Capabilities of a 2520

[TomWhite]

For those of you familiar with the 2520 model, here is a question.

Is the 2520 capable of handling a 5 ft rotary cutter. The cutter I have is a standard King Kutter. I know the rule of thumb is 5 pto hp per foot of cutter, which would seem to give an answer of "no" to my question, but I have seen more than one person say they operate a 5 ft. cutter with this tractor.

So, does anyone have experience actually using this tractor i this manner? What are your results?

[driver444]

Although I don't have a deere, I can offer some insight. I have a Mahindra 2015 which is the same physical size, and almost exactly the same weight as your 2520. You have 20 PTO horse power, and I have about 18 (some say it's really about 20HP at the PTO).

My tractor runs a 4 foot cutter through anything, and handles it very well. I have run a 5 footer on it, and it did pretty well. In extreme cases, I had to take narrower passes so I wouldn't bog down, but for the most part, it did fine. Horsepower-wise you should be OK.

Here's the thing... Weight-wise, It may be a little heavy. I found on my tractor that the 5 footer, since it hangs so much farther off the back, it makes the front end very light, leading to some control problems, on uneven ground. (yes, I have a loader on there too).

Your're best bet would be ...
1. The absolute heaviest duty 4 foot hog you can find, or
2. A very light duty 5 footer.

[goodbyeNJ]

Tom
I have a 2520 to maintain about 20 acres. For the fields I use a Woods Brush Bull 60 and have no problems with it. As stated, the things are heavy with the weight cantilevered off the back. I keep the loader on (keep the bucket low) and have no control problems.
My ground is hilly in spots, and pretty rough in places, so I necessarily go fairly slow. No problem at all with power, can always take a full cut, even in the areas where I cut only once a year.

[TomWhite]

Tom
I have a 2520 to maintain about 20 acres. For the fields I use a Woods Brush Bull 60 and have no problems with it. As stated, the things are heavy with the weight cantilevered off the back. I keep the loader on (keep the bucket low) and have no control problems.
My ground is hilly in spots, and pretty rough in places, so I necessarily go fairly slow. No problem at all with power, can always take a full cut, even in the areas where I cut only once a year.

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

driver444 - I don't currently own the deere, but it is one I am looking at.

goodbyeNJ - I would imagine my KK is lighter tan your Woods. Just the nature of the way the two companies do things.

Most of my cutting is on fairly level fields, with some long sloping. Nothing treacherous.

[RollTideRam]

I had a 2520 and used it with a deere 5' cutter without any issues. I did leave the loader on to help keep weight on the front. JC

[RalphVa]

I met a guy at one of our housing association meeting who has a smaller Kubota (think it's only 16-18 hp). He said he's run a 5' hog on it but needed some weights in the front, without a FEL.

One attachment you could get for a 12 hp Gravely was a 50" finish mower. You can do the hp prorate to figure that hp isn't the issue. It's the weight out the back on hilly ground. A 12 hp Gravely badly needs steering brakes to handle it, even with only a 30" brush hog on it.

Ralph

[GordNovo]

Tom, I too own a 5 ft rough cutter. It's a standard duty Kodiak and it weights 510 lbs. It works beautifully. I've mowed down dried up ponds during one of our really dry summers.. these ponds haven't been cut in decades, where the reeds are literally 8ft tall.. and had no problems.

If keeping the bucket on isn't ideal because of tight spots and what not, hang a couple of suitcase weights off the front of the frame instead and you're good to go.

have fun!!!

[B8FISH]

Yep--I used a 2520 with an LX-5 with no problems (kept the loader on).

[TomWhite]

Tom, I too own a 5 ft rough cutter. It's a standard duty Kodiak and it weights 510 lbs. It works beautifully. I've mowed down dried up ponds during one of our really dry summers.. these ponds haven't been cut in decades, where the reeds are literally 8ft tall.. and had no problems.

If keeping the bucket on isn't ideal because of tight spots and what not, hang a couple of suitcase weights off the front of the frame instead and you're good to go.

have fun!!!

I know what you mean about the pond. Last summer ('07) was pretty dry around here so last winter I was actually able to bush hog the cattails around the lake. These had previously been in the water, but were on dry land due to the lake water level going down.

[Runner]

Tom,

I use a 2520 with a Frontier RC1060 rotary cutter on a 4 acre pasture without problems. I have very hilly property and keep the loader frame on, without the bucket. In that configuration, I can stand on the back of the RC and the front wheels of the tractor won't come off the ground.

If I were going to mow without the loader frame, I would use some front weights on the bracket.

No problems power-wise.