FEL Mounted Brush Cutter Recommendations

[jeff9366]

We have stubborn vines that grow through the trees. They slide through the rakes.


Cannot you close the grapple halves, clamping the vines?


You will need Gordon's Brush Killer or CrossBow herbicide for sprouts, regardless of equipment used. (2-4d + Triclopyr)

 

[RutnBuck]

Interesting but with only a 40" width it would be slow.
There other mulching heads of 72" need more hydraulics then any small tractor has but they do mention
a power pack which I'm assuming would be a 3point mounted pump and volume tank for hydraulics
which would be a nice combination.

They have a hydraulic FEL mounted version but its rated for a 50HP and above tractor.

 

[RutnBuck]

We have stubborn vines that grow through the trees. They slide through the rakes.


Cannot you close the grapple halves, clamping the vines?


You will need Gordon's Brush Killer or CrossBow herbicide for sprouts, regardless of equipment used. (2-4d + Triclopyr)

Yes I close the grapples but no matter what I do, I cannot get all of it. That being said, when I do go into a thick copse of brush and clamp down on it, I do get out a large chuck, however, no matter what I do, I have to go back with weed whacker to cut the stubborn stuff from the roots.

Crossbow, Tric, etc . . . I should buy stock...I go through it like crazy!

 

[LouNY]

They have a hydraulic FEL mounted version but its rated for a 50HP and above tractor.

Yes, but it also needs 25-30 gpm hydraulic flow.
So the "power pak" would also be required.
I'm not aware of any under 90 hp tractor with that kind of flow.

 

[PatentGuy]

The unit from Hardee has the hydraulic control you want and rear pto driven hydraulics. But it is about 30", so 80 acres will take a while...

I considered it and a ditch bank flail. Saved $3k and bought flail. Should have spent the $3k as maneuverability with the flail causes too many problems.

 

[RutnBuck]

The unit from Hardee has the hydraulic control you want and rear pto driven hydraulics. But it is about 30", so 80 acres will take a while...

I considered it and a ditch bank flail. Saved $3k and bought flail. Should have spent the $3k as maneuverability with the flail causes too many problems.

PatentGuy . . . I checked out the Hardee and like what I see with one exception. The cutter appears to be offset all the time and cannot be moved to point straight forward. My challenge would be maneuvering in the woods with it offset that way. It certainly has the adjustments I need to take care of all my roadways, ditchbanks, etc but not sure it would be good clearing the woods. Thanks for the response though because I had not seen that cutter in my research.

 

[JWR]

Damn software that lost 15 minutes of my wonderful typing !!! I'll try one more time now:

I am full of a lot of things so people tell me so I will be full of comments on your post RutnBuck...
1) I bought the first Lane Shark sold in W.Va. It is a great tool and the guys at the company (Travis and others) give excellent support & are very responsive. It is robust with the 17 gpm flow from my MF2660. It needs 12 to 14 gpm in my view. Extremely well figured out. For example it has the right valving to let it free-wheel when you move the loader up or down, etc. Without that the hydraulic motor powered devices on "open center" hydraulics will cause bone shaking screeching halts (and potential damage) when you interrupt the flow by moving the FEL, etc. The Lane Shark is just plain well figured out for all contingencies.
2) I am not real clear on the scope of your task: I gather you intend to clear the combustible undergrowth in 80 acres of dense (probably evergreen) forrest, correct? If this is as large as it might be, then I agree with others -- go rent a skid steer with mulcher on the front !!
3) I do not like the idea that another co. has 'stolen' the Lane Shark design via buying one and then copying it now selling it as a "Trailblazer." Rubs my sense of fairness the wrong way.
4) The guys at Lane Shark sent me a no-cost upgrade when they did the newer blade carrier and bearings design. It is better in being more sturdy but mainly not throwing blades. The new design is bullet proof.
5) Travis (at Lane Shark) has some very good YouTube videos out on using that tool. Worth seeing. He told me a couple years ago that he was considering a mod that would let you adjust the angle (vertical to horizontal) but I do not know if they went ahead with that. It would be pretty easy to do that yourself actually.
6) I cannot accurately picture your majority undergrowth BUT if it fits the task you may be best off to consider a heavy FEL mounted brush cutter NOT run by tractor hydraulics but rather from a PTO driven hydraulic pump. If you can give up the PTO for long periods while you attack the undergrowth that seems to me to be the way to go. I had one of the very heavy FEL mounted cutters (like a HD bush hog, 3 bladed, hyd motor driven) on my MF2660 initially but my tractor hydraiulics lacked the flow to make it robust. Clogged too often. The PTO driven pump solves that isssue. There are many of these on the market. One example is the "Xtreme Brush Cutter" sold by Skid Steer Loader Brush Cutters tough land clearing applications which come in 60", 72" and 78" widths. These are serious HD cutters and you just have to be able to lift and maneuver it (you best get the smaller one for a JD4100) AND most importantly provide the flow with a PTO driven pump.
7) A very good option in my opinion (if it fits your circumstance) is to rent or else short term own a medium sized skid steer to drive one of these FEL mounted heavy cutters. The skid-steers tend to have way more hyd pump output than your JD and they can handle the CID or other brand heavy cutters. Maybe use one of those to clear the undergrowth the first ime and then long-term just maintain it with a Lane Shark ? The HD FEL mounted cutters are a LOT cheaper than the forrestry mulchers which pulverize good sized trees.

