need attachment advice

[albert]

Just bought a 5600 T (2008) Toolcat with 70" finish mower and combination bucket. We have 5 acres of lawn and 20 acres of fields to mow (some with thick grass), 1/2 mile of sloped and rocky dirt road to maintain, logs to move, brush piles to move, trails to cut and maintain in the woods, and some general landscaping to do. Question: are there any other attachments we might find useful enough to buy rather than rent?

 

[3Bladz]

some forks might be nice. i use mine to dig out trees, bushes and rocks, carry brush piles, as well as what they are supposed to be for. one of the land plane things might work for the lane.

 

[theoshin]

i would exchange the 72 for a 90 mower if possible. the tc has more than enough power for the 90.

i would get a set of forks also. i find my 60 inch bucket with teeth to dig much better than my bucket without. just need to be careful using it as the teeth really bite. the brushcat works very well but is very expensive.

 

[MetroX]

If you get snow, the Toolcat is great at plowing with the angled snow blade, It is one of my must-have attachments. I agree that forks are very useful for general clean up work, removing stumps, and unloading heavy stuff from a pickup truck, I use my forks almost every day. If you plan on installing or maintaining fences and gates, the auger with a 12" bit is handy too.

 

[Gadgetnut]

Hello, Albert. Welcome. Gosh, twenty acres of fields to mow-- that will take awhile-- like theoshin suggests, try to trade up from 72" to 84" wide near finish mower, if possible. Not sure what "rev." of TC you have ("C" or "D") but make sure to keep the radiator area clear of grass clippings.

Regarding other attachments, ditto the recommendations on the forks. I have found my Anbo Grapple Rake endlessly useful. I've used it to rake, gather, and move rocks, boulders, sticks and brush, extricate and move logs, etc. And as I've become more skilled, I've used it many times as a big pair of Vise-Grips. For keeping my gravel roads looking good, I use a 84" Box Blade Grader Box to level out pot holes and distribute dress coats of gravel, and I use the Bobcat 84" Angle Broom (rotating brush) to sweep the asphalt driveway. For cutting woods paths and clearing tall, tough grass and weeds I really love the Brushcat. Good luck!

 

[Spudgunner]

...
For cutting woods paths and clearing tall, tough grass and weeds I really love the Brushcat. Good luck!

Gadgetnut,
The BC website specifies the 60" Brushcat as appropriate for the 5600 and 5610 and not the 72" attachment. If you wouldn't mind me asking...Which one do you have?
Thanks!

 

[theoshin]

72 is not approved - the 60 is at the limit of the tc - it is very heavy.

 

[theoshin]

Hello, Albert. Welcome. Gosh, twenty acres of fields to mow-- that will take awhile-- like theoshin suggests, try to trade up from 72" to 84" wide near finish mower, if possible. Not sure what "rev." of TC you have ("C" or "D") but make sure to keep the radiator area clear of grass clippings.

Regarding other attachments, ditto the recommendations on the forks. I have found my Anbo Grapple Rake endlessly useful. I've used it to rake, gather, and move rocks, boulders, sticks and brush, extricate and move logs, etc. And as I've become more skilled, I've used it many times as a big pair of Vise-Grips. For keeping my gravel roads looking good, I use a 84" Box Blade Grader Box to level out pot holes and distribute dress coats of gravel, and I use the Bobcat 84" Angle Broom (rotating brush) to sweep the asphalt driveway. For cutting woods paths and clearing tall, tough grass and weeds I really love the Brushcat. Good luck!

angle broom also works very well for most light snow - under 5".

 

[theoshin]

Hello, Albert. Welcome. Gosh, twenty acres of fields to mow-- that will take awhile-- like theoshin suggests, try to trade up from 72" to 84" wide near finish mower, if possible. Not sure what "rev." of TC you have ("C" or "D") but make sure to keep the radiator area clear of grass clippings.

