Rotary Cutter Solution for Heavy/Dense Brush with 34 hp PTO tractor?

[kreyszig]

Hi,

on my lot I have lots of bushes of prickly ash which is fairly hard wood that grows about 6" apart. I have some bushes such as the one in attachment where the diameter of each tree is about 3/4" and they are about 7-8' tall. I have other bushes where the trees are about 2" diameter. I am looking for the best solution to cut these down.

I currently have a clearing saw that I can use with these, but it is a very slow process, due to the density/number of trees to cut (100s per bush), and that I have about 20 acres where these bushes are starting to spread. I also have a heavy duty 6' finising mower (Farm King Y655) with a reinforced 7 Ga deck on my tractor that I can use to cut young bushes going reverse and very slowly. The mower I have is obviously not an attachment that was designed for this though. I did look at rotary cutters for my tractor (Bush Hog BH215, Land Pride RCF2060, Woods BB60X and BB60.30), but these use very thin steel (10-11 Ga with), with no rear reinforcement at all (the Woods models with either a tube or Z channel at the back are better than the others though), so it would get badly bent if I was backing into these 8' bushes with that. Also, although they have a 2" cutting capacity, I would guess these are more designed to cut a lonely 2" diameter tree than a bush full of 1" trees that are growing 6" apart. I did look at other rotary cutters, such as the BH315, Land Pride RCF2760 and Woods BB60.50. These have thicker steel, but they don't seem to be really designed to back into tall bushes either, and their rated minimum required PTO power is between 30-35 HP, which I was told is too high for my tractor (I was told I was risking damaging my tractor of the gear box/slip clutch was rated 100+ hp).

So I was wondering, is there a better solution for what I am trying to do?

Thank you!

 

[dusty3030]

Spray to completely kill them and the root system and burn.

https://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/2017/10/Buckthorn.PDF

 

[RalphVa]

Now I know what buckthorn looks like that the Buckthorn Blaster herbicide dauber was designed for. Your picture said: bush hog, but your words describe a far tougher situation. So, I'd go with dusty's recommendation. Then just cut and daub any new ground. Cannot daub until about June, depending on where you are. This is the case in central Va. Can cut and daub between June and the end of Feb. Other times, you have to spray top growth.

Ralph

 

[kreyszig]

Spray to completely kill them and the root system and burn.

Yes, that would work for sure, but I prefer avoiding herbicides as much as possible. Maybe there would be a way to burn them though?

Once I cut a bush down it is fairly easy to prevent it from growing by going back with my HD finishing mower. I was more looking for a mechanical solution to cut the bushes down...

 

[jeff9366]

kreyszig

I have twenty acres of bushes of prickly ash which is fairly hard wood that grows about 6" apart. I have some bushes such as the one in attachment where the diameter of each tree is about 3/4" and they are about 7-8' tall. I have other bushes where the trees are about 2" diameter. I am looking for the best solution to cut these down.

I did look at rotary cutters for my tractor (Bush Hog BH215, Land Pride RCF2060, Woods BB60X and BB60.30), but these use very thin steel (10-11 Ga with), with no rear reinforcement at all, so it would get badly bent if I was backing into these 8' bushes with that. Also, although they have a 2" cutting capacity, I would guess these are more designed to cut a lonely 2" diameter tree than a bush full of 1" trees that are growing 6" apart. I did look at other rotary cutters, such as the BH315, Land Pride RCF2760 and Woods BB60.50. These have thicker steel, but they don't seem to be really designed to back into tall bushes either.

I owned a Land Pride RCF2060 for three years. Note Land Pride's description in their paper catalog: "The Perfect Cutter for Rural Grass Maintenance". A good description. RCF2060 has multiple fine adjustments for the perfect turf cut. My Florida conditions are similar to your Ontario conditions and RCF2060 (620 pounds) did not hold up.

I sold RCF2060 and purchased a Land Pride RCR2660 (1,002 pounds), which my esteemed Kubota dealer described as a right-of-way, commercial grade mower. RCR2660 will cut 2" easily. I would not attempt 3" saplings despite Lands Pride's 3" diameter rating. Adjustments are basic but ample. I feel the external frame RCR2660 is a more robust than the internal frame, round top RCF2760.

Their rated minimum required PTO power is between 30-35 HP, which I was told is too high for my tractor (I was told I was risking damaging my tractor of the gear box/slip clutch was rated 100+ hp).

