Rotary Cutter Which brush cutter to buy

[Wesdor]

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

 

[RWolf]

Quality in manufacture, heavy duty compared to light. Kinda depends on models. Which one will last the longest? Depends on what you're planning on cutting. I would suspect that the JD brand will outlast the KK brand. For my pastures I don't expect to buy another shedder. I ended up going through my dealer on a 6' frontier. Now if I just can keep from shearing pins.

 

[foggy1111]

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

I think some price difference is well justified...but your going to have to decide how much. I assume your comparing an MX 5 with the KK. They typically say their is Light, Medium and Heavy Duty Cutters.....I'm not sure if the MX5 qualifies as a HD cutter...but I'm certain it's at least one (likely two) notch over the KK. Then there's deck design differences: formed double panel steel vs single wall flat sheet. Then there is Paint...baked-on auto quality vs no prime spray. Then there is safety chains....yes or no. And then we have gear box heft and blade quality, as well as build quality and weight and warranty.

I can justify most of the MX5 John Deere....but I can't nicely fit the MX5 on the back of my little tractor (too heavy ).....so.....I bought a 5' King Cutter ($550.00) and added my own safety chains. I figure I can abuse three of 'em at these price differences....but I'd still like the JD.

 

[wny770]

Have you checked into a woods brushbull? There's a reason they've been manufacturing cutters since the 50's...

 

[coobie]

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

Make sure to compare apples to apples when shopping!!What gauge steel is the deck?How about the Hp of the gear box?What is the warrenty?IMHO,I would look at JD,woods,landpride to name a few brands.I guess the other question would be how many times do plan on useing the mower each year,a few or many?If I was just mowing a few acres a couple times a year the king kutter would last a long time.Good luck on your choice.coobie

 

[Wesdor]

Thanks for all the replies. And if there are other thoughts please add them as well.

It is nice to hear what the rest of you are saying and it makes a lot of sense. Like a lot of other people, I prefer to purchase quality when possible and would rather save for a few months longer and buy better equipment.

You are helping nudge me toward that green machine.

 

[CDsdad]

If you are spending a lot of hours mowing on rough terrain, I'd go with Bushhog, Rhino, Woods, or something along that line. Howse even makes a heavy duty. For what I'd call general use (not clearing 3"+ saplings or 15' high brush), you could probably get great service out of KK, Howse, or such. There is a difference in quality in the brands, which is reflected in the price. I would tear up a light duty Howse, but it works great for my father.

 

[Soundguy]

whatcha gonna do with it? clip your pasture now and then.. or go into a mowing business?

soundguy

I priced a 60" (5 ft) brush mower from the local Deere dealer. His price was $2300. At the local Farm and Fleet store I can buy a 5 ft King Kutter for about $900.

Can anyone give me a comparison of quality - especially why the one is more than twice the other?

Green paint can't be that expensive (smile)

 

[JoeinTX]

Like others have stated, what are you going to doing with it? If you're going to be cutting 5 acres a few times a year to keep the place looking nice then save your dough and buy the KK . If you are tackling rough brush or feral pastures or going into biz then get something else.

That being said, I paid $500 for a new Howse 5' shredder 4 years ago (Lord, the price of these things today) and I've been totally happy with it using it on everything from damp grass to 1" plus mesquite and jubu. It still looks new wth no failures of any kind.

 

[Soundguy]

I paid 450$ for my 5' kk ?9ys ago.. has knocked out a fence pole or two.. mowed hundreds of ant mounds.. found burried lumber, cut some 1.5: woodt material as some thick green saplings.

oh yeah..actully managed to cut some grass with it too!

still works good... starting to show it age with faded paint and a weepy input shaft seal.. but that's about it.

soundguy