Regarding other attachments, ditto the recommendations on the forks. I have found my Anbo Grapple Rake endlessly useful. I've used it to rake, gather, and move rocks, boulders, sticks and brush, extricate and move logs, etc. And as I've become more skilled, I've used it many times as a big pair of Vise-Grips. For keeping my gravel roads looking good, I use a 84" Box Blade Grader Box to level out pot holes and distribute dress coats of gravel, and I use the Bobcat 84" Angle Broom (rotating brush) to sweep the asphalt driveway. For cutting woods paths and clearing tall, tough grass and weeds I really love the Brushcat. Good luck!

how does that grader work? do you have the 84 or the 72. i see the 84 is rated for 60hp. i am looking for something to help spread gravel for washouts on my 4 miles of woods roads. i have been using the 72inch low profile bucket but not the best solution.

 

[radman1]

I think a set of pallet forks are very useful and not too expensive. Snow blade if you have snow. There are just so many options.

Maintaining the road maybe a bit of challenge. This is where rear blades work better than most front attachments. The 84" box blade is expensive and may not be the best tool. Often I need to drag the rocks/gravel from one side to the other and a box blade doesn't do that well.

I considered buying the 84" box scraper for the Toolcat 5610 I ordered. That may make a reasonable scraper without the higher cost of the 84" box blade. With the 3 pt of the 5610, I will instead use my existing box blade which has hydraulic scarifers. If you plan to move hard or packed soil the scarifers are great to loosen the soil so it can be bladed. There are no scarifers on the bobcat box blade or box scraper. My brother keeps trying to use his large, heavy 9' ag blade to move dirt which weighs close to 2000 lbs. Once the big blade removes the loose topsoil, it is done. I can take my little Case-IH Dx29 and 60" box blade and move hard dirt by using the scarifers to break up the top and then move the loose soil.

 

[albert]

I appreciate all the advice! Will plan to add pallet fork to my purchases. My road is still a problem. It's rocky, usually hard packed, sloped, and often ruts deeply. I'm currently maintaining it using a 4600 Ford tractor with a 7 foot box blade with removable teeth. The road requires maintaining drainage ditches on both sides and crowning which requires really digging the road up, digging out the drainage ditches, and moving dirt back into a crown before smoothing. The tractor and box blade are being sold now that we have the toolcat. As the road needs to be redone only about once a year, I'll plan to rent whatever implements I need but am still at a loss as to what would work best. Any thoughts about how well the edges of my combo bucket would work (with or without teeth)? Would a "tilt-tach" be useful? What about the "soil conditioner"?

 

[radman1]

A rear blade with hydraulic tilt seems like the cheapest and easiest idea to pull the material from the ditch back onto the road but that isn't going to work with a 5600. A dozer blade on the front of the toolcat can be tilted into the ditch and angled to pull the material onto the road That is probably the next best choice. Just need to be careful with the toolcat center mounted boom that you don't push too hard on the outside corner. Your Toolcat would require the attachment control to operate the blade. A front mounted dozer blade can be tricky to control. They have a tendency to dig to deep or not deep enough depending on the ups and downs of the terrain. This is why a rear blade works better.

I have a tilt-tach, but using it to clean out ditches would kind of be a slow process. You can only fill the corner or the bucket then would have to back up, drive on road and dump. OK for short stretches but not for long road, unless you like seat time.

 

[odleefs]

Depending on how fine of a cut you desire for the fields, a brush cutter or flail cutter is useful.
While the Brushcat is useful and easy to use with its rear roller, its limited reach is very limiting as it shuts off if lifted too high off the ground as a safety precaution. Due to this, I opted for this cutter as is direct drive model and very stout and affordable, not to mention that I can cut tree limbs 12 feet off the ground! Skid Steer Direct Drive 6' Rotary Cutter
As an alternative, a flail cutter can proide an awesome cut and is very safe. Again, you cannot use it to trim high branches but the cut is much better than a brush cutter - you may even be able to finish mow your lawn with it and get a 2 for 1 use and pocket the difference! http://www.rockhound.com/72F ToolCat Mower.pdf