I pull and push the RCR2660 into thick Florida jungle with my 37 gross / 35 net / 28 PTO horsepower Kubota L3560 never wishing for more horsepower. Note blades are 1" thick by 4" broad; tremendous inertia and strength in so much steel.

These have thicker steel, but they don't seem to be really designed to back into tall bushes either, and their rated minimum required PTO power is between 30-35 HP, which I was told is too high for my tractor (I was told I was risking damaging my tractor of the gear box/slip clutch was rated 100+ hp).

These mowers have slip clutches as standard equipment. A properly adjusted slip clutch will always "give" prior to the tractor being strained. Whoever fed you this line is not very knowledgeable and a failure as a sales person.

You need optional chain debris guards front and rear. With chain guards I can push or pull the RCR2660 into very dense jungle.

When shopping heavy duty Rotary Cutters look for ~~~1,000+ pounds weight, ~~Category 4 drive line~~ and ~~chain guards.~~~

 

[ruffdog]

Get a Brown tree cutter:

 

[LouNY]

A good heavy duty brush hog will cut that stuff, the best way with a tractor mounted brush hog would be to raise it up a foot or better then get after it.
Either by backing thru it or driving thru, I would back up the first time. If going forward thru it set you bucket 5-6 inches off the ground and curled most of the way back.

The best solution would be to hire a skidsteer with a heavy brush hog to mow it all down the first time,
then use your equipment to mulch up the pieces and stay on top of it.

 

[jeff9366]

I prefer avoiding herbicides as much as possible.

Once I cut a bush down it is fairly easy to prevent it from growing by going back with my HD finishing mower. I was more looking for a mechanical solution to cut the bushes down...

The traditional root eradication implement is a turning (moldboard) plow. Traditional plows INVERT the soil, so most of the underground roots are exposed to the sun, dry out and die.

Compact tractor plows come in 12" - 14" - 20" widths. You need a plow width at least as wide as the width of one rear tire width, as right/rear tire has to roll in the bottom of a plow furrow. Plows will penetrate about 1/2 of their width into the soil and invert from midpoint upward. Plowing beautifully is a tractor skill that takes quite some time to learn.

A double (two bottom) turning plow in 14" width will invert 28" of soil per swathe, plowing approximately one acre per hour. (Probably 1/2 acre per hour while learning plow adjustment.)

CANADIAN VENDER: Braber Equipment - Plows

 

[kreyszig]

I sold RCF2060 and purchased a Land Pride RCR2660 (1,002 pounds), which my esteemed Kubota dealer described as a right-of-way, commercial grade mower. RCR2660 will cut 2" easily. I would not attempt 3" saplings despite Lands Pride's 3" diameter rating. Adjustments are basic but ample. I feel the external frame RCR2660 is a more robust than the internal frame, round top RCF2760.[/COLOR]

Their rated minimum required PTO power is between 30-35 HP, which I was told is too high for my tractor (I was told I was risking damaging my tractor of the gear box/slip clutch was rated 100+ hp).

I pull and push the RCR2660 into thick Florida jungle with my 37 gross / 35 net / 28 PTO horsepower Kubota L3560 never wishing for more horsepower. Note blades are 1" thick by 4" broad; tremendous inertia and strength in so much steel.


These mowers have slip clutches as standard equipment. A properly adjusted slip clutch will always "give" prior to the tractor being strained. Whoever fed you this line is not very knowledgeable and a failure as a sales person.

You need optional chain debris guards front and rear. With chain guards I can push or pull the RCR2660 into very dense jungle.

When shopping heavy duty Rotary Cutters look for ~~~1,000+ pounds weight, ~~Category 4 drive line~~ and ~~chain guards.~~~

Thanks for the information! From the Land Pride website, I do not see a good picture of the back of the RCR2060. How does it look like?

 

[kreyszig]

Get a Brown tree cutter:

Very nice, well-designed implement. Minimum required power for the 5' model is 60 hp though.

