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

[LD1]

I have same predicament I need to replace rotary mower have a 5 ft. not as wide as tractor would like to go with 6 ft. but my problem tractor and 5 ft. mower barely fits on my 18 ft. trailer. I guess I could replace trailer with a 20 ft. one or just get a 5 ft. mower and learn to be happy anybody have any ideas?:cool2:

8' twin spindle. Shorter than your 5. And you got the power to handle it

 

[herefromthere]

Thanks for the input, everyone! Did a little bit of online wandering and found some videos, and visited some manufacturer websites. So far Land Pride and Woods are the two most interesting. How do people feel about those two brands, pro and con? The Land Pride RCR1860/72 and Woods BB60/72X seem to be fairly comparable in construction. The quick change pins and access door on top for the blades seem to be a nice feature on the Woods. How much importance would people place on that. Any other thoughts?

 

[Chilly807]

I've been happy with the rcr1860 from land pride, only issues have been the rear seal on the gearbox leaking (easy to fix for under $10), and bending the tail wheel bracket (self inflicted). Get the chain front debris guards.

 

[TomSeller]

Thanks for the input, everyone! Did a little bit of online wandering and found some videos, and visited some manufacturer websites. So far Land Pride and Woods are the two most interesting. How do people feel about those two brands, pro and con? The Land Pride RCR1860/72 and Woods BB60/72X seem to be fairly comparable in construction. The quick change pins and access door on top for the blades seem to be a nice feature on the Woods. How much importance would people place on that. Any other thoughts?

Both are good brands. Kubota puts their name on the Landpride so you know it is good. Woods has always been a top brand. On these 72" models the Woods has a higher rated gearbox (both exceed your tractor), a little heavier, but slightly thinner deck. You should be happy with either. When I need to service a brush hog, I lift it up with the FEL, stand it on end and lean it up against a tree. An access door might be handy though. What diameter saplings are you dealing with, that might make a difference. Blackberries (even your monsters) and salmon berries are not that hard on a mower as they are more brush.

 

[big bubba]

quick question. by your manual, what is the max b/h weight & pto hp your model can handle? will you be on slopes? are you considering the 3pt hitch lift type b/h ? apologize if this has been covered in your post. to me, a 6' hog is big for your model unless it's a finish mower....didn't realize 6' mower pto specs were avail for your model... to me it's not just about manufactures, but rather if the machine can safely & practically handle a mower of that size, best regards

 

[TripleR]

We have two Land Prides and two Woods, can't really tell one is better than the other. The blade removal on the Woods sounds great, but we had a heck of a time removing pins as they had rusted. The cutter was five years old before we ever removed them, so maybe if you do it more often.

 

[herefromthere]

I've been happy with the rcr1860 from land pride, only issues have been the rear seal on the gearbox leaking (easy to fix for under $10), and bending the tail wheel bracket (self inflicted). Get the chain front debris guards.

RCR1860 is the Land Pride model I'm seriously considering. Are chain guards significantly better? Sales guy at dealer didn't think they were necessary.

Both are good brands. Kubota puts their name on the Landpride so you know it is good. Woods has always been a top brand. On these 72" models the Woods has a higher rated gearbox (both exceed your tractor), a little heavier, but slightly thinner deck. You should be happy with either. When I need to service a brush hog, I lift it up with the FEL, stand it on end and lean it up against a tree. An access door might be handy though. What diameter saplings are you dealing with, that might make a difference. Blackberries (even your monsters) and salmon berries are not that hard on a mower as they are more brush.

At this point, the biggest stuff will be the salmon berries, which are mostly 1" and smaller. Every now and then, there will be a 2+ incher. I'll also be dealing with some of the sword fern clumps. Most of the alders are bigger, so I'll be cutting those down by saw now.

quick question. by your manual, what is the max b/h weight & pto hp your model can handle? will you be on slopes? are you considering the 3pt hitch lift type b/h ? apologize if this has been covered in your post. to me, a 6' hog is big for your model unless it's a finish mower....didn't realize 6' mower pto specs were avail for your model... to me it's not just about manufactures, but rather if the machine can safely & practically handle a mower of that size, best regards

I will be dealing with lots of slopes, and my immediate need will be backing into/up a steep hill. This makes me feel a 60" would be better, as it is a bit shorter, lengthwise. My backhoe is a subframe mount. Hopefully there's no interference between the BH subframe and a bush hog. Per the manual, I'm looking at 1,435# capacity at 24" behind the lift points. Tractor has 25.2 PTO HP. Both the Woods and Land Pride show this as plenty for the 60". Woods shows it ok for the 60" but not the 72" where Land Pride shows it as ok for both sizes.

We have two Land Prides and two Woods, can't really tell one is better than the other. The blade removal on the Woods sounds great, but we had a heck of a time removing pins as they had rusted. The cutter was five years old before we ever removed them, so maybe if you do it more often.

Good to know.

Ok, now I'm back to my analysis to paralysis. With my tight spaces, I'm now leaning toward the 60". Would be nice to get a wider cut, but I think maneuverability is more important. Got quotes from the local Woods and Land Pride dealers, and the Land Pride is hundreds less. I can skip the quick change blades for that, unless someone has some compelling reason to spend a bunch more money. Oh, and the 60" Land Pride is in stock locally in Kubota Orange!

Sorry it's been a while since I've visited/posted on this. Life gets in the way sometimes. I do really appreciate all the input!

 

[Fallon]

I have a 60" LandPride off the back of my L3200 hst with R4s & it works well. No problems lifting it & occasionally bogs the tractor in 1-2' of brushier stuff so I have to slow down.

I can't tell you if a 72" would work better, but I expect it might be a bit more taxing on your lift capacity & engine than you want.

 

[Chilly807]

With the 3400 I wouldn't want any more than the 5 foot. I find that dense meadow grass takes more hp than brushy stuff.
The chain guards... I ended up making a set, the only thing I might change now is to link the bottom together to form a more solid curtain. I think they're a good idea, especially if you're cutting saplings. Grass still flies around, it's the solid bits you want to stop or at least slow down.

 

[LD1]

With the 3400 I wouldn't want any more than the 5 foot. I find that dense meadow grass takes more hp than brushy stuff.

I actually find that I wish I had more than 6' quite often.

I have never had to slow below L3 with the 6' cutter. And that is in the thickest of crap. But I find I have to slow down more frequently due to rough terrain, or obsticals.

I frequently mow in H1 and H2 if terrain permits. Going to a larger cutter will allow me to mow the at the same rate with a slower ground speed (and smoother ride). And there are times where I H2 doesnt even feel like a load, but H3 makes quite a speed jump and I start over-running the cutter and leave a poor finish.

So, since I have yet to find anything that requires using the slowest gears the tractor has, but often times I am at the maximum speed I can go, I wish I had a 7' or 8' twin cutter.