Help selecting a tractor for steep brush clearing.

[CurlyDave]

I would be thinking about getting a few goats. And maybe a donkey to protect them from predators.

 

[RFB]

Just based upon those photos, I would not be reluctant to brush hog them with a tractor, along as the caveats a few others provided are followed.

Dry conditions.

Wheels set at widest position and filled.

R1 ag tires

Up and down with no side-hill operations and turn around at top or bottom flat areas.

If FEL equipped, bucket kept low to ground as front balance/ballast going forward uphill. If no FEL, some front-end weights.

Those slopes do not look too steep to accomplish the brush clearance you mentioned. Walk the intended area first to check for potential problem areas.
Up and down hill is not too problematic as long as you go slow and carefully. As your experience level grows, you will develop more a a feel for what you are doing.

As far as the tractors selected, look at the intended growth and determine maximum stem/trunk diameter and match that to the rotary cutter, then let the cutter's HP requirements determine your tractor HP needs.

Also, as others have mentioned, HST and 4wd.

 

[jdpotter]

See this previous post.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/jd-owning-operating/111266-new-mowing-brush-hogging-steep.html

 

[G-force]

I might consider one of the pull behind mowers for ATV's. You already know your fourwheeler can handle the slope, so it wouldn't be that big a deal to put it to work pulling a mower. Swisher or DR both make them, though I don't know if one is better then the other.

That was an option we had considered ,but I was not sure if dragging a 500lb tow behind mower would cause the ATV to want to roll backwards of wheelie up in the front and loose traction on a steep incline.

Does anyone here have experience with using these types of tow behind mowers with an ATV on steep hills?

 

[machmeter62]

I would also look at the '08 Kubota L3240 with the new hi-tec HST, that has a lot of special features; if that tractor is withiin your budget?

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Yuchai dozer. It has a 3-point hitch with PTO that you can attach a rotary mower to. There's one on Ebay right now for under 11K.

 

[RFB]

ATV's are problematic on uphill steep grades. (I am not referring to race or sport type riding.) for utility work, it is imperative that you keep the majority of the weight on the forward half of the vehicle.

Another downside is the fatigue factor. There is no power-steering, you will be muscling the machine. I seeded about 10 steep acres with a Polaris Sportsman 600 because I did not want to outlay for a 3 pt spreader. Never again.

A tractor will brush hog your hills with little difficulty as long as you do it according to sound principles. Steep means up and down, not across. Slow and careful with a properly set-up (wheels spread and weighted, 4wd, R1's, etc) tractor will do it.

 

[bota7800]

What is the 2 horse method?

Uh... grazing

 

[EastTexFrank]

That looks a lot like my pasture. I used to mow it with a B2400 with 4' rotary mower. It has 4WD, HST, R4's and I always put the FEL on when I mow it. I always mow up and down and I have flat spots at the top and bottom to turn around. When I first started mowing it, it was pretty scary but less so now that I know the terrain so well but the occasional hole or big ant hill will still get your attention. I cut it at the end of last year with the new L4740 and that was completely different than with the B2400. Again, I had the FEL on with the grapple and a 6' bush hog behind. The L4740 has HST and R4's too. I did cut it once with a JD 820 gear tractor with a 5' mower and it was scary because I had so much less control. I occasionally get a guy to cut it for me who mows for a living and he runs across the slopes without giving it a thought. I admit that he's a better man than I am. The thing is that you need the weight on the front of the tractor and take it slow because if things do start to go wrong they can get real bad in a hurry. There are specialty mowers out there where you can run at up to 40 degree across slopes but they are pretty much limited to doing just that one thing and I have no idea of the cost. Might be worthwhile researching though.

 

[Gittyup]

Other suggested models to consider: JD x700 series, Tym T273, Kioti CK20, Power Trac, Antonio Carraro, or other orchard tractor. The x700s could probably cut across most of those hills, and would be very hard to turn over. Though, it is not capable of all that a CUT tractor would do, for mowing it would be safer. The AC would be primo for this kind of situation. Your other chores besides mowing might dictate different choices.