bruceatlam
Platinum Member
If I were you, I would look at an older Gravely two wheel walk behind tractor with a 30" bush hog mower on the front.
One more chance for John Deere
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beenthere
Super Star Member
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2001
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- 18,512
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- Southern Wisconsin, USA
- Tractor
- JD_4x2_Gator, JD_4300, JD_425, JD_455 AWS, added JD_455, JD_110, JD_X485(sold)
Yeah, maybe support is over-rated..
leonz
Super Member
The larger Weed Badger which is used for tree farms and vineyard work would be a better mower as it has an automatic limit switch that goes around obstructions and then returns to the farthest position desired.
You could mount it on your Massey mule on the three point hitch with zero issues as it is completely self contained with its pump and hydraulic oil reservoir are mounted on the three point hitch. it also follows the contour as it mows or tills to keep the weeds back.
WeedBadger
You could mount it on your Massey mule on the three point hitch with zero issues as it is completely self contained with its pump and hydraulic oil reservoir are mounted on the three point hitch. it also follows the contour as it mows or tills to keep the weeds back.
WeedBadger
Creamer
Elite Member
A lot depends on how much you have to mow. A sickle bar mower does a great job reaching under things or into ditches or other places to cut down tall grass and weeds. I once used a 7' sickle bar to clean out an orchard in a the Cincinnati area. It was 15-20 acres and I had it mowed in about four hours. It works very well. The problem with sickle bar mowers is that the reach also makes it difficult to turn in tight places like a zero turn would.
onionfmr
Silver Member
I mow a lot with a sickle bar mower on the back of my MF1754. I have a lot of berms and slopes and it is great for that. Also, if mowing in an open field, you can move pretty quickly. However, you are laying down grass and weeds, not chopping them up. If trees are close together, like Creamer says, it will be hard to mow between them. IMHO, sickle bar mowers are not super durable. Hit a rock just right or a root and you will be repairing. I have a couple year old BEFCO sickle. Decent machine but parts are expensive and it takes awhile to get the feel for mowing with it. It is the setup with the chain and bar/blade angle that takes some experimenting. A sickle bar mower probably wouldn't be my first choice based on your description of your land.
Creamer
Elite Member
Sickle not durable?????? You must not have it set right. They should trip when you hit something before you break something. My 455 NH I bought for $300 after it had set for 30 years in a barn. It was functional but I put in a whole sickle (using the old head) and readjusted it for my hitch setup. I have ran it for four years now cutting pond edge, cutting back tree lines including saplings, dead branches, etc., vertically trimming the fencerow buffalo berry, poison oak, and other random trees along my driveway, cutting about 3 acres of grass hay, and even cutting some stuff for a neighbor that included a bunch of up to 3" cottonwood saplings. I did break one knife when I found a steel post stub with it but other than that I have not had any breakdowns. The stuff I have mowed has lots of fill including chunks of concrete sticking up so it is not easy mowing. I haven't even changed the main drive belt from when I bought it. You wouldn't have that record with a flail or disc mower.
Growing up in the Dakotas I regularly mowed nearly 1000 acres annually with a 9' sickle bar and rarely had a breakdown unless I had the JD 37 which had a pitment stick. I normally used the IH 11000 which did not have that problem. I don't think anywhere has more rocks than Dakota native prairies.
I do not know the BEFCO setup but I would think it would more durable than you are talking about.
Growing up in the Dakotas I regularly mowed nearly 1000 acres annually with a 9' sickle bar and rarely had a breakdown unless I had the JD 37 which had a pitment stick. I normally used the IH 11000 which did not have that problem. I don't think anywhere has more rocks than Dakota native prairies.
I do not know the BEFCO setup but I would think it would more durable than you are talking about.
onionfmr
Silver Member
I thought that they were more durable, also. That's why I bought one. I don't have a problem with the spring breakaway release tension. I rarely, if ever, hit anything. However, I have barely touched the edge of a rock with the tip of the bar twice. Rocks were probably 6" in diameter, a couple of inches protruding above the dirt in the field. That snapped the conical bolts on the bar rotating arms twice. I was pretty surprised about that. I usually check all bolt tightness before each use. At minimum, every other use. On average, something falls off the unit probably every time I use it. It may be the BEFCO unit or I just got a bad one. I run rotary cutters and pull behind finish mowers for thousands of hours and other than belts, sharpening blades, and greasing that is the extent of their maintenance and failures.
Sawyer Rob
Super Member
I'm not sure how big a brush you are cutting, but I'm not afraid to cut green limbs up to an inch with my diesel front mount Grasshopper 725.
It just grinds the limbs up, along with all the tall grass...
SR
It just grinds the limbs up, along with all the tall grass...
SR