# Bush hog claims "made in America" not so true?



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I am wanting to replace my old 15' batwing with a new one. Started looking last week. 
I started with bush hog. Upon close inspection, I noticed the gearboxes were stamped "made in China" 
Next I went to my John Deere dealership. Same thing "made in China" 
How can a company claim something is "Made in America", when the main part of the the product (in this case, the gearboxes) are made in China?
My current mowers John Deere have gearboxes made in Spain.


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## Orchard6 (Apr 30, 2014)

They are Assembled in the USA from globally sourced components. Just like almost everything else made here. My John Deere 5105m's front axle is made in China and the engine comes from Mexico but it's assembled here. 
It's a world market now and I think Assembled in the USA is about the closest we're going to get to Made in USA anymore.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

New bushhogs are not the same as old bushhogs. when I needed one, went looking for an old one in good shape, a 3210. That thing would mow metal, Made in USA. I actually had a bushhog salesman tell me the recent ones were not nearly as heavy. Think they were bought out by someone in the last 5 or so years, but not sure.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

I have a JD CX15 mower. Air bag suspension. Aircraft tires. Gear boxes made in Spain. A very good rotary mower.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Yeah my MX8 Deere has Spain made gearboxes. I've asked it to do way more than Deere promised. 
Bulletproof.


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## Orchard6 (Apr 30, 2014)

We have 3 3210 bush hogs. All have the Chinese gear boxes and we've had one failure in the last 10 years. The splines stripped out of the output shaft because the nut that holds the stump jumper dish backed off and chewed the splines off both the output shaft and stump jumper. It was more our fault for not checking it than any fault of Bush Hogs.
Our mowers see around 1000 hrs use per season so they do get used quite a bit. 
The Chinese boxes are noisy but have really held up pretty well which is more than I can say for the old Woods 121's they replaced. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Bush Hog brand mower.


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

Basically, you have no choice unless you buidf it yourself.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I'm not the least bit delusional about what Made in America means anymore.

My plasma cutter has Made in the USA right on it, but you know as well as I do the circuit boards or there components came from china, fan motor I'm sure is from china as well as the transformers and capacitors.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Nothing delusional here, either. 
I just find it humorous and disappointing that arguably the most significant and expensive components on a bush hog brand mower are clearly stamped MADE IN CHINA, yet bush hog emphatically brags the units are "made in USA".
Sounds like misleading advertising to me.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

JD- selling your old batwing? Whats wrong with it? I am kinda in the market for one...but got other issues to deal with right now too...


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

*From 2009: ALAMO GROUP TO ACQUIRE ASSETS OF BUSH HOG*

http://www.alamo-group.com/Investor_Relations/Press_Releases/alamo_group_to_acquire_assets_of_bush_hog.html


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## bluefarmer (Oct 10, 2010)

Rhino has got a tough bush hog


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Rhino is also owned by Alamo Group.

http://www.alamo-group.com/Company/Products/Categories/Rotary_Mowers.html


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## cmd (Oct 26, 2012)

To a degree I could care less where stuff is made anymore, so much of the stuff I have bought and seen pushed as MADE IN USA is shit anyways. China cranks out lots of junk but I believe they also make a ton of stuff that is usable. Look at all our electronics. You'd be surprised to see how much of the iconic MADE IN USA Hardley Davidson is made in China.


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## sethd11 (Jan 1, 2012)

Not sure if Woods mowers are popular by you JD, but they are bulletproof down here. The gear boxes are double the size that are needed. Stump jumpers are pretty heavy too. Check them out!


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Anything that has metal in it nowadays has components made in ROC, seems most all the metal foundries have move there....think they spread the by products on their farm land 

Purty much all plastic parts are made in ROC as well.....think they spray those by products 

ROC is quite capable of making quality products as proven by Apple, Nike, etc. they are also quite capable of reverse engineering something, poisoning your kids, stealing your good name and track record, polluting their environment and using forced child labor.....

I see nothing positive about any of it......except you can now by a 350pc hand tool set for $19.95, might not work as advertised when push comes to shove however....


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

My point is not that China can make something good (although I would never trust their tires, food, pharmaceuticals, just to name a few)
What I am questioning is the claim "made in USA,when 3-4 gearboxes are stamped "china". 
I think I found a clean used Deere HX-15 with the Spain gearboxes which are very tough. It's also got aircraft tires and 540 PTO, which I want.
I like Deere batwing a the best because the double deck design and the paint jobs on Deere stuff is excellent.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I agree, need to be better "truth in advertising". That use to be the case, however with today's moral compass........


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## Orchard6 (Apr 30, 2014)

JD3430 said:


> My point is not that China can make something good (although I would never trust their tires, food, pharmaceuticals, just to name a few)
> What I am questioning is the claim "made in USA,when 3-4 gearboxes are stamped "china".
> I think I found a clean used Deere HX-15 with the Spain gearboxes which are very tough. It's also got aircraft tires and 540 PTO, which I want.
> I like Deere batwing a the best because the double deck design and the paint jobs on Deere stuff is excellent.


