Mowing What size Bush Hog, 5' or 6'?!

[LD1]

but the power steering is truly effortless with the 'hog attached.

Sean

You should try my Bushhog 306. (About 1100#) :laughing:

Without the loader on, I can lift the front end with one hand by grabbing the brush guard.

 

[PHILIP8N]

I had the dealer ad 4 Kubota Weights on the front, so I hope it will have no steering problems with a HD 5' mower, even if I were to buy a second 6' mower later on. I plan to ad a Kubota FEL in a few months when I'm done saving up for it. I bought the biggest tractor my budget allow (wanted new not used), and decided to get the FEL added later when I could afford that without having to eat rice and beans for 2 years ;-)

I did same exact thing as you. Bought new tractor without FEL. About a year later, I bought a used FEL from Barlows for 1/2 price. Happy hunting. Philip.

 

[hollnagelc]

I have the same tractor that you do. I went with the 5' land pride bush hog and it does a great job with the tractor. It will try to stall in the heavy thick stuff just have o slow down a little bit.

 

[RobertN]

I did the same thing. I desperately needed to mow, so I got my B8200HSTD used with a rotary mower, but it did not have an FEL; it was what I could get for cash I had. I added a new loader a couple years later; was shocked at first that a loader for B8200/B2150/B2910 was over $3000. Since my tractor was already 12 years old, Kubota did not carry a frame kit for it; they would have had to modify one from a newer tractor. I went aftermarket, but still a bit over $3k...

It had three Kubota suitcase weights on it, till I got the loader.

Shame is there was a B2150, with FEL, Power Steering and 6 more HP right next to it that would have been perfect. But, I did not want to finance anything at the time. And, I did not know as much about tractors then. Although the B8200HSTD was a great tractor, in retrospect I wish I would have got the B2150...

I did same exact thing as you. Bought new tractor without FEL. About a year later, I bought a used FEL from Barlows for 1/2 price. Happy hunting. Philip.

 

[RobertN]

I did the same thing. I desperately needed to mow, so I got my B8200HSTD used with a rotary mower, but it did not have an FEL; it was what I could get for cash I had. I added a new loader a couple years later; was shocked at first that a loader for B8200/B2150/B2910 was over $3000. Since my tractor was already 12 years old, Kubota did not carry a frame kit for it; they would have had to modify one from a newer tractor. I went aftermarket, but still a bit over $3k...

It had three Kubota suitcase weights on it, till I got the loader.

Shame is there was a B2150, with FEL, Power Steering and 6 more HP right next to it that would have been perfect. But, I did not want to finance anything at the time. And, I did not know as much about tractors then. Although the B8200HSTD was a great tractor, in retrospect I wish I would have got the B2150...

I did same exact thing as you. Bought new tractor without FEL. About a year later, I bought a used FEL from Barlows for 1/2 price. Happy hunting. Philip.

 

[SDT]

The most commonly heard "rule of thumb" is 5 PTO HP/ft for rotary cutter width. I've been doing this for well over 40 years with numerous tractors and cutters and I believe this rule to be a minimum rather than an optimum. I would not even consider a 6' cutter for anything less than 35 PTO HP unless you plan to cut very light cover and/or slowly and/or often.

SDT

 

[ZAR2USA]

Listening and taking everyone's input into consideration, I wonder now if I should switch last minute from the L3200 to L3800. The deal/contract have yet to be finalized this coming week. Would it be worth upgrading to the bigger tractor? Besides $, why would I not want to upgrade? It appears to be 5.5hp more, worth the $2k jump?! I'm starting to question myself now, and 5 years from now, would I wish I went bigger now?! Pros and Cons?!

 

[94BULLITT]

Listening and taking everyone's input into consideration, I wonder now if I should switch last minute from the L3200 to L3800. The deal/contract have yet to be finalized this coming week. Would it be worth upgrading to the bigger tractor? Besides $, why would I not want to upgrade? It appears to be 5.5hp more, worth the $2k jump?! I'm starting to question myself now, and 5 years from now, would I wish I went bigger now?! Pros and Cons?!

I don't think you will regret the extra power.

 

[RobertN]

I wish I would have went bigger in HP originally. The larger "B" chassis was ok for my original intent. I sure wish I would have had more HP... I mean, in my case, the B2910 and the newer "B"'s have over 30HP; mine was same size, but 19hp.

For the current tractor, it is larger physically and HP than we were looking for; I was looking for a used L3410. They dried up in the local used market about the time I sold the B8200. The NH TC40D that we got, my wife loved the power the second she test drove it; I thought it was too big. She had been driving a L3410 at the nursery she worked at, loading compost and soil.

In this case, I love the jump to 40hp. But, this is a larger frame tractor than the L3410 too; it is physically big.

The Pros to more HP are easier to handle a mower or other PTO hp hog, maybe faster hydraulic cycle times. Cons? What Cons? Well, besides the $2k...

Listening and taking everyone's input into consideration, I wonder now if I should switch last minute from the L3200 to L3800. The deal/contract have yet to be finalized this coming week. Would it be worth upgrading to the bigger tractor? Besides $, why would I not want to upgrade? It appears to be 5.5hp more, worth the $2k jump?! I'm starting to question myself now, and 5 years from now, would I wish I went bigger now?! Pros and Cons?!

 

[bullbreaker]

I run a SQ 172 behind my L3400. Just for my private property use. Initial(first) cut went a little slow. Now that property's under control no problem. I went with 6' over 5 also because I have a JD235 mid-mount 48" decker. Also I tend to buy my attachments(includeing women ) larger in case I get bigger tractor.

Boone