Land Pride RCR1872 vs RCF2772

[Brily Farms]

I would recommend NOT purchasing any Land Pride equipment. I made the mistake of purchasing a RCF2084 and used it behind my MX5800. The cutter side walls bent inward to the point the blades were hitting the sides of the cutter deck. This happened while cutting ditches. When I contacted Land Pride, they told me I'm not supposed to cut ditches with a rotary cutter. Funny thing, I'd been cutting ditches with my Woods 60" rotary cutter for years without the first dent. I would suggest you consider Woods for your next mower. I believe they manufacture a better product than Land Pride. The Land Pride/Kubota relationship is good for Land Pride; not a good fit for Kubota IMO.

 

[N7HEVN]

Not sure if this will be helpful, but sharing my experience in hopes that it may be.
As my forum signature shows, I have the following, which would relate to your inquiries -

Kubota MX5200
Land Pride, Quick Hitch QH15
Land Pride, Rotary Cutter RCR2672

Where my retirement land is in eastern-central Oklahoma, there's just a crap-ton of rocks. That whole eastern side of OK has the saying, "we grow rocks", because they just seem to keep popping up.
When I'd purchased the land in late 2019, and when I found it listed for sale, it hadn't been mowed in several years. It was just weeds, brush, and sticker vines; and the rocks underneath that I could not see (fist size, to, damn, that's a big rock!).
When buying the land, I asked in the Closing agreement, that they get it mowed down, which they did.
But... Before I could get a good understanding of what I was up against, for mowing maintenance, it all started growing back. As finances were limited to a point at that time, I went cheap, and just bought one of those DR Power ATV tow-mowers, and ended up having to ship it back in a couple months, as the rocks which I ended up finding, beat it to sh*t... And, like you with detailed with your smaller tractor/mower, I was having to go back and forth over stuff constantly, to get it cleanly mowed down.
Thus, got the MX5200 and the RCR2672 to tackle this mowing dilemma. I'd still been hitting rocks for those first couple of years; getting them picked up at I went, thrown into the bucket, and can mow with peace of mind now.
The reason all that story is relevant... That RCR mower has been beat up pretty good with rocks, it's got some big 'ole dents in it, and it has held up great, no problems. So, if this mower can handle the beating it's taken from the rocks, I have little doubt, that it will do the job you're seeking to achieve.

Am not sure how the RCF2772 you're considering, would fully-compare to my RCR2672, but hope that information may be helpful for you.

 

[dadohead]

The cutter side walls bent inward to the point the blades were hitting the sides of the cutter deck.

It's not just Land Pride. That has happened to me too on my Frontier... twice.

I have noticed that the vertical rear quarter (just behind the straight sides) of many cutters is just vertical wall and has no bottom lip for support. My first Frontier caved in (and got cut up) when backing up to trim under a maple tree. The rear/sidewall snagged on a shallow root runner... didn't even feel it on the tractor. A year later I bought a larger cutter (used) and the same thing happened. After patching it up, I welded 3/8×1 1/2 strip stock to the bottom curving it around to the discharge.... both sides. Frustration with this as well as cut quality lead me to fab my own cutter. I reinforced the new 2-spindle there as well.

It is a very vulnerable spot on most of the cutters I see.

 

[JDW 1]

I purchased my land pride 2772 in 2014 and a used finish mower. Used a 4066R tractor. The finish mower has had three sets of blades, one set of tires and one belt, totally my fault on the belt. They have no dings and not bent up at all. I ran over a stump and bent one blade into a u shape. It gets used in places it shouldn't. Never had bearings or spindles replaced, so unless land pride changed the way they build them, ( and maybe they have) I have had great luck with mine.

 

[dadohead]

Before I built this 2-spindle rotary cutter, I looked long and hard for a used 3pt finish mower (cheap, because I was going to fab on it).

This cutter is a hybrid drive (gear over belt) so starting with a finish mower made sense. After years of engineering tractors/mowers at Deere and tearing them down after field testing... I knew what to look for.

