Make up my mind- Landpride or Bushhog

GLC · Mar 10, 2009

I've narrowed my choices for a rotary mower to a Bushhog Squealer 172 or a Landpride RC1872. Both are 6' mowers and should work well on my Kubota L4400 DT gear model (45 hp, 38 PTO)

I'd like to hear from owners of each as far as service, durability, parts availabilty (I've got both dealers close by,) and overall satisfaction.

I'm planning on ordering one in early April.

Thanks.

framer · Mar 10, 2009

I do not own either only land pride tiller. Just my two sense here i like
Land pride they are well made and finish is good. Parts here in Ks.Bush hog
are good implements also.Hard choice for me.Sorry not much help.
Good luck. Framer

Charlton John · Mar 10, 2009

Same here dont own either but I do own BushHog Box Blade and landscape rake and they are very heavy duty for there size and well built. Good Luck.

EddieWalker · Mar 10, 2009

I have the Landpride 6 foot cutter and also a rear finish mower. They are well built and I'd buy another. I looked at a few different brands before buying mine, and the two things that I liked about the Landpride was the 3 year warrantee that I got on my gear box, and the welds on the deck. Some of the other brands only had short welds, where Landpride had continuous welds.

I beat mine up pretty bad the first two years that I had it and caused allot of damage to it. I had the gear box replaced under warrantee, two drive shafts, four sets of blades and have had to re-weld the deck twice now. I called Landpride to find out the size of the nut that holds on the blades, and they were very quick to get back to me. I liked that.

Landpride is now sold and serviced through all Kubota dealers. My dealer is a good guy, but not even close to the professional level of my Kubota dealer. They don't stock allot of parts, but when they say they will order it, they do so and call me the second it gets in. The guy I bought my tractor from has a bad habit of forgetting to place the order, so I rarely deal with him if I have a choice to go somewhere else.

I have no experience with Bush Hog to compare the two of them.

Eddie

keyser soze · Mar 10, 2009

Charlton John said:
Same here dont own either but I do own BushHog Box Blade and landscape rake and they are very heavy duty for there size and well built. Good Luck.

just FYI.... Bush Hog box blades and landscape rakes, are actually made by a company out of Georgia called Dirt Dawg.

Not that, that makes them any less well built. Just letting you know.

To the original poster.... with the state of bush hog right now.... If those are the only two rotary cutters you're going to consider... I'd buy the land pride personally. It's just as well built, and the company isn't struggling.

Dawgfan3 · Mar 10, 2009

I have a 8 ft. Bush Hog. It has been trouble free. I keep check on oil in gear boxes and grease fitting.
I just bought a Land Pride 7 ft. finish mower. I've used it once. It is built well. I went with Land Pride on this one due to the company troubles at Bush Hog. I wasn't sure they would still be there. Research that before you buy.
Rhino and Woods also make good rotary mowers.

Stromeyer · Mar 10, 2009

Maybe you don't want to confuse the debate;

but I picked up a Woods BB72x cutter last year.
it's a fantastic piece of equipment, blade removal is the easiest of any rotary cutter i have ever used, and the deck is indestructible.

GLC · Mar 10, 2009

I have a 5' Bush Hog Squealer on a Ford NAA which has done well so Bush Hog quality is a known quantity to me. The wild card is, as mentioned by other posters, the state of the company. Landpride is the option due to it being sold by the dealer which sold me my Kubota recently. I like things about both, hence the decision at hand.

I saw the previous thread about Bush Hog shutting down. I know that Bush Hog shut down production for a while this year, but what is the word on them
currently? Have they re-started production yet? Any more news on this?

Thanks

Charlton John · Mar 10, 2009

keyser soze said:
just FYI.... Bush Hog box blades and landscape rakes, are actually made by a company out of Georgia called Dirt Dawg.

Not that, that makes them any less well built. Just letting you know.

To the original poster.... with the state of bush hog right now.... If those are the only two rotary cutters you're going to consider... I'd buy the land pride personally. It's just as well built, and the company isn't struggling.

No I didnt know this or the troubles w/ the company?? Thanks for keeping me up to date. The 2 pieces I have are very well built. I guess just another sign of this struggling economy.

captflx · Mar 10, 2009

According to my information the L.P. gearbox is rated at 50 h.p. while the B.H. SQ172 box is rated at 65. The L.P. blades are 1/2" X 3" and the SQ172 blades are 1/2" X 4". The L.P. unit is rated to cut 1" diameter material while the SQ172 is rated for max of 2".
Both have the same deck and sideband thickness of 10 ga. The B.H. Sq172 has a nearly smooth top deck for easy cleaning while the L.P. 1872 has structure on top. Both are nearly the same in blade tip speed and weight.
Hope this helps.

captflx · Mar 10, 2009

In regards to Bush Hog company. Bush Hog is too strong and too big to just disappear. There may be new owners in the future, but I believe that Bush Hog continue to be a driving force in this market. Their market share by most accounts is BIG.

CDsdad · Mar 10, 2009

captflx said:
In regards to Bush Hog company. Bush Hog is too strong and too big to just disappear. There may be new owners in the future, but I believe that Bush Hog continue to be a driving force in this market. Their market share by most accounts is BIG.

I hope you are correct. But who'd of thought 3 years ago that GM may go bankrupt. Maybe Bushhog can get some bailout money.

