What size bush hog should I buy?

[Greatwhitebuffaloo]

I have a New Holland 3930 2wd with loader and hydraulics and I want the biggest pull type I can get and would love a bat wing. My question is my tractor strong enough to pull and operate a ten or twelve foot cutter. The salesman at our local dealership says that Bushhog brand made a 12 foot bat wing light enough for my tractor. Any thoughts?

 

[xring100]

Looks like the 4wd version of your tractor weighs about as much as my M8540 they pull a 15 footer at work with m9540 2wd no loader but front weights over some fairly descent hills. Do you have a loader or weights how about loaded tires? I'm sure its doable with a 12 foot is yours 52 pto hp?

 

[whis]

sure you can pull it but if you want to mow with it thats a different story. if your going to mow 3 foot high grass stick with 6 foot, if your going to mow 1 foot high you might pull 8 or 10 foot but it will be at a snails pace

 

[GManBart]

This one says 50HP minimum PTO.

2212 Flex Wing Rotary Cutters

Land Pride says min 40hp PTO for this 12 footer.

RC2512 Rotary Cutters | Land Pride

Hard to imagine both companies got it terribly wrong.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

I run a JD 709 7 footer on our 4630, which has about 10hp more than the 3930. I ran it once on our 3930, but switched back over to the 4630. There are times in the thick stuff I wish it had more hp. The 709 is a heavy 3 pt hitch mount. The tractor handles the weight just fine, but more hp would be nice.

 

[LD1]

When using a rotary cutter, wider don't always mean faster. It all depends on what you are mowing. HP is what determines how fast you can go. If you are cutting thick stuff, and have to slow down to 2mph with a 12' cutter, you can cut at 4mph with a better matched 6' cutter and save a whole lot of $$ on the cutter. And can transport or trailer easier too.

 

[GManBart]

I run a JD 709 7 footer on our 4630, which has about 10hp more than the 3930. I ran it once on our 3930, but switched back over to the 4630. There are times in the thick stuff I wish it had more hp. The 709 is a heavy 3 pt hitch mount. The tractor handles the weight just fine, but more hp would be nice.

Sure, but the 709 is a single spindle, versus the three spindle cutters the OP is asking about. Turning one big 7ft set of blades takes more power than multiple smaller sets of blades.

 

[Soundguy]

Sure, but the 709 is a single spindle, versus the three spindle cutters the OP is asking about. Turning one big 7ft set of blades takes more power than multiple smaller sets of blades.

ditto that. I know many machines that will pull an 8' dual spindle but struggle with a big 7.. for one thing an 8 is only 4.5' deep.. whereas a 7 is.. well.. 7.5' and heavier..

 

[Happy Gilmore]

ditto that. I know many machines that will pull an 8' dual spindle but struggle with a big 7.. for one thing an 8 is only 4.5' deep.. whereas a 7 is.. well.. 7.5' and heavier..

Yes sir and it sure is heavy. I would have preferred a dual spindle 8 footer, but it's what we have for now.

 

[Greatwhitebuffaloo]

It does have a loader but I think I'm gonna stay with a 8 foot dual.