What tractor brand has the cleanest undercarriage?

[HawaiiOrganic]

Is there a brand that's known for this? I know all the older models of every brand qualify, and that may be what I end up buying, but I do like hydrostatic for mowing.
I want to be able to scrape the bottom with saplings and tangled brush during field mowing. 30 hp range.
What do you guys think?

 

[beenthere]

Even with the protective armor plates, sticks can find their way in to do damage.

I've not had a major problem with my Deere 4300, but as you say, it leaves a lot of exposure to its belly. I don't have the armor option. 10 years of working in the brush, and have been ok so far.

I back in to mow in reverse for most brush. Going forward and having to back up with bent over brush underneath, is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[Thomas]

Beenthere hit the nail on the head.."Going forward and having to back up with bent over brush underneath, is an accident waiting to happen."

I found just creeping along in heavy brush works well.

 

[RadarTech]

ya know I don't have a BH.. and I never thought about this since I have a FEL.
for the times I need to go thru brush I have picked it up and dumped it over a bank...

thanks for teaching me something..



J

 

[arrabil]

I back in to mow in reverse for most brush. Going forward and having to back up with bent over brush underneath, is an accident waiting to happen.

In my first ten hours of owning the 4200 I put a stick through the radiator in exactly this manner.

 

[Grandad4]

Is there a brand that's known for this? I know all the older models of every brand qualify, and that may be what I end up buying, but I do like hydrostatic for mowing.
I want to be able to scrape the bottom with saplings and tangled brush during field mowing. 30 hp range.
What do you guys think?

Beenthere has some good advice. Careful operation makes all the difference, and backing up is to be avoided.

Last year the maintenance guy at my church asked me to mow the septic field at the church, which had been neglected for several years. The growth was well over 10 ft tall - go figure! - over at least half of the one acre area, and was dotted with small stumps that were never removed when the land was first cleared. There were also several down trees buried in the mess.

I kept the FEL on, set it as low as possible to push down the brush ahead of the tractor and snag anything I didn't want to drive over, and crept through it as slowly as possible. A few hours later it was done without mishap. Fortunately there were no discarded lawn mowers, junk tires or stuck engine blocks in there.

And, I did not back up over any uncut material.

That was hands down the worst brush I've had to mow, but it proved to me that slow and careful gets it done, even with these modern tractors having all that stuff exposed underneath. I have to say the HST really helped for that kind of work.