Kodiak Mower opinions?

[houser52]

I already have a 6' bush hog that was bought last year but clipping 40-60 acres of pasture twice a year, 6' at a time takes way too long.

I've been reviewing the Kodiak 8' - 10' lift type rotary cutters and have found most reviews to be positive. I looked at them last year at Agri Supply and they looked very heavy duty but have never used one.
The only problem is that about all of the reviews are old. I'd like to hear from anyone who has a more recent opinion of Kodiak cutters.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

6' to 8' isn't a real big jump if you are talking 40-60 acres. Is there a reason you are not considering a batwing?

 

[countrybumpkin]

I went from a 6’ to a twin spindle 8’ , while it did make a difference, I would be looking at a 12’ batwing for that size area.

 

[houser52]

A few reasons I'm not interested in a 12' batwing.

1. The cost is considerably more. The 10' costs almost half as much as a batwing

2. I'm 65 and just need a cutter that'll last my lifetime

3. Not a lot of cutting time difference between a 10' and 12' but a big difference of both compared to the 6'

I ran the time differences between the 6', 10' and 12' mowers from an online calculator.

60 acres- 6' @ 5 mph = 18hr 20min
60 acres- 10' @ 4.5 mph = 12hr 13 min
60 acres- 12' @ 4.5 mph = 10hr 11min

 

[ericm979]

I have a 5' Kodiak standard duty. They use a sturdy tail wheel support- thick tubular steel instead of easily bent strap. That's good as I back into brush. And the pivot design lets it pivot a good ways when you drive through a dip or back up to a slope. I've accidentally pulled up some good sized rocks and other than a lot of banging and a small dent in the skirt from the inside it's been fine.

 

[houser52]

Thanks for the report eric. I'm going through Florence, SC next week and may stop at agri supply to have a look at them again.

Anyone else use an 8'- 10' Kodiak?

 

[ericm979]

If you buy one with a slip clutch check the adjustment. I assumed it was correct and only looked at it when I did the first annual maintenance. It was adjusted too tight. Probably came that way from the gearbox factory.

 

[leonz]

are you looking for new or used?

Have you looked at new or used 10 foot scoop knife flail crop shredders or a used JD390 flail mower with an 8 foot cut?
A scoop knife flail crop shredder will be more than adequate for what you want to do and it will be a safer mower.

There a a lot of good flail mowers on tractor house and other web sites.
With what you want to do you may want to contact Vrisimo in California directly to see if they have any used
rebuilt 10 foot crop shredders for sale and ask for more information about flail crop shredders.

A flail mower or flail crop shredder with side slicer knives will have almost 4-6 times the cutting edge length of a rotary cutters
single edge just on one side of the side slicer knife so if you were to invest in a flail crop shredder with side slicer knives
you would have almost 48 foot of cutting edge to use when mowing on one side of the side slicer knife which has 2 edges to use.

A 12 foot wide cut scoop knife crop shredder will have almost 12 foot of cutting edge to use with fewer knives that are cast heat treated
hardened knives with replaceable edges in some brands.

 

[Liquidsilver]

I was in the same situation as the OP. I bought the 10-foot Titan pull-type. It's not as nimble as a 6-foot lift type, but sure cuts down on the mowing time. I'm finding it to be very well made and great performance. The price was the best thing I could find in its class.

 

[houser52]

are you looking for new or used?

Have you looked at new or used 10 foot scoop knife flail crop shredders or a used JD390 flail mower with an 8 foot cut?
A scoop knife flail crop shredder will be more than adequate for what you want to do and it will be a safer mower.

There a a lot of good flail mowers on tractor house and other web sites.
With what you want to do you may want to contact Vrisimo in California directly to see if they have any used
rebuilt 10 foot crop shredders for sale and ask for more information about flail crop shredders.

A flail mower or flail crop shredder with side slicer knives will have almost 4-6 times the cutting edge length of a rotary cutters
single edge just on one side of the side slicer knife so if you were to invest in a flail crop shredder with side slicer knives
you would have almost 48 foot of cutting edge to use when mowing on one side of the side slicer knife which has 2 edges to use.

A 12 foot wide cut scoop knife crop shredder will have almost 12 foot of cutting edge to use with fewer knives that are cast heat treated
hardened knives with replaceable edges in some brands.

Thanks for the suggestion and I already have a 6' Caroni flail but I'll be going with a rotary cutter.

I like the Caroni for what I use it for but I feel an 8' or 10' rotary will suit me better for mowing pastures, use less fuel and be a lot faster.

Update- I stopped by AgriSupply this afternoon and looked at the HD 10' Kodiak twin spindle mower. That thing was truly heavy duty. I stood on the deck and it was like stepping on a concrete floor, solid as a rock with no give or flex at all. No stitch welding anywhere, complete welds throughout the mower, laminated tires, slip clutch, replaceable skid plates, stump jumpers, good looking paint, everything looked heavy duty.
The only thing that I was unsure about was how to get it home if I bought one. I expect shipping would be several hundred dollars and I'm not sure if it would hang over too far, turned sideways, on my 6 1/2' wide equipment trailer if I hauled it myself.