EVERY 3pt finish mower I looked at (all brands) was beat to hel! Wow. You know they are designed to take just 1/3rd of the plant off... right? ;<) Every seller said the same thing "She runs great... prolly needs blades tho." Lol... cracked me up!!!

Those of you considering a used 3pt finish mower: look at the spindle pockets (where the spindles bolt to the deck). GUARANTEED they're as wonky as a log pile. Not a one of the finish mowers I looked at would EVER cut flat again (new blades or not). I ended up with a Keen Kutter 72"... it was a steaming pile when I got it but the gear box was good and it was a lump of steel to start with. She's got new life in her now!

 

[EddieWalker]

When I bought my land in 2003, I bought a 37hp tractor and a Landpride 1872 rotary cutter. My land had been abandoned for years and everything was very overgrown. Being very enthusiastic about my land, I pushed the tractor and rotary cutter pretty hard. I broke blades, I destroyed gear boxes, and I replaced the tail wheel several times. I've had to reweld the deck, add metal plates and reinforce it. I think I've replaced the driveshaft 4 times. It started out with sheer pins, but they broke so often that it became a challenge just keeping enough of them on my tractor to get through the day. Slip clutch really made a huge difference.

In 2022 I bought a 70 hp tractor and thought I'd save some money and continue to use my 1872 Landpride rotary cutter. It didn't last very long. The problem was that my slip clutch wasn't slipping anymore, and I twisted the driveshaft off off of it. I bought another driveshaft, but realized that the 6 foot mower was just to small to get anything done.

With the 37hp tractor, I was barely moving along in thick grass. With 70 hp, I'm flying!!!

I decided to buy a 12 foot batwing. I went with Titan, and right afterwards, they lost a lawsuit about their name, and they are called Ironcraft. It's rated for 2 inch material, and it only takes one hydraulic hose. The cut is very nice. I've been very impressed with it, but after two years, I've had a few issues. I'm not sure if they are common issues with all batwings, or if a more expensive brand would of been better. I paid $13,000 for it and the other brands were another $5,000 or more.

What's really impressed me is in how much land I can mow with the batwing and 70hp. With a mower that's twice as wide, I was hoping to get twice as much done, but it's more like 3 to 4 times as much compared to what I got done before with the 37 hp tractor and 6 foot cutter. I cut as fast as I can handle the bumps in the land. If my land was smoother, I could cut even faster. Trees get in the way too, but overall, I can mow as fast as I can remain comfortable in my seat. Areas that took me three days to mow before, I do in an afternoon.

Do not limit yourself to a small mower if you have the HP for a bigger mower. Mowing is fun at first, but over time, it becomes a chore that is better to get done as quickly and comfortably as possible.

 

[5030]

My ONLY comment...

I won't diss any mower. I have 2 Land Prides, a bat wing as well as a rigid cutter and each have the uses.

Two things I would get on ANY of them is, I'd option for the front and rear chain guards over the standard rubber guards and on the rigid shredder, I'd option for dual rotating trailing wheels over the standard single wheel and both are available from Land Pride. Nice thing about LP implements is, LP is now a owned subsidiary of Kubota so the standard paint color is of course, Kubota Orange. Me, I like matching colored equipment.

Just bought a Land Pride articulating, pto driven stump grinder as well. The LP stumper and the Erskine are the same.

 

[Fastowl]

Like Eddie commented about terrain, our ranch is in the Texas Hill Country and we have our share of rocks as well. I had a Bush Hog BH16 since 2013 running behind an old JD 2240. Beat up, tore up, etc. Added a JD 5075e a few years ago but lack of rain meant no real mowing done. Last year I got the old Bush Hog out that I rebuilt a few years back with new blades and stump jumper. It was well worn with dents, etc. This time after running about 20-30 hours with the newer tractor the vibration was getting pretty fierce and it turns out the deck was cracking under the gear box. Spent days trying various methods trying to pull the stump jumper off the splined shaft to be able to pull the gear box and reweld the deck. Finally I said the heck with it and after looking at different options I bought a new Rhino 308 (they also now own the Bush Hog brand as well). Heavy duty, twin spindles. A lot more money than the land pride prices you were quoting but I'm optimistic that the twin spindles and heavier construction will hold up a bit better than the lighter duty options, plus the larger width will speed things up.

