Loader Mounted Swing Arm rotary Boom Mower

[RGQ]

I am looking purchase a Rotary Boom Mower to maintain trails on 600 acres of hunting recreational land. Over time the trails shrink due to new growth. I have considered mid mount and three point boom mowers like Alamo, Tiger, and Diamond but recently have taken an interest in loader mounted swing arm boom mowers. From my research it appears they are marketed toward the skid steer customer but I see no reason why they can't be used on a utility tractor. I have a John Deere 5115M (115 HP) i plan on using for this application. My thoughts are that a loader mounted mower will reduce the damage to the tractor as the cutting will be happening out in front of the tractor clearing the way for the tractor more than a mid or 3 pt mount would.

My question is has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with these loader mounted boom mowers on tractors? I want something that will perform (3-5" cutting capacity, and heavy duty so it doesn't get bent up from the first tree it encounters by mistake. Any detail positive or negative, any recommendations (Make, model, etc) will be helpful.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Smokeydog]

Front loader mowers are considerably lower duty compared to what the county uses. 5” limb is tough.
Might consider buying a surplus road mower. See them come up often on govdeals.
Or contract someone to cut back with heavier equipment and maintain with FEL cutter.
Seriously considered a FEL mower and got a sweetheart deal offer from local Kubota dealer. Design was deal stopper. Might work well for weeds and twigs but not trees I thought. Also where I needed trimming is rough and slopped holding a mower up.
Our trees are considerable and maintaining a constant chore. Haven’t found one tool. FEL basket with polesaw, FEL polesaw , Danuser Intimdator and grapple help.
Haven’t found a cheap or easy solution.

 

[oldnslo]

Do you have the hydraulic flow to run a loader mounted brush mower. All of the Alamo or Diamond mowers I have seen run off a dedicated pump mounted on the front off the crank shaft.

Running on tractor pump mower would potentially change speed or stop every time you move the loader.

 

[RGQ]

Front loader mowers are considerably lower duty compared to what the county uses. 5” limb is tough.
Might consider buying a surplus road mower. See them come up often on govdeals.
Or contract someone to cut back with heavier equipment and maintain with FEL cutter.
Seriously considered a FEL mower and got a sweetheart deal offer from local Kubota dealer. Design was deal stopper. Might work well for weeds and twigs but not trees I thought. Also where I needed trimming is rough and slopped holding a mower up.
Our trees are considerable and maintaining a constant chore. Haven’t found one tool. FEL basket with polesaw, FEL polesaw , Danuser Intimdator and grapple help.
Haven’t found a cheap or easy solution.

Thanks for your response. I have bid on used mid mount units used by city/county. I am trying to stay away from buying a used tractor/mower combo with 3K+ hours on it. That would be another 100 hp tractor I would have to maintain. (My JD 5115M has CHA and only 250 hours) My search continues.

 

[RGQ]

Do you have the hydraulic flow to run a loader mounted brush mower. All of the Alamo or Diamond mowers I have seen run off a dedicated pump mounted on the front off the crank shaft.

Running on tractor pump mower would potentially change speed or stop every time you move the loader.

I have plenty of GPM from the Power Beyond that I currently use for the backhoe. Just need to run supply/return lines to the front of the loader. If I found a FEL mower worth purchasing the hydraulic flow is not an issue. thanks for your thoughts.

 

[oldnslo]

RGQ,
I could be wrong but I suspect that if you try to operate the loader and the backhoe at the same time you would see a speed - performance drop in one or both of those functions. This is based on the deere parts site I looked shows the 5115M as having a gear pump so suspect loader gets flow first and then to power beyond for back hoe. I would suggest running a simple test of does the back hoe work when loader is being used?

 

[leonz]

Renting a FECON articulated forestry mulcher would be more cost effective for you as it is a rent it once
and get all your clearing done ONCE and you would be able to get the trail edges cleared wide enough that no
tree will be able fall down and block it.

If you have this much work you have to treat it like maintaining a powerline right of way by removing everything
that could damage a powerline or block access to the right of way.
It is an either-or work decision as any potential limb growth will cause the limbs to become heavier and eventually
weaker and will break.

Boom mounted brush clearers like this are pedestal mounted and used on railroads employing specially
designed flat cars with a power unit on it and pushed by the locomotive with a buffer flat car in front of
it to protect the locomotive and take a great deal of hydraulic flow to power them.

You will be better off renting a large enough FECON forestry mulcher "once" to do the work as the loader
mounted rotary brush cutters are not built heavy enough for massive amounts of brush breaking as a
large enough heavy enough limb trunk will break the tractor loaders boom arms as they are not ment for
what you want to do with it.

