CodeMonkey
Silver Member
Additional question - can the BCS drive the PTO driven trailer/carts like the Grillo?
Brush mowing steep slopes
- Thread starter KentT
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CodeMonkey
Silver Member
Unfortunately, most of the land I want to work on is downhill of my house and shop, where I want to move some of the wood to. I have a house and shop that is on the upper portion of the land, which has a part time creek bed in it dividing much of the land from the section the house/shop are on. The creek bed has pretty good slopes on either side of it with mature conifers and one side has a lot of brush, the other side is much clearer.
So I would really like to be able to somehow move wood uphill through a forest on a relatively narrow trail (too narrow for a 4 wheel tractor, maybe too narrow for an ATV).
I don't need to do much work on the far side, but I do want to keep the trails clear (I suppose I can keep the steepest trail clear with the hand power tools).
The portion nearest the house and above it are not as steep but just a lot of brush. I could rent something to clear it, but then I would want to maintain that clearing. I also will need to do tilling in the terraced garden area I want to create and mow whatever trails I can a couple of times a year. So for those tasks I can see the purchase of a 2 wheel tractor could be justified, but it would be nice to be able to use it on the steeper sections of the land too.
In the winter when the windstorms come through some small and even large trees fall across the trails so I need to take care of those from time to time. Probably won't try to get a tractor of any sort in there in the winter as the ground would be too sloppy to get back out and I don't want to leave a tractor out in the woods for a long time or struggle with getting it out. It would be fun enough to get in and out in the summer.
I've used a Troy tiller in the past, but for my purposes I think I need something more versatile. I like the idea of using a PTO with the implements. Also, a lot of this ground has never been worked - not sure how hard it will be.
At the very least I am thinking I will need something to deal with brush, and something to deal with tilling up sod and terracing. Also it would be nice to have a log splitter and maybe a blade to spread gravel around on my driveway and maybe use it to help with the terracing.
farmerboybill
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I don't think you're going to have much luck pulling more than very small stuff up steep hills with anything two-wheeled. Dragging dead weight requires lots of traction. Two wheeled tractors are great, but they lack THAT kind of traction. Have you looked into a 120volt winch at the top of the hill and a couple hundred feet of cables and chains?
BCS did have a powered trailer long ago. As far as I know, only a handful of the trailers made it into the US. You're probably not gonna be able to nail one down. That said, Grillo will probably be your best bet if you really wanted to have a powered trailer. Frankly, I'd be inclined to buy a Diesel Kubota utility vehicle. They have a smaller payload, but are faster, more maneuverable, more comfortable, and you can bring a couple friends to help out. You can get Hyrdaulic power ports on them to power your wood splitter, among other attachments.
Now, keeping trails clear would be right up the Grillo or BCS's alley. Mate it up to a Berta flail mower, and go. The Berta will shred anything up to 1 inch woody material. The Berta rotary plow will work great for terracing. As it goes forward, it has a set of blades that scoop the dirt out of a furrow and throw it from a couple feet to 6 feet, depending on how fast you have the engine running. It will also break your sod. If you don't have a splitter yet and really want one for the Grillo or BCS, Joel offers two - the BCS model and a model he builds himself.
BCS did have a powered trailer long ago. As far as I know, only a handful of the trailers made it into the US. You're probably not gonna be able to nail one down. That said, Grillo will probably be your best bet if you really wanted to have a powered trailer. Frankly, I'd be inclined to buy a Diesel Kubota utility vehicle. They have a smaller payload, but are faster, more maneuverable, more comfortable, and you can bring a couple friends to help out. You can get Hyrdaulic power ports on them to power your wood splitter, among other attachments.
Now, keeping trails clear would be right up the Grillo or BCS's alley. Mate it up to a Berta flail mower, and go. The Berta will shred anything up to 1 inch woody material. The Berta rotary plow will work great for terracing. As it goes forward, it has a set of blades that scoop the dirt out of a furrow and throw it from a couple feet to 6 feet, depending on how fast you have the engine running. It will also break your sod. If you don't have a splitter yet and really want one for the Grillo or BCS, Joel offers two - the BCS model and a model he builds himself.
CodeMonkey
Silver Member
Thanks.
I was thinking that the tractors probably don't have enough weight on the tires to do good climbing and at the same time I know from my off-roading experience the heavier something is the harder it is to climb with it.
I might get an ATV with a utility bed later, but what I want to do is clear some of the closest land to put in a good garden and I am pretty sure I can do that land with a 2 wheel tractor. The steep stuff is a lower priority, I can use hand power tools for a lot of that.
I just went out for a walk on the property to refresh my memory and took some pics so I will post them later.
I have virtually no power tools. All I have is a farm truck and some dirt bikes and an anemic bank account after buying this property.
When my family sold the farm pretty much everything went with it and I've been living in the city until this year when I bought this property on a mountain not too far from the farm (it is weird going past the farm every day on my way to work - a lot of memories there). I had no room or need for anything except a lawn mower. I need to get a lot of stuff.
A winch would need to be 12 volt as the top of the trail where it goes into the woods is about 100 yards from any power. I am rethinking how much I would need to haul any wood out of there - it just would not be worth it and probably unnecessary.
