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.....