Any good arborist worth his or her salt will also tell you that the more you open up this area the faster it
will grow back unless you widen it to eliminate the overhanging limbs that will break.

Every tree's limb will continue to grow over the path reaching for the sunlight as long as they have not been
cut off or if the tree is not knocked down.


It's not simple, but being proactive with a self-propelled forestry mulcher will solve a great deal of problems for you
by shredding and knocking down all these trash trees.

 

[ruffdog]

I have plenty of GPM from the Power Beyond that I currently use for the backhoe. Just need to run supply/return lines to the front of the loader. If I found a FEL mower worth purchasing the hydraulic flow is not an issue. thanks for your thoughts.

Really? A cutter built to cut 3"+ is going to need some serious hydraulic flow dedicated to the hydro motor. Also, your tractor hydraulic system does not have a cooler to handle that amount of heat generated by constant use.

 

[Smokeydog]

Hadn’t seen a mid mount mower that could be taken on off easily. Most are permanent mount without a loader.
Have yet to meet someone who has bought a county mower and used it as a mower. They take off the mower and try to use it as an ag tractor with mixed success.
Different parts of the country have different tree, shrub growth and clearing needs. It’s a jungle here.

Newly made hydraulic polesaw with grapple and rotary cutter has opened roads and cleared around fields this year.

 

[LouNY]

My 3 point boom mower has a 3- 1/2 foot flail head.
It has dual dedicated pumps on it one just to power the cutter head, and another for all the controls.
My tractor tips the scale at just over 11,000 pounds there is no way I would want that weight on the front of the tractor.
Even at the rear it will bounce the tractor all around especually when the mower gets boomed out on the down hill side.

These are the 5 control levers to run the mower

 

[Smokeydog]

My 3 point boom mower has a 3- 1/2 foot flail head.
It has dual dedicated pumps on it one just to power the cutter head, and another for all the controls.
My tractor tips the scale at just over 11,000 pounds there is no way I would want that weight on the front of the tractor.
Even at the rear it will bounce the tractor all around especually when the mower gets boomed out on the down hill side.
View attachment 762422

View attachment 762423

These are the 5 control levers to run the mower
View attachment 762424

That’s a nice mower!

 

[LouNY]

I like it. it's very handy. It is heavy and a bit of a bear hooking up. It mounts so close to the tractor that it is hard to get in and connect the pto shaft. I actually stop backing just before I get to it and slid the pto shaft on then back up a bit more and try and reach in and latch it, then back into the mounts. When I disconnect I unhook the lift arms and top link then drive away and let the shaft pull apart then disconnect and reassemble it. I need to put it on this month and do some trimming in the hard to reach places and prune the lilacs down a bit(3 feet).

 

[RGQ]

Front loader mowers are considerably lower duty compared to what the county uses. 5” limb is tough.
Might consider buying a surplus road mower. See them come up often on govdeals.
Or contract someone to cut back with heavier equipment and maintain with FEL cutter.
Seriously considered a FEL mower and got a sweetheart deal offer from local Kubota dealer. Design was deal stopper. Might work well for weeds and twigs but not trees I thought. Also where I needed trimming is rough and slopped holding a mower up.
Our trees are considerable and maintaining a constant chore. Haven’t found one tool. FEL basket with polesaw, FEL polesaw , Danuser Intimdator and grapple help.
Haven’t found a cheap or easy solution.

Less capacity/less durable loader mounted mowers is what I have been finding also. One of the main reasons for my post was to get feedback regarding these mowers. I am leaning toward a 3 pt mount so I don't have to have another tractor that's basically dedicated. Thanks for your input

 

[RGQ]

Renting a FECON articulated forestry mulcher would be more cost effective for you as it is a rent it once
and get all your clearing done ONCE and you would be able to get the trail edges cleared wide enough that no
tree will be able fall down and block it.

If you have this much work you have to treat it like maintaining a powerline right of way by removing everything
that could damage a powerline or block access to the right of way.
It is an either-or work decision as any potential limb growth will cause the limbs to become heavier and eventually
weaker and will break.

Boom mounted brush clearers like this are pedestal mounted and used on railroads employing specially
designed flat cars with a power unit on it and pushed by the locomotive with a buffer flat car in front of
it to protect the locomotive and take a great deal of hydraulic flow to power them.

