Mower Decisions

[Glowplug]

I am going to be FINALLY getting my new Kubota M8540 very soon. Now I'm trying to make some decisions on what would be a good choice for rotary cutter. I have 16 acres mostly flat pasture with multiple plank fence paddocks. One of my first tasks with my new tractor will be removing all those intervening fence lines and open it up as wide open pasture. Also I hope to increase my total acreage to 28 acres soon. I love to mow but don't have a ton of time. I may occassionally take the tractor+mower on the road to my inlaws to do some brushcutting there. I am currently considering two options. I can get a Rhino Turbo120 (10') pull hitch type mower from my Kubota dealer at the time and go ahead and throw it into the finance package. But I am also considering getting a Woods BB8400 (7') 3ph lift type mower. This mower would likely be obtained from a Woods dealer in 6 or 8 weeks. Of course I like the wider mower but I am concerned that the lack of lift would affect the ability to back up when mowing and when storing it in my barn. Also, it would be next to impossible to transport the 10' mower 90 miles to my in-laws. But truth of the matter is I would only likely be transporting it once in a blue moon, if at all. So that plays little role in my decision. What concerns me about the Woods is the size. It's only 7 feet which is only 1 foot wider than my ZD28 ZTR mower deck and I know that it takes me about 4 hours to mow six acres near the house on that. I'll need to mow relatively frequently also. Don't get me wrong, seat time's great but I do also have a career and family. Once I get the tractor with mower most of the mowing, except for immediately around the house, will be done with the tractor. I think the lift mower (Woods) would be much more maneuverable, especially when backing and trimming, and easier to set the cutting height, and easier to store in the barn. But I don't want to get a mower that's not a good match for my tractor either or will take me forever to complete the mowing. By the way, I tend to mow a lot. The past couple of years I have had to hire the pasture mowed. We had it mowed about every four weeks. By the end of four weeks it almost looks like a jungle. Obviously I don't have horses. So I would likely be mowing 11 of 16 acres about every two weeks and 5 of 16 acres every week. I had seriously considered getting both at some point. But that may be unnecessary. I would likely end up using one much more than the other. So if I choose only one I could then use the extra money to buy other implements.

So, in summary, I am looking for a mower that would be a good match for my tractor, land, and limited time.

Can you believe it's the day after Christmas and here I am talking about mowers? It seems like just yesterday I was talking about snow blowers. Wait a minute . . . . I was!!!

Any comments and/or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

 

[chrisjbell]

Sounds like you want the bigger mower. The only reason I can think of to get the smaller one is if you have places where you need to mow that the big one won't fit (between trees, fences or other obsticles). There's my $0.02...

 

[Glowplug]

The only reason I can think of to get the smaller one is if you have places where you need to mow that the big one won't fit.

Yeah, I think you're right. I have been thinking too. . .with the wider mower I could actually probably do trim work better. . .like get under overhanging trees and fences. Otherwise I'd probably have to get an offset mount if I went more narrow. I'll have to go measure my barn doors now and make sure it can fit in there! Otherwise I may have to go build a new storage building (ie Tractor Home) . . . Hmmmm

Chris, I see you have a 4' Rhino cutter. How does that work for you on 10 acres? Does it do okay?

 

[JoeinTX]

From everything you've said, you seem to need the bigger rig more so than the smaller one. The 3-pt is handy while the 10' is the time saver. The 10' could be moved via pickup-gooseneck without too much trouble considering the roads are good enough.

Another option would be the 12' single-fold shredders that some makers produce.....generally an 8' main deck with a 4' wing. They have the advantage of folding up for transport, providing offset for work near trees and etc, and covering more ground in open areas. It seems that Bush Hog, Land Pride, and M&W produce these off-hand.

Or get the 10' new for most of the work and find an older, cheap 6' model for utility work and trips on the highway. From my own casual looking and experience, the Woods seem to be overly-built units and I looked hard at the 10' Woods drag type a few years ago. Rhino is fine and I'd probably take one over the equivalent Bush Hog model. As well, if you've got a Howse dealer nearby take a look..........their 10' medium duties are competitive and cheaper than either the Woods or Rhino.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I've got a Woods BB840. Don't like it one bit...... The BB8400 is very simular, just a little heavier built. My "fault" with the 840 is how it cuts. No matter what condition the blades are in, it won't "lift" grass/weeds that have been mashed down by the tractor tires. I've tried it on 3 different tractors, and also changed the angle at which the blades were sharpened. I favor my Bush Hog (286-6' medium duty) by a long shot. (MUCH better quality of cut. Almost good enough to use as a finish mower) Another consideration is, 7' single spindle mowers put a lot of weight way back behind the hitch. That can make for an unstable rig without adaquate front end weight.

It looks like I'm going into the mowing business this coming spring. I'm debating the very same issues. I'm looking at 10' or 12' folding deck (one "batwing") mowers from Rhino and Bush Hog as options.

I've thrashed around the same ideas you're dealing with. Size vs. "transportability" (Sounds like a "W" word )

I've owned 4 Woods mowers, 3 Bush Hog brand, a couple "off brands", and one "Servis" mower. (Now part of Rhino) All things considered, If I was given the choice of ONE BRAND to use exclusively from this point forward, it would be an easy choice. Bush Hog.

 

[BTDT]

I would get the bigger mower for around your property. Then find a cheap unit to leave over at your other place to mow with when needed.

 

[bwvfan]

I run a Woods M121 3ph 10ft fixed multi-spindle cutter which does a super job for my application. I agree with Farmwithjunk that when running a large 3ph cutter you need to weight the front end. I added about 1000lbs to the front end to keep things stable on the hills. I use the M121 with spring loaded rear wheels and check chains and can just set my cut height and go. The cut is not finish mower smooth but pretty close. I never have any rebound grass the next day. There are several wet areas on the lower parts of the property which I can easily cut because of the fast height adjustments which can be made using the 3ph setup.