DR Brush

[webbmeister]

The pressure is on (Dec 17th deadline) to get a DR Brush before the new pricing structure is put in place. How many of you have one of these? Has it been a wise investment? Do you use it enough (in its basic configuration) to justify the cost? It looks like a nice machine - any comments on materials and workmanship?

The other option is to buy a bush hog for a tractor I already own. I understand the maneuverability issue - any other reason to get a DR over a BH or visa versa (besides price)?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The DR unit is a great product for what is was designed to do... if you don't have any tractor, have steep slopes to clear, go into narrow area's a tractor can't fit, super duty lawn/field mower, etc. etc.

However, you are 90% home and have a New Holland tractor and with the cheapest of rotary cutters, will still cut heavier stuff and better than the best DR will do... a 5' rotary cutter for your tractor is about $500. and the best DR is around ?$2300?

Invest your $$$ into implements for your tractor versus the DR unless you have the conditions as above mentioned for the DR...
{if you didn't have anything, I'd go with the DR to start out with...}

 

[JackIL]

I have had one (14 hp) for almost 4 years and it has served me very well. I use it primarily for steep slopes (ditch banks) and in wooded areas where the trees as too close together to allow clearance for a tractor mounted rotary cutter. It is built like a tank.

 

[PaulinSD]

I have the 15 HP DR, brush head and the 46" old style lawn head. We use this machine almost every day in the summer months as a trimmer. As some of you know, my wife and I run a part time commercial mowing business. I usually use the DR and trim lots as my wife runs the JD 1050 with a 6' rotary. Our experience with the DR has been excellent. It's a heavy duty unit, and built like a tank. In our application, it has served us well. The 46" lawn mower head also does an excellent job of mowing. I can mow faster with the DR than my 18 HP rider with a 46" mower deck. On the down side: the hand clutch gets old in a real hurry, as you have to keep it squeezed for travel. Changing heads leaves a lot to be desired, about 20 minutes. With the addition of the JD 955, the boom flail and the 25A flail mower, we hope to use the DR less next year, only to keep production mowing rates up. I do have 2 lots that the only way to mow them is the DR, both close to 40 degrees of hillside. I'd recommend to anyone the DR, it has served us well.

Paul

 

[glennmac]

I started out with a DR, then sold it when I got a tractor and 60" brushcutter. I agree 100% with JMIII's analysis and recommendations. The DR is excellent for its limited purposes, but comparing it to a brushcutter is like comparing a jdam to a daisycutter. (Gotta use *****-lingo to be au courant.)

 

[PaulinSD]

Here is a pic of the DR mowing heavy brush.

Paul

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color=blue>...The pressure is on... <font color=red>deadline...</font color=red></font color=blue>

Jim,

About every 3 months, you'll get new "marketing material" in the mail for the DR, telling you to act now and limited time offers, and save before the major price increase, buy at off-season prices, reserve your unit because of limited production, etc. etc. etc.,... creating this "sense of urgency"...

DR's marketing dept. is one of the best mail order units going...

With all this said, what are you going to use this DR for, that you can't use your new tractor...?

In other words Jim, I want you to sell me why "you think" you need both your tractor and the DR unit together?

I promise, I'll listen... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[webbmeister]

Well, John ...

I'm hoping to be talked out of it if truth be told! We do have a ravine that circles the property on the South and East sides, and getting the thick rushes, etc. at the lake's edge without having the tractor sink when getting too close is also a plus. That said, I do have a Shindaiwa string trimmer with a saw blade that I mount on it for tough stuff - maybe that and a little extra time is all I need.

Now, about that rotary cutter. I think it would be a wise investment, if only to mow the property for a season while getting to know the lay of the land and eliminate anything that might do damage to the mmm that is coming with the tractor. John, I'm feeling a little like a greedy little sponge here asking all these questions. If it gets too much, say so and I'll cool my jets. Before that happens though, thanks for the help so far, and another question: On the rotary cutter - slip clutch worth the extra $$$? Or are shear pins cheap enough that by the time everything is tamed I won't have spent enough on pins to cover the cost of the slip clutch?

Thanks, and thanks everyone for your comments on the DR.

Jim

 

[s1120]

Hay John,
My problem is just the opposite. I am trying to talk my self into a bigger tractor, but could get by with just a walk behind brushcutter for my 4.3 acres. Oh well, got to have toys.

 

[kiphorn]

The DR Brush Mower and the Billy Goat are both good products. I've used them both. A local rental company has a DR that they rent for $75.00 a day and Home Depot rents the Billy Goat for $48.00 a day. You can cut a lot of brush in a short period of time with these mowers.

I've been getting their mailings for a year or more and everyone has a drop dead date to save $$$ before the price goes up or an offer for reduced attachment pricing.

You may want to follow the others advice and buy a good brush mower for your regular use and then rent (if possible) to do the steep stuff or areas that you can't get to with a tractor.

Kip