Buying Advice Friend needs to replace a Kioti CK30 due to rotary cutter "bush hog" weight

[jyoutz]

Have you considered spraying, maybe a couple times per year instead of spending $90,000 on a tracked skid steer to mow? Yes, you need some vegetation to prevent erosion, but say, 3 sprays per year with glypho, or similar, not a long lasting, soil sterilizer. Heck of a lot cheaper.

That would create bare ground and lead to erosion.

 

[Midniteoyl]

The skid steer in question is a tracked model. I don't have a protractor, so ~45 degrees is a guess, not a scientific measurement. Also, he isn't mowing into the water, only mowing the backside of the dam. And yes, the base is reasonably flat.

45* is the same as a 12/12 pitch roof.. Highly doubt that anyone is driving on that in any direction.

 

[jyoutz]

45* is the same as a 12/12 pitch roof.. Highly doubt that anyone is driving on that in any direction.

View attachment 4259924

The general rule of thumb for ground based logging equipment is 40% slope maximum.

 

[Midniteoyl]

The general rule of thumb for ground based logging equipment is 40% slope maximum.

And 45 degrees = 100% slope...

Degrees and Percent are not the same. 40% slope is about 22 degrees, which is the same as a 5/12 pitch roof in the pic.

 

[paulsharvey]

That would create bare ground and lead to erosion.

Not so much, spraying will kill what's currently growing, but that stuff doesn't go away, and new grasses will be popping back up within 3 weeks. Thats why I said Not a soil sterilizer

 

[paulsharvey]

Just recently, driving through Town of Pomona Park, I saw their couple public works guys had a boom mower mounted on a Kubota L2501. It caught my eye, as I haven't seen one mounted on anything below 75hp below. With that, its Small, and although I see the dam backslooe is Steep, how long is it maintenance berm to toe of slope?

Looking online, just quickly, it looks like there are boom mowers that gk as low as only requiring 3968 lbs of tractor weight.

Actually, as i scroll down, they have ones that get even lighter

Tifermec Boom Mower With Cutting Flail Head | Models 500P/450L/380G/30

Product Description Tifermec Boom Mower With Cutting Flail Head | Models 500P/450L/380G/300F/270F | 8' 8" to 16' 3" Reach | For Tractor Description The Tifermec Boom Mower Series is crafted for high-performance agricultural tasks, offering a range of models to accommodate different operational...

rippingitoutdoors.com

 

[paulsharvey]

On slope, i would "assume" its a 3 to 1 slope, thats pretty standard, and is mowable, but your butt hole does grip the seat


Important Edit: I say a 3:1 is mowable, and it is, With a Properly set up machine. I dont want that to imply any tractor, any config, is just safe to use on a 3:1. Stuff like weight distribution, tire set up, ecr is critical. As well as ground condition. In addition, if running cross the slope, a lower tire going into a hole, can pretty quickly change safe but scary to not safe

 

[jyoutz]

Not so much, spraying will kill what's currently growing, but that stuff doesn't go away, and new grasses will be popping back up within 3 weeks. Thats why I said Not a soil sterilizer

Not my experience with Roundup. It will kill perennial grasses, then just weeds regrow.

 

[jyoutz]

And 45 degrees = 100% slope...

Degrees and Percent are not the same. 40% slope is about 22 degrees, which is the same as a 5/12 pitch roof in the pic.

Correct

 

[Quaffer]

The skid steer in question is a tracked model. I don't have a protractor, so ~45 degrees is a guess, not a scientific measurement. Also, he isn't mowing into the water, only mowing the backside of the dam. And yes, the base is reasonably flat.

I didn't see anywhere if the mowing is up/down or you expect to mow sideways on a 45 degree slope.

I know someone who has rolled a tracked skidsteer on two separate occasions. Both on slopes much less than 45 degrees.

 

[Sid Post]

Can you walk up it? If so it isnt much over 30degrees.

I have walked up it before, but it was rather tough as I was almost crawling up with the grade.

 

[Sid Post]

I didn't see anywhere if the mowing is up/down or you expect to mow sideways on a 45 degree slope.

I know someone who has rolled a tracked skidsteer on two separate occasions. Both on slopes much less than 45 degrees.

No, up and down, not sideways. Way too steep to mow sideways.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I have walked up it before, but it was rather tough as I was almost crawling up with the grade.

Sounds like what I mow up/down with my bar tired BX1500. I measured it at 30 degrees. Also a steeper area -- est ~33 -- that it wants differential lock to climb unless youre pointed straight up/down

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I've thought of buying an Inclinometers for my tractor just for the curiosity factory ...

I know there is a vast difference in how slopes are measured ... Angle, degree, percent ... This is about as steep as my "Butt-O-Meter" would let me go ... And when I got off, I tried ... And couldn't even budge it!!!

The picture isn't quite level, it's a tad steeper ... The Trees are vertical ...

