Brother's wife says buy something to do the job but what?

[Coyote machine]

I'm happy to see that someone is making a rough cut rider. I had to tame the wooded edges of my 1/2 mile driveway. Chainsaw took care of anything over 1". Then I had at it with a 15hp MTD lawn tractor. Beat it like a rented mule. It did the job, but would high center on occasion and sometimes lack traction. I started to make a "lift kit", but the motor gave up (it was 20 years old).

My plan was to do a 3" lift and use swinging blades on the mower.

I wonder what the cutting heights of the Brush Rover are? It would be better if the hydro had food controls ...

From their web site:

Cutting Width: 38.4″

Cutting Height: 2″- 4.7″

Engine: Vanguard V-twin 21HP

Speeds: Various speed control (HST)

Transmission: OREC Heavy duty HST with differential

Wheel size: Front 16″, Rear 17″

Dimensions: 79″L x 42″W x 36″H (ROPS folded)

Weight: 690 lbs.

Note that at 690 lbs. it would be difficult to 'push' out of a hole if it bogged down in a wet area....maybe towing it out with say a tractor might work....

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

Update. Rented the Orec and it really didn't do the job. The main problem revolved around the length of the machine. It wouldn't cut very high and would high center easily. It would have worked if it was 4wd and the deck would go a bit higher. Not a bad machine and seemed to be well made.

So we have decided on a used Ventrac model 3000 (older version of the 3400 gas). We are getting a new Ventrac LQ450 field mower deck. It is sometimes referred to as the tree farmer deck which describes a lot of what it is needed for. If you watch the video (Video - Mowing Tree Farms with Ventrac) that's what it's needed for. This package is 4wd drive articulated. Front operator location so can see what is happening easily (such as around new trees) and cuts 44" , only slightly over the original spec.

It's about the same price as the new Orec. We will see if we made a good decision when it gets here as it has to come from halfway across the country. Not many of these sold in the Northwest.

Thanks for all your input.

 

[airbiscuit]

Please update us with pics and a video!

 

[MossRoad]

Update. Rented the Orec and it really didn't do the job. The main problem revolved around the length of the machine. It wouldn't cut very high and would high center easily. It would have worked if it was 4wd and the deck would go a bit higher. Not a bad machine and seemed to be well made.

So we have decided on a used Ventrac model 3000 (older version of the 3400 gas). We are getting a new Ventrac LQ450 field mower deck. It is sometimes referred to as the tree farmer deck which describes a lot of what it is needed for. If you watch the video (Video - Mowing Tree Farms with Ventrac) that's what it's needed for. This package is 4wd drive articulated. Front operator location so can see what is happening easily (such as around new trees) and cuts 44" , only slightly over the original spec.

It's about the same price as the new Orec. We will see if we made a good decision when it gets here as it has to come from halfway across the country. Not many of these sold in the Northwest.

Thanks for all your input.

Good choice! :thumbsup:

 

[jd2130]

Update. Rented the Orec and it really didn't do the job. The main problem revolved around the length of the machine. It wouldn't cut very high and would high center easily. It would have worked if it was 4wd and the deck would go a bit higher. Not a bad machine and seemed to be well made.

So we have decided on a used Ventrac model 3000 (older version of the 3400 gas). We are getting a new Ventrac LQ450 field mower deck. It is sometimes referred to as the tree farmer deck which describes a lot of what it is needed for. If you watch the video (Video - Mowing Tree Farms with Ventrac) that's what it's needed for. This package is 4wd drive articulated. Front operator location so can see what is happening easily (such as around new trees) and cuts 44" , only slightly over the original spec.

It's about the same price as the new Orec. We will see if we made a good decision when it gets here as it has to come from halfway across the country. Not many of these sold in the Northwest.

Thanks for all your input.

Hi OldTractorFixer,
How did the Ventrac work out for you? I'm looking into buying a riding brush hog-type mower for similar conditions and I'd like to hear how this worked in your situation.
Thank you,
Mikey

 

[Oldtractorfixer]

It's actually doing very well. It came with turf tires which were not aggressive enough so went with the more aggressive tire offered by Ventrac. It's a bit of an odd size so not a lot of choices. It feels a little tippy on rough ground when you first use it but it really is more stable than it feels. It will probably get some wheel spacers to see if that helps. All in all it's worked out pretty good.

 

[jd2130]

Thank you! I think this will be the best option for me.
Your property looks beautiful.

 

[searcyfarms]

id rent a SS and make the paths wider with a front mount mower - in just a few days the paths would be better and then you would have more options for a more versatile piece of equipment for more usage.

 

[jd2130]

id rent a SS and make the paths wider with a front mount mower - in just a few days the paths would be better and then you would have more options for a more versatile piece of equipment for more usage.

Thanks. My situation is a little different in that I don't really want to get my big tractor into the trails. It's a big farm tractor that I'm concerned about rolling (and getting hit in the face with trees that overhang the trail). It would be ideal if I could find a riding brush hog because that will be the only function of this tractor for me. I can do everything else with my big tractor. I just want something I can use to maintain trails and the areas around my crop fields. Living in a wetland, the forest grows back pretty fast and I need something I can use to go through quickly and take out brush (including small trees).

 

[radios1]

"50 acres mostly wooded" that's a hazard to life without some serious protection from falling branches!. I've had dead branches fall from a height of 60 feet, weighing hundreds of pounds from oak trees!. you never know when they will fall!..