4 ft brush hog

[graywolf]

Dave, you wouldn't have liked anything bigger, unless it was a really light duty bush hog. When I retired from farming and got rid of my bigger tractors, I downsized all the way down to a JD 1025R. I had kept a 5' bush hog. I tried it on the smaller tractor and its was just to heavy. So I went with a 4 footer. Even the 4' will let me know its back there in some situations. I think you gonna be well satisfied with it.

[daytime dave]

I had a front tire repaired on the Mahindra recently. It was ready for pickup today and I put it back on. I took the mower out for about 15 minutes before dinner. It worked great, the tire held air and I enjoyed the seat time. Now all we have to do is get the side by side back from repairs and start using the trails I have made for it.

[The Happy Kaboomer]

I run a JD tractor..........All my equipment is other brands........You pay about 40% more for that green paint.

[HenryFan]

Pardon me for resurrecting an old thread but I was looking at a June 6 post made by BrokenolMarine and he commented about the skirt of his rotary cutter getting bent. I think he attributed this to thin metal but I may not have completely understood his post.

In any event, is there such an animal as a "heavy duty" 4' rotary cutter? I am in the process of downsizing tactors and implements to make life easier for a geezer. I may be interested in a 4' cutter if I can find on that is not poorly built.

Looking at Tractor Supply, the nearest affordable ag supply vendor for me, but I am not sure of Tractor Supply implement quality. They sure are not cheap in price.

[daytime dave]

I would look at several vendors if possible. The John Deere (Frontier) I got is pretty well made. Dad had a 4 foot cutter from Tractor supply. I did the same thing with it by backing into some brush and a sapling and bending the skirt.
You really should check around and see the difference. There is a difference. You get what you pay for. In the long run, I was very glad to go with the JD cutter. See what you have around you

We don't mind posts on older topics here. We are all friendly here.

[The Happy Kaboomer]

I run a 50 HP John Deere...........BUT with other brands of implements..........JD implements are way expensive as OP stated.......Other brands are just as good................You always pay more for the green.

[BrokenolMarine]

We had thought about getting a Flail Mower for the pasture now that we aren't cutting it for hay, but talking with the Pastor who lives behind us, we are likely going to stick with the Bush Hog and not worry about it. His son has one and and he told his dad that he is always having to replace teeth. Oklahoma is hard on flail mowers.

[BrokenolMarine]

Pardon me for resurrecting an old thread but I was looking at a June 6 post made by BrokenolMarine and he commented about the skirt of his rotary cutter getting bent. I think he attributed this to thin metal but I may not have completely understood his post.

In any event, is there such an animal as a "heavy duty" 4' rotary cutter? I am in the process of downsizing tactors and implements to make life easier for a geezer. I may be interested in a 4' cutter if I can find on that is not poorly built.

Looking at Tractor Supply, the nearest affordable ag supply vendor for me, but I am not sure of Tractor Supply implement quality. They sure are not cheap in price.

Bush hogs often come in Different Grades or levels... lets say, Residential, Commercial, and Professional. (That may not be what they are called, but you get my meaning.)

Residential grade has the thinnest metal on the deck and skirts and the rubber at the back tears after the first use. Also has the smaller gear box and drive shaft.

The Commercial grade will have a heavier deck and skirting, The rubber at the base of the metal on the rear and around the sides is much heavier and harder to tear up. They will have a beefed up gear box and driveshaft.

The Professional grade will have a still heavier deck, and rather than metal skirting all the way around, will have even heavier sides, and chains rather than metal and rubber on the back and halfway around the sides, and a nearly indestructible gearbox and drive shaft.

Of course these steps up in quality are big steps in pricing.. BIG especially in that last step up.
Like they said, "You get what you pay for," well, Most of the Time.

[HenryFan]

Devil Dog -

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated.

But still, how does a potential buyer know which grade rotary cutter he is looking at since none seem to list country of manufacture (China vs. USA), metal thickness and other factors.

[Hatchdog]

I have a John Deere LX-5 rotary cutter that I’ve used for 20 years. Mostly to mow fields of grass and weeds so not real heavy duty work. I don’t know what level of “duty” is is but I would guess it would be in the middle of this chart. JD had changed the model numbers. Here is a John Deere chart of their different level of cutter. And a pic of mine I took for insurance purposes as I left it up at the property. Not likely to be stolen but who knows?

https://www.deere.com/en/cutters-shredd ... y-cutters/

IMG_5449.jpeg (4.82 MiB) Viewed 3537 times

[BrokenolMarine]

Devil Dog -

Thanks for the comments. Much appreciated.

