How Big a Bush Hog for a 50 hp Kubota 5030su?

[JerryC999]

I volunteer for the Kentucky Humane Society Equine Rescue, and their farm has a Kubota 5030 on site. They want to start mowing their 30 acres of pasture rather than hire it out. So, need to shop for a used rotary mower. How large of a bush hog can that tractor take? (And I am assuming a bush hog vs a finish). Rolling to flat land. Pasture, so a mix of weeds and grasses.

 

[jimh406]

The general rule of thumb is 5HP per foot. That would make an 8 ft a good size. I’m sure that someone with experience with that tractor or similar one will post soon.

 

[BigG]

I have never own or used one but Rhino makes a TS10, a 10 foot batwing, and a TS 12, a 12 foot batwing. Both would work as they both require low HP for their operation.

I run a Rhino TW96, 8 ft 2 pin, or semi-mount, off set mower. It is a twin spindle mower that always rides on 2 wheels. I would stay away from any large single spindle 3 point lift mowers as they are a load on the tractor's hydraulics and awkward to turn with as the tail will swing very wide.

 

[Magicman]

A 6' single spindle or an 8' dual spindle. Do not opt for a 7' single spindle.

I run a Bush Hog 3008.

 

[UpNorthMI]

I think another question is what is your budget and how quick do you want to cut. Typical single spindle rotary cutters are up to 7' wide, multi spindle rotary cutters are 8-10' wide, bat wing cutters are 12+. you have enough rear PTO HP to run all of these options up to and including a Woods bat wing BW12. It's a question of what is a sensible buy when you only have 30 acres in total.

I suggest looking for a used 6' wide single spindle heavy duty cutter. Remember it is not about the largest cutter you can use as you will be able to run a 6' wide cutter at a faster ground speed with your PTO HP.

If you are looking on Craigslist you need to check a few times a day and be prepared to show up quickly with cash in hand as good attachments move real fast. When buying used I would invest in new blades and to give the gearbox an oil change. Make sure you check the drive line safety, either a shear bolt or slip clutch. I would replace the shear bolt as you don't know whats fitted. if it's a slip clutch make sure you clean and reset the slip clutch. You are new at cutting this ground and may not know about any ground issues that could possibly damage the cutter.

I run a Woods heavy duty 6' wide cutter behind a MX5800 for mowing waist to chest high fields, it does not bog down and allows me to move at a reasonable speed.

Good luck in your search.

 

[SDT]

I volunteer for the Kentucky Humane Society Equine Rescue, and their farm has a Kubota 5030 on site. They want to start mowing their 30 acres of pasture rather than hire it out. So, need to shop for a used rotary mower. How large of a bush hog can that tractor take? (And I am assuming a bush hog vs a finish). Rolling to flat land. Pasture, so a mix of weeds and grasses.

Not familiar with the 5050 but will assume that it is 50 engine HP, so approximately 40-42 PTO HP.

If cover is light and conditions are good, you could run a 10' BW but finding a used one will likely be a chore. Tractor will need at least one hydraulic remote and two is preferred. Ground speed will be limited if cover is not light.

Could operate a twin spindle 8' pull type cutter if both mower and cover are not too heavy. Again, finding a good used one will probably take some time.

Nothing larger than a 6' mounted single spindle cutter or a light weight 7' cutter with front weights. Not fond of 7' mounted cutters for multiple reasons. Used 6' cutters are easy to find but mowing 30 acres with one will take some time.

SDT

 

[JimmyJazz]

In my opinion 30 acres is a lot of pasture to cut. I would opt for a 10 ft mower at a minimum. The bigger the better within reason. The farmer who maintains my place uses an old 10 ft twin spindle Woods, not a batwing. Thats about 15 acres of horse pasture. An ancient 60hp International Harvester does the pulling like its not even there.

 

[SDT]

In my opinion 30 acres is a lot of pasture to cut. I would opt for a 10 ft mower at a minimum. The bigger the better within reason. The farmer who maintains my place uses an old 10 ft twin spindle woods, not a batwing. Thats about 15 acres of horse pasture. An ancient 60hp International Harvester does the pulling like its not even there.

I once owned a 10.5' twin spindle Woods cutter. Bought it new and pulled it with a new NH T4050 Deluxe. Not my favorite cutter (tractor was wonderful) and ancient 60 PTO HP International tractors are not Kubota 5030 SUs.

SDT

 

[mcmxi]

A 6' single spindle or an 8' dual spindle. Do not opt for a 7' single spindle.

