I"ve been looking for a new 15 Ft. bat wing mower to clip pastures and cut cornstalks. I have good Deere, Rhino and Woods dealers nearby. Prices are all fairly close and each brand has its strong and weak points. Kinda leaning towards Rhino, higher rated gear boxes than the other two and a good reputation. Be glad to hear of anyone"s experiences, good or bad with these mowers.
- Thread starter MN Scott
- Start date
Mike Aylward
Well-known Member
Scott, I can't comment on the other two but I have a John Deere HX15 I bought a couple of years ago and it has been trouble free for the most part. There were some minor warranty issues but they were taken care of promptly. It gets used but has performed very well. I like the fact that it has a smooth top where grass won't settle and rust. A quick blowing or washing at night and it's clean as a pin. I am very well satisfied with it. Mike
Nothing but bad experiences with Rhino. I dont know how they rate their gear boxes but the one I had, had 150 h.p. boxes and 105 hp was the most I ever had on the farm. Owned it 8 years and replaced one 3 times, only one of which was under warranty. Every time there was plenty of oil in it, gear teeth were sheared off. I've personally had good experience with Bush Hog, Deere, and Woods. Wouldnt bring a Rhino home again if it was free.
PreciseFarms
Member
I would go with the Deere. We have a 1508 that has been very good and beat up regularly. Its ugly but performs flawlessly. The new Deeres are even tougher and I haven't seen anything I thought would beat them. And if price is close, I would have a Deere delivered without blinking. The only thing we would change about ours would be newer and 20ft rather than 15ft.
Bob Bancroft
Well-known Member
- Location
- Aurora NY
A smooth, sloped top deck is an important improvement. I wouldn't buy one without it. Neighbor has a brand new JD and the wing hinges have grease fittings! Hadn't seen that before.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Bob, friends JD batwing broke the hinges right off of the machine, must of had to close of tolerances and rusted solid, explaining the grease fittings now. chris
I had a new woods 15 ft that was junk,welds broke,1 set of back wheels broke off in two years of easy use.I bought a new john deere and it works great,but it has a bunch of grease zerts that are hard to get to with all those plastic shields and the end of the pto shaft must weigh 75 pounds with that vilocity joint makes it hard for me to hook up.Our local county garage has tried woods ,rhino,bushhog and other models.They keep detailed records of mower repairs.They say the Jd is by far the best mower.The woods is the worst and the others in between.They mow around 100 miles of ditches with each mower every year.
Our local Deere dealer also sells Landpride. I think they sell more Landprides than Deere. Have owned three of them and have no problems or complaints.http://www.landpride.com/products/prod_rc/prod_rc6515.html
I've had a Rhino for several years and have mowed things I shouldn't have with it. It is tough. Recently mowed some trees down that I had to raise one of the wings up to push the trees down backwards. I'm talking about trees with 8-10 inch base and 20-25 feet tall. Will grind the stumps down to splinters. It is the heavy duty model and I couldn't be more pleased with it taking the abuse I have put it to.
Steve in IL
Member
Scott - I bought a used SR15 Rhino earlier this year. A great mower. It puts my JD5425 (81hp) to work. The 5425 only has 540 pto, so I was limited, but if you have 1000 pto, I'd advise that.
I also figured a way to work the three one-way circuit hydraulics with only two levers on the tractor. The main up hose goes by itself on lever one. The other two one-way hoses for the wings each go into one of the outlets for the second curcuit. I generally run with this second lever in the float position, but if I move it to what is normally a raise or lower position, one wing will go up (and the other will slowing float down). Not optimal, but it does work.
I also figured a way to work the three one-way circuit hydraulics with only two levers on the tractor. The main up hose goes by itself on lever one. The other two one-way hoses for the wings each go into one of the outlets for the second curcuit. I generally run with this second lever in the float position, but if I move it to what is normally a raise or lower position, one wing will go up (and the other will slowing float down). Not optimal, but it does work.
Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
Most likely one of the other companies make it for them!
Tom
Tom
Larry in IA
Member
My personal choice would be a Schulte. All of the govt. agencies have them, including the county I work for. We do things that a normal mower would not be used for. Needless to say the countless hours of operation they are ran. Not one bit of trouble. Lots of zerks in the right places. Very heavy mower with lots of options available. Don't know if a dealer is close, but sure would be worth a look.
Schulte
Schulte
MN Scott, We run an older Rhino SR-15M, 15 ft cut, batwing. We pull it with an old JD 4230, 100 HP, yes I have personally cut stuff that it was not supposed to cut and chew up. Not just a few times, but on a very regular basis!!! The 125 hp gearboxes we have had no problems with! Same with the 150 hp divider box up front. The weakest point is the blade bolts, if you push the point and cut large trees regularly they will wear and break, next weakest point it the blade itself for it will sometimes break accross the blade bolt hole. Last weakest point are the slip clutches, but the give some problems on most all brands when not slackened when stored in late fall, and retightened up in the spring.
All in All it is the toughest Shredder I have ever pulled period. Yes, I require a lot out of a shredder. You will be hard pressed to fine a better one, even if you are looking at used ones. in the 4K to 6k price range.
Hope this helps'
Later,
John A.
All in All it is the toughest Shredder I have ever pulled period. Yes, I require a lot out of a shredder. You will be hard pressed to fine a better one, even if you are looking at used ones. in the 4K to 6k price range.
Hope this helps'
Later,
John A.
I bought a 1999 HD Bushhog 15ft bat wing mower this year. It was used and not pretty but it works GREAT! I pull it with me IH 1066 and it hasn"t let me down yet. I have mowed about 300 acres with it all summer in some parts mowing I mowed stuff i shouldn"t have with it like others have said here. Keeps on going. I have heard good things about Landpride as well.
Bushhog does have some tough gear boxes!
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