BCS for brush clearing and trail building

[Big wheels are better]

I have a BCS 735 with an 8hp Honda GX240 and want to use it to clear land to build trails. The land is rough, full of rocks, sand, gravel and clay and it’s hilly.

The first job is cutting and breaking down the sagebrush, pine, serviceberry, wild rose, sunflowers and cheat grass. Lots and lots of cheat grass. There are many other species; some areas have nettles, some have thistle.

I’d really like to use something like a forestry mulching head, but scaled down for the BCS. A flail mower can do some of the same work, but is more fragile and higher maintenance. Ideally, I want to simply drive the machine along the route and grind up all the plants in the way. I want to cut as close to the ground as possible to minimize tripping hazards and popping tires. That would save a huge amount of time, labor, fuel and machine wear compared to cutting, gathering then chipping everything.

The next job is to smooth and level where needed. I think the swivel rotary plow is great for most of that. A mini excavator would be best for moving and breaking bigger rocks. I would have to rent the machine, a trailer and a truck for that, though!

I want to use the BCS tractor I already have for everything I can and recognize this is probably too much for it. Eventually, I’ll need a bigger machine, but first I need to prove to myself, and my wife, that I can and will use what I have and that I need bigger.

I’m sure I need wheel weights, wheel spacers, dual wheels and a trailer/cart to move the attachments. Ideally, I want to tow the tractor and attachments in the trailer, then pull it with the tractor. I’d love to be able to use the powered trailer or something like this truck conversion.

The 4x4 of the powered trailer would be a big bonus in some areas, but I would need a PTO synchro. The sand is so fine people call it rock flour and moon dust. It’s like powdered sugar and hard going!

Do such attachments exist for this small of a machine? What BCS model and attachments would you use?

 

[2manyrocks]

Joel at Earth Tools can probably tell you all the attachments that are available. The only scaled down forestry mulching heads I know of are intended for mini skid steers, are hydraulically driven, and they aren't cheap.

My concern is you could damage your BCS trying to use it for this application. Why not hire a forestry mulcher to clear out what you want cleared and then use your BCS to maintain it?

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[anomad]

What kind of mowing attachments do you have now or have experience running? I have the little 26 inch Del Morino bush hog and it is very impressive. The vegetation here is way more dense than out west (you mentioned cheat grass). I have lived all over out west. 2 wheel tractor legend Jens767 here has mowed some crazy stuff with his equipment.

For smoothing and leveling, that's gonna be tricky. If you can't do it with a tiller attachment and hand tools you are going to want something more capable. I have loosened soil up to be shoveled and raked by hand in tight quarters. But like you said, even a tiny excavator or backhoe is orders of magnitude better.

Show us some pictures of what you have and we can probably provide a little more feedback.

Also keep in mind, if you are mowing cheat don't spread the seeds around to places you don't have it yet.

 

[Captain Dirty]

. . . I want to use the BCS tractor I already have for everything I can and recognize this is probably too much for it. Eventually, I’ll need a bigger machine, but first I need to prove to myself, and my wife, that I can and will use what I have and that I need bigger. . . .

You haven't said what attachments and experience you currently have, but why not prove that what you do have is inadequate so that you can rationalize spending on bigger without the additional expense of modifying what you do have? Two-wheeled tractors have historically been used for relatively small agricultural operations often in steep terrain, but at least in Europe and some third world areas the land and the trails to access the land have been used for centuries. Trail blazing and cutting is not the 2-wheel's forte.

Joel at Earth Tools can probably tell you all . . .

Visit Earth Tools site or speak to Joel. Note that few available attachments are for the use you propose. The American market does not support the large, diesel tractor (see wheel size, and listen to the exhaust note) of the tractor in your video. The cost of such equipment would likely be expensive if practicable at all.