OK, I quit for now. Let us know what you decide and how it works out. Good luck.

 

[JWR]

An advantage of the Lane Shark is that you can use it EITHER in-line straight ahead or offset to the side. That helps with ditch banks, etc. but I can't tell if you have heavier stuff to cut on a regular basis ?

 

[RutnBuck]

Damn software that lost 15 minutes of my wonderful typing !!! I'll try one more time now:

I am full of a lot of things so people tell me so I will be full of comments on your post RutnBuck...
1) I bought the first Lane Shark sold in W.Va. It is a great tool and the guys at the company (Travis and others) give excellent support & are very responsive. It is robust with the 17 gpm flow from my MF2660. It needs 12 to 14 gpm in my view. Extremely well figured out. For example it has the right valving to let it free-wheel when you move the loader up or down, etc. Without that the hydraulic motor powered devices on "open center" hydraulics will cause bone shaking screeching halts (and potential damage) when you interrupt the flow by moving the FEL, etc. The Lane Shark is just plain well figured out for all contingencies.
2) I am not real clear on the scope of your task: I gather you intend to clear the combustible undergrowth in 80 acres of dense (probably evergreen) forrest, correct? If this is as large as it might be, then I agree with others -- go rent a skid steer with mulcher on the front !!
3) I do not like the idea that another co. has 'stolen' the Lane Shark design via buying one and then copying it now selling it as a "Trailblazer." Rubs my sense of fairness the wrong way.
4) The guys at Lane Shark sent me a no-cost upgrade when they did the newer blade carrier and bearings design. It is better in being more sturdy but mainly not throwing blades. The new design is bullet proof.
5) Travis (at Lane Shark) has some very good YouTube videos out on using that tool. Worth seeing. He told me a couple years ago that he was considering a mod that would let you adjust the angle (vertical to horizontal) but I do not know if they went ahead with that. It would be pretty easy to do that yourself actually.
6) I cannot accurately picture your majority undergrowth BUT if it fits the task you may be best off to consider a heavy FEL mounted brush cutter NOT run by tractor hydraulics but rather from a PTO driven hydraulic pump. If you can give up the PTO for long periods while you attack the undergrowth that seems to me to be the way to go. I had one of the very heavy FEL mounted cutters (like a HD bush hog, 3 bladed, hyd motor driven) on my MF2660 initially but my tractor hydraiulics lacked the flow to make it robust. Clogged too often. The PTO driven pump solves that isssue. There are many of these on the market. One example is the "Xtreme Brush Cutter" sold by Skid Steer Loader Brush Cutters tough land clearing applications which come in 60", 72" and 78" widths. These are serious HD cutters and you just have to be able to lift and maneuver it (you best get the smaller one for a JD4100) AND most importantly provide the flow with a PTO driven pump.
7) A very good option in my opinion (if it fits your circumstance) is to rent or else short term own a medium sized skid steer to drive one of these FEL mounted heavy cutters. The skid-steers tend to have way more hyd pump output than your JD and they can handle the CID or other brand heavy cutters. Maybe use one of those to clear the undergrowth the first ime and then long-term just maintain it with a Lane Shark ? The HD FEL mounted cutters are a LOT cheaper than the forrestry mulchers which pulverize good sized trees.

OK, I quit for now. Let us know what you decide and how it works out. Good luck.

JWR . . . thank you for the great response. I have looked at the Lane Shark and it is one of the contenders. To be clear, YES, my intent is to clear the underbrush on my 80 acres and it consists of all sizes of evergreens, Oak, Madrone, blackberries, invasive Scotch Broom and dense copse of 1-2" nuisance brush. I know very well that doing this myself will take time and thats ok as I am patient. In all honesty, I don't have the time or resources to rent a skid steer for $4k/week and do that multiple times in order to clear the land. I need to have a tool available for when I able able to do it. I know the trade off will be that the tool I get will not give me perfect results but I'm fine with "ok" results that at least takes out the bulk of the underbrush.

I will try to post some pictures of what my forest looks like next week, after the 4th. That will give everyone a good idea what I'm dealing with. I have seen LOTS of video with brush cutting attachments but many of those videos are of the terrain in the midwest or out East. I need to see and hear from some of my fellow NW brethren on how they are dealing with their NW forests.

 

[RutnBuck]

Update . . . just got off the phone with a Rep from FORAX. Looking at the FORAX GP40, HP40 and HD72. Leaning towards the HP40 at this time as it seems to be at a price point that is affordable for the performance I expect to be adequate for my situation. Certainly not at the same level as a skid steer but still good. It does require an aux hydro pump run off the PTO but that's acceptable and I actually prefer that as it then makes it a self-contained tool that doesn't stress out my JD.