MX5400. What brush cutter size? 60" or 72"?

[Gord Baker]

The Add for that Land Pride indicates 2" capacity. A Bush Hog is not meant for clearing the forest.
Tackle 3" diameter stuff at grade and you will soon bend blades and damage the Drive Line IMHO.
Get a sidemount Sickle mower for grades around the pond or use RoundUp ™

 

[JohnnyMX]

MX5200 here with a 72" medium duty land pride unit which seems to be in line with most users above. My comment would be look for a unit that can flow material in and out. THe landpride has a solid rear deflector with a rubber flap in front. In thick grass, it will even bog down the 5200 as the material builds up. Would have loved to get a unit with chains front and rear.

 

[charles todd]

Rule of thumb is MINIMUM 5 PTO HP per foot of cutter. 53 engine HP/46.5 PTO HP. Math says 9.3FT. Granted, this is minimum HP required.

5FT cutter is way too small. 6FT would be good for field and woody stuff. Personally I would chainsaw anything over 2" diameter. Period. Regardless of cutter. It isn't a forestry mulcher.

My vote is a 8FT 2 spindle 3PT mounted cutter. The added offset past tires makes a cleaner cut (covers tire tracks) and for edging fences and ponds. A 7FT cutter is LONG and HEAVY and UNWILDY.

I use a 10FT 3PT 2 spindle behind a LS P7010C with 63 PTO HP in 750 RPM PTO (PTOe, overdrive) at about 1400-1700 engine RPM and can cut almost anything I want to run over. I cut about 6" high at 4-7 MPH.

CT

 

[oosik]

I would limit what you plan on cutting to 2" or less. While a unit says it is 4" capable - you will rapidly learn the limits of your tractor and that cutter.

 

[deelowe]

Thanks for all the feedback. To be clear, I don't plan to clear the woods with the cutter. It's just that I don't want something that'll get damaged from using it in heavy brush.

After talking to my local dealers and what they have in stock, here are the models I'm considering:

- Titan 1606
- Woods BB72.50

 

[LD1]

Having a 4" rated cutter is reassuring.

I dont know anyone with a tractor that is intentionally gonna try and run over 4" saplings. But when clearing along fencerows or field edges....you never know whats hiding. If a tree has come down, or a broken fence post, or chunk of wood you didnt see.

The 4" will handle alot more abuse than a 2" rated cutter.

 

[jedjoe]

72 inch, without a doubt. Having field cut with both a 60 inch and 72 inch, there is nothing more frustrating than having to run your tires over a line twice to accommodate to a mower cut width smaller than your track width.

 

[Binx]

Trying to decide between a 60" or 72" brush cutter.

Tractor: MX5400 4x4 w/ loader

Cutter Brand: Woods (what my trusted dealer carriers)

Intended cutter use:

• Cutting grass around a pond and along a dam bank which has an incline
• Clearing brush in lightly wooded areas (looking at 3" cutting capacity)

A larger cutter would allow my to cut around the pond more quickly but I'm worried it would get in the way when maneuvering in the woods, might impact my tractor's PTO ability to clear saplings, and/or could cause more of a tip hazard when cutting the dam. My neighbor has a 60" and he loves it, but mx5200 is 2wd and doesn't have a loader so it's not a 1:1 comparison.

Hi deelowe,

We have a Woods BB720x, which I highly recommend. It can cut 3" diameter items and I definitely know that hubby has easily cut 2" diameter saplings. They don't sell them anymore (may be some new "old" models left, but I think Woods now sells this as a replacement BB72.50. We added the chains.

. Pictures are of our MX5800 w/Woods BB720x and another of the before/after and then an after. Hopefully you can tell that the left side of the picture is the before/after. You can see the Kubota way in the back.

 

[deelowe]

Nice. Anyone have thoughts on the titan 1606?

 

[dstriplett]

I bought a 60" Rhino because I have a LOT of "woods work". In hind sight, I wish I had opted for the 72" cut. FWIW.....

