Buying Advice John Deere 3320 or 3520
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bluebuck746
New member
Depending on the work for the cutter (I do extensive field mowing during the spring/summer)and have the heavier JD5X brush hog. I find that if you spend a little more and get the commercial grade attachments, in the long run you have less problems. Additionally, whatever cutter you decide on, find one with a disc slip clutch or have one put on. It saves the carriage and eliminates the need for shear pins. Just my 2c worth.
I don' know what the maximum size rotary cutter the JD 3520 can handle but I have been looking at 60" cutters. The dealer gave me a price for a Frontier RC2060 for $1605 and that has a slip clutch. I believe it is a light duty cutter so I have been comparing it to other light duty cutters. TSC has the County Line 60" for $899 and I found a Howse 60" for $950. The County line does not come with a Guard Kit and I called TSC and they had no information on the kit. I do believe you can add a slip clutch to the County line. The Howse has safety chains which I like but I have not talked to the dealer about adding a slip clutch. I like the slip clutch but don't they require a lot of maintenance and still tend to seize up after a number of years? I also like the suggestion of going with a heavier duty cutter for durability which I would normally do. However, I start adding up the cost of additional future attachments and thinking about storage and start cutting back.
Borderpond
New member
That sounds like a good price on the Frontier 2060. I priced out a RC2048 for my JD 4100 yesterday. It was $1495 and has the slip clutch. Everyone I have spoken to around here says that I will be very glad that I have the slip clutch. I was told the RC2048 would handle 1 and a half inch brush easy. I was thinking of the 48" County line because its so much cheaper( $799 at TSC) but think I will go with the Frontier as I know its built better and has the slip clutch.
bluebuck746
New member
The 60" is a good size for the 3520. I have mowed fields 4'+ and have had no problems. Here in oregon, we have blackberry bushes that love fencelines. I have found my MX5 John Deere mower can handle heavy brush equally as well. The safety chains are the way to go since they do not lay the grass down and protects the driver from flying debris.
As for the slip clutch, I have replaced only one disc on a large Gearmor tiller, otherwise have never had a problem. No need for adjustment unless you find the mower not working properly, then you adust the clutch according to manufacturer's specifications (invest small torque wrench and that's it).
I believe the commercial mowers all come with the slip clutch however I could be wrong. Here are a couple of pictures of my set up.
Attachments
Nice set up Bluebuck. I like the pictures. I measured my tires to make sure 60" would be wide enough. Looks like from your pictures it will be plenty wide. I got some more prices on Rotary cutters.
Woods 60" brush bull $1700 with slip clutch, Orange in stock but can order green
Brush Hog RTS62 62" $2150 with slip clutch, Red and Orange
Land Pride 60" $2300 Red but can order green
I am surprised Land Pride is the highest actually.
What justifies the higher prices over Howse or County Line? Are they that much more durable? I am going to go out and look to compare this weekend. Any suggestions on what I should be looking to compare?
Woods 60" brush bull $1700 with slip clutch, Orange in stock but can order green
Brush Hog RTS62 62" $2150 with slip clutch, Red and Orange
Land Pride 60" $2300 Red but can order green
I am surprised Land Pride is the highest actually.
What justifies the higher prices over Howse or County Line? Are they that much more durable? I am going to go out and look to compare this weekend. Any suggestions on what I should be looking to compare?
bluebuck746
New member
I do not know too much about the mowers you are pricing since I have much of my experience with John Deere. I paid $1850 for my Mower in '07.
I can only speak for what I own...that said, you want to size the mower to the tractor's PTO rating/Side Skirts should be at min. 1/4" thick (takes a lot of beating)/Upper deck a min. of 1/8" steel/Rotation (per owners manual: 540/14,347ft/min).
Make sure you keep your blades sharp and your mowing deck properly adjusted.
Your deck should be slightly lower in front so you are not double cutting the grass...as for sharpening, I have developed my own way of doing things. *Make sure deck is supported before removing blades.(MX5 Wt. 728lbs.) To Remove disconnect PTO from tractor, look in inspection/access cover on top of mower, and remove blade nuts...I use an impact wrench with long extention. Once removed, I use a 1/4 grinder to reshape and hone up the cutting edges. Now here is where it gets tricky. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THE BLADES ARE BALANCED OR YOU WILL THINK YOU ARE IN A BLENDER WHEN YOU ENGAGE THE PTO) I keep my blades balanced very simply. I have a 2ft. piece of 2x2 wood with several staples set to hold a round bolt or??? I use my Phillips Screwdriver. I place the block in a vice and level it so the two staples are facing up and away from the vice. Insert the bar or (my case) the screwdriver through the staples so the handle just hangs off the end. I then have a piece of 1/2" rebar 24" long. I ground a small indentation in the center and use this as a reference pt for center. When you place it on the bar, the rebar should be balanced.
Take the two blades and hang each simultaniously on each end of the rebar. If one blade goes lower than the other, you know that is heavier and more grinding has to be done to it. \ This is a fail proof way of doing it and has worked every time I have done it.
Good Luck
I can only speak for what I own...that said, you want to size the mower to the tractor's PTO rating/Side Skirts should be at min. 1/4" thick (takes a lot of beating)/Upper deck a min. of 1/8" steel/Rotation (per owners manual: 540/14,347ft/min).
Make sure you keep your blades sharp and your mowing deck properly adjusted.
Your deck should be slightly lower in front so you are not double cutting the grass...as for sharpening, I have developed my own way of doing things. *Make sure deck is supported before removing blades.(MX5 Wt. 728lbs.) To Remove disconnect PTO from tractor, look in inspection/access cover on top of mower, and remove blade nuts...I use an impact wrench with long extention. Once removed, I use a 1/4 grinder to reshape and hone up the cutting edges. Now here is where it gets tricky. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THE BLADES ARE BALANCED OR YOU WILL THINK YOU ARE IN A BLENDER WHEN YOU ENGAGE THE PTO) I keep my blades balanced very simply. I have a 2ft. piece of 2x2 wood with several staples set to hold a round bolt or??? I use my Phillips Screwdriver. I place the block in a vice and level it so the two staples are facing up and away from the vice. Insert the bar or (my case) the screwdriver through the staples so the handle just hangs off the end. I then have a piece of 1/2" rebar 24" long. I ground a small indentation in the center and use this as a reference pt for center. When you place it on the bar, the rebar should be balanced.
Take the two blades and hang each simultaniously on each end of the rebar. If one blade goes lower than the other, you know that is heavier and more grinding has to be done to it. \ This is a fail proof way of doing it and has worked every time I have done it.
Good Luck
Spindifferent
Gold Member
No issues with a 6 foot Frontier RC 1072 on my 3520.
- Spindifferent
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