Rotary Cutters: Woods vs Land Pride

[weathda]

This weekend, my family and I had gathered to cut our place. As we were greasing up the cutters dad started making some observations that he's noticed on his new Land Pride. He kept going and going on modifications he's done to make it a little better. I had my camera in my pocket and just started to taking pictures. Thought I'd do a very informal review. I'm not going to get into the technicals - that can be found on the manufacturer's website.

I know that both manufacturers produce a wide range of cutters from lite to heavy duty and I know one particular cutter doesn't necessarily classify the whole lot. I'm only making a comparison between two very specific models. The information given below is only through personal observation and is specific to the two cutters that myself and other family members own. I thought it might be beneficial to share some practical comparison info on two specific 8' medium duty cutters.


Comparing a 2013 Land Pride RCR2596





to 2008 Woods DS96 cutter.





Let me start by saying, both are great cutters. Our family owns one of each and we use it on the same piece of property and so I feel I'm able to make a pretty fair comparison between both with an unbiased opinion.

We've owned the Woods since 2008 and was used as the primary cutter for several years on the 100+ acre farm that my grandparents tended. Never had a problem with this specific cutter and have been very pleased with it.

The LandPride was purchased last year to aide in cutting. On a positive note, the nice thing about the LP is the hitch point. It's heavy duty clevis style makes it nice and sturdy.





Having said that, we haven't had any problem with the Woods hitch points.





After a few hours of use with the LP, one of the first things that was noticed was the noise. Sounded like it was going to fall apart. Problem was the back tailwheel tube fits through a square bracket that has about 1/4" of free space around the rear wheel tubing that allows the rear wheel bar to go up and down as it traverses the land. This caused a lot of clanking noise.





Fix: Put a spacer in the bracket to prevent noise.





The Woods has no problem with this as the rear wheel section is different.





Next, on the LandPride, the third arm linkage came with cotter keys on these linkage points.





This makes it troublesome to remove the outer shield as you have to disconnect the linkage to remove the shield. Simple fix was to replace the cotter keys with hitch pins or pin clips.





Woods has separate covers that don't require pin removal. I should note that the LP RC30 and 36 have the same cover as the Woods DS Series.

You might ask, how often do you remove this cover? Well, not too often but when you do you might want to inspect the rubber discs. Which leads me to my next point.

LP RCR2596 with 25 hours on the disc.







Fix: Dealer ordered a new set of discs for us.

6 year old Woods DS96 discs with at least 500 hours on them cutting the same piece of property.





Back to removing the cover, the knobs that allow the cover to be removed.

LP RCR25 have all split.





Fix: Got new knobs from dealer. But fearing the same problem would occur, the knobs were modified with a small bolt to prevent the inner threads from turning.

The Wood's knobs are slightly different and hasn't had this problem.

Finally, the most important question. How does the cut compare.

I can safely say, the both cut equally well. However, the LP has a very annoying skid plate design that causes what I like to call, grass balls. In specific grass and it tends to be worse in bermuda, the cutter will actually accumulate grass on the front skid until it builds up enough and is ready to make a bail of hay. It seems to be caused by the sharp edge of the replaceable skid shoe.





Here's the result which leaves the field with lots of unsightly discharge. The section to the right of the uncut grass was cut with the LandPride.





I cut the remainder of the field with the Woods. Here's a side by side shot of the same field, same direction of cut. Draw a line down the middle. The Woods cut the left and the LP on the right. You tell me which cut your prefer?





One or two of these little problems wouldn't be worth mentioning, but you add all of these up and it's made us regret not getting another Woods. Should've never assumed the LP would match up to the Woods. I hope LP will get their act together at least on the RC25 series.

 

[smstonypoint]

Thanks for posting your review. Woods wins this match-up. Here's a recent thread in which the OP favors LP over Woods: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/319118-wood-bbx72-brush-bull-xtreme.html#post3858493.

Steve

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I know that Bush Hog, Rhino and others make this same size/type of mower. I'd love for owners of those other brands to post their impressions and experiences with theirs.