 

[BackRoad]

Only Titan product is my forks...no County Line or King Cutter equipment. Everything else is Woods, Rhino, Land Pride (pre Kubota ownership) or EA.

Go for the Woods...you'll cry once when you buy it - but it should hold its value.

Assume you are planning for 10 years use, not 1 year. Figure out the difference in cost divided over 10 years. It will be very, very small...

Tractor implement are long-term investments...invest in the best you can find. In the long run, it pays off in reduced maintenance, faster job completion, extended durability and pure satisfaction from using a quality tool.

Life is too short to use junk....(not saying Titan is junk) but it's not on the same level as the Woods...or Rhino...or higher-end LandPride...or Brown...or...

(in my opinion of course, with deference to any Titan owner!)

 

[3gunr]

At 1200 lbs that titan looks pretty heavy duty. Also has 100 hp gearbox. There are some reviews on you tube,

 

[big bubba]

once you get your desired setup, get a 6+cfm compressor & hd impact, & be prepared to pull the knives a few times per season. i never advise crawling under to sharpen, your choice... people sometimes forget blade cond when looking for quality cuts after paying for all that equip. i like hd blocks vs jack stands, etc, regards

 

[LD1]

once you get your desired setup, get a 6+cfm compressor & hd impact, & be prepared to pull the knives a few times per season. i never advise crawling under to sharpen, your choice... people sometimes forget blade cond when looking for quality cuts after paying for all that equip. i like hd blocks vs jack stands, etc, regards

I like removing the blades to sharpen for one single reason only.....

.....when I HAVE to remove a blade for some reason, like bent or broken, I KNOW it will come off without fuss.

 

[deelowe]

Only Titan product is my forks...no County Line or King Cutter equipment. Everything else is Woods, Rhino, Land Pride (pre Kubota ownership) or EA.

Go for the Woods...you'll cry once when you buy it - but it should hold its value.

Assume you are planning for 10 years use, not 1 year. Figure out the difference in cost divided over 10 years. It will be very, very small...

Tractor implement are long-term investments...invest in the best you can find. In the long run, it pays off in reduced maintenance, faster job completion, extended durability and pure satisfaction from using a quality tool.

Life is too short to use junk....(not saying Titan is junk) but it's not on the same level as the Woods...or Rhino...or higher-end LandPride...or Brown...or...

(in my opinion of course, with deference to any Titan owner!)

Not titan attachments. Titan implements, just to clarify.

 

[cathy liebchen]

Brown cutters are a 16 week delivery time

 

[oosik]

When I was considering a cutter - Rhino TW35. About 99% of the cutter use would be backing into light brush - Buck brush. Average - 2.5 feet high - diameter of your yellow lead pencil.

The Rhino TW series has a heavily reinforced tail wheel. Then two weeks ago I checked on the price. It's gone up about $1200 since I checked last year. It's not that critical that I should spend that much.

I also considered the Brown 415. But I want a dealer that is local when I spend that much money.

 

[sea2summit]

Having a 4" rated cutter is reassuring.

I dont know anyone with a tractor that is intentionally gonna try and run over 4" saplings. But when clearing along fencerows or field edges....you never know whats hiding. If a tree has come down, or a broken fence post, or chunk of wood you didnt see.

The 4" will handle alot more abuse than a 2" rated cutter.

That’s true to the point where the tractor gets damaged instead of the cutter. Properly maintained slip clutch or shear bolts are the best way to not tear stuff up.

 

[jyoutz]

72” for sure. A 60” cutter won’t cover your rear wheels width. A 72” just covers my wheels on my MX6000 with R4s set to maximum width.

 

[drumminj]

A 72” just covers my wheels on my MX6000 with R4s set to maximum width.

What's the tread width at that setting? On my L4701 it's 70" from outside of tread on the second widest setting -- I had them set it there as it seemed the widest setting (another 4.5" wider) would put the tread wider than 72".