Rotary Cutter Best 7 foot, dual tailwheel rotary cutter?

[andrewj]

hi folks. I am limited on funds but need a new cutter. I found a king kutter at TSC for 2200 bucks. appears to have hevy duty gearbox with 6 or 8 heavy bolts. It is a pull type cutter.

Questions: would a woods or bush hog 7 footer dual tailwheel be much more expensive?

am I making a mistake getting pull type?

just for information, I have purcheased KK brand eqpt. before and am aware of the basic construction and horrible paint job.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

hi folks. I am limited on funds but need a new cutter. I found a king kutter at TSC for 2200 bucks. appears to have hevy duty gearbox with 6 or 8 heavy bolts. It is a pull type cutter.

Questions: would a woods or bush hog 7 footer dual tailwheel be much more expensive?

am I making a mistake getting pull type?

just for information, I have purcheased KK brand eqpt. before and am aware of the basic construction and horrible paint job.

First, to answer the question about pricing. Yes, Bush Hog or Woods mowers will be somewhat higher. The gap between KK and Bush Hog/Woods is narrowed a bit when you get to heavy duty mowers though. You'll probably find Woods and Bush Hog listing saftey chains as standard equipment on bigger, heavy duty mowers, where they're optional and don't appear in the base price with KK. Also, both BUsh Hog and Woods provide you with a longer warranty period. Never had to deal with a parts issue on KK but have heard a few horror stories. Woods is "good", and Bush Hog is "great" at getting you back up and running quickly, should something break.

For the "average Joe", a KK heavy duty mower will last quite a while. If you're mowing big acreage, or doing so commercially, you might want to step up to the "name brand" mowers. There is a difference in quality, albiet slight. (Also consider mowers from "ALAMO GROUP"---Rhino, Alamo, or Shulte.)

If you're on relatively flat ground, there is no disadvantage to a pull-type mower, and there are a few advantages. Your tractor will breath easier with less weight on the hitch. That will make the tractor ride better too. I'd want a hydraulic lift cylinder as opposed to a "turnbuckle" arraingment to lift the mower, but wouldn't hesitate for one minute to buy a pull-type mower if your conditions allow it.

 

[andrewj]

First, to answer the question about pricing. Yes, Bush Hog or Woods mowers will be somewhat higher. The gap between KK and Bush Hog/Woods is narrowed a bit when you get to heavy duty mowers though. You'll probably find Woods and Bush Hog listing saftey chains as standard equipment on bigger, heavy duty mowers, where they're optional and don't appear in the base price with KK. Also, both BUsh Hog and Woods provide you with a longer warranty period. Never had to deal with a parts issue on KK but have heard a few horror stories. Woods is "good", and Bush Hog is "great" at getting you back up and running quickly, should something break.

For the "average Joe", a KK heavy duty mower will last quite a while. If you're mowing big acreage, or doing so commercially, you might want to step up to the "name brand" mowers. There is a difference in quality, albiet slight. (Also consider mowers from "ALAMO GROUP"---Rhino, Alamo, or Shulte.)

If you're on relatively flat ground, there is no disadvantage to a pull-type mower, and there are a few advantages. Your tractor will breath easier with less weight on the hitch. That will make the tractor ride better too. I'd want a hydraulic lift cylinder as opposed to a "turnbuckle" arraingment to lift the mower, but wouldn't hesitate for one minute to buy a pull-type mower if your conditions allow it.

thanks FWJ - my ground is actually quite rolling, which is my worry about a pull type cutter. What type of terrain will be difficult with a pull type?

 

[Farmwithjunk]

thanks FWJ - my ground is actually quite rolling, which is my worry about a pull type cutter. What type of terrain will be difficult with a pull type?

Rocky, choppy, lots of ditches, stumps. Biggest single advantage to a 3-point hitch mounted mower is the agility and manuverability you have over a "1-point hitch". Dodging or raising the mower to drive over obsticals is a bit tougher in many cases with a drawn mower. If you have sufficient room to manuever around the really rough stuff, you can get away with a drawn mower.

Let me go over something I said in my earlier post. You won't eliminate the mowers weight from the tractor entirely. In fact, when mowing, the weight will be very close to the same as with a mounted mower. Where you lessen the load on the tractor is when the mower is RAISED. Raise the mounted mower and go from carrying 1/2 the weight, to ALL the weight when lifted. Drawn mower has no change in effect on tractor, raised OR lowered.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

thanks FWJ - my ground is actually quite rolling, which is my worry about a pull type cutter. What type of terrain will be difficult with a pull type?

Rocky, choppy, lots of ditches, stumps. Biggest single advantage to a 3-point hitch mounted mower is the agility and manuverability you have over a "1-point hitch". Dodging or raising the mower to drive over obsticals is a bit tougher in many cases with a drawn mower. If you have sufficient room to manuever around the really rough stuff, you can get away with a drawn mower.

And about something I said in the first post. You won't eliminate the mowers weight from the tractor with a drawn mower as compared to a mounted mower. But, with a 3-point mower, you get ALL the mowers weight on the back of the tractor when you raise it, after carrying around 1/2 of it when mowing. Drawn type has no effect on the tractor when you raise it.

 

[Turkeyman]

Check the SC Dept of Agr- Market Bulletin- it is on line and comes out every 2 weeks and they have good deals. I am looking for 8-10 ft Med duty mower and will stay away from the pull type. Perfer semi mount or 3pt, need to avoid trees and rocks. Puul types often bind in sharp turns or hills. I would go with Woods for BH as they will be cheaper over 20 yrs.

 

[art]

It sounds like you have easy going and no big cutting to do. For that I like Bush Hog's Squealer line would work and I like the 84T on the three point hitch.

It's twin spindle keeps it close to the tractor and with the offset it makes it nice for edges.

 

[Glowplug]

Check the SC Dept of Agr- Market Bulletin- it is on line and comes out every 2 weeks and they have good deals. I am looking for 8-10 ft Med duty mower and will stay away from the pull type. Perfer semi mount or 3pt, need to avoid trees and rocks. Puul types often bind in sharp turns or hills. I would go with Woods for BH as they will be cheaper over 20 yrs.

You must have one helluva tractor to be able to run a 10 foot lift type!! I have a 10 foot pull-type mower. You're right, it does bind somewhat in tight turns. I would LOVE to get a 7' lift-type mower for the option of more maneuverability and for tight obstacles and rough terrain. Since I usually have the mindset that bigger is better I first looked at Woods BB8400. That is one serious piece of steel. It's really too much even for my tractor. The Woods BB840 is just right. I have also looked at BushHog 297 and Rhino TW84. Right now I prefer the Woods and Bushhog. By the way, when I say "looked at", I'm referring to just drooling and dreaming. No way can I afford one of these right now. But I can still dream!

 

[Turkeyman]

Chuck:
Have a 4720 just 50 pto hp and would keep my 4 in 1 bucket on for counter weight. Probably never would lift the rear wheels off the ground. I want it for stability on hills. My 5 ft tree cutter weighs 1650-1700 lbs and I often pick it up and tilt it forward w/ T&T. Most 8-10ft med duty mowers are in the 1700- 1900 lb range.
You have a great looking Kubota- great Ad shot!