Rotary Cutter

[flINTLOCK]

I have a medium duty woods rotary cutter, 40 HP tractor and hydraulic toplink. We have some brush at hunting camp that is too high to just run over with the tractor before cutting. If I raise the back of the cutter with the lift arms and angle it up with the toplink, I could kinda shred my way down to the ground. Question is will that stress the lift arms too much, risking breaking them?

 

[mikehaugen]

why not just knock it down with the loader first?

 

[TripleR]

I sure hope not because I have done it for years. I have also used the same approach mentioned by Mikehaugen, just depends on my mood, how much I have to do and the type of brush.

 

[mikehaugen]

I don't think the stress on the lift arms is the concern as much as driveline angle. I always shut mine off before raising it all of the way, maybe I am just paranoid, but just never had a reason to raise it up while it is powered. I guess you have a different situation though.

 

[Soundguy]

i'd be worried more about the pto shaft and u joints..than the lift arms...

I have a medium duty woods rotary cutter, 40 HP tractor and hydraulic toplink. We have some brush at hunting camp that is too high to just run over with the tractor before cutting. If I raise the back of the cutter with the lift arms and angle it up with the toplink, I could kinda shred my way down to the ground. Question is will that stress the lift arms too much, risking breaking them?

 

[DT86]

I agree with knocking them over with the bucket.

 

[murphy1244]

Just mow with your bucket about a foot or so off the ground. Sometimes I run lower to find logs in my way.

 

[TripleR]

I mostly knock them over with my bucket, but do occasionally back into some of them. I have bent the snot out of some stuff under my tractor by running over them even with the bucket, just the price of doing business as far as I am concerned.

There are however times when it is just not worth it and last summer, we rented a tracked skid loader with an enclosed cab to knock a bunch of brush, saplings etc. down. We hen went in with our tractors.

 

[DKCDKC]

I put the ratchett rake on when cutting. By keeping the FEL low, I literally pull up or destroy taller stuff before it can get under the tractor or to the cutter. It does mean that you have to run around a bit later to pile up the pulled brush, or spread it out and cut it into mulch. But it works until you have small trees too big to extract, anyway.

 

[kebo]

Just mow with your bucket about a foot or so off the ground. Sometimes I run lower to find logs in my way.

I do this some too in heavy/tall brush, especially if I haven't seen the ground there in while. Never know if something big/heavy or whatever got tossed out there and it's just lying there waiting to mangle up your bushhog!