3200 Tire Question and Flail mowers

[cold1313]

They are pretty steep...hard to guess, but I'd almost want to say 45*, at least in some spots. And it's tall grass, not lawn grass in that spot. I might throw a flail mower on the back instead of a chopper. I'm just really nervous about sliding (up and down) with turfs if it gets greasy. But then the banks to the pond are pretty steep, and I'm nervous about sliding sideways into the water.

I would say I have 3-4 acres to mow on a weekly basis, then another 3-5 acres that is 3-4 times a year at most (with the nasty hills)

I'm hoping the Kubota/Grasshopper dealer will be able to say R4 or Turf.

 

[namesray]

They are pretty steep...hard to guess, but I'd almost want to say 45*, at least in some spots. And it's tall grass, not lawn grass in that spot. I might throw a flail mower on the back instead of a chopper. I'm just really nervous about sliding (up and down) with turfs if it gets greasy. But then the banks to the pond are pretty steep, and I'm nervous about sliding sideways into the water.

I would say I have 3-4 acres to mow on a weekly basis, then another 3-5 acres that is 3-4 times a year at most (with the nasty hills)

I'm hoping the Kubota/Grasshopper dealer will be able to say R4 or Turf.

i know what you mean about 45* slopes. that is pretty steep. i have been on logging roads that steep with both tractors, but under good conditions=not too muddy or icy. i understand your concerns about it sliding on you on those steep hills. not fun. if they were dry, it might be ok as long as you leave it in 4wd. always in 4wd on steep slopes, both up or down=helps climb and helps hold back going down as 4wd provides some more traction hold power= 2 wheels (1 front,1 back) holding as opposed to 2wd just 1 tire holding on rear. if a grasshopper you speak of is a zero turn, i would feel better on the tractor then a zero turn on those slopes, but that is just me. i have run both. your pond banks mowing side ways scares me much more then your up/down slopes. search bushhogging with b3200 turf tires. that is some notes i put on here about my experiences with that tractor and hills. and believe me, the pictures don't give the steepness any credit. in some spots i would tip over if i went sideways. there is other spots i been on that are much steeper then the pictures. here is that previous thread. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/250962-b3200-bush-hogging-turf-tires.html

 

[cold1313]

Thanks for the information! Judging by your pictures, my hill is steeper. I could take pictures, but I'm not sure how easily they will show the angle. It might even be more than 45*. You sort of have to walk sideways down the hill, or very carefully and slowly if you are walking straight down.

The pond slopes are what scares me the most as well, because ones you start sliding sideways, your going in the drink. I think I would have to mow close on the side and then back in to get as close as I can. Though, if I get a Flail mower, I don't have much hanging out the back (length wise). I just think a Flail would be easier navigating around the trees and in the brush? I would have the bucket on the front, so that should help going up and down the hill with weight transfer and to keep from tipping forward. Unless the suitcases have a much better advantage?

Do you have to chain up in the winter with the turf's? I'll be plowing my driveway.

The dealer thinks the Grasshopper will handle the hill (lower center of gravity) but I'll wait until he sees it.....

 

[namesray]

your hill sounds real steep!! when i have bush hogged with my b7800 with loader on, i always felt better with the loader on then off, and if you were going to mow up/down with the tractor, i would recommend having the loader on. i took it off once and if the top link of the bush hog became tight goiing up hill, it easilly picked up the front of the tractor, even on slight slopes, same with the b3200 before i put the 5 front weights on. the 5 weights made all the difference, but the loader on the other tractor helps more with front weight then the front weights did. learned that also when using my winch to skid logs. any way on to the tire chain deal, the turf tires do go better then the r4's in snow, but if you have any steepness to your snow plowing area, you probably will spin with the turfs, especially pushing anything too. my tires are 13.6-16 oversized turfs, and there is not much room for chains between the tire wall and the fender. i have not gotten chains for my b3200 yet, but would like to if i could get the right size to fit. there is a spacer kit, but you would have to switch that back off again to fit the 60" mmm. i mowed with a z turn articulator 72" flex deck at the golf copurse i use to work at. commercial and it would climb hills like a champ, but start sliding sideways or get that thing pointed downhill, you would be in for a ride. actually did mow some of tyhe steepest parts of that course with that mower, but had to be real careful and pick and choose conditions such as if the grass was too wet or dewy, take slight up angles when mowing, and be sure there was a run out if did slide. that z turn did have agressive turfs. maybe there is a more agressive tire you could get and be safer. i don't know anyrthing about grasshoppers, so it is good dealer is comming out to see where you be mowing. just my opinion, if the z turn can handle your steep hills, i bet the b3200 could too, provided you took the right process for each mower. if you are going side ways on hiull with tractor, leaving the loader on or off is a nother discussion. mowing up down with loader you be ok, but sideways with loader, that is another art form. maybe frontweights better for that, but wont fit with loader frame on/brush gaurd up front. at any way, stay safe and good luck.