I have a Goldoni 600 10 hp 2-wheel tractor I bought in the 80's when I had less money and more energy. (Poor brand choice as BCS has proven to be the stayer, Goldoni is gone from US, but the quality endures). I have a "Tosaprato" or finish mower that puts the 10 hp into a 24" x 3/8" thick blade that works well as a mini brush hog for fields that have a couple of years of overgrowth. I also have a 46" sickle mower that will cut though any sapling that fits between the teeth, that will slide under a 14" boulder hidden in a briar patch, but leaves all the slash to be handled again. On rough ground the low ground clearance of the tractor and implement often get hung up on roots or rocks. I think 2manyrocks's suggestion to hire or rent a skid steer with forestry mulcher has merit.

 

[jeepcoma]

The first job is cutting and breaking down the sagebrush, pine, serviceberry, wild rose, sunflowers and cheat grass. Lots and lots of cheat grass. There are many other species; some areas have nettles, some have thistle.

I’d really like to use something like a forestry mulching head, but scaled down for the BCS. A flail mower can do some of the same work, but is more fragile and higher maintenance.

I've used my Berta flail mower on a Grillo for exactly that purpose and it's been bullet-proof. I'm not exactly sure what all that vegetation is, I've found that anything you can bend over with the weight of the flail mower and the forward drive of the 2-wheel, you can completely demolish. It might take a pass or more for the thicker things, and you might have to go slow when you're in the thick of it, but it'll get the job done.

I'm not sure what you've heard about reliability, but the only thing I've done for maintenance has been replacing flails - clearing land is pretty hard on them as you'll be finding rocks and other debris. I've saved all my old beat up flails and might try sharpening them to see how it goes, but even budgeting for 2 sets of flails per season is economical compared to larger equipment.

I want to cut as close to the ground as possible to minimize tripping hazards and popping tires.

This is a problem. You can adjust a flail to go lower, but you'll also be striking dirt and crap more frequently, dulling the flails faster, so it's a trade-off. My cutting height is maybe an inch or two. The smaller stuff doesn't leave any obstacles, but the thicker things leave a stump behind. However you approach removing these, you'll be either letting time do its magic or using more expensive equipment - so, how many you have is your deciding factor.

The next job is to smooth and level where needed.

In my opinion this is not an area where 2-wheel tractors shine. Especially if you've just cleared the overgrowth... I see this as a struggle. Sorry, just telling it as I see it from my experience. My 110D with diesel engine, loaded Ag tires, and wheel weights... I just can't see it pulling a ripper through land that I just cleared and not getting snagged on roots and rocks. It doesn't have enough traction. Pushing a blade would be a million times worse. Maybe your soil and terrain is more favorable, but I'd bet you hate every moment of your experience, even if it works.

The 4x4 of the powered trailer would be a big bonus in some areas

Yes it would! BUT!!!...

1. I don't think they exist for BCS. (I know they do for other models but it's pretty limited application and requires synchronized PTO)
2. Yeah, I want one too! But it's not compatible with my G110D (and I don't think your BCS), and, even if they do... they are $$$$.
3. If your purpose is to move attachments around, you'll still have to lift them onto the trailer, move them around on the trailer, and then get them off again when you get where you want them. And let me tell you, these attachments can be VERY awkward to move around by hand when "free floating" on the ground. The weights, dimensions, center of gravity - it's just hard and awkward. I move around my flail mower, bush cutter, cutter bar, and stump grinder, and it's a STRUGGLE. There's no good way to do it.

For the price of one of those 4x4 trailers you might be better off finding a used ATV and trailer and use the tractor to load the implements onto the trailer the easy way, and then moving equipment with the ATV. Depends how far you need to go and how often you'll be moving implements.

Hope this helps!

 

[bcp]

Always wanted one of these for the trailbuilding part.

Using a BCS rotary plow if you don't have a trail dozer.

2.4K views · 52 reactions | Rotary plow. I first experimented with this in 2013. Had to buy one and borrow a tiller. That was a single side. This one allows you to change the discharge direction which is critical. Your membership dollars at work. If

Rotary plow. I first experimented with this in 2013. Had to buy one and borrow a tiller. That was a single side. This one allows you to change the discharge direction which is critical. Your...

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Bruce

 

[RayIN]

Fail mowers and rocks don't like each other.