Unfortunately by the time I got the new equipment the rains had stopped and it got parked before winter set in. Waiting to try it out this summer. FYI I am running the shredder in some 20-50 acre cleared areas in our different sections and also along fencelines. Trying to keep some of the Agarita under control plus I trim the occasional mesquite as regrowth when we haven't got around to spraying that area. We'll see how the new one holds up to the occasional rock that I haven't picked up.

But for my perspective, especially if you are rocky but have a fair amount of area to mow, I would go a bit bigger than the 6 foot with your tractor unless you need the smaller size to get into tight areas. You have the horsepower to go larger. And like was written above a twin spindle should be smoother and faster. Unfortunately it comes with a higher price tag. I also had looked at Land Pride and other brands before I went the way that I did. Good luck.

 

[MMC]

My ONLY comment...

I won't diss any mower. I have 2 Land Prides, a bat wing as well as a rigid cutter and each have the uses.

Two things I would get on ANY of them is, I'd option for the front and rear chain guards over the standard rubber guards and on the rigid shredder, I'd option for dual rotating trailing wheels over the standard single wheel and both are available from Land Pride. Nice thing about LP implements is, LP is now a owned subsidiary of Kubota so the standard paint color is of course, Kubota Orange. Me, I like matching colored equipment.

Just bought a Land Pride articulating, pto driven stump grinder as well. The LP stumper and the Erskine are the same.

Well, as an opinion (and without seeing the OP's ground), mowing 100 acres with a smaller 6 foot mower is just biting off too much to do long term. And, it sounds like you need a stouter mower if you're going to keep this work up.

So, since you're upgrading your tractor from a Kubota dealer, how about upsizing that proposed mower? Why not a twin spindle mower, even a 10 foot wide, if the new Kubota will handle it? I don't run Land Pride, but I know of nothing against them if the mower is sized right. And the dealer should be willing to give you a good deal since you're buying the tractor from him.

I don't know what your proposed Kubota will handle (but many on here probably do and can offer opinions). But never look at "minimum horsepower" in the literature as a good way to size a mower to a tractor.

So, I would suggest wider and heavier for your task. And as 5030 notes, get chains front and rear and dual rear wheels for support (probably comes on a heavier unit standard). And forget shear pins - get a proper slip clutch on the driveshaft (and adjust it when you get it).

Just my opinion, naturally, but I rarely hear somebody say they were sorry to buy a heavier unit...your time saved is well worth a little extra investment in the near term.

Best of luck.

 

[dadohead]

My ONLY comment...

I won't diss any mower.

Yes! They all make really nice hd mowers as well as light duty lines.

One thing about multi-spindle mowers: their design often allows spindle placements aligned to better back-sweep tire tracks. This equals better cut quality. When you start mechanically lifting the material, you don't have to have the high lift blades and high tip speeds that  really suck the power. Today, you are now seeing some new batwings running very well behind moderate sized compacts.

My 2 spindle was built because there was zero offerings (other than single spindles) for a 20hp pto tractor like mine. I was off-setting half the mower width to get decent cut quality with my single spindle! Once in the grass last Spring, I hired the kid across the road (just out of film school) to video it.

For the techy: most single spindle rotary cutters are running high lift blades at appr 15000 fpm tip speed (fairly moderate, impact cutting stops below 12000 fpm). My 6' cutter is running twin Fred Cain 3' low lift swing blades at 13500 fpm... it flys with 20hp! Small blade diameters (multi-spindle mowers) use higher rpms to get the same tip speed: BIG ADVANTAGE. A typical 6' single spindle takes one wack for every 2" travelled (@ 3 mph). My twin 6' makes a cut every 1.1" @ 3 mph. Almost twice the cuts/foot! That why mult-spindles work so well. Not cheap though. Love to read about the mowers you guys are running!