One thing I would like to have that I haven't seen offered for the 2 wheel tractors is a power auger implement.
I was thinking that the tractors probably don't have enough weight on the tires to do good climbing and at the same time I know from my off-roading experience the heavier something is the harder it is to climb with it.
I might get an ATV with a utility bed later, but what I want to do is clear some of the closest land to put in a good garden and I am pretty sure I can do that land with a 2 wheel tractor. The steep stuff is a lower priority, I can use hand power tools for a lot of that.
I just went out for a walk on the property to refresh my memory and took some pics so I will post them later.
I have virtually no power tools. All I have is a farm truck and some dirt bikes and an anemic bank account after buying this property.
When my family sold the farm pretty much everything went with it and I've been living in the city until this year when I bought this property on a mountain not too far from the farm (it is weird going past the farm every day on my way to work - a lot of memories there). I had no room or need for anything except a lawn mower. I need to get a lot of stuff.
A winch would need to be 12 volt as the top of the trail where it goes into the woods is about 100 yards from any power. I am rethinking how much I would need to haul any wood out of there - it just would not be worth it and probably unnecessary.
One thing I would like to have that I haven't seen offered for the 2 wheel tractors is a power auger implement.
CodeMonkey
Silver Member
What would seem neat would be a power wheel barrow that had its wheels powered by the PTO like some of the trailers are, instead of just the tractor power unit pushing it.
farmerboybill
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The powered trailers aren't powered by the attachment PTO. They are powered by a secondary PTO above the attachment PTO. If you have your heart set on a powered trailer, you will need to buy a new tractor with the trailer PTO kit on it.
aczlan
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Or use the attachment PTO to run a hydraulic pump that powers a hydraulic motor which drives the trailer axle.
Aaron Z
Aaron Z
CodeMonkey
Silver Member
Thanks again. Good feedback.
I had some good feedback from another forum (non-tractor): I should check out something like the Toro Dingo too.
While those are quite a bit more expensive than a BCS, they might be pretty useful. They are more of an industrial tractor, like a skid-steer (saw a New Holland skidsteer in craigslist for $6K).
Which I could use if I can add implements as varied as those for a 2 wheeled tractor. An auger, a front end loader, a grapple, etc., those kinds of things would be useful to have too and are less about gardening and more about managing various other work tasks that would come up on a forested property.
Probably be lower priority to get though.
I had some good feedback from another forum (non-tractor): I should check out something like the Toro Dingo too.
While those are quite a bit more expensive than a BCS, they might be pretty useful. They are more of an industrial tractor, like a skid-steer (saw a New Holland skidsteer in craigslist for $6K).
Which I could use if I can add implements as varied as those for a 2 wheeled tractor. An auger, a front end loader, a grapple, etc., those kinds of things would be useful to have too and are less about gardening and more about managing various other work tasks that would come up on a forested property.
Probably be lower priority to get though.
farmerboybill
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The Dingo is a walk-behind skid steer. I don't know a lot about it, but it is primarily used for landscaping work where a skid steer can't go. They do have a lot of attachments for them - almost as many as a full size skid steer.
I'd be wary of buying a skid steer of any size unless you have a strong knowledge of them. They have come a very long way in the last 15 years. Many attachments of today cannot be used on older models. If you buy an old NH with a 13 GPM system and no auxiliary hydraulics, you won't be able to run so much as a grapple bucket. Many more complicated attachments such as mowers and snowblowers will require higher flow hydraulics, auxiliary hydraulics, electric over hydraulic systems, etc. These can be added to older machines, but at a high cost. My skid steer is a 2007 John Deere 317 and it will not run some attachments I would like to have.
That, and skid steers are generally not good for traction once you get them off concrete or gravel. I get two inches of rain or 12 inches of snow and my skid steer isn't going anywhere near a wooded slope. I can usually dig my way out of trouble, but I have had to pull it out with my 125 hp John Deere 4430 a few times.
I'd be wary of buying a skid steer of any size unless you have a strong knowledge of them. They have come a very long way in the last 15 years. Many attachments of today cannot be used on older models. If you buy an old NH with a 13 GPM system and no auxiliary hydraulics, you won't be able to run so much as a grapple bucket. Many more complicated attachments such as mowers and snowblowers will require higher flow hydraulics, auxiliary hydraulics, electric over hydraulic systems, etc. These can be added to older machines, but at a high cost. My skid steer is a 2007 John Deere 317 and it will not run some attachments I would like to have.
That, and skid steers are generally not good for traction once you get them off concrete or gravel. I get two inches of rain or 12 inches of snow and my skid steer isn't going anywhere near a wooded slope. I can usually dig my way out of trouble, but I have had to pull it out with my 125 hp John Deere 4430 a few times.
Skid steers with over the tire tracks will go almost anywhere if they don't roll. Remember they are weighted heavier on the rear end so you don't need huge counterweights, so unless you have a load on the front end you need to back up the hill.
They make grapples and brush mowers for mini skid steers.
They make grapples and brush mowers for mini skid steers.