One of the great things about these 8-foot multi-spindle mowers is that they don't take anywhere near the PTO HP that a 7-foot or 8-foot single spindle mower takes, which makes them a viable option for those of us who have 35 - 45 PTO HP tractors.

 

[weathda]

Thanks for posting your review. Woods wins this match-up. Here's a recent thread in which the OP favors LP over Woods: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/319118-wood-bbx72-brush-bull-xtreme.html#post3858493.

Steve

Glad to do it. Maybe it might help someone. I saw the thread in your link just before I posted this thread. Maybe it will even things out. Sure pays to do some research before buying any cutter of any brand and not just relying on the name.

I know that Bush Hog, Rhino and others make this same size/type of mower. I'd love for owners of those other brands to post their impressions and experiences with theirs.

One of the great things about these 8-foot multi-spindle mowers is that they don't take anywhere near the PTO HP that a 7-foot or 8-foot single spindle mower takes, which makes them a viable option for those of us who have 35 - 45 PTO HP tractors.

Same here. I'd like to see some reviews on Bush Hog and Rhino as well. We seriously looked at a Bush Hog before buying the Woods. Seems the only ones the local dealer had had been sitting out in the weather for months and looked like a 10 year old cutter. Probably wouldn't make any difference, but when paying a new price, I like for it to look new. Definitely no regrets on the Woods.

Yes, I agree on the multi-spindle PTO HP statement. We had a Land Pride RCR1872 6' cutter before trading up to the 8' and it took every bit as much power to pull that 6' as it did the 8'.



We used it on one cutting and it got beat up. Wasn't impressed with it, but the best way out of it without losing a shirt was to trade back into a Land Pride, hence the 8' cutter. The 2596 is a good cutter and will do fine, but just not the best between the two.

 

[Piston]

I'm not very familiar with field mowing, at least, nice clean grass mowing like that So forgive me if this is a rather "inexperienced question", but to me, that looks like something I'd want to use a finish mower on? Are there any disadvantages to using one?

My neighbor has a 5 acre field right next to my house, he always mows it with a finish mower, so I just assumed that something that pretty, would be mowed with a finish mower if possible? It looks a lot more like a lawn when cut with the finish mower.

It just seems to me that a rough cut rotary mower wouldn't be the best tool for the job :confused3: However, if that's what you have, then it's the right tool for the job

That's a very nice comparison write up you did, good job Weathda! :thumbsup:

 

[weathda]

Thanks for the comment Piston. We've worked pretty hard to get this place in shape. Years ago it was running away. A lot of what you see in the pictures has been cleared of trees. The majority of the land that's not pictured is rough with lots of hidden berms and rocks. It's a remote farm that none of us live on. We try to cut it at least 3 times a year and if the rains are plentiful, it get's really thick between cuttings. Too much of the land wouldn't be practical for a finish mower. One day we hope to cut it for hay.

 

[Piston]

I never would have guessed that hasn't been constantly maintained over the years, you've done a really great job reclaiming it.

(EDIT: I meant to ask, how come you hook up the Landpride cutter with the 3 point arms on the outside of the clevis mounts, verse the inside? Normally they are meant to be hooked up between the two clevis mounts)

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good test, thanks for posting.

 

[TripleR]

Interesting comparisons, we have Woods and Land Pride and like both brands, there are no longer any local Woods dealers, so our choices in the future will be limited.

 

[LD1]

(EDIT: I meant to ask, how come you hook up the Landpride cutter with the 3 point arms on the outside of the clevis mounts, verse the inside? Normally they are meant to be hooked up between the two clevis mounts)

I was wondering that very same thing, since he specifically mentions the beefier clevis-type hook up?

But none-the-less, very nice write-up. and I agree, woods wins.

My bushhog 306 does the same thing with the clumps of grass catching just like that. But only certain types. Every so often I have to raise the cutter to let it clear, as it balls up SO much it actually matts down grass in front and I loose a good foot of efficient cutting.