ideas for mowing shoulder/ditch next to driveway

[s219]

What I am sort of thinking is to use my 3-pt hitch trailer receiver. Could get some 2" square bar to fit in the receiver, and then weld a 2" bar to that which runs off to the side of the tractor like the picture JJ showed. And then weld up something to mount my old push mower on that. It's a Honda that runs well, but the deck is rusted out, so I might need to weld up a basic deck or shield for around the mower blade.

Would be awesome to have top & tilt on my 3-pt hitch for this, but at least manual adjustment of the sidelink could give some adjustment.

Once I finish my barn, I plan to spec this out and see if it's feasible to build. For the price of the DR unit, I can likely buy a new welder and all materials and still come out ahead!

 

[s219]

I did a little experimenting today, hanging my Honda mower off to the side of my tractor. I put a pallet on my forks (clamp-on) then nailed on some 2x4s to suspend the mower off to the side about 4 feet out, with a slight angle to match the ditch/shoulder. Amazingly, the mower fired up on the first pull after sitting under my porch for over a year -- those Hondas always seem to start on the first pull even when neglected.

The mowing went very well but one of the worthless clamp-on forks loosened up and caused a busted a 2x4, so I decided to end the experiment there before I wrecked something. But I think this is going to work very well once I build a permanent frame. I am not yet sure if I want to hang the frame off the front loader or the 3-pt hitch. I think I can get a better mount built for the 3-pt, but it was sure easy to see and maneuver with the mower out in front. If I do use the front loader, I would need to figure out how to mount a frame to the front bucket -- not using the clamp on forks.

 

[houstonscott]

Goats. HS

 

[TomSeller]

The reviews on the DR site aren't too positive for the 3PH model...

I have one, not too impressed myself. I tried it out, did not work too well. I took it off and tossed it in the barn, haven't tried it again yet. The fundamental problem that I had was that the ball under the trimmer head was so tall that I could not get under all of my bottom wires. Unfortunately whoever put up my barbed wire must have been herding cats, the wires are are low. However, I am not sure the unit would have worked out if they were higher.

 

[The kid]

Using Pramitol 25E here for vegatation control on my gravel drive. 6oz per gallon. I only do it on sunny days. I use a 12VDC spray strapped on the back carriage rack on my ATV. I don't soak the area but give it a good coverage. It must stay on the vegetation for several hours to do any good. It will usually last the entire season. I saw a weed killer recipe that involved the mix of vinegar, epson salts and dawn dish wasing liquid. It suppose to give results within an hour. With the slope you have, IMO spraying is the logical and economical choice.

 

[jaotguy]

run it out front ( not off the rear ) due to "flying objects" ( unless you have a cab ) ...


you can chain it to the front of the bucket ... weld 2 sets of U shaped iron to the back of the steel bar ( one in each inside of bucket to slip on the cutting lip ) leave about 6" extending past the side opposite the mower , chain the extra length to the back of the bucket ......


-----------------------------------------------/-/----------------/-/-------
mower .............................................chain.................................chain this end to back of bucket

 

[The kid]

I see sickle mowers on Craiglist for less than this all the time, and think that as long as you don't have a lot of big rocks, it would be more durable than other options.

Just how far will a sickle mower drop below 90 degrees. Even a small rock can mess one of those up. With a rock driveway the chances of long term survival is slim.

Sent via Ipad2

 

[woody]

check this post out, does not work real good on just regular grass but weeds and small shrubs or briers it does good. I like it on the front so I can see whats going on with out making my back and neck hurt. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/280697-sabre-samurai.html?highlight=