Rhino TS12 cutter with Kubota 5040

rutwad · May 25, 2011

Guys, I recently saw Rhino's TS12 light weight flex-wing cutter. We now have a Kubota M5040 and 7' finish mower. If it works as good as I hope, I would love to use the TS12 to "mow" most of my yard and surrounding areas. It is advertised to cut as low as 1 1/2". Then if the finish isn't quite as clean, then maybe I could use the finish mower to cut the stuff really close to the house.

What are your thoughts about the TS12? What about pulling it with the M5040?

bigbull338 · May 25, 2011

i see no reason why you cant pull it with the 5040,you might have to go slower.

TripleR · May 25, 2011

I agree with bigbull 338, from the literature, you should be just within the PTO HP requirements and you may not be able to go as fast as on a more powerful tractor, but it should handle it quite well. It is a very nice looking unit.

LoneCowboy · Jun 12, 2011

Rhino makes very expensive junk and doesn't support it.

Find another brand.

art · Jun 13, 2011

Many Rhino products take a bit more power to run then other makes although I have no personal experience.

Farmwithjunk · Jun 13, 2011

I'm not quite "up to speed" on the specific mower you're talking about.

This may or may NOT apply in this instance. Rhino (as part of Alamo Group) has done what ALL manufacturers are doing these days, and have come out with lightweight, light duty mowers that rely on the sterling reputation of their heavy duty product line, which is about as good as it gets from ANY brand. There have been a number of folks who buy those light/medium duty mowers and expect the same results you would get from heavy duty commercial grade mowers. Not happenin'....Not with ANY brand. Here's where you have to be smart enough to determine what level of duty rating you do need. In the case of buying light/medium duty mowers to do commercial level work, I'd place some of the blame there on the dealer who sold a light duty mower to a commercial contractor, KNOWING that was a mistake (on the part of BOTH parties)

Buy a consumer grade mower and use it hard....EXPECT troubles. No brand name in the world will protect you from damage if you're using equipment that's just too light for the job at hand. Warranty issues are handled on a local dealer basis. I ran into a very simular issue with Woods. Local dealer sold several heavy duty mowers, then wouldn't step up when there were troubles. Woods kept sending me back to the dealer, who then ignored the problem. It took a law suit to get him off his duff.....

For light duty use, with owner operating the mower in a limited use situation, I'd think you'll do just fine with that mower. Just don't start mowing 40 hour weeks in tough conditions......

bwoody69 · Aug 15, 2011

I purchased a TS12 at the end of April this year. I am pulling it with a Kubota L4330 which is the minimum HP they suggest. I have to pull a little slower but overall it does a good job. Unfortunetly the turnbuckles that hold the wings in the rear have now both brocken at different times. They obviously have a design flaw which I have emailed Rhino about.

TheKubotaGuy · Jun 16, 2013

I bought my TS12 with the turnbuckle upgrade they added. Mows like a finish mower...LOVE it!

JB Farm · Jul 19, 2013

Hey KubotaGuy, do you have enough hours on that mower to have formed an opinion of it? How is the quality of cut, does it suck up the tractors tracks well, is it holding up, any bad points? Do you mow any road ditches with it, if so how does it do following contours/scalping? Does one wing spin the opposite direction of the center and other wing?

I am looking to get one but there is just not a lot of info about them out there. I am looking for a new mower to mow my farmstead with, ditches, waterways, food plots, etc.. Been mowing with a 6 foot woods and a 88inch alamo flail (flail HAHA what a mistake), hoping this batwing would cut a lot of time off of my mowing and do a good job.

Thanks for any info you can give.
Brian

HighMileage · Jul 19, 2013

110 hours since April on my ts12, after the turnbuckle upgrade it has been great!!! This is NOT a heavy duty shredder, bigger than my thumb I don't mow it down. It would cut up to two inch but not sure how many times. It does have a nice looking cut.

As far as hp, I test drove a buddies ts12 with my mf 35(with a gazillion hours on it), prolly down to 30 pto hp and it carried the shredder well. My buddy has a M7040 and spun the slip clutches out of it... As with anything too much hp will kill it. I now use a mahindra 6110 (49pto) and will cut very thick and tall grass.

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet