Rotary Cutter Is this a bad idea that's going to damage my tractor or me?

[TSO]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQo4Edqswfw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Here's me using my buddies 72" LandPride Bhog. My tractor is 35PTO hp, so technically I can safely handle a 84" Bhog.... But this is what I had access to.

 

[Teikas Dad]

Nice videos!

Beckmurph, if you can cut through all that stuff with a 48" on the B3200, then it's good enough for me!

 

[California]

Heck 15 PTO hp is enough for a 4 ft rotary mower. But I gotta admit I had to shift down a range -to a slow walking pace- to get the rest of the way up this grade.

 

[2458n]

The last photo is the reason to mow alittle early in the season. Pretty rough going for the little tractor. The slip clutch is a good idea if you have alittle extra cash. Never used the chains mentioned until last year. Wonderful method of holding your height. My ford bush wacker is over 60 years old. I would buy used and paint it. If you do not know what your looking for take someone along who does know.

 

[Oliver1655]

As another poster suggested, use your loader & blade to clear & level the perimeter you plan to mow.
- Since all you are wanting to do is is keep the perimeter mowed back, a zero turn mower would be my first choice. You able to weave in and out of the trees allowing you to handle the mowing in a fraction of the time. You will use a lot less fuel, wear & tear on your tractor, & save yourself hours of twisting around looking backwards while brush hogging. I have a 60" cut Gravely zero turn mower with a welded deck. I have used it to knock down many a grove of sumach - no problem. 1st pass with deck locked in high/transport - "Brush hog" position then drop it down to 3" for the 2nd pass & I am done. If your will be mowing it 2 - 3 times a year, you will be able to do it in one pass easy! My Gravely is 4 years old & going strong.
- While in the military, I was tasked to mow an over grown area on a weapons range that had up to 1" samplings. When I went to pick up the tractor with bush hog that was suppose to be on reserve, the only type of mower they hand left was a flail mower. I explained about the saplings & was told to take it or leave it. After mowing the approximately 3 acres the flail mower had lost about 75% of the teeth/"T" cutters. I would not use a flail mower for brush control.
- If you go with a brush hog & are concerned about skid-digs, just add guide/depth wheels. Again auctions & Craigs list have good used brush mowers for a fair price.

 

[JoeL4330]

RFM works for me on even rougher stuff than you seem to have...start with cut set high and slowly work down...and, I wouldn't be averse to working on the "sidehills" your picture seems to show...pictures can be deceiving, but they don't look very steep to me (still, ROPs up and seatbelt fastened). Backing up and mowing down is a pain...and, the caster wheels on a finish mower don't like reversing course all the time (at least mine don't...keep psi at max allowable)..and, raising the mower to backup while it's running strains the U-joints ...just my opinion(s)

 

[allen in texas]

Flail...



.. OK, I'll leave.

 

[Kodthree]

Buy what you're going to need on your new, larger property and compromise a bit with it's application on your current piece. One thing you might consider is pulling through the area to be cut going forward...looks to me (based on the sight lines, openness, and powerlines) like you might have a roadway above your property you could pull on to and use to turn around. (?) Make this a safer operation by using cones, flags, signage, or flaggers if necessary.
I like the idea of preceding your tractor with the loader and bucket attached, but if you take it off it will shorten your apparatus and turn radius up on the road, plus make you more maneuverable (sp?) in the trees. You can add weight bars to the front like other posters have suggested to alleviate some potential instability.

Slip clutch for sure!

 

[Teikas Dad]

Just got back from the dealer. I'm now the owner of a new Woods BB60XC. I took a close look at my wheelbase, where I was going to cut in and around the trees and decided to go with the 60" mower. It sticks out a couple inches past the tires on the back so I'll be able to cut close to the trees. The 48" mower was a couple inches inside the tire width so I'd still have to do some manual labor around the trees with the smaller cutter.

I searched Craigslist in my area and for what people wanted for a "good" used cutter I only spent a few hundred dollars more and got a new unit with a warranty. I'm a bit OCD regarding taking care of my tools, equipment and vehicles (although I finally stopped putting tire shine on the tractor tires!) so the cutter should last me a long time. I did go with the slip clutch, it was only $100 more.
I appreciate all the advice that everyone posted, particularly the videos and links to other threads.

 

[dodge man]

I go around the edge of my property with a brush hog that is 48" wide on a BX. I use it for the same thing you want, to just kind of keep the brush beat back. It works well and shouldn't be a problem.