Rotary Cutter Looking for a reliable (proper sized) bush hog

[Kubotafarmer98]

Would a 6ft bush hog be too small or about the right size for either a JD 5075E or Kubota m7060? Currently have a MX5200

and plan to purchase a 70ish hp tractor in the future and would like to be able to run the same bush hog on both tractors.

 

[jaxs]

A cutter is never"too small"as long as the clutch is properly adjusted(or proper shear pin is used).

 

[Roadworthy]

Brush Hogs generally have a horsepower rating for the gearbox. The width of cut won't be too small but I think you can have too much power for the light transmissions in some units.

 

[Notforhire]

To the OP; What do you intend on cutting? Are you mowing pasture, or cutting small trees and brush? How big an area?
Heavy duty cutters weigh more, and cost more, but hold up better.
Check the price difference between a six foot and eight foot cutter. Unless you have a good size pasture, a six footer may be a better choice.
I may be wrong but the weight of a 8 footer would be pushing a MX.

I run a BH 286 behind my 5055e and I'm happy with it. Weight is almost 1,000 lbs. w/110 HP gearbox. It's rated for a 2 inch diameter cut.
A BH-3308 weighs about 1800 lbs. Nice mower, they are pricey.

 

[HCJtractor]

Go with a Woods model 720. Not the model 70. The 720 is heavier duty, has a stronger gear box and blades, and thicker steel, plus replaceable skids. I have both. The 720 is much better. Running it on a M 6800 Kubota

 

[Notforhire]

The 720 looks like an excellent heavy duty cutter.
The OP wants to use his cutter on his MX5200. The 720 may be weigh too much for the MX. Maybe someone familiar with this tractor will comment.

Go with a Woods model 720. Not the model 70. The 720 is heavier duty, has a stronger gear box and blades, and thicker steel, plus replaceable skids. I have both. The 720 is much better. Running it on a M 6800 Kubota

 

[Zebrafive]

Go with a Woods model 720. Not the model 70. The 720 is heavier duty, has a stronger gear box and blades, and thicker steel, plus replaceable skids. I have both. The 720 is much better. Running it on a M 6800 Kubota

I think you mean 72, not 70. The Woods BrushBull 720 or 840 is my want list.

 

[leonz]

Would a 6ft bush hog be too small or about the right size for either a JD 5075E or Kubota m7060? Currently have a MX5200
and plan to purchase a 70ish hp tractor in the future and would like to be able to run the same bush hog on both tractors.

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Don't rule out the Mathews Company 6 foot flail shredder for your mowing needs.
It is a towed flail shredder that can mow down to 2 inched in height.
It has a 540 RPM gearbox and has V belts for the flail mower drive.
The 6 foot flail shredder uses an overrunning constant velocity joint to allow the mower to make tight turns while mowing.
It can be equipped with a ratchet jack or a hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower the cutting height.

 

[jeff9366]

Ample power for a six foot bush hog is 45 - 50 engine horsepower, so your MX5200 should have ample power.

Overall width of M7060 is 73".

So a six foot bush hog should operate fine behind both tractors.

A six foot wide medium duty bush hog with a Category 3 drive line will weigh around 650 pounds.

A six foot wide heavy duty bush hog with a Category 4 drive line will weigh around 1,100 pounds.

 

[Kubotafarmer98]

To the OP; What do you intend on cutting? Are you mowing pasture, or cutting small trees and brush? How big an area?
Heavy duty cutters weigh more, and cost more, but hold up better.
Check the price difference between a six foot and eight foot cutter. Unless you have a good size pasture, a six footer may be a better choice.
I may be wrong but the weight of a 8 footer would be pushing a MX.

I run a BH 286 behind my 5055e and I'm happy with it. Weight is almost 1,000 lbs. w/110 HP gearbox. It's rated for a 2 inch diameter cut.
A BH-3308 weighs about 1800 lbs. Nice mower, they are pricey.

I plan to cut anything from light grass to heavy brush and some of what I mow is on steep hillsides with the MX.

 

[deserteagle71]

I've used the same General (Rhino) SE-6 rotary cutter for 20 years now, first with my John Deere 2020 and now with my Kubota M7060HDC12. Only thing I've ever had to do to the cutter was change the PTO driveshaft, and I spend a lot of hours cutting with this thing every year. Mainly cutting grass and weeds up to 3-4 feet tall. The John Deere is rated at around 50 horsepower and has absolutely no problems running the 6' cutter. The Kubota is 70 hp and I only use EPTO, never felt like it was struggling.

