FEL Mounted Brush Cutter Recommendations

[JWR]

I suspect that Forax will do a good job for you. Probably a little more universal than a rotary mower based unit I'm thinking. I would doubt that the Briggs & Stratton powered version is any good for brush, even light brush. The PTO powered hydraulic motor version should be darned nice. Look forward to your pictures.

 

[beenthere]

What do you all think of this FORAX GP40 . . . https://www.forax.ca/uploads/1/3/6/7/136794484/gp40.pdf

What do YOU think after watching their videos ?? Should be able to decide if you want to sit back of that and run it on 80 acres.
Would like to know your opinion. tks

 

[JWR]

A few thoughts: A 40" width seems small if you are working on most any aspect of 80 acres. Only you can judge that probably. If you have continuous widths of brush to cut it is awfully narrow. If you have mostly spots and well defined places that might be fine. I see that Forax has no choices between 40" width and 72" width which seems odd to me. Something in between those might fit your needs better ??

So long as you are driving it with a pump on the PTO you should be in great shape to use it. The dealer or Forax people should make sure your PTO pump is the right size, flow and plumbing to match it. I have no idea what the Forax website is meaning when they talk of an optional power pack? What is that? A PTO pump or a Briggs and Stratton?

I discourage trying to drive this thing from your tractor hydraulic pump. Will explain if need be, otherwise assuming you are not.

The 380lbs or so should be easy on your FEL with that Deere. Even the 600 & some pound bigger one should not be a problem in that sense.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

I just looked at the gp40, and that is a straight up piece of junk at any price.

I'd cross that off my list.

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.

 

[ericm979]

If your land isn't perfectly smooth you'll be raising and lowering the FEL a lot to try to follow the contours of the land. It seems like if you can get the tractor and front mulcher into an area you could probably get the tractor and a 5' rotary cutter into the same area... it's not that much larger. Since the rotary sticks out some and mows in reverse (unlike a flail) you can back it under trees that you can't drive under. The rotary of course will follow the undulations of the ground. It might not get to every place you could get that front end mulcher to, but it could be pretty close depending on how far apart the trees are. Of course you can change that with a chainsaw.

Are you planning on brush clearing the entire 80ac? Is it all flat enough to operate on?

A couple other options might be rear mount 3pt mulchers or rotary brush cutters, like what's made by Baumalight.

 

[JWR]

Mechanical Guy -- how about elaborating on what you see & why the Forax is "junk." ?

Ericm979: I don't think a rear mounted anything would work well for what RutnBuck describes. However, he will almost certainly end up owning a medium sized bush hog anyway and may have places where that is the best tool.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Mechanical Guy -- how about elaborating on what you see & why the Forax is "junk." ?

Ericm979: I don't think a rear mounted anything would work well for what RutnBuck describes. However, he will almost certainly end up owning a medium sized bush hog anyway and may have places where that is the best tool.

I watched this link:

That is going to be really high priced, I imagine, and it isn't very capable at all. That will be a regretful purchase if made. My medium duty bush hog will do that in about ten seconds.

 

[LouNY]

Myself I would prefer the mulcher in a larger size over a brush hog for brush as is being worked up in the video.
We use a bat wing and a fixed 3 point and a skidsteer brush hog on the farm.
For trimming back hedgerows and mulching up small trees limbs and brush that mulcher is grinding it up into much smaller pieces.
The brush hogs chop it into much larger pieces and throw them out into the fields especially when elevated and backing into larger brush.
Then the dried limbs and such have to removed from any hay field or it can tear up equipment. The smaller chippings from a mulcher wouldn't have that issue.

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Myself I would prefer the mulcher in a larger size over a brush hog for brush as is being worked up in the video.
We use a bat wing and a fixed 3 point and a skidsteer brush hog on the farm.
For trimming back hedgerows and mulching up small trees limbs and brush that mulcher is grinding it up into much smaller pieces.
The brush hogs chop it into much larger pieces and throw them out into the fields especially when elevated and backing into larger brush.
Then the dried limbs and such have to removed from any hay field or it can tear up equipment. The smaller chippings from a mulcher wouldn't have that issue.

My brush hog leaves no evidence behind. Maybe it's a technique difference. I back into stuff with the hog tilted back at about a 30* angle and then let it down onto whatever with my hydraulic top link. It leaves no evidence of what was there before. It's a thousand times better than the gp40 in that video.

No sticks limbs or otherwise.

 

[RalphVa]

Good day everyone. I have 80 acres of dense forest in Oregon, full of all manner of underbrush like blackberries, poison oak, saplings and of course mature Fir, Pine, Oak and Madrone. While I have always been concerned about clearing the under growth, the extreme fire season last year really put some pressure on me to quicken my pace to clear all that "fuel". Ideally I'd like to get a forestry mulcher on a skid steer but those things are very expensive ($60k +). I had a rear mount bank flail mower on my JD4120 but it was very hard to maneuver in the woods and overall just didn't work well. In all honesty, my JD4120 is kind-a big (wide/long) to be moving through the trees, etc but it is what it is in that regard. At any rate, I recently came across the front (FEL) mounted brush cutters like the Lane Shark, Limb Ninja, Trailblazer, and Path Slayer (and I'm sure there's others). Do any of you have any experience with these and how they performed? Specifically,
1) how efficient are they . . . for example, it appears you have to get off the tractor to adjust the cutter rather than a hydraulic option that lets you adjust angles, etc. Doesn't seem like it would be efficient "in the woods" where I might have to cut flat on the forest floor one second and the next i'm up in the branches of a tree cutting vertical. Do any manufactures you know of make a hydraulic version that provides adjustments on the fly (tilt fwd, curl, tilt left, tilt right, extend right, retract to center)? Basically all the movements a bank flail mower has on the back of a tractor.
2) Please do not make this the center of the conversation because there is risk in most everything we do on a tractor but how safe are they? I have seen numerous videos showing what appears to be safe operation but those videos also are edited so there is "behind the scenes" or bloopers that occur. I assume it's prudent to wear safety glasses or a face shield, but what I'm really looking for is does anyone have any knowledge of real bad stuff happening with these front mount cutters flinging material back at the operator and causing serious injury?
3) Any suggests to help with my situation like recommendations on these FEL cutters or any other attachments that can help me in my situation?

What I have that may assist with FEL mount cutter:
- Front hydraulics for Everything Attachments Wicked Root Rake Grapple (operates by switch on joystick)
- Third Function connections that operated bank flail mower

My territorial rat neighbor to the left hired an outfit that used a Cat-equipped flail mower on the front to clear out between his trees. He'd been renting out the place in the 20 years prior to this year, and it had gotten quite overgrown.