Trying to Choose Flail Mower for Kubota L3710

[Suburban Plowboy]

I live on a farm in northern Florida. I don't grow anything except squirrels and spiders. I have around 16 acres of leathery bahia grass and about 18 acres of live oak woods.

I have a 72" King Kutter bush hog. It works okay on brush, but it tends to push grass over without cutting it. Also, it's cumbersome, and it makes extremely annoying banging sounds when I'm not using it. I keep it on the tractor for ballast.

I am considering getting a flail mower. I just found out about them. I am hoping it will cut the grass better while still doing a good job on brush and little trees. It would be nice if it were tough enough to survive hits from rotten logs I can't see through the vines and junk.

I do not want to spend $5K or more on a top-notch machine. I am thinking of getting a Caroni or a Woodmaxx, and I wondered if I could get some advice here.

Both of these companies have mowers in the 6-foot range, and they also have smaller mowers. I only have around 37 HP to work with. I'm wondering if I'll regret getting a 72" Caroni or 78" Woodmaxx.The specs say my tractor will work with them, but I don't know if that means they work WELL or just marginally. Also, is a hydraulic side shift a worthwhile investment? It would be nice to be able to reach under things, but on the other hand, I see that hydraulic-shift mowers don't shift all that much!

My tractor has a front-end loader. I don't know how a hydraulic side shift would connect to the tractor, however. I don't see any provision for it. I assume I would have to get someone to install some stuff?

Another thing: I'm not sure what kind of blades to order. I don't need my pasture to look like a golf course. I do need to be able to rip up 1" live oak saplings.

Any help you can give me is appreciated.

 

[N2DFire]

Well until the experts wander in, I'll give my :2cents: worth.

Hydraulic side shift was intended to mow closer to an obstacle (like a fence or a building) without your tires or FEL getting into it. If you're really looking to reach out, look at ditch/bank or verge mowers - keep in mind that these style mowers take a bit more tractor per foot in size (weight not HP) to offset the mower being swung out away from the tractor. And they will be in a higher price bracket for similar cutting widths than a side shift.

Regardless of which type you'll need something to operate the hydraulics. The cheapest rout will be to get extension hoses made and to run from your loader valve to the rear of the tractor however you won;t be able to use the loader while the mower is connected. The next option is to have rear remotes (SCV's) installed. You have a few options there and price will increase with the number of remotes you add.

The rest I'm going to just leave for the experts.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Thanks for the help. Do you have any idea what sort of money would be involved in getting rear remotes?

 

[DieselBound]

Thanks for the help. Do you have any idea what sort of money would be involved in getting rear remotes?

Search using "power beyond" and "remote" and "Kubota L3710". Cost would depend on whether one DIYs it or pays someone, as well as how accommodating the machine is. If you can do without your bucket curl function while mowing then I believe that you can pop off those lines and connect up to those ports (route hoses back to your flail, with appropriate fittings of course).

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I'm guessing it's not $75! I may have to look into it.

 

[ericm979]

Figure very roughly $1k for the kit (plus install if you have the dealer do it) and half that if you DIY. I think there's a Kubota accessory catalog on line somewhere.

 

[TractorNH]

Titan also makes "budget friendly" flail mowers though I was considering a WoodMaxx with the side shift when the time comes for me to buy.

https://www.palletforks.com/three-point-attachments/flail-mowers.html

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Should I expect a 37-HP tractor to do well with a 78" Woodmaxx?

 

[RjCorazza]

I’ve been looking at various flail mower types also. My previous tractors did not have remotes, but I ordered my current L4060 with dual remotes and a 3rd function up front. If you plan on keeping your L3710 for the foreseeable future, you may want to spend the money on rear remotes (diy or otherwise). The 10 series Kubotas are great machines, and worth updating.
In my reading about flails in general, going larger than recommended will show its limitation in heavier brush and saplings. Most posts I’ve read the operator is still able to complete the work, just at a slower ground speed.
Anyway... that’s not first hand experience. For my L4060 I believe I can handle a 7’ flail in reasonable brush, likely a snails pace with heavy brush and saplings. What I will end up with is a ditch flail mower 5 or 5 1/2 feet to mow my stream bank.

 

[DieselBound]

Should I expect a 37-HP tractor to do well with a 78" Woodmaxx?

How are you intending to use this combo? Are you looking to cut lawn or heavy brush? What you're going to do with the combo will say whether this combo would be successful or not.

 

[leonz]

If you have one set of remotes on the rear you can use the side shift function. IF YOU TRUST YOUR MULE DEALER they can add a 2 way sppol valve and coupler connections to the two hoses coming from the valve spool for you to use without messing with the gimballed control valve for the loader.


A five foot integrally mounted flail mower equipped with side slicer knives and with hydraulic side shift would be a better choice in power and mowing ability for your use as it requires only one set of remotes.

KEEP IN MIND that its better and less work to order the Caroni flail mower with the B rotor with the hydrualic side shift already mounted on the flail mower from the factory as it will be ready to mow after you grease it and check the gearbox oil level.

If you order a Caroni flail mower and the separate side shift kit 2either with the mower or later its going to take a bit of work AKA a lot of work if you do not have experience with metal work in a machine shop and a rented magnetic drill press plus buying drill bits to drill the holes in the mower shroud.

Its better to purchase a flail mower with the side shift already installed and ready to mow IF you do not need to or want to mow ditch bank or to cut brush back with the mower operating in the vertical position.

