Kubota M8540 flail mower

[leonz]

Hard pass, only because leaving the grass and weeds secures the pond banks.

Short of having an excavator to trim the walls of the pond to less than a 15 degree
slope would make it much safer if you intend to seed it and mow it.

Maschio but you need loaded tires, wheel weights on the left wheel and a full
rack of front suitcase weights.

When you are running around with a boom mounted side shifting flail shredder
you have to understand that you have little to no over center control of the mower
and that weight is hanging out there following the ground.

Youi need to think of it like this; imagine you have a pail of gear oil hanging on the end
of a 16 foot 2 by 6 and you are trying to hold it level. That weight is acting on you and
wants to tip you over before you tilt the mower down to mow.

 

[TerryR]

I have a Peruzzo ditch and bank mower, and I think one will work great for you, as long as you do as you say and keep the tractor at or near the top of the bank. You will find it does well for other tasks as well, like actual ditches and banks, and including mowing flatter areas with it offset so you don't run over what you are about to cut.

Yes, it does make your tractor less stable when you lift the mower with it extended all the way to the side, especially if it's on the down-hill side of the tractor. The solution is simple -- don't lift the mower in that situation, but leave it resting on the roller.

I chose the Peruzzo Fox Cross because it's lighter than many others. It's well built. One disadvantage is you won't find a local dealer. There's only one in the US. Buying such an expense toy by mail order is a concern, but I found them responsive during purchase and when I needed parts.

 

[D&D]

Recently inherited my Dad's M8540 tractor. I requested quotes from JD and Kubota for a 'ditch bank' flail mower:
JD - Frontier FL1272S at $11,175.
Kubota - Land Pride OFM2678 $18K

The reason I'm considering an ditch bank mower is we have a pond with a pretty high damn as well as the front of our property has your typical roadside ditch. My neighbor has been graciously mowing the road front with his giant batwing rotary but now that I have a tractor I want to take this off his load. Wondering what else I can research as these prices are pretty steep!

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[1 Old Man]

According to specs the M8540 is about 6,000#, 80+hp. Plenty of power, but I think
the issue here would be weight of tractor. You might consider a slightly smaller
cutting head, like a 60" or 63" etc keeping a FEL implement on all the time and
maybe wheel weights or tire ballast. And the obvious, keep the tractor on top of the bank,
and go slow.
TerryR has a good post ^.

 

[dieselscout80]

Hard pass, only because leaving the grass and weeds secures the pond banks.

Short of having an excavator to trim the walls of the pond to less than a 15 degree
slope would make it much safer if you intend to seed it and mow it.

Maschio but you need loaded tires, wheel weights on the left wheel and a full
rack of front suitcase weights.

When you are running around with a boom mounted side shifting flail shredder
you have to understand that you have little to no over center control of the mower
and that weight is hanging out there following the ground.

Youi need to think of it like this; imagine you have a pail of gear oil hanging on the end
of a 16 foot 2 by 6 and you are trying to hold it level. That weight is acting on you and
wants to tip you over before you tilt the mower down to mow.

I regularly mow around my pond and in the worst places it’s 22 degrees without issue.

That said I won’t mow it if it’s wet as it would be bad if I slid my tractor in the pond.

 

[HorsPower]

Del Morino (Italy) is definitely the gold standard in flail / ditch fail mowers, but my use is infrequent and I couldn’t justify the high cost for my application.

Resultantly I recently purchased a Ironcraft ditch flail mower. I didn’t want a china built mower. The Iron Craft mowers are made by Cosmo (Italy). I’ve only used it for a short time, but it appears to be well constructed for a budget option ($4,500). Might be worth considering depending on how often you are going to use it.

My mower is a FRF-165. (165 cm / 65”). I’m running the mower behind a Kubota L5740 with filled rear tires and max wheel weights. It handles the mower very well.

Could be a more budget option for you.

 

[SRSeedBurners]

Del Morino (Italy) is definitely the gold standard in flail / ditch fail mowers, but my use is infrequent and I couldn’t justify the high cost for my application.

Resultantly I recently purchased a Ironcraft ditch flail mower. I didn’t want a china built mower. The Iron Craft mowers are made by Cosmo (Italy). I’ve only used it for a short time, but it appears to be well constructed for a budget option ($4,500). Might be worth considering depending on how often you are going to use it.

My mower is a FRF-165. (165 cm / 65”). I’m running the mower behind a Kubota L5740 with filled rear tires and max wheel weights. It handles the mower very well.

Could be a more budget option for you.

Thanks. Mine will be lower use as well. Can you share where you bought this from. That's more in my price range.

 

[HorsPower]

Thanks. Mine will be lower use as well. Can you share where you bought this from. That's more in my price range.

I bought mine from Messick’s, they said it was the last one they had in stock at the time (December).

Miller tractor has one in stock:

Pardon Our Interruption

 

[oosik]

You can see by the pic I uploaded - post#7 - my little lake is nothing to fool around with. The near side of the lake is the same as the far side. The "shore line" is from 15 to 40 feet deep. You can smash out thru the cattails on either end OR claw your way up the valley across the lake.

No matter your choice - you best be a good swimmer.

I've only had one or two parents allow their children up near the bluff edge. With a high thermocline and deep lake - the surface water will only get "warm" in late August.