May I ask why you want the aircraft tires? We use the laminated solid tires around here and it's great not having to worry about flat tires at all. I don't think I've ever seen anyone use pneumatic tires in my area other than the Road Commission for mowing ditches.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

cmd said:


> To a degree I could care less where stuff is made anymore, so much of the stuff I have bought and seen pushed as MADE IN USA is shit anyways. China cranks out lots of junk but I believe they also make a ton of stuff that is usable. Look at all our electronics. You'd be surprised to see how much of the iconic MADE IN USA Hardley Davidson is made in China.


Kinda like all those iPhones.

New Balance shoes is an example. I saw a thing on TV where the CEO, or whoever, was bragging about how their shoes are made in the USA. So I go to Belk's yesterday and look at them. A few are "Assembled in USA" with imported "parts". It was 2:1 made somewhere else. Indonisa, Vietnam, etc. Go tho their website. Their true "Made in the USA" shoe is sky high in price.

I've been looking for a pair of tennis shoes for a while. I still can't bring myself to pay $75 for a pair of tennis shoes. Even the imported ones are expensive, IMO.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

Does JD actually make their own bush hogs? I'm like you I don't want a Chinese made gearbox if I can help it. Are the new commercial grade JD bush hog gearboxes made in China now as well or still Spain?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I think they make their own, but now the gearboxes are Chinese, too. 
Disappointing.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

JD-What model batwing do you have now?


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## Orchard6 (Apr 30, 2014)

Unless things have changed recently Woods was building Deere mowers.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

PaMike said:


> JD-What model batwing do you have now?


I have an MX8 and a 1518.

1518 is old and needs replaced.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

JD3430 said:


> My point is not that China can make something good (although I would never trust their tires, food, pharmaceuticals, just to name a few)
> What I am questioning is the claim "made in USA,when 3-4 gearboxes are stamped "china".
> I think I found a clean used Deere HX-15 with the Spain gearboxes which are very tough. It's also got aircraft tires and 540 PTO, which I want.
> I like Deere batwing a the best because the double deck design and the paint jobs on Deere stuff is excellent.


I think they get by with it because a majority percentage of it is made here but not sure.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Not sure if it hold true there, but its something like if 51% of the products value come from Canada, you can call it made in Canada. Because of how cheap the gearboxes are they only might form 5-10% of the final price. Of course if they were made in the US they would be like 50% of the final price.

Not sure where Schulte get their gearboxes.


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## Colby (Mar 5, 2012)

Honestly that is just how it is now a days. Everything is made over there. However bush hog is an excellent product and I will continue to buy it. We own 2 batwing made by them, granted they are a little older but they have covered 10's of thousands of acres over the past 10 years for one, 24 years for the other and have never had a wrench put to them besides to check gearbox levels. The 24 year old 2615L will be replaced by a 2815 no doubt.

John Deeres are also nice shredders.. 
Gotta remember Deere, these shredders aren't hay equipment they take a beating and are built to last 15-20 years.

If you want a heavy duty mower, look at the bush hog 3715.... You'll know it's back there even on a 125 hp tractor.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

There's 2 older Bush Hogs here, a 6' Squealer 3pt. and 7' 307 Pull type, it's built like a tank. Both are holding up well.

http://www.bushhog.com/uploads/documents/BHRotaryCutter307OM-07.pdf


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Tad off subject, but how could it be that nobody makes a rotary mower gearbox here in the USA anymore? 
It's hard to believe. 
I'd pay more for them. I don't want any more Chinese crap on my farm equipment than is absolutely necessary.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Pequea had a HUGE issue a while back with their rakes (r tedders). They had tons of gearbox failures due to a Chinese made gearbox. Really trashed their rep. They ended up pulling the gearbox back to the U.S and most of the parts are now made in Lancaster county....


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Is the whole gear box made in china or just the casing? Just asking because the one machine shop I worked at we made a pto speed reducer. We bought the gears and got someone else to make the casing. But we built all the shafts (even the 540 pto spline), all the machining welding etc.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

It's the whole gearbox. 
I talked to a bush hog rep and a hardee rep. 
They said there's no price competitive gearboxes made in US anymore.
I told them I'd pay extra for a unit made with US gearboxes. 
I asked them if maybe they could offer a "limited edition" model made with US gearboxes?


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> It's the whole gearbox.
> I talked to a bush hog rep and a hardee rep.
> They said there's no price competitive gearboxes made in US anymore.
> I told them I'd pay extra for a unit made with US gearboxes.
> I asked them if maybe they could offer a "limited edition" model made with US gearboxes?


I'd be curious what their definition of competitive is.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

competitive priced.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> competitive priced.


Yeah. What do they consider competitively priced? Are they saving $10 per gearbox or $1000?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

LOL, I think its like any other manufacturer. Once one goes to China for parts, the others must follow.
Once proctor & Gamble starts making toilet paper in hunglo china, then kimberly clark has to do the same thing to stay competitive.


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