAT ARE THE PRICES BETWEEN THE TWO?

I had a Bush Hog SQ600 Squealer cutter for about 2 years. I bought it new. I was well pleased with it, except I found the tail wheel frame to be cheap made (had a couple problems), and I had a input shaft seal leak on the gearbox one time, right before I traded it off.

Thanks

Travis R
 
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   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #2  
The Squealer 172 is a new model and is I think supposed to be a new middle grade unit between the Squealer 720 and the 286. I have not seen any posts on the 172 yet but it should certainly perform at least as well at the 720. The 286 is near legendary and given the weight differences the 172 cannot be quite as strong but should still be an excellent cutter. I have a SQ480 which has been flawless.

I have never used a Rhino rotary cutter but did own a Rhino finish mower. Excellent.

Rhino and Bush Hog are two of the top brands so I don't think you could go wrong either way.
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #3  
I have owned both brands of cutters in the past. I, too, had problems with my squealer tail wheel, but it did a great job of mowing. The Bush Hog brand will be less costly; but the Rhino will be built noticably stronger. If you will only be in grass and weeds the Bush Hog will do the job well. But, if your going to be in heavier material, the Rhino will hold up much better over the long haul.

George
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #4  
We field mow commercially
we have over 8000 dollars in Rhino mowers

BUY THE BUSH HOG
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #5  
I have owned both and find both to be excellent if maintianed properly; however, I think the Rhino is more heavy duty and will give you longer more trouble free service.
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #6  
Listen to the voice of experience. I love my Bush Hog cutter.

LoneCowboy said:
We field mow commercially
we have over 8000 dollars in Rhino mowers

BUY THE BUSH HOG
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #7  
Travis_R said:
Looking at the Bush Hog Squealer SQ172, and the Rhino 172 rotary cutters. Anyone own one of these? Which is the better buy/cutter? WHAT ARE THE PRICES BETWEEN THE TWO?

I had a Bush Hog SQ600 Squealer cutter for about 2 years. I bought it new. I was well pleased with it, except I found the tail wheel frame to be cheap made (had a couple problems), and I had a input shaft seal leak on the gearbox one time, right before I traded it off.

Thanks

Travis R
Travis, I have an SQ160, it's been great so far. It's only six months old, but I liked that it has 1/2X4" blades which will cut 1" to 2" stuff. The 290's are nice, but for the money the SQ's are hard to beat. PS The SQ1xx three point linkage is heavy, it's hard to see that, unless you see one in the flesh. CLay:D
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #8  
If you're going to be doing a lot of commercial mowing, light duty mowers won't hold up over the long haul. Sustained commercial mowing will take the life out of medium duty mowers in due time. The new BUsh Hog SQ172 is what BH rates as "standard duty". (In between light and medium) For the price difference, I'd lean towards the 296 (new model replacing old 286)

Around here, Bush Hog has more dealers. That translates to more competition. That means a better price usually. I own 2 Bush Hog mowers now (286 and 2615 Legend), and 1 more on the way. I was able to buy a Bush Hog medium duty 2 years ago (286) for the same price as a Rhino light duty mower. I've got a 307 Bush Hog on the way. (heavy duty) It priced out quite a bit less than comparable Rhino mowers. The 307 will replace a Woods BB840 that's going away. Eventually, a new 306 will replace my other Woods, an MD172 that's been nothing but trouble since day one.

When you get on into heavy duty and extreme heavy duty mowers, Rhino quality takes a back seat to NO ONE.

After using Bush Hog medium duty mowers along side of Woods medium duty mowers, no contest. Woods isn't on my list anymore. They look nice and the blades are easy to change. After 500 hours of mowing none of them are pretty any longer. I very seldom ever take blades off the mowers. They don't hold up nearly as well as Bush Hog in hard everyday use (gearbox troubles) . So the "advantages" of Woods are a wash.

My choice, all things being equal, Bush Hog. Just make certain you buy a model heavy enough for your intentions. If you go too light duty, brand won't make much difference. They all break if used too hard.
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
I really like the 290 series cutters made by Bush Hog. BUT... 1) What do they cost, and 2) My tractor is 38 hp at the engine and 34 hp at the PTO. The specs on the 296 says that it requires a minimum 45 hp tractor to run it. My tractor is no where near a 45 hp.

Travis R
 
   / BUSH HOG or RHINO? #10  
Travis_R said:
I really like the 290 series cutters made by Bush Hog. BUT... 1) What do they cost, and 2) My tractor is 38 hp at the engine and 34 hp at the PTO. The specs on the 296 says that it requires a minimum 45 hp tractor to run it. My tractor is no where near a 45 hp.

Travis R

The hp spec quoted is what Bush Hog suggests to mow the most extreme conditions that mower is capable of. A 6' cutter is a 6' cutter. The light duty cutters aren't recommended for use in brush more than 1" in dia. Cut that same brush with a 296 and it'll require no more power than the SQ172 or SQ720.
 
 
 
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