Which Bushhog for L3400

[ArmsOutWide]

I'm a new owner (15 hours) of an L3400 and a Rhino 172 brush cutter (with chain guards). I would call the mower "standard duty" as there are lighter and heavier models available at that size from Rhino. I also only have 4 hours on the cutter, so take my experience with a grain of salt.

So, given my brief experience, I think a 6' cutter is fine. At first I believed the dealer and was going to get a 5' cutter, but then on advice of the TBN nation I got the 6' instead. I had to talk the dealer into letting me pair the brush cutter / tractor together. It is slightly "over spec" at ~850 lbs, but the tractor handles it fine overall. A couple of times I thought that I was getting a bit of "tail wagging the dog" from the cutter, but later on a neighbor pointed out that my "check chains" had loosened up, and that was probably the cause of the sway.

Anyway, I have been knocking down 1-2" blackjack oak saplings (mostly dead already) with the FEL and then chewing them up with the mower (while mowing waist high grass). Now, most of the tree trunk would get pressed down below the blade of the mower, but after it gets run over the rest is pretty much mulch. On the disclaimer side, I was also driving pretty slow since I was trying to find the rocks BEFORE I ran over them.

 

[N80]

It all depends with what you're cutting. I can bog down my 4400 with a 6 foot cutter in the right stuff. Trying to cut deep, thich clumps of fescue at a low setting is much harder than going through brush and brambles.

I think the 3400 will handle a 6 footer just fine in most situations and if the stuff is too deep, like someone said, overlap a little or raise the mower a bit.

Like someone said, a mower wider than your tires can have advantages, but it also has drawbacks. I like that my 6 footer fits within the wheel width; makes working in tight places a lot easier.

Whatever you do, if you go to a medium duty mower or any heavier unit, the problem is not so much if the hp is sufficient to turn it but if your 3 pt lift capacity is sufficient. Check the specs in your owners manual. It will give you a max weight specifically for a mower. You can't just go by the specs of the 3 pt lift capacity.

 

[beersngars]

I have the same tractor/FEL and have a Woods BB60X. Check out the new X (extreme) series. Woods calls it a heavy standard duty. Some times I wish it was a 72" rather than the 60", but the 60" is nice to get in and out of trees that I mow around. As far as power I have no complaints.

 

[Kevin12]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I will probably go with the 5ft bush hog SQ160 or the Woods BB60 which seem that they would be a good standard duty hog for what I am doing.

L3400DT, 463 FEL

 

[Texas Dodge]

I have a L3400 with a 5ft Continental Bronco cutter and it works great.

 

[Danno1]

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I think your bush-hogs would work better if you cleaned, painted, and waxed them!!!

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[N80]

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I think your bush-hogs would work better if you cleaned, painted, and waxed them!!!

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I painted mine last weekend! Its a JD LX-6 and it was starting to rust (again) on top. So I wire brushed it (with a drill), primed it and painted it JD green again. I do like for it to look good, but, it lives outdoors 24/7/365 so the paint at least helps it not to tutn into a rust bucket.