What size bush hog 6' or 7' ???

[belah]

I have a 1992 model Kubota M4030su with about 900 hours on it and am looking at a Woods Rotary cutter (bush hog) three point hitch type. My tractor has 49 hp. I was trying to decide between a 6' which weighs 800# or a 7' which weighs 1025#. I will be cutting pasture land mostly with the occasional 1-2" shrub but nothing seriously bad. Which do you recommend the 6' or the 7'??? Also do you recommend the Woods BB72 or the BB720 model. Thank You Belah

 

[ETRon]

I guess all us out here can give is 2 cents worth. I made the decision when I got mine to get the 7ft so as to cover the full width of my back tires. I do some nasty terrain not pasture. For flat land I'm not sure it's as important . I can guarantee one thing only, the price goes up in a hurry larger than 6ft. You don't say how large an area you're dealing with but if it's a lot of acres then a used batwing might serve ya better.

 

[steve l]

either size would work fine,but like etron said you go up an extra foot and its going to be quite a bit more money.6'would probably perfect

 

[belah]

I am cutting about 60 acres of which 40 acres are pasture and 20 acres timberland with underbrush. After more research I think the Woods BB 720 6 ft cutter would probably do just fine. It's a little heavier duty than the BB 72 model and has a higher rated gear box hp(130) and replaceable side skid plates. My dealer quoted $2600 for the BB720 and $1850 for the BB72(75 hp gear box) and no replaceable skid plates. Both have the Quick Change blades which are removed from the top. What do you think?? Thank You Belah

 

[Bulldog]

If you get a 6' you will really want a 7'. If you get a 7' you'll want a 8'. 60 acres is a lot of cutting with a 6' cutter. I don't know anything about them but Agri Supply has a 7' with dual tail wheels listed for $2150. It may be worth looking at.

 

[IC-Smoke]

how about a used bat-wing rotary cutter?

 

[DsBota]

I agree with Bulldog. 60 acres is a lot to cut!

 

[steve l]

how about a used bat-wing rotary cutter?

i'm not being a smart alec by no means when i say this but the tractor he has is not near big enough to pull a bat wing mower.7040 is about minimum as you can go.70engine 62pto hp.

 

[IC-Smoke]

No problem Steve, I dont have any experience with that size Kubota..... yet But browsing Landpride I found a couple that said 50-75hp tractors.

http://www.landpride.com/main_products/main_rclg.html

50-75hp tractor
http://www.landpride.com/products/prod_rc/prod_rc2512.html

Just a option! I would get bored quick doing 60ac with a 6' or 7' mower

 

[Bulldog]

Bush Hog model 2212 is rated for 50 - 75 HP tractors. It say that this model is designed for small tractors. A friend of mine has a neighbor that's using a 10' cutter (3pt) behind a L3940 on his pasture. I wouldn't have thought it would even pick it up but it does. I don't know about where you live but I can remember the state road department using 5610 Fords to cut the road sides with 15' cutters. You might look at a Bushhog model 3008. 98" cut and can be equiped with 3pt, 2pt semi hitch which can be offset to the side (very handy) or pull type. Reguardless of which size you deside on be sure to look at the blade tip speed before you buy. A slow bts will give you a poor cut. My 5' has a bts about 13,000 ft per min. My 3008 is a little over 15,000 fpm. There is a huge difference between the two of them on the cut quality.

 

[steve l]

the 5610 you mention is a 62pto hp tractor.i have an 8' rhino sr8 3 point mower that is heavy on 9540.the 3point lift on this 9540 is a terrible design,it wont lift up high enough to get the tail wheels off the ground.if you set your top link to pickup the mower it makes the front of the mower dig in the dirt when you let it down to mow.

 

[Bulldog]

I'm not sure what the difference is between the 9540 and the 9000 as far as the 3pt goes but my 9000 will lift the tail wheels on my 3008 Bushhog a couple of feet and if that's not high enough I can raise then higher with the cylinder on them. You are right about it being a load. I added 400 lbs to the front of mine to help hold it down.

 

[steve l]

I'm not sure what the difference is between the 9540 and the 9000 as far as the 3pt goes but my 9000 will lift the tail wheels on my 3008 Bushhog a couple of feet and if that's not high enough I can raise then higher with the cylinder on them. You are right about it being a load. I added 400 lbs to the front of mine to help hold it down.

i think they made the lift arms shorter so it could spec out a higher lifting capacity.you are right about the 9000 ours will lift much higher than the 9540.

 

[Bulldog]

Other than making the numbers more impressive I don't see any point in a higher lift capacity. If the weight isn't on the front it can't lift but so much anyway. Since they are roughly the same size I don't see the 9540 being any heavier on the front than the 9000 is. I thought the 9540 was going to be a improved version of the 9000 but it doesn't sound like now. The bigger cab would be nice though.

 

[steve l]

i know were getting off the subject of the thread but the cab is much better.the a/c is much improved,the placement of the vents in the dash is very nice it has a four speed blower motor.the condenser has been moved from the top of the cab.it is now under the seat.the tilt wheel lever operates with your foot very good design over the previous hand operated one.we have two 9000's one is the ultra grand cab and the other is not.personally i don't like the remote handles on either one,especially the u/g cab where where you have to pull up or push down to operate.the 40series is right beside your leg.i wish they were longer but still i like it better.i fairly large 6' 260 and yes the cab could stand to be bigger.the windows on the 9540 have limo tint on them the best money we ever spent.LOL

 

[Bulldog]

Sometimes it just hard to stay exactly on subject. There's just to much orange to talk about. I wandered how the new A/C worked out on the 40 series. I have the ultra grand cab on mine. It's just not made for a big man. My CAT loader spoiled me. The cab on it was about 5' wide and I could stand up in it if I leaned over a little. I used some Zep 2000 spray grease on the cable ends and all the other moving points on my remotes and it helped quite a bit. Another thing I did was took the top off the remote handles and put foam padding and covered it. It's much more comfortable to use now. The screws that hold the cover on are hard on the arms when you're using the remotes. I agree with you fully on the limo tint. Well worth the time and money spent to do that. I even did almost the whole windshield on mine to. Doing that helped to cut down on the glare in the side windows. It was pretty bad on the door glass when the sun was out real bright.

 

[kyfred]

I have a Bush Hog 3008 pull behind not 3pt hitch. I really like how it cuts I don't think you would be able to keep the front end on the ground with a M4030. My M5030SU would not handle it if it was 3pt hitch. The offset would be nice. I went with the 8ft size because of getting through gates and I hate to bushhog. Get it done quick with as few trips as possible. When using a pull behind hooked to the drawbar it don't beat and bang on your 3pt hitch either. The M4030 should be able to handle a 6ft or 7ft 3pt. In tall grass 7ft might take a lower gear than the 6ft.

 

[steve l]

I have a Bush Hog 3008 pull behind not 3pt hitch. I really like how it cuts I don't think you would be able to keep the front end on the ground with a M4030. My M5030SU would not handle it if it was 3pt hitch. The offset would be nice. I went with the 8ft size because of getting through gates and I hate to bushhog. Get it done quick with as few trips as possible. When using a pull behind hooked to the drawbar it don't beat and bang on your 3pt hitch either. The M4030 should be able to handle a 6ft or 7ft 3pt. In tall grass 7ft might take a lower gear than the 6ft.

very well said kyfried