thanks for the info - challenge I have is that my trails (not all of them of course) aren't well suited for wheeled vehicles towing a heavy piece of equipment; luckily I am spoiled and have tracked vehicles to use but I always hate spending money on once-in-a-blue-moon implements.
Brushmowing Trails. Looking for recommendations.
- Thread starter jkahan
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BnRidge
Platinum Member
I had the same type situation here - maintaining 5-6mi of trails through woodlots, hills, fields, marsh, across a stream and bridges. Ended up with the same type of unit (swisher), but with the wheels front and back . Works really well in tight situations in and around trees. I put large turf tires on for flotation. On very tight corners the whole thing just slides out of the way. 18hp, 44", has power to go through tall prairie grasses. Pull and grapple the big stuff, run the brush mower through to maintain it.
jyoutz
Super Star Member
I have seen places in Arizona and California where they are using goats specifically for brush control.Agree - that's what the Swiss were using in the Alps (at least where I was back in 1991)
fyi - no posts with snow in them before September 1st please but otherwise - thanks
JONNY BOYYY
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9 miles of brush cutting is a lot..however dont buy a bush hog --they are for just cutting grass...buy a brush hog mower,,they are twice the price of a bush hog or more ,but they will do the work,,you probably would tear up 8 bush hogs doing the same thing
Received and assembled my Kunz 44" tow behind mower. 750 pounds of mower arrived on a pallet. Assembly was very straight forward. Obviously, these once-in-a-blue-moon assembly activities can always be a challenge.
Even though I have only used it for about 2 to 3 hour, it is perfect for my application -- mowing very steep 6-10' wide trails; have 9+ miles of trails to maintain. Nothing too wet. Had no trouble pulling it behind a tracked Can-Am Outlander 1000 ATV. Dealing with Kunz Engineering has been awesome.
Even though I have only used it for about 2 to 3 hour, it is perfect for my application -- mowing very steep 6-10' wide trails; have 9+ miles of trails to maintain. Nothing too wet. Had no trouble pulling it behind a tracked Can-Am Outlander 1000 ATV. Dealing with Kunz Engineering has been awesome.
Sportsman762
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Thank you for posting a follow up to your problem. I am not a fan of pull behind mowers, however I cannot think of a more perfect solution to mowing 9 miles of challenging trails.
CloverKnollFarms
Super Member
Awesome. I love my Kunz!!
The guys there are awesome. When I was looking to buy they offered to swing by on their way home from the Louisville equipment show.
Mine is the 57", and she is 6 years old.
Stubee
Silver Member
That’s a beast! I maintain a couple miles of trails in NW Ontario. Most are inaccessible to a half ton and require an ATV or tractor and the trails are only about 10’ wide, some narrower. Turning around is tight!
I first did it all by hand with a Stihl FS110 but I saw an old Swisher pull behind finish mower by a roadside so stopped to talk, and bought it for I think $225. A new belt & blades and I started using it with my Honda Foreman. It was not made for bush hogging but worked well enough, and sure beat doing it by hand.
A couple years later I started looking for a tractor and one seller had a rough cut Swisher 44” pull behind in his garage. I asked, and he was planning to sell it, and I got the like new machine for $400. I sold my little Swisher for a small profit and began using the new one. It handled saplings better but unfortunately the tongue was so long I could no longer fit it + my Foreman in my landscape trailer to run to my 11 mile distant piece so had to first run the ATV then drive back, drag the 440# Swisher onto the trailer, and repeat. The long tongue also made it impossible to 3-point turn at the end of some trails so I’d unhook it and manually swing it around. That was a problem when I hit a hole with a Swisher wheel.
I finally bought a B2320 with a bush hog and sold the 2nd Swisher, making a little money again. The B2320 gets into spots about as well as the ATV + cutter but my trails aren’t to wet and not “steep”.
I’ll bet that cutter will handle about anything you come across!
I first did it all by hand with a Stihl FS110 but I saw an old Swisher pull behind finish mower by a roadside so stopped to talk, and bought it for I think $225. A new belt & blades and I started using it with my Honda Foreman. It was not made for bush hogging but worked well enough, and sure beat doing it by hand.
A couple years later I started looking for a tractor and one seller had a rough cut Swisher 44” pull behind in his garage. I asked, and he was planning to sell it, and I got the like new machine for $400. I sold my little Swisher for a small profit and began using the new one. It handled saplings better but unfortunately the tongue was so long I could no longer fit it + my Foreman in my landscape trailer to run to my 11 mile distant piece so had to first run the ATV then drive back, drag the 440# Swisher onto the trailer, and repeat. The long tongue also made it impossible to 3-point turn at the end of some trails so I’d unhook it and manually swing it around. That was a problem when I hit a hole with a Swisher wheel.
I finally bought a B2320 with a bush hog and sold the 2nd Swisher, making a little money again. The B2320 gets into spots about as well as the ATV + cutter but my trails aren’t to wet and not “steep”.
I’ll bet that cutter will handle about anything you come across!
CloverKnollFarms
Super Member
The Kunz mowers are very heavy duty. Mine is 27hp and the blades show no wear after 6 years. Insanely tough.
nice to hear.
Thanks for the info; I have a couple of Kubota tractors - a B3200HSD and a bigger M5040; I brush hog about 10 acres of fields and some of the tamer trails but there are a lot of trails where tractors are a no go - even wheeled ATVs do a lot of a damage to trails and will get stuck pulling a 700+ pound mower. FYI - I have ahydraulic tilt-and-level on my B's 3PT hitch. game changer -- use it mostly with a box blade and sometimes a regular blade.
nice to hear - I try to minimize the motorized crap I have around here but given my trail profiles I think the Kunz behind a tracked ATV was the "cheapest" option.
Agree.... If money was no object - a tracked brush mower would be awesome - ended up with a workable solution (as long as it doesn't have a lot of mechanical or engine problems) given that I already had tracked machines; wheeled vehicles on my trails towing a 700+ pound mower are not viable.
The other two "critical" or at least incredibly important elements of my setup with the Kunz is the electric lift kit and remote PTO clutch switch; both are mounted on the ATV with easy to disconnect wiring.. For field mowing, maybe not so important but for trail mowing, one has got to be able to lift the deck and cycle the PTO from the vehicle. Again, not a must have but a big part of a workable solution. Also got flat-free tires (not a must have but nice). Kunz also offers anti-scalp and "wet land" options. Anti-scalp not needed for my narrow deck (44") and the wet land option adds more wheels -- might have been nice for stability purposes but not a must have for me (I hope).
me neither - but it seemed like the "cheapest" solution.
dodge man
Super Star Member
It looks like you found a great setup, thanks for the pics of it.
airbiscuit
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Sportsman762
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I still think its the best option given the conditions. You made the right choice.
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