Here are a whole bunch of styles ...
Inclinometers | Slope Grade Degree Indicator For Sale | R&B MFG. INC

 

[jyoutz]

I've thought of buying an Inclinometers for my tractor just for the curiosity factory ...

I know there is a vast difference in how slopes are measured ... Angle, degree, percent ... This is about as steep as my "Butt-O-Meter" would let me go ... And when I got off, I tried ... And couldn't even budge it!!!

View attachment 4263223

The picture isn't quite level, it's a tad steeper ... The Trees are vertical ...

View attachment 4263224

Here are a whole bunch of styles ...
Inclinometers | Slope Grade Degree Indicator For Sale | R&B MFG. INC

It’s stable until a wheel drops into a hole.

 

[CliffordK]

I've thought of buying an Inclinometers for my tractor just for the curiosity factory ...

I know there is a vast difference in how slopes are measured ... Angle, degree, percent ... This is about as steep as my "Butt-O-Meter" would let me go ... And when I got off, I tried ... And couldn't even budge it!!!

View attachment 4263223

The picture isn't quite level, it's a tad steeper ... The Trees are vertical ...

View attachment 4263224

Here are a whole bunch of styles ...
Inclinometers | Slope Grade Degree Indicator For Sale | R&B MFG. INC

From that page, most of them don't go to 45 degrees... but one in the middle is U-shaped, and should work up to 90 degrees... just in case you need it.

There are also digital inclinometers that you can use. I think even a cell phone app. Just bring a 2x4 to smooth out the bumps in the slope and measure with your phone.

Or for percent slope, it is just rise over run. Bring your level. One end on uphill part of the slope, measure from the other end down to the slope. Then rise over run and you get the percent slope.

 

[CliffordK]

My slope will be more or less perfect. I peak at about 45°. I have a side slope that is closer to 20°. There is a short 10' or so tall bank that goes the whole length, but there appears to be an ancient road cut that goes down over that bank to a narrow level area.

So I should be able to make a path to plunge down the 45° slope. Level out at the bottom. Hang a left, 100 yards, and up the old road cut to a level spot at the bottom of that side slope. Then back up to the top to try again.

Unfortunately everything seems like a compound angle, but that may simply be a perception based on apparent edges that I can observe. So it will take a little practice to find that perfect straight down slope.

Bonneville Power cut down some Maple trees up to about 8" in diameter, and left them in the middle of the blackberry patch, so they will be fun to mow.

 

[Texasmark]

My friend bought a 5' Everything Attachments heavy rotary cutter, aka Bush Hog, and has been using it with a compact Kioti CK30 (think that is the correct model number). While it was a good tractor with the lightweight, disposable Kioti rotary cutter, it isn't really safe around his dam and is generally poorly 'balanced'.

He needs a compact tractor since he clears trails in trees where the lanes are pretty tight. Looking for a replacement in East Texas via TractorHouse and TractorData, I'm not seeing anything that jumps out at me.

I remember seeing an older Massey 26xx something with a Perkins engine that was an older operating station model, but I can't seem to find it today. Kubota and John Deere rule around here with some Mahindra and TYM support.

What tractor models do EA 5' rotary mower owners have that are appropriate for mowing rough trails and the backside of a dam? I am looking for something safe, as he was lucky to remain uninjured when the Hydrostat starved of oil and he rolled backwards down a big dam. Width and height need to remain reasonable for "walking" trails in trees where he blades rain washouts and picks up downed limbs and cut up felled trees.

.....

Please ignore the AutoCorrect/AI madness in this post ...

I mow the back side of my dam with a Ferris 61" ZT and mow the 30* backside vertically, not horizontally. I have mowed it with a Ford 2000 4 cylinder, regular sized tractor in horizontal directions but decided to quit doing it before I had a problem.

If I were to mow it with my LS 2-25s which I built and installed 4" spacers on the rear it too would be vertically.

The problem with vertical is that you have to have room at the bottom to get stopped coming down and have room to turn around. On coming down the weight is forward giving a light rear and even with brakes it likes to slide if the grass is wet. Going up is just the opposite.....the weight is centered at the rear where the drive/stop mechanism is located and that's a piece of cake.

 

[CliffordK]

The problem with vertical is that you have to have room at the bottom to get stopped coming down and have room to turn around. On coming down the weight is forward giving a light rear and even with brakes it likes to slide if the grass is wet. Going up is just the opposite.....the weight is centered at the rear where the drive/stop mechanism is located and that's a piece of cake.

Piece of cake at 30 degrees... Traction is still a problem at 45 degrees.

Make sure you have either a ROPS or FOPS on your tractor.

With my bicycle... I know not a tractor, but going uphill, I can have troubles with too much weight on the rear wheel and unweighted front wheel. Easy to torque wheelie. But the same could be true with a tractor.

I had a neighbor playing around with an older tractor on a hillside, and it rolled over on him. Be careful.

 

[Sid Post]

With a brush hog or rotary cutter attached, a wheelie isn't going to happen, other than possibly a few inches before the slack in the mower bottoms out.