Why is Rotary Cutter Gearbox Better?

I've spent this week looking at my local options for a shredder, as well as learning more about some of the ones I can buy and have shipped to me (especially the Tennessee River Implements cutters, as the price is quite nice).

Heavy duty to one person is medium to another
My father in law suggested I get a 6' heavy duty shredder. He was comparing it to his 5' heavy duty shredder. Most have said that a 6' heavy duty shredder is too my for my L with 29-30 PTO HP.

Turns out, after many more questions, he was primarily referring to the gearbox, that he's seen many people blow the gearboxes on those, especially ones bought at Tractor Supply, etc. His example of a good shredder was his Bush Hog Squealer SQ160. He says the gearbox is better, and the round design, with the top having less areas for water to pool, and hold grass are highly desirable. I ran his 5' Bush Hog behind my LDT, and it ran very well, with barely a slowdown, except in the thickest of the blue stem you can find on his property. Additionally, it cut through smaller mesquite trees with ease, which is something desireable at my place.

I find that his Bush Hog has the same deck thickness as the TRI medium duty cutters.

Gearbox Sizing isn't precise

I find that gearbox HP requirements aren't well explained by the manufacturers, and I find posts that say you can go with the bigger gearbox and it just gives you more leeway, but some manufacturers (like Bush Hog) list a HP range (with a minimum). The Bush Hog Squealer 172 (since I have a comparison with my father in law's 160) lists a range of 30-45 PTO HP. That seems like it is very much borderline, with the listed specs on my L showing either 29 or 30 PTO HP (I don't know what gear early versus late means, so I go with the late one. I guessed late meant at the PTO shaft on the back of the tractor).

Factors that are truly important

What you are cutting

If it's just pasture land, with nothing big, there is less risk of you bogging the engine. Cutting through thick, wet grass taxes it more. It seems to me that this is more a function of the size of the bite you are taking, on a 5' cutter, you are biting off less than a 6' cutter. I would assume the gearbox has no bearing here, unless you are undersized. So, for me, it seems that if I can get away with a 6' cutter with the output of my tractor, I'd like to go this way.

How heavy the cutter is

Primarily, this seems to affect the ability for you to lift the cutter. The TRI 6' cutter with the 45 HP gearbox has a listed weight of 708 lbs, and if you upgrade to the 90 HP gearbox, it adds 60 lbs. From this alone, I would opt for the cost of the 90 HP gearbox, because it feels like with me mowing with the FEL, the 60 pounds wouldn't be a problem. Tractordata says my tractor can lift at least pounds (without my understanding the difference between the two specifications listed, I picked the minimum). Given that, I assume it's only a matter of whether my front tires are going to come off the ground, so again, I doubt that 60 pounds is going to be the metaphorical straw that broke the camel's back, but I could be wrong. Current bush hog models (BH16) seem to weigh similar to that of TRI.

Matching the gearbox to the tractor size

This one as I mentioned above seems to have some voodoo involved. Nobody lists a minimum HP for the gearbox, but I would imagine having a heavier duty gearbox implies potentially more HP loss than a smaller model. Can I pick up the TRI model with a 90HP gearbox to attempt to future proof my purchase, and work with a bigger tractor later?

Other niceties

I find that the Bush Hog and Land Pride models have a rounded shape, and less channels for water/wet grass to get stuck on, reducing the likelihood of it rusting out. My father in law's old cutter had the deck rust out due to it collecting debris and not properly cleaned. I'm aware that if you are very good with taking care of it, it should not be a problem, but sometimes life intervenes, and it seems like a great feature.

Ability to get parts? I have dealers for Bush Hog as well as Land Pride around, so it seems relatively easy to get parts. If I pick a model not sold locally, parts may be less available.

My ultimate factors
I want the biggest shredder that I can get (seems like 6'), with the best gearbox and body design, to last me for the long haul, even if I spend a bit more money up front. Given that, I need it to work behind my Kubota L, or it's worthless.

I checked pricing on the Land Pride RCF locally, and was quoted $ (which turns into $ with tax). If I compare that to comparable pricing for a TRI cutter shipped to my property, I'm spending around $ less. I can see only the two main benefits, rounded design, and locally available parts. I'm tempted to save the $ and understand that the deck needs to be taken care of. At the moment, I can store the tractor in the barn, but I believe the shredder will stick out, so I have to assume it's going to see some rainfall.

Does anybody see anything wrong with my reasoning, after reading more threads, having seat time behind a 5' cutter, and getting pricing and options from local and online sellers?

Last but not least, I recorded some video of what I encounter on the property (I only have video from right now, with the grass not fully grown into summer, but it's still representative).

Thanks!

Mark

tater pop

Member

Jan 13,

64

0

6

Maud texas usa

• #1

I'm in line to get a new cutter. I have a mx- tractor I will be mostly cutting grass some a little hard to cut(watergrass) . looking at getting a 6FT rotary cutter . Does the higher HP mean slower RPMs I will not be clearing land with it.I just need something thats makes a clean cut.

gpreuss

New member

Equipment LDT w/FEL, K650 Backhoe, 5' Rotary, 40" Howard Rotavator, 6' Rhino blade

Oct 9,

1,166

6

0

Spokane, WA

• #2

Mostly the higher horsepower comes from more torque, although with the MX you have to run rpm to get 540 at the PTO. The mowers are all made for 540 rpm, and cut best at that speed. If you slow them down too much you no longer get a clean cut.

TripleR

Active member

Equipment BX, BX, L HSTC, MHDC and some other tractors and equipment

Sep 16,

1,911

8

38

SE Missouri

• #3

Not necessarily, check the Land Pride web site and it will give you blade tip speeds etc. and some high HP mowers are essentially the same as lower HP models. I haven't check other makes, but don't know why they would be different.

I use an RCR and it works well in grass as well as brush. Lots of definitions of water grass, so I'm not sure what you have.

Bulldog

Well-known member

Equipment M DTC, L DT

Mar 30,

5,440

78

48

Rocky Face, Georgia

• #4

Like TripleR said, the blade tip speed is what you need to look at. For example, my Bushhog is 16,345 fpm and it has a very high quality cut. If you want a good cut for grass I wouldn't even look at anything under 15K fpm.

tater pop

Member

Jan 13,

64

0

6

Maud texas usa

• #5

Thanks for your answers, the reason I ask the question is years ago I had an older bushHog brand bush hog with the old big gearbox that thing would clear a thicket but did not make a good cut on pasture grass. My neighbor had a ford cutter with a small gearbox that would make a better cut in grass at a faster speed than I could run .