I bought a used M5040 this year and took it to Kubota dealer for the 600 hour service. While there I noticed they had a good price on a new RCR1872 rotary cutter. I went back and bought it a few weeks later. It's a 6 foot model and it turns out that my rear wheel distance on my tractor is 6.5 foot. Should I try and sell/trade it for a 7 or 8 foot model? I'm sure I will have to take a loss.
Land Pride RCR1872 rotary cutter (Should I sell)
- Thread starter RoBoss
- Start date
To me distance differences in the cutter and tires does not make a difference. At worst it means that at fence lines and around obstacles you cannot cut as close as you might like, then again only a really wide cutter or offset mower could. So you can do what I did and power an electric weed whacker from your tractor which actually makes a nice finish anyway.
If I'm thinking about this right (it is early morning), the reality is that you will need to make another pass every 6 passes to make up for the seventh one if you had gotten a 7 foot cutter. This slightly increases the time (and maybe fuel) in doing the chore.
On the plus side, you can probably run the tractor a bit faster than a seven footer and make back some of the time. A six foot cutter might give a slightly better cut than a seven footer as well, but that can vary widely so it's not much of a comparison point.
You could probably trade it back in to your dealer for the seven footer and lose a little money, plus the cost of the larger unit. Also, getting up there in size you might want to consider flail or bat-wing style mowers. Much over 6 feet and the large single rotary units are unwieldy.
If I'm thinking about this right (it is early morning), the reality is that you will need to make another pass every 6 passes to make up for the seventh one if you had gotten a 7 foot cutter. This slightly increases the time (and maybe fuel) in doing the chore.
On the plus side, you can probably run the tractor a bit faster than a seven footer and make back some of the time. A six foot cutter might give a slightly better cut than a seven footer as well, but that can vary widely so it's not much of a comparison point.
You could probably trade it back in to your dealer for the seven footer and lose a little money, plus the cost of the larger unit. Also, getting up there in size you might want to consider flail or bat-wing style mowers. Much over 6 feet and the large single rotary units are unwieldy.
TripleR
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BX2200, BX2660, L5740 HSTC, M8540HDC and some other tractors and equipment
I wouldn't personally, I use an RCR2672 with my L5740, the 7 footer is just too long for me. To cut more than 6 foot I would go with a twin spindle 8 footer.
The RCR1884 is almost 2 foot longer and uses dual tail wheels, so it will be much less maneuverable and a 7 footer has more mass on start up.
I agree, you will be able to mow slightly closer to a fence, but on your tractor the difference seems too small to be worthwhile. When I want to mow close and not get hung up I need our 10 footer.
The RCR1884 is almost 2 foot longer and uses dual tail wheels, so it will be much less maneuverable and a 7 footer has more mass on start up.
I agree, you will be able to mow slightly closer to a fence, but on your tractor the difference seems too small to be worthwhile. When I want to mow close and not get hung up I need our 10 footer.
ShaunRH, this might be a dumb question, but consider the source 
, how do you power a weed whacker off your tractor, and what kind of weed whacker? Would be wonderful to hop off and deal with those corners and spots close to trees etc while you are at it. Thanks! I hate the gasoline powered whackers, and make do when necessary with a long extension cord. Use the sheep as much as possible but they eat my flowers.
, how do you power a weed whacker off your tractor, and what kind of weed whacker? Would be wonderful to hop off and deal with those corners and spots close to trees etc while you are at it. Thanks! I hate the gasoline powered whackers, and make do when necessary with a long extension cord. Use the sheep as much as possible but they eat my flowers. 
North Idaho Wolfman
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L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
If I remember right he uses an inverter (12VDC to 110VAC) attached to the tractor to power an electric weed eater.ShaunRH, this might be a dumb question, but consider the source
NIWolfman's memory is spot on... as usual.If I remember right he uses an inverter (12VDC to 110VAC) attached to the tractor to power an electric weed eater.
Here're some pictures of the setup:
Easy to do. That's an 800W inverter I got from Lowes, I think it was under $70 on sale. The weed whacker is also from Lowes and draws about 300W on the nose and for light whacking, but peaks at 400W when starting up or under heavy load. I think the extension cord is either 25' or 50' and let's me go pretty far from the tractor. Useful for places the tractor can't get to.
I'm going to permanently mount it once I have the rear 'suite' finished up on the unit. Shhhh, it's top secret!