Mower for maintaining trails?

[MNBobcat]

You could buy a cycle country rough cut mower with its own engine. It will cut trees up to about 1 inch thick. Then you have the option of pulling it with your tractor or an ATV.

[Ken45101]

An enclosed cab will require that the trails be clear of limbs, etc. or you will end up damaging the cab.

We have a similar situation, 128 acres, 35 in pasture, the rest in steep wooded hillsides where I've built miles of trails for riding the horses and 4 wheelers.

You need good, almost level (side to side) trails to use a tractor on them. Of course it depends on how steep your hills are. An alternative for walking trails would be the DR Brush Mower (walk behind version, not the tow behind). I've used one to maintain the trails here and in the state forest. They do an excellent job but do require "manhandling" on rough terrain.

If you are going to be operating the tractor on hills, I recommend ROPS (roll over protection system) and 4wd. Of course most small modern tractors have both.

Ken

[savageactor7]

cdnt you could pick up a used B model Kubota like in my avatar for 6-7k. We already had a little over 4m of established meandering trails from many years wood cutting. So a smaller CUT that was more nimble in the woods was called for. Our big lawn we cut with a 72" RFM that goes on the 3PH.

We got a 48" used brush hog for $400 that works well on the trails or in the woods clearing brush. Truthfully the trails hardly ever need cutting but we do it once a year so they don't go native again.

Knowing what I know now if I had to start out today or give advice to a son/ family member. I'd look for a used '92 or so Kubota. Back then before they had market share they built them to to last. I suppose the same holds true with a JD...I just don't know.

[scollins]

My wife and I are looking at purchasing some land (~100a) that is mostly forest (70%) with 30% open land for a vacation home. I'm starting to look at tractor options to:

- Mow ~5 acre field area around house
- Maintain some existing walking trails in the woods
- Clear snow with small rear mount blower

One tractor I'm considering is a low hour, well maintained ford 1510. It's 22hp, 4x4 with ag tires, cab with heat (helpful for winter snow blowing!), comes with a bushhog and a hydro controlled front blade. While this is a compact and may not seem to fit the size of the land, I think it's a reasonable match for the basic work I'm going to do.

What thoughts do you have on the best mower to maintain the 5 acres and trails. The land is uneven, hilly in parts and the trails do have rocks and ruts. Thoughts on a bushhog vs. flail for this use?

Thanks

Did you end up buying the 100 acres?

I maintain a farm place and 80 acres of oak hardwoods in the Turtle Mountains (really just hills) in North Dakota.

I go around the big rocks and dig and pry out the "smaller" ones. I think they are small until I start digging. I wrked one one for several hours with pry bars, 8x8 wooden blocks, etc. I kept prying up on the big rocks and throwing dirt underneath until I had it above ground. Then, I pushed and rolled it off the trail with the blade on my SCUT.

The heated cab is THE way to go for wnter, but risky when brushing out trails. One piece of glass could run several hundred dollars.

What did you end up buying. Do you have pictures of the terrain and trails if you did?

SC

[Agent Blue]

I would not venture in the land of the older series Ford tractors. The diesels in the 1100-1500 seem to eventually have crankshaft problems even with low hours. I would not be surprised some that are functioning well are for sale due to nonavailable parts. With engine / drive train damage it could lose resale value very quickly. I don't want to be reminded on how I know.

[schmism]

ive got 5 acers of mostly hilly woods.

My TC33 with loader and 5' straight back brushhog does a nice job of cutting trails and maintaining the ones i already built. I can bulldoze downd trees and what not out of the trail path then come back later and buck them up for firewood if i want.

[ilander]

I'm also from the ND Turtle Mountains, and I create and maintain trails, thus far about 2 miles worth about 8 ft wide on our own property. I have a tractor modified for just that work.
My first picture is of the tractor, it's currently rigged for snow removal, but for trail work there would be a 4' brush hog/rough cut mower behind it. For new trails, I chainsaw cut anything bigger than two inches. 2 inch and smaller I drive over with the dozer about 6" off the ground, then the brush hog chops them up. I have to go over a new trail between 2 and 6 times to pulverize all of it. Notice the brush guard on the dozer. If you do not have this guard and a cab you will forever be slapped in the face by brush and trees.

The cab is made quite strong for small trees 6" or smaller to fall on it. Safety glass in front, plexiglass in rear. The cab is unfinished and in progress. Another picture shows the engine guard. This is so trees falling or scraping will not ruin the hood. Another picture shows the underbelly guard. This is needed to prevent the drive shafts, hoses and other items from being ripped off or bent while going over brush and small trees. This belly pan quick detatches in the same manner that the tractor's belly finish cut mower does. Another is of the mirrors, they are in a braced guard to prevent trees from ripping them off.

This setup gives practically no trouble. The brush hog does a very good job, it's a heavy duty ag model I picked up at a place called Runnings, which is a local version of Tractor Supply.

There is another rear attachment used for skidding logs as this tractor uses the same trails as logging trails to get firewood. In addition to skidding, the attachment has a electric cable winch for drawing logs to the trail, forks and grapple for lifting logs to cut into fireplace lengths.

Hope this helps all.

[Gator6x4]

Since you are going to use the unit in the woods I would strongly recommend laying down beside the unit you purchase and take a good look at the underside. Look for wires, hoses, filters and other things hanging down. Also look for plastic fans on the transmission, oil lines and a oil cooler. While doing your inspection, ask yourself would a small or large limb damage or tear that off. One small stick will make a pedestrain out of you very quickly in the woods.

[Gordon Gould]

When we first bought this place there were very few trails I could take the tractor on. They were very rough skid trails loaded with stumps, boulders, hole, ruts, and side hill slopes so I bought a self contained bush hog to pull behind the wheeler. My intention was to get a bush hog for the tractor when I got my trails fixed up. I have lots of tractor trails now but the 4 wheeler is so manuverable and the mower works so good I have not felt the need for a tractor bush hog. It is a heavy duty unit compared to the Swisher's. They would need reenforcement for my use IMO. Mine was made by Fuerst. Unfortunately they are out of busines now. We use our trails for logging and to ski on.

[Ken45101]

The trails look nice