I'm still trying to figure out which mower would be best for my property & tractor?
I have a JD 4700 which has about 40 HP at the PTO, maybe a bit less HP now as the tractor is 19 years old. For years I used by rotary mower to keep the property mowed which did the job but looked sloppy. My rotary mower is at the end of its life and I need something new. I just had about 10 additional acres of my land professionally cleared using a skid steer with a forest mulcher, and now I plan on keeping the cleared land myself. There will be lots of saplings, french broom, poison oak, blackberries, and tall grass which will grow back quickly. There are not really any rocks on my property but there is tons of chopped wood pieces (some pieces up to 2-3" thick) left behind my the forest mulcher. There will also always be many small raised mounds of dirt everywhere from the gophers. I'd like something very heavy duty which can handle the new growth of brush & saplings, but also cut the grassy open meadows. I already have a nice ride mower for my flat grassy areas I want to keep really nice, so I don't need a mower for cutting the grass like a nice lawn, but would prefer a cleaner job than my rotary provided. I was looking at the 63″ Betstco Super Heavy Duty Trail Cutter/Flail Mower with hyd. off-set, (About $3800.00) but looking through the threads someone wrote you cannot really mow in reverse with the Betstco flail mowers over rough material without risking damage. Is this the case? In many areas I'll be mowing in tight spaces and between trees, so backing into these spaces in reverse will be necessary. I also read that you have to go really slow while mowing with these type of flail mowers. Is this true? Having 10 plus acres to mow, I'm not sure if that's a good option?
I'm not looking at the Betstco solely because they are less expensive. I'm looking at them primarily because they have this heavy duty D160 model which can supposedly handle the really rough stuff and the grass without requiring more horse power than my tractor can provide. I contacted a few local dealers selling Gearmore and Vrisimo, but their heavy duty flail mowers required more horse power than my tractor produces. They were also about 40% more expensive than the Betstco.
I'm welcome to any thoughts & advice.
Thanks
I have a JD 4700 which has about 40 HP at the PTO, maybe a bit less HP now as the tractor is 19 years old. For years I used by rotary mower to keep the property mowed which did the job but looked sloppy. My rotary mower is at the end of its life and I need something new. I just had about 10 additional acres of my land professionally cleared using a skid steer with a forest mulcher, and now I plan on keeping the cleared land myself. There will be lots of saplings, french broom, poison oak, blackberries, and tall grass which will grow back quickly. There are not really any rocks on my property but there is tons of chopped wood pieces (some pieces up to 2-3" thick) left behind my the forest mulcher. There will also always be many small raised mounds of dirt everywhere from the gophers. I'd like something very heavy duty which can handle the new growth of brush & saplings, but also cut the grassy open meadows. I already have a nice ride mower for my flat grassy areas I want to keep really nice, so I don't need a mower for cutting the grass like a nice lawn, but would prefer a cleaner job than my rotary provided. I was looking at the 63″ Betstco Super Heavy Duty Trail Cutter/Flail Mower with hyd. off-set, (About $3800.00) but looking through the threads someone wrote you cannot really mow in reverse with the Betstco flail mowers over rough material without risking damage. Is this the case? In many areas I'll be mowing in tight spaces and between trees, so backing into these spaces in reverse will be necessary. I also read that you have to go really slow while mowing with these type of flail mowers. Is this true? Having 10 plus acres to mow, I'm not sure if that's a good option?
I'm not looking at the Betstco solely because they are less expensive. I'm looking at them primarily because they have this heavy duty D160 model which can supposedly handle the really rough stuff and the grass without requiring more horse power than my tractor can provide. I contacted a few local dealers selling Gearmore and Vrisimo, but their heavy duty flail mowers required more horse power than my tractor produces. They were also about 40% more expensive than the Betstco.
I'm welcome to any thoughts & advice.
Thanks