As my acres are fairly flat, I'm on the lookout for a larger mower, perhaps even a batwing, to be able to cut more at a pass.

 

[Notforhire]

IMHO your limiting factor would be what the MX can handle and your wallet, not necessarily in that order.
Since you are cutting heavy brush, I would think a light weight unit wouldn't last long.
A friend of mine has a eight foot twin, it's a great cutter, but as I mentioned, it may be too much weight for the MX.

I plan to cut anything from light grass to heavy brush and some of what I mow is on steep hillsides with the MX.

 

[HCJtractor]

I think you mean 72, not 70. The Woods BrushBull 720 or 840 is my want list.

Yes, my mistake. 72, not 70. The BB720 is the heavier duty version a step above the BB72. Replaceable skids are a must in my opinion at least for what I use mine for, over rough land and rugged use

 

[Kubotafarmer98]

IMHO your limiting factor would be what the MX can handle and your wallet, not necessarily in that order.
Since you are cutting heavy brush, I would think a light weight unit wouldn't last long.
A friend of mine has a eight foot twin, it's a great cutter, but as I mentioned, it may be too much weight for the MX.

Well I have talked to the dealer about the 8ft cutter and they said that the tractor would handle it but I'm guessing that I
wouldn't be able to get into heavy grass with that cutter on the MX. I'm currently running a 5ft King Kutter and it's about on it's last leg, I've looked at a woods bb72x, land pride rcf2072 and a bush hog bh26 and all 3 seem to be heavy duty bush hogs, but as you said my main issue is the cost.

 

[LeadPoison]

I have a BB 720. 13 years problem free. I run it on a m4900/45 PTO. Handles it just fine.
I'd go 8' twin blade for my next mower. 7 foot single is just too awkward.

 

[Kubotafarmer98]

I have a BB 720. 13 years problem free. I run it on a m4900/45 PTO. Handles it just fine.
I'd go 8' twin blade for my next mower. 7 foot single is just too awkward.

I talked to the dealer about a 7ft and heard pretty much the same thing about it being to far back with all the weight behind the tractor and getting too light in the front end even with the loader, I think I'd be perfectly happy with a heavy duty 6ft like the BB720X but would a 1,200lb mower like this be too heavy for the MX on hillsides?

 

[HCJtractor]

I ran my BB720 behind my second tractor, a Massey 240, about a 40 horse. I’m not sure of how that compares to a MX. But I definitely thought it was too big for my little Massey to handle. It was scary on the hills. Now my bigger M6800 handles it fine.

 

[Kubotafarmer98]

I ran my BB720 behind my second tractor, a Massey 240, about a 40 horse. I’m not sure of how that compares to a MX. But I definitely thought it was too big for my little Massey to handle. It was scary on the hills. Now my bigger M6800 handles it fine.

I've ran a Land Pride RCF2072 before but on a different tractor and it's a very nice and stout mower but I'm between the LP mower and either the Woods BB720 or the BB72. The MX5200 is a light weight tractor so I don't want to get a mower too heavy for it and the tractor should have more than enough hp to run any of the 3. So I guess its just a matter of personal preference or is one better that the other?

 

[Notforhire]

Well I have talked to the dealer about the 8ft cutter and they said that the tractor would handle it but I'm guessing that I
wouldn't be able to get into heavy grass with that cutter on the MX. I'm currently running a 5ft King Kutter and it's about on it's last leg, I've looked at a woods bb72x, land pride rcf2072 and a bush hog bh26 and all 3 seem to be heavy duty bush hogs, but as you said my main issue is the cost.

I was unable to pull up the specs on the Land Pride, but the bb72x has a 75hp gearbox not the 120hp box used on the bb720. The bh26 is similar with a 130hp gearbox.

If I remember correctly a MX is about the same weight as the L series???:confused3:

You may want to talk to someone that owns a MX and one of those mowers before investing, or just use the new machine for your mowing chores.

 

[LeadPoison]

I talked to the dealer about a 7ft and heard pretty much the same thing about it being to far back with all the weight behind the tractor and getting too light in the front end even with the loader, I think I'd be perfectly happy with a heavy duty 6ft like the BB720X but would a 1,200lb mower like this be too heavy for the MX on hillsides?

Probably a bit heavy for an MX.... I think. It's a beast of a cutter.