Rotary Cutter buying tips - some of the things to look at...

[KYDan]

Here is an image I scanned with the only instructions for the assembly of the frame structure and I did assemble it incorrectly. That will explain the damage to the driveline plastic housing. However, that still doesn't change the basically bad design of the housing. I mow with it with slack in the lift so it can float and I can raise it over obstructions if necessary. The deck should not have buckled from the impact when I backed it into a small stump I did not see in the weeds. It did not damage the skirt which is heavy gauge steel. However, the deck did buckle. I straightened the best I could without totally disassembling the unit and welded reinforcement bars at the buckle area.


Kodiak/Mahindra market this cutter as a medium heavy duty cutter whatever that is.

 

[SPYDERLK]

However, that still doesn't change the basically bad design of the housing. I mow with it with slack in the lift so it can float and I can raise it over obstructions if necessary. The deck should not have buckled from the impact when I backed it into a small stump I did not see in the weeds. It did not damage the skirt which is heavy gauge steel. However, the deck did buckle. I straightened the best I could without totally disassembling the unit and welded reinforcement bars at the buckle area.
View attachment 338543

Kodiak/Mahindra market this cutter as a medium heavy duty cutter whatever that is.

I certainly agree with you there. That is definitely a light duty design - or medium light duty ... probably less durable in the body than some of those that it was declared favorably against. -- Without the variability of real world use and reports of users we wouldnt know. ... A good candidate for the Design Defect thread. Altho overpowered by your substantial tractor that bracket weldment area is deceptively fragile. A short incorporated triangulating gusset would bring that critical area up to par. How much would that cost in production? - a very few $.
larry

 

[arnoldziffel]

Very Interesting.

Where would the short triangulating gusset be installed exactly? My mind is not good at "picturing" things like this.

Would a Heavy Duty rotary cutter of any brand been able to withstand this mishap? I just bought my first cutter, a heavy duty Woods, and I bet I'll be backing into some hidden things now and then. However my tractor is less powerful.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Very Interesting.

Where would the short triangulating gusset be installed exactly? My mind is not good at "picturing" things like this.

Would a Heavy Duty rotary cutter of any brand been able to withstand this mishap? I just bought my first cutter, a heavy duty Woods, and I bet I'll be backing into some hidden things now and then. However my tractor is less powerful.

The brace would go from high on the existing bracket and then down at an angle to meet the body reinforcing frame about 10" rearward. Easiest in production to just lengthen the bracket rearward on a taper. This would roughly double the force needed to bend the frame. Enuf tractor would still bend it. OP will have to speak to how fast he was moving and whether he detected impact or a hard push. ... I do know that my old 6000# tricycle 2010JD 2WD ballasted was brought up short many times backing the 60" JD 127 Gyramor bushog into various immovables.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/281944-127-gyramor-rotary-cutter-john.html#post3332510
The body did not buckle. Af 600# it weighed like a light duty - they used some good steel. :confused3:
larry

 

[Sysop]

That is definitely a light duty design - or medium light duty ...

Altho overpowered by your substantial tractor that bracket weldment area is deceptively fragile.

larry

I agree, KYDan's cutter is made same as the standard duty in the video. Why they would market the same design for standard and medium or heavy makes no sense unless they're just using thicker metals (based on his damage photos it doesn't appear to be the case). Although if you look at that area on the other brands in the video, I don't know that the Kodiak design is much worse off than any of the others, but perhaps it could be a softer grade of steel.

I still think the video gives a lot of first time shoppers some things to look at and consider. I know I've ran at least a dozen different cutters in my life, but never had to buy one and when it came time to buy one they all looked pretty-much the same. Hitch designs are just one of the things it points at to be looked at. (for better or worse)

With a tractor that size, and a stump of 4", I'd have to wonder what wouldn't have bent in the exact same circumstances before calling a design bad. Perhaps it was just a bad choice for the tractor and terrain as both that tractor and the 4" stump are a bit much for any standard duty design. They shouldn't be marketing the same stuff for various duty levels...

 

[xring100]

All the good medium duties I've looked at have clevis style attachments

Woods, Bush Hog, Brown, Landpride

 

[Sysop]

All the good medium duties I've looked at have clevis style attachments

Woods, Bush Hog, Brown, Landpride

Agreed that is a beefy looking lower hitch point. I'd love to see that front seam welded fully, and I'm one of those one types of people that holds the opinion/preference of a smooth bottom with the framework up top just because for my uses I'd prefer the framework to have the protection of the deck, the ease of cleanout of wet grasses without the framework under the deck, and the fact I have no concerns of the framework on top of collecting puddles from weather because they're stored indoors.

 

[KYDan]

I removed and repositioned the lift in the correct position and it really improved the functionality of the the cutter! Thanks for pointing that out to me. I recall now that I called Kodiak when I was assembling it and asked about it as I was experiencing difficulty making everything work with the lift in the first bolt position per the instructions, finally I worked it out. However, it was still incorrect and I had real issues with uneven terrain and scalping even mowing very high. After correctly installing it, it mows like a different machine! I had never seen one work like this one does as all my experience had been with American designs that used the old stop systems that rested against the mount bracket and worked fine. I suppose this design is a little less expensive to build by using less steel. I plan to mow some additional ground with it in the next few days that I mow once a year to control undesirable growth and to keep down trash trees. I didn't have enough time yesterday, but it seemed a decent cutter yesterday for the first time. I was attempting to save a few dollars as the premium heavy duty brands were considerably more expensive than the Kodiak. This is a heavy mower at 815 lbs.

 

[Sysop]

Happy it helped! FYI, Kodiak is an American company and as far as I know the design is theirs. I don't think Mahindra takes part in the design of anything other than base tractor units. They do setup agreements with these sorts of companies to provide their dealers with implements with their name on them, and I'm sure they have input they provide Kodiak from their customers and perhaps some "special" design requirements for certain things.

One thing I like about the flex hitch design is you can extend your top link some so the hitch is flexed some while traveling flat ground and also gain some "droop" to the back of the unit so it doesn't raise up as you crest hills.

 

[Turbys_1700]

My dad back in the day sold Bush Hogs...
Rotary cutters are for the most part regional in appeal based on manufacturer location...
When I was a boy I thought that Bush Hog was the only rotary cutter out there...
They certainly have defined the market...
With that said, all manufacturers make light, medium, and heavy duty cutters...
For the most part light duty will work for most folk...
The medium and heavy cutters are for the custom cutters mowing small trees and such...
I think that sitting in the pasture right now are 6 bush hogs...
Pop would never repair a bad gear box or rusted deck...
He just got another one...
Right now we have two other ones that operate fine but are not what you would call in great shape and have had a lot of abuse...
Our biggest cutter is a 10' Howse and I would consider it a medium cuter...
The Kodiak cutter is a good unit...
Thanks for the video...
Very informative...