I was a Trimmer, Tru-Cut, and McLane guy from the early 60's until I moved to Jersey in 2000. Trimmer and Tru-cut were the "Cadillac" or reel mowers, and McLane was good low cost interpretation, especially for homeowner use.

Couple comments:

1) With a rotary, if you get one with a BBC, you and remove and empty bag without shutting off engine. Deere, Honda, Toro and several others offer as extra cost option. Snapper used to, using Comet's BBC, but I don't think they offer any longer.

2) As for visually seeing bag or basket fill up, the fundamental design of a rotary inhibits that. If your McLane rotary is old enough, it has a pivoting flag and paddle to indicate how full the catcher is. Doesn't work real well, but it's OK. Snapper used to have something similar on the old (obsolete) Pac-N-Sac. Worked but not great. I currently use a commerical Snapper and prefer the soft "Z-fold" bag. I can tap with my hand and know how full it is.

3) As for your Troy-Bilt, I disagree. It was built private label for Troy-Bilt. McLane did this for literally dozens of labels: Sears, Montgomery-Wards, John Deere and others come to mind. They private labeled the 800 series edger even more extensively. The 20" (and 25") have always been better constructed than the 17" and use a superior design. I have always considered the 17" (whether self-prop, push, or manual) to be little more than junk. The 20" however, I consider an excellent, lower cost substitute for the Trimmer and Tru-Cut. If you are only mowing your own lawn a couple of time a week, the McLane will perform well if you maintain it. Heavier use, go to Trimmer Original or Tru-Cut Commerical or Professional.

4) Lastly, although you can raise the cutting height, I think you are going to be disappointed with the cut. Reel mowers like the Tru-Cut and Trimmer were designed for St Augustine and Bermuda and various hybrids. They "stnad up" withoout folding over to be cut. Bluegrass is much softer, and will tend to roll over. The vacuum action of rotary lifts it up so the blade can cut it.

That said, the easiest way to raise your McLane would be to see if you can drill another lower set of holes in the side plates to lower the front axle relative to the chassis. Also, you can weld CR bars to the wheel struts on the front axle and cross drill them to move your front wheels out another inch or so.