Customer Reviews

Swisher RTB12544 44-Inch 12.5 HP Trailcutter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've used this for 3 yrs so I have some comments:
Good Points-
1)easy to attach to tractor- just a hitch pin & a few bolts, on or off in a few minutes. MUCH quicker than a bush hog
2)powerful- really eats up woody brushy like multiflora rose quite nicely.
3)separate from propulsion- when dealing with heavy growth, you can throttle down to a crawl while leaving the mower's engine at full power to knock down overgrowth
Bad Points-
1)belt trouble- still using orginal belt but it gets off pulley for no apparent reason, have to do contortions under a hot engine to replace it. finally I just leave cover off to save wrenching time.
2)grass- it is a rough cut mower, it won't leave a smooth finish but grass seems to be more able to choke & stall it than brush.
3)hard to pull start- It was tight when new, better now but still takes a good hard pull to start- I wish I got the electric start model, more convenient to restart after a stall.
4)noisy- between tractor & mower, wear ear protection

maintanence- in three years, I've had to have main bearing replaced (immediate failure) and idler pulley-both under service contract. 1 flat tire. Motor has done fine, only changed oil & air filter, also starter rope broke this spring.

overall, I have got a lot of use on this on 23 acres, compared with a tractor mounted bush hog, it is a good value for the money.

I liked the ease of use, but...
The mower arrived with minimal assembly, but was very difficult to remove from the pallet is was attached to. The mower is very heavy and is difficult to manuver to the ATV.
The belt is another story. I have gone through 3 now (in as many cuttings). The belt is extremely loose when the blades are disengaged. When the belt is engaged it can easily slip off any of the pulleys. This requires refitting the belt (if it is not chewed up or cut in half), then starting the mower w/ the blades engaged. As I have an electric start mower, I must turn the key while having an "object" push the button with the cover off the mower. I don't think this is safe as someone (or me doing contortionist moves) is standing next to the blades engaged.
Otherwise... I am satisfied with the HP of the deck and its ability to demolish the medium sized yucca's in my field. I try not to tackle the bigger ones as it may kill the mower (just like tall grass for a regular push mower would).

I have had this mower for two years pushing it to and beyond it's design in cutting brush and have been very satisfied with the results. While it leaves a pretty rough cut in material that is over my head on the first mowing, on the second mowing it cleans up nicely doing almost as good a job as a finish mower. It starts readily (I have electric start) and when I bog it down, it is easy to restart. My only problems have been that the nut holding the tow hitch vibrated loose and I quickly jerked all the wiring loose. That problem was solved with a lock washer. The second is that I did not secure the excess cable controlling the mower properly and I ran over it with the mower. That problem was solved easily with some pvc conduit and some flexible conduit and clamps. Since then no problems in some very heavy stuff. Swisher could improve the unit by providing a more secure way of attaching the wiring to the tongue of the mower and onto the tow vehicle. No problems thus far with belts as others have mentioned. Other than my two problems I am very impressed with the capability of this machine and very satisfied.

Overall this is an excellent product. I haven't had any of the belt problems that "A home improvement enthusiast" mentioned in his review. As far as getting it off the pallet, I just used the boards that I cut off the top and sides of the crate that it came in as ramps to wheel it down, so no problem there either. The thing is a bit heavy and awkward to move around on your own, either backing up or pushing the atv to the mower makes this a non-issue.

I used this all last summer and fall to cut down 5 acres of rough brush and overgrowth, sometimes over 5 feet tall, and it didn't bog down once on me. The only problem I had was the height adjustment bolt seized up on me, and I broke the adjustment handle trying to get it loose. Swisher sent me a new one free (under warranty), and now I just spray the bolt with wd-40 after every use.

For the price, you can't beat what this thing can do. If money isn't an object though, you may want to look into the Acrease rough cut, with a 60in. deck and a more powerful motor that enables faster cutting speeds. Expect to spend at least $3K for it though. The Swisher served me well all last summer, and it started right back up again this spring and is still going strong.

I've had one of these for a about 3 years now. Just a heads-up to people having trouble with the belt - YOU CAN ADJUST THE TENSION ON THE BELT. Read the owner's manual or contact their customer service. Someone talked me through it on the phone and it works a lot better now. Also, don't "flick" the lever to engage and disengage the blade, if you move it slowly you will be less likely to drop the belt. Overall, this thing gets the job done for a lot less than the Honda.