 

[Wingsy]

Don't know about tires & turf, but I can relate my experience (for what it's worth - I'm new to this world). I have a BX25 and put a 48" New Holland flail on it. I also have a pond (2 ponds) that I wanted to mow around, a couple of steep slopes like you, AND a yard. From the videos I had seen I thought the flail would do a decent job as a finish mower. Wrong. The tires compress the grass to the point where the flail would skim right over it no matter what height I had it set to. The next day your tire paths are all over your yard as uncut grass. I guess a rotary mower doesn't produce this effect since it sucks the grass up into the blades. I don't think the flail does much of that.

Mowing the steep slopes (downhill only - uphill maxed out my pucker meter) worked OK until I got to the bottom. At the bottom the transition to level ground was so abrupt that I had to disengage the PTO and raise the flail as high as it would go, and still it dragged heavily across the bottom of the hill. As far as mowing around the ponds, that too was scary and not effective. The flail was far from getting the slopes to the ponds cut. It only hung out 4" I think from the right tire. Couldn't get anywhere close enough, and I know my BX25 won't float.

My solution: Just bought a 5-foot Rossi sickle mower. Tried it a little around the ponds the other day and it worked perfectly. Good cut all the way to the water line. I plan on making a movie of this and posting it on YouTube or somewhere. I'll come back and post a link when I do. I also tried a sample of my steep slope going uphill. Seems to work fine for the little section that I tried. I was new at using a sickle so I was going really slow. If you go this route to use a sickle for your ponds, you definitely need a hydraulic bar lift on it. They sell them with and without.

 

[cold1313]

Thanks for the feedback and the information, very helpful!

If you don't mind me asking, how much was the Rossi? Are you able to angle it to a negative degree (i.e. downward) or is it just flat across? Feel free to PM if you rather not post the price.

Thanks!

 

[Wingsy]

It was originally listed at my local dealer for $3500 (without the hydraulic kit). They had it for a while and then someone there told me they were about to send it back to the distributor. They're not all that popular after all, especially the 5-footer. I asked for their best price and got it for 3 grand. But the hydraulic kit cost $650 extra, so $3650. I've seen online prices of 3500 for the non-hydraulic (BFT135) and 3800 with the hydraulics version (BFT135H).

The manual bar lift version will go down 75 degrees and 90 degrees up according to their specs, but the hydraulic won't go down quite that far so I'm told. The dealer took mine up on the loading dock to see how far down it would go (with the hydraulic kit installed), and I'd guess the max down angle was 74 degrees. Just kidding, but it went WAY down, farther than I'd ever have to go. Well over 45 degrees. Max up is 90. And the bar hydraulic cylinder is a single-acting cylinder, so if you hit a rise in the ground it will glide over it. The cylinder only powers the lifting of the bar and holds it from going lower than the desired angle; a strong spring keeps downward pressure on the bar and allows it to glide over humps.

They hooked up the hydraulics to the FEL curl circuit and installed a flow limiter of some kind in the line. This to prevent the bar from jerking violently up or down, so they tell me. They didn't charge me for that so I'm guessing it was part of the kit. Yes, you lose your FEL curl while using the sickle, but that isn't a problem for me.

It weighs 440 pounds and the BX25 seems to handle it just fine.

Edit: Unknown weight. The brochure says it's 199 Kg, the specs say 199 pounds.