Mowing beside the road

[wcarm]

I own hilly timber/hunting land and use a John Deere 4720 to bush hog, dig ditches, grade roads, etc. I would like to do a better job mowing beside my roads and trails. The areas besides the roads and trail are highly variable - many have ditches of various widths/depths, others involve terrain that slopes up or down from the road; steeply in many cases. In many cases I can't safely take the tractor off the road. There are several miles of roads and trails.

I am considering:

1. A 3 point hitch boom mower attachment for my Deere 4720 tractor (66 hp; 4500 lbs). I am concerned that this solution my be too light. I have heard that I really need a 100 hp tractor to handle a boom mower.

1. A larger tractor with a boom mower (like the County uses beside county roads). One concern here is that I would have a large tractor that would be usable for very little else if it is big boom mower on it.

2. A fairly large skid steer with a boom mower attachment. A skid steer would be handy for many other jobs since the boom mower attachment could be removed, but I have not read much about people using boom mower attachments on skid steers. I think a skid steer would have lower center of gravity than a large tractor which would be a big plus on my hilly property.

Any thoughts and experiences would be appreciated.

 

[rekees4300]

Rhino has a boom flail mower it says "Fits tractors as small as 45 PTO HP and 4,500 lbs weight".

Hydraulic Boom Flails | Rhino

 

[kf4uda]

Bushhog has a model for your tractor power/weight as well. I doubt you could go wrong with either brand.

http://www.bushhog.com/product-line/reach-mowers/boom-mowers.html

 

[Scooby074]

Mcconnel (Alimo) makes them for compacts down to 35hp McConnel

 

[DT86]

Doesn't someone make a sickle bar mower on a arm like that? I would imagine it would weigh less than the flail.

 

[Scooby074]

Doesn't someone make a sickle bar mower on a arm like that? I would imagine it would weigh less than the flail.

Yes, Mcconnel does. It requires only 15hp and a 550kg tractor

 

[Don87]

Yes, Mcconnel does. It requires only 15hp and a 550kg tractor

My gosh, that will work on a lawn mower..........almost. It will work on a tractor that weighs as little as 1200 lbs. Would love to have that for my Massey GC2400.

I could almost retire my string trimmer.:thumbsup:

 

[Scooby074]

Yeah its pretty neat isnt it:thumbsup:

Mcconnel was bought by Alimo mowers so you might begin to see more of them around.http://www.alamo-industrial.com/Products/ProductView.asp?ProductID=30

Funny about siclebars on small tractors, 20 years ago I remember the town using an old Massey Pony with a side mount sickle bar to mow the edges of dirt roads. A pony is a pretty small and low power tractor (like 10-15 hp IIRC) and it ran that sickle pretty good.

 

[Don87]

Yeah its pretty neat isnt it:thumbsup:

Mcconnel was bought by Alimo mowers so you might begin to see more of them around.Alamo Industrial: Products - Ditchers, Loaders & Sickle Bars > McConnel^? Swingtrim Sickle Bar

Funny about siclebars on small tractors, 20 years ago I remember the town using an old Massey Pony with a side mount sickle bar to mow the edges of dirt roads. A pony is a pretty small and low power tractor (like 10-15 hp IIRC) and it ran that sickle pretty good.

Yes it is.

I have a steep bank in front of my property, by the road. It's steep enough that I slide down the bank while using the string trimmer(and that's a killer once you get a few years on), and an attachment like that for my Massey would be the ticket.

 

[CobyRupert]

Here's the more familiar offset bush hog :Bush Hog vs Bush Hog 2011 vs 2011 3209 Offset Rotary Cutter vs 3209 Offset Rotary Cutter Cutter Implements
I also found this neat offset arm:
Beaver Valley Supply Company - MK Martin Rotary Cuter Offset Arm
I'd want to add some the counter weights.
The sickle bar mower doesn't look bad, depending on what you're trying to cut.