Regarding the op. I have a 1672 Landpride finish mower, and a Bushhog SQ600. They are comparable in quality, with maybe the Bushhog being made a little heavier compared to other rough cut mowers than the Landpride is compared to other finish mowers. I wouldn't be scared of either one, and would probably choose on price and location if it was between the two.

pitt_md · Mar 10, 2009

EddieWalker said:
I have the Landpride 6 foot cutter and also a rear finish mower. They are well built and I'd buy another. I looked at a few different brands before buying mine, and the two things that I liked about the Landpride was the 3 year warrantee that I got on my gear box, and the welds on the deck. Some of the other brands only had short welds, where Landpride had continuous welds.

I beat mine up pretty bad the first two years that I had it and caused allot of damage to it. I had the gear box replaced under warrantee, two drive shafts, four sets of blades and have had to re-weld the deck twice now. I called Landpride to find out the size of the nut that holds on the blades, and they were very quick to get back to me. I liked that.

Landpride is now sold and serviced through all Kubota dealers. My dealer is a good guy, but not even close to the professional level of my Kubota dealer. They don't stock allot of parts, but when they say they will order it, they do so and call me the second it gets in. The guy I bought my tractor from has a bad habit of forgetting to place the order, so I rarely deal with him if I have a choice to go somewhere else.

I have no experience with Bush Hog to compare the two of them.

Eddie

Eddie,
If you have done that much repair work on your cutter I would have to question why you think they are well made. I have taken woods cutter through (not over) many large rocks, T posts (2 and counting), barbed wire, gohper mounds, etc. The only damage I can see is dents from the inside where the blades tried to throw a rock through the side.

Where you using it in Iraq???

mattman · Mar 10, 2009

Around here there is alot of people running bush hog brand cutters old models and the newer models. Not to many land pride around yet. Me and my dad have an old bush hog brand cutter it is built like a tank. I would not be scared to buy a bush hog brand.

Sidenote to self DO NOT LOAN ANYTHING TO A GUY NAME EDDIE FROM TEXAS. He seems to be a bit rough on stuff.

Nissan197 · Mar 10, 2009

I also have a BushHog Squealer. Have had for two years and no problems.

EddieWalker · Mar 10, 2009

pitt_md said:
Eddie,
If you have done that much repair work on your cutter I would have to question why you think they are well made. I have taken woods cutter through (not over) many large rocks, T posts (2 and counting), barbed wire, gohper mounds, etc. The only damage I can see is dents from the inside where the blades tried to throw a rock through the side.

Where you using it in Iraq???

Not Iraq, but not what it was made for.

Don't really know how to describe what I did to the mower on a regular basis, but I also had to replace my front grill and both my fuel tank and hydraulic tank for my power steering. I had flat tires almost monthly, and I lost my fuel lines numerous times too. If I could drive over it, I did. If I couldn't, then I backed into it. I never let the size of the sapling limit me. If it went over, I shredded it.

I can cut up a four inch pines and two to 3 inch sweet gums.

If I wanted to clear an area, or create a trail, I did so for two years. I beat it and abused it well beyond what it was designed for. I'm still using it today, but it's not as pretty the day that I bought it. I don't know if there are other brands that would have done as well. I go through allot of tools and destroy them on a regular basis. If and when they die on me, I move on. If I got what I think is my moneys worth out of them, I praise them. If they die on me too quickly or easily, then I do the opposite.

I like Landpride, and I like how well built it is.

Eddie

rdbrumfield · Mar 10, 2009

I have a couple of bush hogs. They are both 6ft, one I haven't used yet, it has been setting for about 6yrs waiting on the other one to blow up. I got a deal on it I couldn't refuse.
As far as the one I am using, the first thing I did when I bought it is reinforce both sides with 3/8 flatbar 3/8 strap around the back and 3/16 up and under the main deck.
I use blades that are tipped up on the trailing edge so when you hit one of those rocks, logs, stumps or whatever, the back side of the blade deflects up to the deck before the forward cutting edge slices the deck open.

Experience talking here. I do some very heavy mowing and have taken on engine blocks, concrete you name it. don't ever listen to someone tell you, "oh there's nothing out there".

john_bud · Mar 10, 2009

I bought the BrushBull 600. It has a 100hp gear box. After 9 years of total abuse that would make Eddie curl up in a quivering ball, it has had no problems other than breaking blades on the granite rocks, stumps, t-posts, buried tires, 3-4" oak, maple, poplar trees and the 5-6" softwood trees. It may not do as nice cutting grass as other units, but it guts it way thru the forest leaving a trail behind. (and I used the word "guts" intentionally!) If I can push it over, it cuts it up.

jb

EddieWalker · Mar 11, 2009

john_bud said:
... After 9 years of total abuse that would make Eddie curl up in a quivering ball...

Did I miss something or was there something offensive in my previous posts?

Guess I don't understand why you went there.

Eddie

Turbys_1700 · Mar 11, 2009

Both companies produce fine products...
I ran a LP RFM for 14 years and never replaced a bearing...
They are great...

My father is a retired tractor/implement salesman...
They carried Bush Hog...
I can't tell you how many Bush Hog cutter's we've used on the farm...
Very well built and tough...

My only concern would be their financial situation...
I agree with one poster that Bush Hog may re-structure in some form...
I think that it would be highly unlikely that they would go away permanently...
Too much name brand recognition in that Bush Hog name...

I would personally go with the Bush Hog since it has a little heavier rated gear box if they were priced similarly...