What Brush Hog to Buy

[Timberman444]

Hi guys, hoping you can help me out, I recently purchased a John Deere 2320, once I got the tractor I started getting many questions asking if I had a brush hog for it. This is my first tractor that can be equipped with 3point equipment and need some help figuring out what type of mower you guys would recommend. I heard that the tractor will only handle a 4foot cutter and anything bigger might be to much for it to handle? I was thinking of going to my local Tractor Supply to buy the mower but don't know if the quality of the mowers they have are good. I don't want to buy a mower and have the darn thing brake the first few passes around the field. Hopefully you can steer in the right direction and let me know what would be best. Thanks Chris

 

[thatguy]

There are alot of choices in mowers out there.. most all of them will do a good job, but prices will range greatly..

IF you have relatively flat ground I would probably go with a 5' mower, but only if you have a FEL (from your pic it looks like you do).. I have a 2320 and a LX4 (4') and with my hilly area I still put some weight in the fel bucket to help offset the mower weight..

The TSC mowers will do a good job, they are just more cheaply built (ie bad looking welds, poor paint job, possibly not as strong structurally, probably already rusting). They also typically do not come with chain guards (~$100 x 2 ends), or slip clutch (~$150 and upish installed).

My mower has an automobile quality paint finish, came with both front and ready chains, and has a slip clutch.. I did the math a while back and by the time you get the TSC mower and add the extras you are pretty close (within a couple hundred dollars) to what the JD (or other similar mfg) would cost..

Keep in mind that almost all mfg have a light duty, medium duty or heavy duty models.. So try to compare apples to apples.. Any light duty mower will not last long under heavy duty use..

The jd (frontier), bushhog, land pride (plus some i cant think of right now) are all good quality mowers that will last a long time if you dont abuse them..

With that said there are a lot ofppl that have bought the cheaper mowers, abused them bad and still getting good use out of it..

good luck

Brian

 

[VT_Kubota]

I would ask myself what I am going to be doing with it FIRST. A brush hog won't give a very good quality of cut except for knocking down and shredding field grasses. A heavier duty unit can handle trees/saplings to about 1.5" But with a small tractor like yours you may not have sufficient power to finish off stuff that big after knocking it down. I would recommend sticking with a 4' unit and pay attention to the weight of whatever unit you buy. Some of the medium duty units will weight more than your 3ph can pick up. Also be sure to set your wheels out wide before mowing any slopes with your tractor. They should match the width of the mower.

If you are mainly going to be cutting lawn grass or grass that you want to look good after it is cut, I would NOT recommend a brush hog but rather a rear finish mower.

 

[marksmu]

A general rule of thumb...if you can buy it at Tractor Supply Company or Northern Tool, its relatively junk. There are a few exceptions, but you ABSOLUTELY need to know what your looking at.

There are some things so basic and simple, even TSC or Northern cant mess it up, but a shredder is not one. The earlier post was correct about the differing duties, and whatnot. The other thing is the gear box.

If you buy a JD you get a 5 or 6 year warranty on the gear box. Its worth it. If you buy the TSC you get a 1 year, and thats about all it will last if you use the heck out of it, or you leave it outside.

I say buy a slightly better one, keep it inside, and dont worry bout it again for 20 years ecxcept to change the oil.

 

[rcowan]

The answer is like most. It depends.

Depends on what you are mowing? Flat, hills, grass/weeds or small bushes.
If you want it for pasture you don't need a finish mower.
IF you want feet friendly grass when you are done you want a finish mower.

How much do you want to spend?
How long do you intend to use it? Do you need a multi year warrenty or are you gonna use it one season and dump it?

I have a Modern 5 foot (Made in Texas so they say) behind my Montana 2740 it does fine for what I need mowed.


Roland

 

[marksmu]

Modern is a pretty decent brand...they are made in Beaumont. I have a 15' modern super predator series batwing, that has done me well for 2 years. They do tend to bog down the tractor more than a similar duty cutter though.

Though I have no complaints about my modern. Good mower

 

[IslandTractor]

The Bush Hog Squealer 480 would be a good match for your tractor. Not sure what they go for today but a couple of years ago they sold for about $850.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I have a 1 year old 72" KingKutter from TSC and I am happy with it. I also have an old 5 footer of similar construction that was pretty beat up when I got it and I beat the heck out of it mowing down 3" pines. Nothing broke. It has the telltale ring where the blades brush the deck. I replaced the blade studs and that was reduced. The new KK has a deeper deck so blade contact has not been a problem with it.

Mine do not have a slip clutch. Heavy duty models with slip clutch, etc. are made to handle incredible abuse. Otherwise I don't think you need to haul that much steel around the fields. A heavy brush hog puts a lot of stress on the 3ph on corners and bumps.

The paint on my KKK covers everything and looks fine for a field implement.

 

[Timberman444]

Hi guys thanks for all the information so far, it is really helping me out. I never even thought of the weight of the mower being a major factor and if the 3pt is capable of lifting it. I went to TSC the other to look at what they had in stock for attachments, lets just say I wasnt very impressed with the brush hogs they had or any of the mowers in stock, didnt look like they could last long at all, and from sitting outside in their lot the mower was already rusting. Then when I asked questions about the mower all the worker knew was the price wasnt any help to me at all. I guess TSC would be good to purchase rear blades and york rakes, but I would definitely not purchase one of their mowers.

 

[ScottOkla]

The 5' King Kutter I bought at Atwoods a couple of years ago has really impressed me. My father and I really abuse it, but you would never know that it has been used as much as it has. Even after hitting many hidden, downed branches and running it over many acres of 1 to 1.5 inch seedlings, I can't find any damage whatsoever to the blades or deck.

I think the KK is the starting point at the low end of any rotary cutter discussion. From there, I would look to see what might give me a better value as I move up depending on my intended uses.