Rotary cutter options

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
MCMXI your scenery is beautiful.
Thanks ... but not really. The problem with living up here is having friends with backyards like this. I'll be cutting his field next weekend.

20210619_190907.jpg


20210619_191002.jpg


20210619_191012.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

Whatscooking

Active member

Equipment
Grand L 3130. BX2360. RTV900. GRASSHOPPER 721D
May 19, 2021
122
60
28
Indiana
Couple years ago i flew into Missoula with my sons. Went directly across the road from the airport to the Harley dealer and got on a bike and headed up to Glacier National Park. Drove into the park then exited out the west. Took the new 3000 mile Harley up a gravel road ten miles to Polebridge for a Bearclaw then back out and up another 10 miles of gravel to a half million doller cabin we had rented for a week, was just a few more miles to Canada. Drove through the park a couple of times, the road in the beginning of the movie the Shining. Beautiful amazing beautiful. Whitefish so nice.
I would be glad to trade my tractor driving skills for a stay there.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
Couple years ago i flew into Missoula with my sons. Went directly across the road from the airport to the Harley dealer and got on a bike and headed up to Glacier National Park. Drove into the park then exited out the west. Took the new 3000 mile Harley up a gravel road ten miles to Polebridge for a Bearclaw then back out and up another 10 miles of gravel to a half million doller cabin we had rented for a week, was just a few more miles to Canada. Drove through the park a couple of times, the road in the beginning of the movie the Shining. Beautiful amazing beautiful. Whitefish so nice.
I would be glad to trade my tractor driving skills for a stay there.
Did you get up to Bowman Lake? I can get from my house to Polebridge in about an hour and Bowman is simply gorgeous.

I was supposed to cut a big field in Bigfork on another friend's 70 acre property but he accepted an offer from someone to have it cut for hay. His place is just as, if not more, stunning than the photos I show here. By the way, that's the Flathead River that runs into Flathead Lake.


20210619_191947.jpg
 

Attachments

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
As with anything, I tend to over think. YouTube doesn’t help that either. Any of the cutters I’m looking at, is better than the one I currently have now. Which is none.
Matt, I didn't mean to hijack your thread and I don't think you're overthinking your choice. Rotary cutters are expensive implements and you're simply doing your homework. I am interested to hear your thoughts on whatever model you end up with. I might end up buying a smaller rotary cutter to run behind the MX to get into and around some of the more awkward areas. Probably not this year, and not to replace the 1884, but to use with the 1884.

My immediate challenge is figuring out how to load the MX and 1884 on my 22' utility trailer so that I can cut my friend's field next weekend. I hope it all fits!!
 

Matt Ellerbee

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX6000
Jun 27, 2019
1,656
1,859
113
Canton, Georgia
Got the BH316 down to $3450. Front chains/rear metal band. Rear chains would add $700. Told my dealer to get one off the pallet and prepped.

Never heard back from other Woods dealer or Rhino.
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
Got the BH316 down to $3450. Front chains/rear metal band. Rear chains would add $700. Told my dealer to get one off the pallet and prepped.

Never heard back from other Woods dealer or Rhino.
That looks like a really nice cutter. The price seems inline with what I paid for the RCR1884 since I have chains front and rear as well as two wheels. I like that the outer edge of the deck of the BH316 is radiused like my RCR. I bet you're excited about this, I know I would be.

I'm going to attempt to cut down a bunch of Canadian thistle that always grows along the driveway. My cutter is 7' wide so hopefully I can hang it over the edge as I back down.

I wonder if Woods and Rhino are so busy that they don't care about returning calls.
 
Last edited:

Matt Ellerbee

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX6000
Jun 27, 2019
1,656
1,859
113
Canton, Georgia
That looks like a really nice cutter. The price seems inline with what I paid for the RCR1884 since I have chains front and rear as well as two wheels. I like that the outer edge of the deck of the BH316 is radiused like my RCR. I bet you're excited about this, I know I would be.

I'm going to attempt to cut down a bunch of Canadian thistle that always grows along the driveway. My cutter is 7' wide so hopefully I can hang it over the edge as I back down.