 

[IndyIan]

I have a braber/agriease 5' rotary cutter Braber Equipment - Rotary Cutter Its chinese but seems to be reasonably heavily built. 600lbs for a 5' and 725lbs for the 6'. It was a few years ago but it was $800 new and my only regret is not getting the 6' for a bit more. They have a real round stump jumper which the lighter duty name brand ones didn't, and the paint was sticking to it(I guess they are still allowed to use real paint in china?) Some of name brand ones had the paint flaking off at the dealership.
I haven't really bent the back of it yet backing into things and its cut lots of turf. I have a hydraulic top link so I angle it up and back into shrubs, little trees that way, then drop it right down to the ground. You can use grade 2 bolts for the shear pin, but I found they broke to easily and went to grade 5 and only break them when they should. Anyways, the brabers sure aren't HD commercial cutters but for the price and given 95% of the time its cutting grass trails at my place it does the job.

 

[kreyszig]

What about something like the LaneShark LS-3? LANE SHARK PRODUCTS – Lane Shark USA

 

[jeff9366]

Your wish is my command.

Land Pride RCR266 - Google Search

 

[jeff9366]

What about something like the LaneShark LS-3? LANE SHARK PRODUCTS Lane Shark USA

When shopping compact tractor heavy duty Rotary Cutters look for ~~~1,000+ pounds weight, ~~Category 4 drive line~~ and ~~chain guards.~~~


320 pounds? And you have twenty acres to mow ?!?!

 

[kreyszig]

I have a braber/agriease 5' rotary cutter Braber Equipment - Rotary Cutter Its chinese but seems to be reasonably heavily built. 600lbs for a 5' and 725lbs for the 6'. It was a few years ago but it was $800 new and my only regret is not getting the 6' for a bit more. They have a real round stump jumper which the lighter duty name brand ones didn't, and the paint was sticking to it(I guess they are still allowed to use real paint in china?) Some of name brand ones had the paint flaking off at the dealership.
I haven't really bent the back of it yet backing into things and its cut lots of turf. I have a hydraulic top link so I angle it up and back into shrubs, little trees that way, then drop it right down to the ground. You can use grade 2 bolts for the shear pin, but I found they broke to easily and went to grade 5 and only break them when they should. Anyways, the brabers sure aren't HD commercial cutters but for the price and given 95% of the time its cutting grass trails at my place it does the job.
View attachment 652496

Thanks. I like the idea about the hydraulic top link. Maybe this is something I should consider, it looks like it would make a rotary cutter more usable with tall brush.

 

[kreyszig]

Your wish is my command.

Land Pride RCR266 - Google Search

It is not obvious from the pictures I see if the back is stronger than on a RCR2760? That rear chain card sticks out pretty far, would that bend backing into brush?

 

[kreyszig]

When shopping compact tractor heavy duty Rotary Cutters look for ~~~1,000+ pounds weight, ~~Category 4 drive line~~ and ~~chain guards.~~~


320 pounds? And you have twenty acres to mow ?!?!

I do have 20 acres of more open field, but I can use my 72" HD finishing mower for long grass, weeds and small brushes. I am trying more to find a solution for the heavy/dense bushes that are not covering 20 acres. It is more like 2-3 acres maybe, but once it is knocked down, I could start using my HD mower in these areas again. The LaneShark has very thick gauge steel (1/8-1/4"). The lower weight is mostly due to the smaller blade diameter. Since it is mounted on the front loader, it would be easy to attack the tall bushes with that. I could also use it to trim the stuff that grows on the side of the field too...

 

[jeff9366]

Chain guard frame protrudes because it has a slight amount of flex/shock absorption designed in.

Blade diameter is almost meaningless in this context. What counts is blade thickness and blade breadth.

Heavy work should be done from the Three Point Hitch.

 

[LouNY]

The traditional root eradication implement is a turning (moldboard) plow. Traditional plows INVERT the soil, so most of the underground roots are exposed to the sun, dry out and die.

Compact tractor plows come in 12" - 14" - 20" widths. You need a plow width at least as wide as the width of one rear tire width, as right/rear tire has to roll in the bottom of a plow furrow. Plows will penetrate about 1/2 of their width into the soil and invert from midpoint upward. Plowing beautifully is a tractor skill that takes quite some time to learn.

A double (two bottom) turning plow in 14" width will invert 28" of soil per swathe, plowing approximately one acre per hour. (Probably 1/2 acre per hour while learning plow adjustment.)

CANADIAN VENDER: Braber Equipment - Plows

Jeff it is not inverted as in rolled completely over, if you measured it in degrees using unplowed as 0 it turns it over about 135 degrees.
Also that growth could not be effectively plowed unless mowed and mulched or disced prior to plowing.

 

[newbury]

See if you can get the local militia to assist.