Rotary cutters: Why does the cost vary so much between brands?

[ctlguy]

That's a good point. The KK is rated at 40HP, the LP doesn't list a rating, but the spec says it's recommended for up to 65HP, although both are listed as cast iron with the same gearing mechanism. So you could speculate some increased cost due to the better gearbox. $50? $100?

Let's assume $100 for the gearbox, and $200 for the slipclutch. Now we're comparing a $1000 KK to a $1700 (adjusted) LP. Still, that's a 70% difference for what amounts to the same metal, same basic design.

I still think it's out of whack.


HH

I think you are really really underestimating what a good quality gear box costs. There is no way a KK gear box is only $100-$200 cheaper than a quality HD gearbox. Probably better off to assume that there is closer to $500 - $600 diference. Take this all the way down the machine from what kind of blade pan is used (and the hdwe to att), tail wheel (style, brgs, etc), Deck shell (some outfits are better at mfg than others), drive line quality, floating hitch vs non floating, and of course slip clutch vs shear. Add all of these things up and you are at the price difference.

 

[Zebrafive]

I think you are really really underestimating what a good quality gear box costs. There is no way a KK gear box is only $100-$200 cheaper than a quality HD gearbox. Probably better off to assume that there is closer to $500 - $600 diference. Take this all the way down the machine from what kind of blade pan is used (and the hdwe to att), tail wheel (style, brgs, etc), Deck shell (some outfits are better at mfg than others), drive line quality, floating hitch vs non floating, and of course slip clutch vs shear. Add all of these things up and you are at the price difference.

I agree, $500 more would be realistic for a good gear box vs an economy gear box.
Tail wheel on KK might be on a sleeve and LP might have taper roller bearings.

 

[schmism]

I always keep in mind what i intend to use it for.

If i intend to hog pastures, yards etc for a business/ side job I run a much larger chance of destroying the 1K version fairly quickly.

If on the other hand i plan to cut edges around my pasture, mow some trails in my woods, cut the overgrown areas around the property a couple a times a year, I have no reason to spend another 1K on an item id never wear out in my lifetime with that use in mind.

You have to ask yourself what features your giveing up and how is that going to affect your use.

take a box blade. I have a cheep inexpensive one. only weighs 200 ish pounds. I can still bring my 33 hp tractor to a stop if i use it aggressively. But I happen to REALLY need to use my BB to grade a friends property and I was getting no were with the hard ground. I tossed a 5' section of RR on top that has to weigh 400lbs and its an ENTIRELY different tool. conclusion? for the light use i normally do ill never wear it out. Ill likely never bend any arms or rip out any ripper shanks. BUT the added weight is a major player. So for me, if i had to buy again? No i probably wouldn't spend 3x the money i did for mine to get a HD version when its so easy to buy an inexpensive one and just add some weight.
Again if i was grading yards as a business then ya id likely have an HD version. (or a skidsteer)

 

[Soundguy]

metal, options, build technique.. name.. etc... metal treatment. all add up to $$$

 

[bcp]

take a box blade. I have a cheep inexpensive one. only weighs 200 ish pounds. I can still bring my 33 hp tractor to a stop if i use it aggressively. But I happen to REALLY need to use my BB to grade a friends property and I was getting no were with the hard ground. I tossed a 5' section of RR on top that has to weigh 400lbs and its an ENTIRELY different tool. conclusion?

Weight is a big help for blade work, but I bet that rail is closer to 200 pounds than 400.

The heaviest railroad rail used in the US is about 50lbs per foot (155lbs/yd).
Rail Identifier Chart Majestic Rail Products Group, Inc.

Bruce

 

[horse7]

... snip ...

I bought a Chicago reciprocating saw at Harbor Freight, on sale, $39 bucks. The REAL Sawzall is about ten times as much, and if I was a contractor, using it every day, a bargain. My clone will last a long, long time, because it mostly sits and waits. Same thing with a "bush hog"- five acres, twice a year, vs someone maintaining a 100 acre horse farm.

If I buy a tool and break/wear it out, I buy up to a higher quality or duty level next time since clearly I'm making use of the tool, and what I had was not sufficient to the task.

I went from a Sears consumer hammer drill and (several steps later) now use a big Hitachi spline...

I bought a medium duty BH 278 (and broke it) but they don't make something too similar to a 278 in heavy duty. So I fixed the 278, and hopefully the heavy brush will be cleared before it breaks again. But I would have been happier buying a heavy duty version of a 278...

 

[Michael Brown]

Wind Special 600 made in AL six ft bush hog cannot tear it up without 50 ptp hp unless you abuse it Good product! No brand name issues.

 

[90cummins]

As was said quality is more than the eye can see.
The quality and processing of the steel used for the gear box casting, gears, shafts and bearings have a huge impact on the life expectancy of the product.
There is a huge influx of cheap imported products (china) that allows companies to sell lets say a rotary cutter at a very attractive low price.
Rotary cutters can be subjected to incredible abuse hitting stones, stumps and other unseen objects.
Failure cannot be eliminated but high quality materials and manufacturing processes (higher cost) will provide much longer service life.
Having worked in transmission engineering the unseen details can have a huge impact on toughness and life expectancy of gears & bearings.
If you need to maintain property then the less expensive item may be the right choice, but if you intend to expand & clear new over grown property with hidden objects spend the additional money.
I purchased a TSC rotary cutter many years ago and it has performed well but I have had two blades break one of which punched a hole in the side of the mower disappearing into the hillside.
Also choose a mower with the higher rated HP will better handle the abuse.

 

[JasG]

Of all implements I've shopped for, I've never seen a wider range of prices for what is essentially the same thing than I have with rotary cutters. For such a simple tool with a decades old standard design, why does the cost vary so much?

For example, I can get a Countryline (King Kutter) 6' rotary cutter from TSC for about $1000, or I can buy a 6' Land Pride version with a slipclutch for $2000. Both have the same gauge steel, same thickness blades, and same tailwheel design. A 100% difference in price. The slipclutch can't add more than $200 to the cost, so why the massive difference in price? I can't think of any other implement where this kind of price disparity (100%!) exists for such a similar tool.

With other implements there are, at a minimum, some feature differences that distinguish themselves and justify a higher price, but with rotary cutters it's just a crap shoot as to what you pay.


HH

Is the KK made here or in China? I had read they were being made over there, but don't know for sure.

There are costs with doing buisness here, OSHA, EPA, etc that have to be factored into the costs, along with wages and benefits.

Also fit and finish, landpride brush hog etc take pride in how the thing looks not only today but 5-7 years down the road. So they tend to use higher quality materials.