I run a Bush Hog 3008.

Can you elaborate on why not a 7' single spindle? I bought a 7' RC a few months ago that seems to be working very well for me and will work even better once I dig out some rocks. I'm not mowing down much in the way of brush, mostly weeds and grass with the occasional patch of gorse of some sort or another.

Members here convinced me that a rotary cutter was the way to go and so far that has proven to be good advice.

 

[Magicman]

Just going from the horsepower chart that I saw before I bought a cutter. It showed the single spindle 7" requiring more hp than the dual spindle 8'.

At the time I only had a 45hp tractor which did not have the required hp for the single spindle 7', but the dual spindle 8' showed to be OK.

 

[BigG]

Can you elaborate on why not a 7' single spindle? I bought a 7' RC a few months ago that seems to be working very well for me and will work even better once I dig out some rocks. I'm not mowing down much in the way of brush, mostly weeds and grass with the occasional patch of gorse of some sort or another.

Members here convinced me that a rotary cutter was the way to go and so far that has proven to be good advice.

The 7 foot cutter is very long and you must be careful not to swing it into things as you turn. The length of the cutter also give you problems with bridging when you cross a ditch. Requires more room for storage then a twin spindle. Also the twin spindle will follow the contour of the land better since it is shorter.

 

[SDT]

The 7 foot cutter is very long and you must be careful not to swing it into things as you turn. The length of the cutter also give you problems with bridging when you cross a ditch. Requires more room for storage then a twin spindle. Also the twin spindle will follow the contour of the land better since it is shorter.

Agreed.

Also, the length of a 7' single spindle places significant weight well behind the lift arms requiring more front weight.

SDT

 

[mcmxi]

The 7 foot cutter is very long and you must be careful not to swing it into things as you turn. The length of the cutter also give you problems with bridging when you cross a ditch. Requires more room for storage then a twin spindle. Also the twin spindle will follow the contour of the land better since it is shorter.

Thanks for making those points. I don't have a lot of obstacles to worry about when turning, don't have any ditches to cross and once I get the barn built I'll have no storage issues. However, I do wonder if a dual spindle would be less likely to high center over mounds of dirt or rocks and whether or not it would do a better job on my property. I detest buying something only to discover that it wasn't the best choice so it sure would be nice to try one out.

The problem I face using the RCR1884 is rocks and dirt mounds with smaller rocks inside them. The dirt mounds will always be a problem as long as critters are tunneling on the property but rocks can be overcome with time and effort. Even dirt mounds can be cut off with the bucket before the blades encounter them.

Also, the length of a 7' single spindle places significant weight well behind the lift arms requiring more front weight.

I've had zero issues with front weight but I do have the loader with HD bucket on the front. Eventually I'll probably run around with the grapple on the front so that I can try to dig up some of the bigger rocks.

 

[SDT]

Thanks for making those points. I don't have a lot of obstacles to worry about when turning, don't have any ditches to cross and once I get the barn built I'll have no storage issues. However, I do wonder if a dual spindle would be less likely to high center over mounds of dirt or rocks and whether or not it would do a better job on my property. I detest buying something only to discover that it wasn't the best choice so it sure would be nice to try one out.

The problem I face using the RCR1884 is rocks and dirt mounds with smaller rocks inside them. The dirt mounds will always be a problem as long as critters are tunneling on the property but rocks can be overcome with time and effort. Even dirt mounds can be cut off with the bucket before the blades encounter them.



I've had zero issues with front weight but I do have the loader with HD bucket on the front. Eventually I'll probably run around with the grapple on the front so that I can try to dig up some of the bigger rocks.

I remove FELS from all of my tractors in the spring when I mount mowers. Tractors are much more easily maneuvered around obstacles, etc., without FELs. Aside from the occasional exception, do not replace FELs until fall when the mowers come off.

SDT

 

[mcmxi]

I remove FELS from all of my tractors in the spring when I mount mowers. Tractors are much more easily maneuvered around obstacles, etc., without FELs. Aside from the occasional exception, do not replace FELs until fall when the mowers come off.

SDT

I simply don't have obstacles to worry about so the FEL is staying on indefinitely. I've been trying to float the bucket when cutting in areas that I'm not familiar with but floating with a level bucket doesn't work that well when the terrain undulates so much.

Coming back to your comment about weight, those Land Pride dual spindle rotary cutters are HEAVY. Good grief, the RCF3096 3-point model is over 1,500 lb. There's a semi-mount and pull-type too, both of which are even heavier.