Rotary Cutter Rotary cutter: pull type vs hitch

[N80]

I'm in the market for a 6' standard or medium duty rotary cutter for a 45 hp, 4wd compact tractor. I'll be mowing primarily brush and grass in small fields and grassy roads.

My brother-in-law is a farmer who lives on the property next door to mine. He has big tractors and big rotary cutters for big fields.

He absolutely insists that I need a pull type cutter with a hydraulic ram for changing mow height. He says for the hills, uneven and twisty roads this is the only way to go. He does not like the hitch type at all saying that they are too hard to adjust for rough terrain and the hitch points are a weak 'link'.

Now, he is a very experienced, full time, professional farmer and one of my best friends. I have no reason to doubt his advice except that most of the cutters I'm looking at are hitch type. And most of the people on these boards seem to use hitch type.

To do what he recommends will require the adition of a rear set of remotes to my tractor (for the ram) and that is just another additional expense.

I'd appreciate any other opinions on this matter.

 

[BB_TX]

Here is <font color="blue"> recent discussion </font> on this subject. And down in one of the post is a link to an additional discussion on the subject.

 

[Soundguy]

First.. your 45hp machine will probably pull more than a 6' mower.

That said.. the issue about the hitch being a weak link?..um.. I'd venture to say that for pulling.. the 3pt hitch is probably more structurally sound than a swinging drawbar.

For instance.. on my NH 7610s My 3pt hitch lift capacity is greater than the touge weight capacity ont he swinging drawbar. there is a warning that if you exceed recomended tounge weight you can damage the diffy casting..e tc.. no such warning on the 3pt lift.. etc.. So i disagree with the 3pt hitch being weak.

Yes.. if you have a hyd ram on the pul type mower.. you will need a remote.

I have a 10' 3pt mower.. it has a part on the toplink connection that gives the mower some slack going over hills. Mind you that on a huge hill .. a drawn mower will have more slack.. course.. at some point you are bending the pto shaft past max deflection.. so at some point the extra bend will be moot.

Also.. on a 3pt mower.. if adjusted correctly.. the 3pt lift will controll the cut height just like a drawn mower..

Check around.. Mowers like KK that you buy and assemble yourself on a pallet usually come with directions for assembling as pull type or 3pt. My 5' KK did.. etc.

Drawn type mowers cost more .. generally due to the hyds.. though some have simple jack screws to save money..

Soundguy

 

[N80]

Bill, thanks for the links to the previous discussions. Very helpful.

Soundguy, I'm just quoting my brother-in-law. I'm hardly the expert. But, he is. He has his own shop and does all his own work (tranny work, rebuilding motors, hydraulic work, etc) on a wide variety of huge tractors (Ford, Case, MF, JD) and a massive Cat front end loader (plus a WWII halftrack). So who knows. In any case, I have no room to doubt you or him.

However, the KK I'm looking at has a screw jack but I'll replace it with a ram if I go that route.

I guess my biggest fear is going against his advice, having problems and having him say "I told you so". /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[EastTexFrank]

Running a 6', 3-pt mower on a 45hp tractor over flat ground, cutting mainly grass, you shouldn't have to listen to him say, "I told you so" for a very long time.

I run both types of mower, although the drag doesn't have hydraulics, just a screw type adjustment, and my preference is for the 3-pt type mower, for many reasons. Now, over the years, I have broken and bent mowers but I've never hurt the 3-pt hitch ... yet. It comes down to a matter of personal choice. Mine is for big drag mowes on big tractors and 3-pt hitch type on smaller tractors but that's just me.

 

[BB_TX]

I would not dispute his point that over really rough and/or uneven ground the pull type would give a smoother cut. It is like a little trailer following behind that rides over the contour of the land, whereas the 3ph type will rise and fall with the tractor. But I don't see that as a real problem if most of your mowing is over relative flat land.
As far as the hitch being the weak link, the 3ph is designed to be able to lift that weight. And when you are mowing the cutter is riding on the rear wheel taking a large part of the weight off any way.
As I mentioned in the other thread, the only problem I see is the difficulty of backing a pull type in tight places.

 

[Gatorboy]

<font color="blue">( As I mentioned in the other thread, the only problem I see is the difficulty of backing a pull type in tight places. ) </font>

But a pull-type can back into places that you couldn't with a 3pt. An example is where you need to back up and then turn, where with your tractor and mower you are too long to make the turn without hitting something -- however, because the pull-type pivots at the draw bar, you can make that turn.

 

[N80]

There seems to be a great deal of difference of opinion concerning backing the different configurations. My brother-in-law the farmer claims he can back the pull type much more effectively than the hitch type. Given the difference of opinion I guess its just a matter of what you're used to/good at.

And while the material I'll be mowiing won't be too severe, the terrain is fairly uneven. That is why he so strongly recommends a pull type with a ram for changing height on the go. The small fields are pretty flat, but the roads are fairly narrow, have dips and twists and tight turns.

Thanks for all the valuable advice folks. When this all comes together (tractor, loader, cutter, etc.) I'll let you all know how it works out.

If the Kubota 4400 can handle the 7' JD tag along then that part will be solved, since its a freebe. But if it bogs or is too hard on the tractor I'll have to do something else.

 

[Soundguy]

I think the main issue that everyone here is saying.. is that you are dealing with a small enough mower ( 6' ) that 'type' won't matter much for following terain.. the larger the mower you get.. the more terain can be an issue. For 5' and 6' mowers.. your mower is pretty much the same width as the tractor.. whatever terain the tractor can traverse.. the mower, on a 3pt lift.. should be staying in a close plane with the mower. move out to 10, 12, and 15' mowers.. and your at the point where the edge of the mower can be 5'+ away from the edge of the tractor.. and the terain out away from the tractor may be drastically different than what the tractos wheels are on.

I don't see why a 45 hp tractor couldn't tote a 7' mower. Sounds like that would solve your problem fine.

And yes.. I think alot of this draw vs 3pt boils down to opinion, untill you get to the big units.. where you only see draw...

Soundguy

 

[MMM]

I have both types. A drawbar mount is difficult to back into a turn without getting pto shaft in a bind. I changed u-joints a lot trying to use one on a deer lease with sharp turns and difficult terrain. It is near impossibe to back them over saplings etc. I'd like to turn it into a semi-mount for best of both worlds some day when I've got an hour or two to spare.
I'd say the pull is ok for open work, and 3pt is good for both, as long as you're not trying to make your field look like a lawn or something.