A five foot integrally mounted boom mounted flail mower like the Peruzzo Girafetta will let you mow in ditches and also cut weed trees and brush back in paths and along hedge rows but you need two sets of remotes.




With your conditions and budget the real option you have is the caroni flail mower with the B rotor and side shift installed at the factory; BUT in saying that either a Peruzzo or Maschio flail mower with the hammer knifes may be the best option for you as it they have cast hammer flail knives ment to mow grass and orchard and vineyard waste to a fine mulch.

I will tell you this you need to set a dollar figure and add perhaps $1,500.00 to that figure to assure you have enough money to invest in a lifetime mower that will also fit on the next mule you buy.


Check with the folks at Iowa Farm Equipment and talk to one of the folks there and tell them what you want to do and be sure to tell them how much money you want to spend with a "firm" higher dollar figure and they will help you.

 

[DieselBound]

Over-buying based on a possible future tractor isn't, IMO, necessarily good advice to go on. Sure, it should be considered, but not a lot of weight given to it (concentrate on the nearer-term, lest you fail to deal with what tasks are at hand, now). If I'd utilized this guidance I might have an expensive 5' flail that I'd be looking to drag behind my NX5510 (rather than a more appropriately sized one- something closer to 7').

Try to match requirements. And if things change, as they quite often do, then don't worry because you can resell your equipment and then buy a replacement that you are now more amply qualified to understand how to pick out.

 

[StuartDK45SE]

Should I expect a 37-HP tractor to do well with a 78" Woodmaxx?

I have the Woodmaxx 78H and I would say yes if you regularly mow. Tall clumpy stuff can get left behind, so go slow on the first cut.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

How are you intending to use this combo? Are you looking to cut lawn or heavy brush? What you're going to do with the combo will say whether this combo would be successful or not.

It's kind of hard to describe the brush to someone who can't see it. Most of my work would be on bahia grass up to 20" high. My woods have a lot of vines and shrubs. Most stems and branches would be under 1/2" in diameter, but there would be a few bigger things here and there. My woods are mostly live oaks, and they drop branches all the time.

The woods are full of muscadine vines. I didn't know what they were until today. They're like kudzu with smaller leaves. Supposedly they produce grapes, but they also cover the ground and make walking difficult.

I don't know how much power a flail mower needs. The 72" bush hog is no problem at all. I don't know if I want a 78" flail mower for a big swath or a 62" mower for more speed.

I'm wondering if the hydraulic shift is worth the aggravation. The bush hog is in line with the tractor and seems to work okay.

 

[bkrgi]

As speed goes your only going to go so fast no matter what.
I would go 78" with the hammer knifes to deal with the vines, saplings and branches.
Sounds like having a side shift is really not needed for you and considering you have no remotes, adding them to the tractor for just this is far from worth it....better to replace the tractor and get it fully kitted because your running more attachments and chalking up hrs.....gather your not in that boat.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I just looked the Kubota up. The engine HP is about 37, and the PTO is 30.

 

[leonz]

Please call the folks at Iowa Farm equipment and ask them about the three point hitch integral Peruzzo flailmowers they sell.

Please talk to our our fellow member powerscol; he has a Peruzzo Girafetta and he is very happy with it and how well it mows.
The integral Peruzzo flail mowers are a very high quality farm implement.

The thick cast hammer knives on the Peruzzo flail mowers are much heavier than the woodmax hammer knives.

 

[Mike Madison]

If you get an offset flail mower (sticks out the right-hand side of the tractor) then you don't need the side shift. Rule of thumb is 5hp per foot of width on the mower. I have a Rears (made in Oregon) 7 foot offset flail mower. My L3450 struggles to run it,but the MX4700 runs it fine. So your 3710 should easily turn a 6 foot or 6-1/2 foot mower. Another point to consider is the nature of the flails: you can get hammers, Y-flails (mounted in pairs, a left and a right, to make the Y shape) or ducks-foot (scoop) flails. The hammers are the heaviest (and most expensive) and will chew up brush. Ducks-foot are cheapest and lightest, and will work fine on grass. The Y flails are heavier than the ducks-foot, and do a thorough job on grass--they don't have to be replaced as often. For the combination of woodlot and grassland I would look for the Y flails as a good compromise.
I've had good luck with Italian-made equipment and would hazard a guess that the Caroni is okay. Rears (USA) is outstanding but expensive. A Falc with hammers on it would do a great job for you ($$$$$). I once had a Vrisimo flail mower--it was absurdly complex to replace a flail. I don't know if they've improved their design since then.

 

[StuartDK45SE]

I did not get the side shift option, just one more thing to keep up with. The only problem I will have is loading the tractor on my 18 ft lowboy trailer. Between my rails is 82" and the FM 78 is very close to that wide. If I can't swing and lock my lift arms over far enough, I might not be able to fit it on the trailer. If I need to haul it somewhere I may have to lift it onto the front of the trailer with my FEL if I have enough reach. That or rest one side of the flail on the rail of the trailer which doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

If you get an offset flail mower (sticks out the right-hand side of the tractor) then you don't need the side shift. Rule of thumb is 5hp per foot of width on the mower. I have a Rears (made in Oregon) 7 foot offset flail mower. My L3450 struggles to run it,but the MX4700 runs it fine.

Tractordata says the L3450's power ratings are nearly identical to those of the L3710, so maybe 78" is too much for me. I emailed the Woodmaxx people for advice, but they have not responded yet.

As for the pricey Italian jobs, I don't want to spend $7K or anything close to it.