Skid Trouble on Caroni TL1500 Flail

[jskirwin]

Newbie here...
A year ago I bought a Caroni TL1500 flail from AgriSupply to keep my 25+ acres of fields and pasture under control. It's a great little mower (emphasis on little - I'd like to have gone bigger on the tractor and the flail but $$$ stopped me) but I've never been a fan of the skids that control cutting depth. They leave ruts and sometimes I end up with a bail of hay under the right skid that leave what I've cut looking ragged.

I was just mowing and found the left one bent to the point of breaking. I assume I can weld it back to shape, but was wondering if 1) I'm not mowing right or 2) there's a better set of skids out there - like wheels or something.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks!

 

[jskirwin]

BTW I took it off and found that the left skid had worn about 3/4 of the way through the 1/4" steel of the skid. When I hit a rut it just buckled. I checked the other side and it was fine - so I must not have the mower leveled properly.

I'm going to see about getting the skid welded, but dang it just seems like it's always something with farm equipment.

 

[fishfactor]

BTW I took it off and found that the left skid had worn about 3/4 of the way through the 1/4" steel of the skid. When I hit a rut it just buckled. I checked the other side and it was fine - so I must not have the mower leveled properly.

I'm going to see about getting the skid welded, but dang it just seems like it's always something with farm equipment.

Those skids are sacrificial. Meaning, they are designed to wear down instead of wearing down the frame of your mower. They can be rebuilt very easily by any welder, or I'm sure you can purchase new ones.

You could run the mower higher so the skids don't touch the ground to avoid picking up piles of cut grass.