I wonder if Woods and Rhino are so busy that they don't care about returning calls.
I am excited. Can hopefully pickup Wednesday or Thursday. Had a guy with forestry mulcher come out and clean out the woods some, mostly 6” trees that would bind me up trying to navigate around. Gonna run over all the little under growth that is left. Then start on the two fields I take care of, and make them a bit bigger each mowing.

Probably could have went with the 216, but why not splurge a bit and have no worries expanding the fields in the future.
 

Matt Ellerbee

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX6000
Jun 27, 2019
1,656
1,859
113
Canton, Georgia
Overthinking now. Totally forgot I still need to widen my wheels. That would put me about 85” outside. Gonna ask salesman about 317 tomorrow. They have one next to the 316 still on the pallet.

Oopsie.
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
Overthinking now. Totally forgot I still need to widen my wheels. That would put me about 85” outside. Gonna ask salesman about 317 tomorrow. They have one next to the 316 still on the pallet.

Oopsie.
Wait, you're adding wheel spacers on the MX?
 

Matt Ellerbee

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX6000
Jun 27, 2019
1,656
1,859
113
Canton, Georgia
Oh ... cool. Could you take a before and after photo and post here, with dimensions too? :)
Got ya one better, found these on TBN. Poster says about 78” center. That would be 85” to outside. If the tire is 17” wide.
C78D42BD-79C5-4664-9BAC-45F5CB1ADE8A.jpeg

80CD1406-729F-4C5E-9D69-76FB49C49D03.jpeg
This is on his MX5800.
 

ehenry

Active member

Equipment
BX22, FEL, BH, 40" pto tiller, 42" Bushog Squealer, pto hole digger, B7300 w/60"
Mar 25, 2014
356
88
28
Canton, MS
I"ve pulled both BushHog brand and Woods cutters over the years and both performed equally well. Cutting grass, cutovers, cotton stalks, shredding corn and milo stalks. Where I live BH, Rhino and Woods are the dominate brands.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
Got ya one better, found these on TBN. Poster says about 78” center. That would be 85” to outside. If the tire is 17” wide.
This is on his MX5800.
OK ... so flipping the rim around on the center hub putting the valve stem on the outside. Not sure if I'll be doing that but it certainly makes the rear way wider and more stable ... not that the MX is unstable. I'll have to think about this.
 

Matt Ellerbee

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX6000
Jun 27, 2019
1,656
1,859
113
Canton, Georgia
OK ... so flipping the rim around on the center hub putting the valve stem on the outside. Not sure if I'll be doing that but it certainly makes the rear way wider and more stable ... not that the MX is unstable. I'll have to think about this.
I misread. The sidewalls are 78”.
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
I misread. The sidewalls are 78”.
I've got 82" between the fenders on my utility trailer so 85" outside to outside of the tires would be a problem. But are you saying that it's 78" outside to outside? That would still be very tight trying to get the tractor on the trailer, particularly since the tires squeeze out near the contact patches.
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25TLB
Feb 9, 2021
4,067
4,623
113
NW Montana
@Matt Ellerbee, I looked at the manual and found the section on adjusting the rear track width. I added the numbers in the top right corner of each box in the screenshot below for clarity. Looks like my wheels came set up as shown in #2 giving 55.9" center to center and approximately 72" outside to outside. Changing to #3 or #4 would result in an outside to outside measurement of 73" and 77" respectively. I think I'll leave them where they are.

rear_wheels.jpg

rear_wheel.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

Matt Ellerbee

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
MX6000
Jun 27, 2019
1,656
1,859
113
Canton, Georgia
@Matt Ellerbee, I looked at the manual and found the section on adjusting the rear track width. I added the numbers in the top right corner of each box in the screenshot below for clarity. Looks like my wheels came set up as shown in #2 giving 55.9" center to center and approximately 72" outside to outside. Changing to #3 or #4 would result in an outside to outside measurement of 73" and 77" respectively. I think I'll leave them where they are.

View attachment 61947
View attachment 61948
Mine are set same as yours. Am still going to go wider with the 6’ cutter.