I received the Swisher 44 12.5 HP pull-start trail cutter a week ago and have used it fairly heavily on some rough terrain since then. It works as advertised and makes short work of heavy brush. I'm pulling it behind a Yamaha Rhino 450 with no difficulties. The Briggs & Stratton engine runs fine and starts easily enough that I would have a hard time justifying the additional cost of the electric starter. So far I have no regrets in purchasing this unit instead of a DR. My only complaint is the high cost of shipping, but I don't have access to a local dealer, so what're you gonna do? I wish the hitch attachment had a bit more vertical adjustment available, but I can work around that. So far, so good!

I am mowing 4 acres with this and I am VERY impressed. Pretty much if you can drive over it it will mow it! There was grass taller than me and it never flinched. Much cheaper than buying a tractor. I got the 12.5 HP model with pull start. Very easy to start, A bit noisy though. All in all I am very happy with this purchase and the riding mower can now get a break!

Pros: Cuts TALL grass with ease, Riding mower pulls easy.
Cons: Loves gas, Loud.

I've used this quite a lot on my 13 acres in the past year and a half, pulling it behind a Honda 350 Rancher ATV. As far as performance, it really gets the job done. The engine and the heavy blades together make pretty quick work of thick stuff, including saplings. Still, it does get bogged down on occasion and die.

My main problem has been with the belt/pulley/tensioner system. Burned through one belt pretty quick. Belt jumps off the pulleys a lot unless the belt tension is adjusted perfectly. Finally, after a year, I got it exactly right, and things have been going good. I wish there were even a brief mention of how to adjust the belt tension in the manual, but there isn't.

Also, I mowed over the control yoke cable. My fault. So I had to shorten it and attach it directly to the mower, which is fine. Also, it's a bit hard to start. A couple of the plastic parts in the starter broke this summer, but I can still get it started for the time being.

I've also never been able to get the mower to ride perfectly level. As it is, the front rides lower than the back, and obviously this isn't ideal for any mower. Still, it works. There just needs to be another inch or so of adjustment room in the hitch assembly for it to work with my ATV.

PRO: gets the job done, reasonable price, ruggedly built, solid engine
CONS: belt belt belt, starting, hard to "level" behind my ATV

I purchased the Swisher 44 about a year ago and thought I'd wait until I did the first oil change at 25 hours to review the product. I had previously purchased a Predator 24 to get at "hard to reach and rough" areas, and was quite pleased. The Swisher 44 was planned to take care of about 8 acres smoother areas in a neglected pasture.

I have not had the problems others have mentioned. At 25 hours I changed the oil and tensioned the belt, and I'm ready to go again. It has done everything I had hoped it would, from tackling 10-12 foot high blood weed to chopping small mesquite trees...some probably in excess of 1 ˝ inches in diameter.

Which brings me to the tires: the tires are appreciably tube wheel barrow tires. Even after using "slime", I have had several flats. My last effort was to install a tube made by Slime. It seems to be holding. It would have been nice to have tubeless tires of some substance, but I can change that if need be.

The assembly instruction could have been clearer, but it wasn't difficult to figure it out. I had to modify the hitch because I hooked it to a garden tractor, but that was not difficult either.

I would, and have, recommended this product to others. I've kept the acreage in control: the blood weed is gone and the mesquites are in check. Towing slowly, it takes about an hour per acre and the results are wonderful. Swisher, Inc. should be congratulated for developing this product and selling it at this cost. It is a GREAT value.

Good piece of equipment with a couple of things the manufacture must fix. This is a rough cut mower, which means anywhere the four wheeler will go, it should cut (within reason)... it does. Problem I have had is numerous flat tires.. The tires are skinny, two ply tires, cheap as you can get, with an even cheaper inner tube. Flat after flat. If this skinny, then need to be a no-air tire... Personnaly, I think they should have been a low pressure atv tire, full of gunk, like the atv.
Other things,
Belt disintegrates if you bog down and don't turn the blades off. It is hard to change. Basically, need to take both covers off and the engine to install.
The control cable is about 2 feet short to do any good.

If the tires didn't go flat so often, it does the job of a 30K tractor for a fraction of the cost. And you wouldn't get stuck