You will be better off renting a large enough FECON forestry mulcher "once" to do the work as the loader
mounted rotary brush cutters are not built heavy enough for massive amounts of brush breaking as a
large enough heavy enough limb trunk will break the tractor loaders boom arms as they are not ment for
what you want to do with it.

Any good arborist worth his or her salt will also tell you that the more you open up this area the faster it
will grow back unless you widen it to eliminate the overhanging limbs that will break.
.
Every tree's limb will continue to grow over the path reaching for the sunlight as long as they have not been
cut off or if the tree is not knocked down.


It's not simple, but being proactive with a self-propelled forestry mulcher will solve a great deal of problems for you
by shredding and knocking down all these trash trees.

Thanks for your thoughts. It all helps in the decision process.

 

[RGQ]

Really? A cutter built to cut 3"+ is going to need some serious hydraulic flow dedicated to the hydro motor. Also, your tractor hydraulic system does not have a cooler to handle that amount of heat generated by constant use.

I will investigate hydraulic priority, flow and cooling before making a decision. Good points. Thanks

 

[RGQ]

Hadn’t seen a mid mount mower that could be taken on off easily. Most are permanent mount without a loader.
Have yet to meet someone who has bought a county mower and used it as a mower. They take off the mower and try to use it as an ag tractor with mixed success.
Different parts of the country have different tree, shrub growth and clearing needs. It’s a jungle here.

Newly made hydraulic polesaw with grapple and rotary cutter has opened roads and cleared around fields this year.
View attachment 762391
View attachment 762392

Thanks for your t houghts an Pictures.

 

[leonz]

More on the smallest tracked mulcher FECON offers.

 

[RGQ]

Front loader mowers are considerably lower duty compared to what the county uses. 5” limb is tough.
Might consider buying a surplus road mower. Seem them come up often on govdeals.
Or contract someone to cut back with heavier equipment and maintain with FEL cutter.
Seriously considered a FEL mower and got a sweetheart deal offer from local Kubota dealer. Design was deal stopper. Might work well for weeds and twigs but not trees I thought. Also where I needed trimming is rough and slopped holding a mower up.
Our trees are considerable and maintaining a constant chore. Haven’t found one tool. FEL basket with polesaw, FEL polesaw , Danuser Intimdator and grapple help.
Haven’t found a cheap or easy solution.

Sorry for the delayed feedback. Appreciate the reply. Since writing this text did pick up a Diamond 3 pt boom mower. Works great and doesn't dedicate the tractor.

 

[RGQ]

Renting a FECON articulated forestry mulcher would be more cost effective for you as it is a rent it once
and get all your clearing done ONCE and you would be able to get the trail edges cleared wide enough that no
tree will be able fall down and block it.

If you have this much work you have to treat it like maintaining a powerline right of way by removing everything
that could damage a powerline or block access to the right of way.
It is an either-or work decision as any potential limb growth will cause the limbs to become heavier and eventually
weaker and will break.

Boom mounted brush clearers like this are pedestal mounted and used on railroads employing specially
designed flat cars with a power unit on it and pushed by the locomotive with a buffer flat car in front of
it to protect the locomotive and take a great deal of hydraulic flow to power them.

You will be better off renting a large enough FECON forestry mulcher "once" to do the work as the loader
mounted rotary brush cutters are not built heavy enough for massive amounts of brush breaking as a
large enough heavy enough limb trunk will break the tractor loaders boom arms as they are not ment for
what you want to do with it.

Any good arborist worth his or her salt will also tell you that the more you open up this area the faster it
will grow back unless you widen it to eliminate the overhanging limbs that will break.

Every tree's limb will continue to grow over the path reaching for the sunlight as long as they have not been
cut off or if the tree is not knocked down.


It's not simple, but being proactive with a self-propelled forestry mulcher will solve a great deal of problems for you
by shredding and knocking down all these trash trees.

Thanks for the comments. Since writing this thread I have picked up a Diamond 3 point boom mower that is doing what I need it for and although it takes a while to install/take off it doesn't dedicate the tractor.

 

[RGQ]

My 3 point boom mower has a 3- 1/2 foot flail head.
It has dual dedicated pumps on it one just to power the cutter head, and another for all the controls.
My tractor tips the scale at just over 11,000 pounds there is no way I would want that weight on the front of the tractor.
Even at the rear it will bounce the tractor all around especually when the mower gets boomed out on the down hill side.
View attachment 762422

View attachment 762423

These are the 5 control levers to run the mower
View attachment 762424

Thanks for your thoughts. Since posting this thread i have picked up a Diamond 3 point boom mower with a rotary head and it is doing an excellent job for us.