But still, how does a potential buyer know which grade rotary cutter he is looking at since none seem to list country of manufacture (China vs. USA), metal thickness and other factors.

What my mechanic told us after he rebuilt ours, welding the new heavy duty skirt and bracing around the decking after someone ( who will remain nameless and only two of us live here, bent and tore the skirt up mowing in the woods.... and backing into unseen stumps in the grass...)

If there are several models in the showroom, compare the skirt thickness, but easier still, LOOK at the size of the gearbox in the center of the deck and / or the thickness of the drive shaft.. The entry level gearbox is noticeably smaller than either of the two upper level bush hogs, and the HIGH end bush hogs aren't normally IN the show room due to the high cost. They are either special order or stored in the crates in the warehouse and assembled when ordered or kept ready in the back for the professional buyers.

I'll try and get a picture of the modifications of OUR bush hog after it was upgraded by our mechanic, but this is the bush hog on the tractor when it was brand new. Note how small the gear box is on the deck. If you look at the very front of the skirting, you can see the leading edge of the skirt and see it's thin. I never claimed to know much about farms or farming, but I knew enough to know what we needed in the upgrade from the tractor we had:

tractor.jpg (568.77 KiB) Viewed 3801 times

I made sure we got a bucket, forks, bushhog, box blade...
I made sure the tractor had 4wd, locking rear diff, adequate power for the jobs we would do MOST of the time, but didn't over buy... (A mistake made ALL too often.) Our 2501 will handle 95% of the jobs, and is fuel efficient and the maintenance and parts are therefore much cheaper than if we had gone to a much bigger tractor that would have been too large to run the fence line, consumed much more fuel, and WOULDN'T have fit in the barn to scrape the mess out.

[BrokenolMarine]

The John Deere Link provided in the previous post is an excellent way to compare. Clinking on the link and going to their site and then clicking on the various Duty cutters lets you compare back and forth and see what I was referring to... the gear boxes and deck structures are clear and even the JD site talks about the chains on the higher end models. Good Web Page for JD.

[HenryFan]

BrokenolMarine -

Good advice, much appreciated.

[HenryFan]

While doing some on-line research into rotary cutters, I stumbled across flail mowers. Never thought of them before but they may work well when I do paths and "roads" between food plots since there are occasional rocks.

Anyone have experience with such? Although interesting, they appear half again as much as a rotary cutter, maybe more.

Pros and cons? Recommendations.

[BrokenolMarine]

I would talk to the dealer about the rocks and debris issue. As I mentioned above, the retired pastor behind us advised against the purchase. His son bought one, and is always having to replace "teeth" from striking rocks and debris in the fields he cuts on his large acreage here in Oklahoma. Actually, in high summer here the three digit highs turn the dirt into concrete.

I found that out trying to build my berm. The dirt pile had turned to stone after a month of 115+ degree summer, had to wait for three days of hard rain. Luckily the pile was on high ground surrounded by grass, or I still wouldn't have been able to break it up.

[HenryFan]

Is a flail mower the sort of implement that State DOT's or County maintenance department's use to mow rights-of-way?

It looks like replacement hammers or teeth are not inexpensive.

[BrokenolMarine]

I think most of the State Road departments use Bush Hogs, and what we see the most of here are the top of the line Bat Wing Bush hogs...

DOT bat wing cutter 31000 dollars new.jpg (1.41 MiB) Viewed 3709 times

The one above new runs $31,000. I was looking at them online trying to find a really good picture and they are up for sale used for $15,000 to $20,000. They are tough.

[daytime dave]

test

[HenryFan]

In a September 14 post, I asked if there is such a thing as a "heavy duty" bush hog.

BrokenolMarine responded the same day and gave valuable comments. I used his guidance in my search and decided the best combination of cost and construction proved to be a Dirt Dog RC104 rotary cutter. It is constructed with 10 gauge steel deck and sideband and a 60HP gearbox. This should prove more than sufficient for a Kubota LX2610SU compact tractor.

I think this is the best choice for my situation but I am aware that Dirt Dog may be a regional company (the Southeast) but I am not sure of that.

[daytime dave]

I think it may be regional. I've never heard of it. I don't remember seeing it when I looked on the internet for possibilities when I was looking.

I just looked at their site. It looks like well made stuff.