Should I upgrade?

   / Should I upgrade? #1  

trook

Gold Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Messages
458
Location
North Central Mississippi
Tractor
JD 5075E Cab
I currently use a JD3320 (32/25hp) with a Frontier RC2060 rotary cutter. I have been using this combination for about 2 months to bush hog small pieces of commertial property (2-4 acres). After realizing that much of this property has lots of hidden goodies (large holes, deep ruts, chunks of concrete, 1/4" rebar, etc) hidden in the 5ft brush, I am considering upgrading to a 6ft medium duty rotary cutter. My current blades and cutter have been taking a beating, and I've bent the lower rear of the sides a few times (by backing up into hard dirt or ditch banks I believe).

Unfortunately, my 3320 doesn't have the pto hp to pull a medium duty cutter through such thick brush.

Therefore, I am considering upgrading to a JD 4120 (43/35hp) or JD 4320 (48/40hp) and a MX-6 JD rotary cutter. I know I'll take a loss on the trade-in, but I'm afraid that I'll eventually lose in the long run by tearing up my 5ft light duty rotary cutter and working the 25pto hp 3320 too hard.

Do you think the JD 4120 or 4320 with the MX-6 is an acceptable and tough enough package? Also, is the quality and toughness of the MX-6 comparable to the med duty bush hog and Rhino cutters?

What are are your thoughts?
 
   / Should I upgrade? #2  
I have the 4120 power reverser & MX6, and have no complaints. I have heard that the ehydro's lose some pto horsepower, so if you go that route you may want to step up to the 4320.

Mower is pretty heavy, and if you dont have a front end loader you will probably need weights or loaded tires if you are mowing hilly terrain.
 
   / Should I upgrade? #3  
I currently use a JD3320 (32/25hp) with a Frontier RC2060 rotary cutter. I have been using this combination for about 2 months to bush hog small pieces of commertial property (2-4 acres). After realizing that much of this property has lots of hidden goodies (large holes, deep ruts, chunks of concrete, 1/4" rebar, etc) hidden in the 5ft brush, I am considering upgrading to a 6ft medium duty rotary cutter. My current blades and cutter have been taking a beating, and I've bent the lower rear of the sides a few times (by backing up into hard dirt or ditch banks I believe).

Unfortunately, my 3320 doesn't have the pto hp to pull a medium duty cutter through such thick brush.

Therefore, I am considering upgrading to a JD 4120 (43/35hp) or JD 4320 (48/40hp) and a MX-6 JD rotary cutter. I know I'll take a loss on the trade-in, but I'm afraid that I'll eventually lose in the long run by tearing up my 5ft light duty rotary cutter and working the 25pto hp 3320 too hard.

Do you think the JD 4120 or 4320 with the MX-6 is an acceptable and tough enough package? Also, is the quality and toughness of the MX-6 comparable to the med duty bush hog and Rhino cutters?

What are are your thoughts?

I have the same set up only I've got a woods 60" medium duty cutter. I use mine commercially for fiield an brush mowing several times a month. My largest account is about 15 acres which hadn't been mower in almost 25 years. So I was quite concerned about what I'd find while mowing. I always run my brush grapple while mowing. I set it about 4" of the ground and move along at a good pace(3-5mph). The brush is anywhere from grass and brush to 2" saplings. My 3320 doesn't even breathe heavy in this stuff and the mower doesn't take a beating at all. That said if I get more accounts next year I'm going to get a tracked skid steer with a front mounted rotary cutter. This way you have the cutter in front and can lift it up and put it down on the bushes and brush. It also seems more producting with a skid.
Just my 2 cents.

Matt;)
 
   / Should I upgrade? #4  
I also have a 4120, gear that I use on a Rhino SE6. The tractor has plenty of power to spare on this mower, so I suspect you would be ok with a hydro.
The Rhino SE6 is plenty tough but does not cut as neatly as the Bush-hog, 5 ft squealer I had on my previous tractor. If I had it to do over again, I would stick with a Bush-hog, light-duty rotary mower. No complaints at all about the 4120 after 4 years of hard use, great fuel efficiency, and zero breakdowns. I never had a single instance where I thought I needed more power. I think those folks who buy more hp in this series are wasting thier money. They dont get any more hydraulic capacity, and I dont see how a tractor of this size could get any more power to the ground.
 
   / Should I upgrade?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Do any of you think the JD MX-6 would be too big for the 3320 (33/25 hp)? I do have a FEL for ballast.
 
   / Should I upgrade? #6  
Yes, definitely too big for that little toy tractor. Underpowered and too small physically. You need about 35 pto hp for a light duty 6 foot cutter in moderate conditions. Go to the dealer and look at the size difference of the 4000 series. It seems like they are nearly twice the size. Of course that is bad if you need to trailer it.
 
   / Should I upgrade? #7  
trook,
Take a good hard long look at this before you jump. It may not be profitable first of all and second with more horsepower you can tear up a large deck too. Operating a mower in unknown ground has to be one of the more problematic things to do with your equipment. Sometimes you need to know what jobs to pass on.

I have an MX6 and had operated it with my 35 hp 820 tractor (4000lb tractor) and thought it did a decent job in most cases. I would not use it on steep hills though with a light tractor. The 4520 I have now handles the MX6 well as should all of the 4000 series tractors.


Steve
 
   / Should I upgrade?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
I figure that moving from the 3000 series with a light duty 5ft cutter to the 4000 series with a MX6 will probably cost in the neighborhood of $7K. I'm not sure that 1 extra foot of cutting capacity and a heavier cutter is worth that. Maybe I should just trade my frontier 5ft cutter on a MX5 and call it good. I suppose the 3320 will adequately handle the MX5. What do you think?
 
   / Should I upgrade? #9  
Depends on the deal you can get in both scenarios. If you can get enough trade in on your light duty deck I too would go with the MX5.

If you are hired to cut the same lots repeatedly and can clear the debris it may help you come out in the longrun.
Sounds like a landscape rake could be your friend too.


Steve
 
   / Should I upgrade? #10  
an MX-5/3320 is a pretty good combo--if you can run over it the MX-5 will shred it. With a little tweaking of blade sharpening and deck leveling you can even get a pretty decent "finish" type cut due to the relatively high blade speed.
 
 
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