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What is 40 HP Rotary Cutter Gearbox and Why Do We Use Them?

Author: Molly

Jun. 05, 2025

9 0

Rotary Cutter - bush hog gearbox rating & sheer pin vs. clutch

I'm a greenhorn, and looking to buy a bush hog. I've got two questions. What does the gear box rating mean. I see some are 40 hp and others are 60 hp. Does that mean my tractor pto hp shouldn't exceed those gear box hp ratings? Second, is a slip clutch worth the extra money? I'll be cutting mostly pastures. Thanks for all the help you're giving me!
witterbound said: What does the gear box rating mean. I see some are 40 hp and others are 60 hp. Does that mean my tractor pto hp shouldn't exceed those gear box hp ratings? Second, is a slip clutch worth the extra money?
1. 40 and 60 are the small boys. They go up considerably from there. But to the point, it's a number that relates to your tractor's PTO horsepower rating. If you're rated for 45hp at the PTO, don't buy a mower with a 40hp transmission.
2. Yes, but again it's dependent upon the horsepower rating. They're not as common on the low end implements.

//greg// The slip clutch is a great thing - but requires steady mainenance. If you don't want to spend the extra 15-20 minutes every time you use use it, then save the bucks and just get the shear bolt.

A slip clutch will freeze up in as little as a day if left in a moist area, or in 1-4 weeks in a typical barn environment. The only way to know if it is free or not, is to loosen the bolts and slip it, the tighten them back correctly. A shear bolt is a hook up and go deal - until you pop them. If you are just doing a pasture, you probably won't pop more than a half dozen bolts in 10 years.

jb
witterbound said: I'm a greenhorn, and looking to buy a bush hog. I've got two questions. What does the gear box rating mean. I see some are 40 hp and others are 60 hp. Does that mean my tractor pto hp shouldn't exceed those gear box hp ratings? Second, is a slip clutch worth the extra money? I'll be cutting mostly pastures. Thanks for all the help you're giving me!

http://www.landpride.com/ari/attach/lp/public/manuals/311-254m.pdf
Start at Page 17...you'll find discussions on both 4 bolt and 8 bolt slip clutches... Well I'm definitely working on exceeding a few shear bolts in 10 years . I've gone through 3 in the last 3 weeks as I've been clearing some cactus and trying to avoid rocks. Seems my 6' frontier has a lot of iniritial (sp) weight and I need to be very carful when going over some of the vegitation on the property. I'm looking at adding a slip clutch because of the number of shear pins I'm going through and a $3.50 a pop it's going to get expensive. In Arkansas, I'll likely be hitting a lot of rocks, as they seem to grow in some areas I'll likley be bush hogging. If I hit a rock am I likely to shear a pin, or will the bush hog blades flex enough to save the pin? I though that the "unfixed" blades on a bush hog kept it from binding up like mowers can. Is that wrong, or are the unfixed blades just one defense, the sheer pin being or clutch being the backup?
john_bud said: The slip clutch is a great thing - but requires steady mainenance. If you don't want to spend the extra 15-20 minutes every time you use use it, then save the bucks and just get the shear bolt.
Maybe I got a good one, because I haven't found that to be true. I used to disassemble/clean/reassemble/adjust mine twice a year. Skipped one of them a couple years ago, so the thing went a year without maintenance. Still worked fine. Even though mine's parked out in the pasture year round, I've had no problems at all cutting the maintenance back to once a year.

//greg//

RC30 Rotary Cutter Gearbox 40 HP 45HP 1-3/8 Smooth Input Shaft ...

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