Hello, brand new member here seeking advice. I am in the market for a rotary cutter and want to make sure I get the right size that my tractor can handle safely on my terrain. Currently have a tenant mowing but contract expires this year and will have to mow myself. I have a NH T4030(4wd) that is 65hp(pto). My footprint is 7 ft wide. I have around 25 acres to mow, most of which is fescue with a few spots with heavier cover. I'd like to be able to mow as wide as possible and I believe my tractor could handle a an 8 or 10 ft pull type okay as far as handling the material. However, most of the ground I am covering is pretty steep(30-50% grade). I'd like to mow as wide as I can without the Mower pushing me off the side of the hill. So my question is how big can I go without overextending myself for safety. Also I am considering a pull type because I believe it would be more stable on the hills than a lift. Please confirm or correct this if you will. I do plan to graze all this at some point to reduce mowing but presently have no fence to hold em. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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You cannot safely do this with thirty to fifty percent grades unless you have a dozer with swamp tracks pulling a mower.
1. Gravity and traction are not your friends in side hill farming/mowing situations unless you have a tractor ment for
sidehill farming.
2. Tractor manufacturers do not recommend that anything more 15 degree slopes be mowed in side hill
mowing conditions.
a. the center of gravity of your tractor is too high-thats why the other tractor is sliding on the side hill.
3 You should be mowing up hill in the lowest reverse gear and driving forward down in in the lowest forward speed
a. this keeps the center of gravity where it belongs and the traction going uphill WITH THE MOWER in front of you as you
advance uphill. It also keeps the tractor running in astraight line when climbing and reduces the work needed to move over one mower width without endangering the operator or the machines.
4. read 1, 2, and 3 again
5. read number 4 again
6. read number 5 again.
7. read number 6 again.
YOU NEED TRACTION and that is only gained by ADHESION!!!
Adhesion is only gained by adding liquid
ballast and wheel weights.
If you intend on keeping the land hiring out to have it terraced and reseeded
is more effective way to manage this and also increase its value to raise crops.
If you have it terraced high power machinery will not be needed to farm it and also
increase your rental income in the process.
Look at it this way-
And provided you have the rear tires ballasted and have R1 tires (I hope).
You can back up the hill and mow on the way down then back up the hill and repeat the mowing downhill.
Mowing when you have wet sod or grass is never a good idea even on 15 degree slopes.
This will be safest method for you using a rotary cutter. The other thing is the size of the mower and the type of mower.