Best mower?

I've got a Kubota SVL65, one of the new little machines. 60hp, 27gpm @3250psi.

I need a mowing attachment for my property, but I was also thinking I could make some extra money mowing other peoples fields in my area. We also do large tree removals, lots of big monterey pines loaded with cones. It would be ideal if we could mow the grass in our work area to start and at the end grind up all of the cones in place so we don't need to pick them up one at a time.

I started off looking at flail mowers. I had a guy cut our grass once and his flail mower chopped everything up nice and small and left it on the surface of the soil beautifully. The big brands all seem to be running about $12000!!! (way more than the comparable tractor attachments?!?)

How do the rotary brush cutters compare as far as finish for mowing fields? They look to cost about half the price and will cut some small trees too. A low fine cut and even distribution of the mulch is pretty high on the priorities list.

So Flail mower vs. rotary brush cutter?

first hand experience appreciated.

It all depends on how high and dense what you’re cutting is, but a brush cutter generally won’t give you a finished, clean cut.

I mow my field at the end of each summer with a brush cutter. Basic field grass maybe 3’ to 4’ high. After the first cut, I wait about two weeks and do it again to get a better looking cut and to help mulch up what was left over from the first cut.

Have never used a flail mower. Town uses them to cut along the road ditches. They seem to chop stuff up pretty good like you say, but they also seem slot slower than using a brush cutter

I use a Diamond high flow mower. It works great. Very heavy duty. I have not looked at their website in a while, they may offer something for that size of machine. You will want to watch your specs, you will need a low flow mower, and stay around 76" max width. I have a flail on an excavator and it works great for areas with a lot of debris in the grass. My flail is a Rockhound brand.

I have both a flail mower and a bush hog type, for my ASV RC-30. Each has its place, but in open areas, I have a junky old grey market Kubota, with a 4' bush hog, that I use to take off everything up to about a 1-1/2" sapling. Wait a coupla weeks for it to dry down, then take a B-2100, with a bush hog 3 blade rear discharge(5' wide) mower, over the bush hogged area, set to about 5" high. after that, if you want it to look like a lawn, let it grow a week or 2, then go over it with the same 3 blade mower, set to 4". Why swat a fly with a sledge hammer...?

We have a Bradco Groundshark. Cuts grass great when the blades are new. They are around $10k though. Nice thing about the Bradco is the flip-up shield front the front, nobody will get killed from flying debris. That's the reason we went with it over the Diamond.

Do you use that wide tracked dozer Shimmy to float across those North Dakota Sloughs?

After doing some more research and hearing what you guys are saying I'm thinking what I really need is a flail mower.

I'm still hoping to save a few bucks. Thinking of picking up a 72" front mount 3 point hitch mower. Those look to be running about $5000. Eterra makes an adapter so you can use a skid steer to power pto 3 point hitch attachments. That adaptor runs for about $2400.

$7500 give or take seems better than the $12000 I'm seeing for the dedicated skid steer attachments.

Am I crazy?

KSSS said:

Do you use that wide tracked dozer Shimmy to float across those North Dakota Sloughs?

Click to expand...

That little dozer will go about anywhere I point it lol.

For the money you're looking at spending you could buy a used 40 HP AG tractor and a standard 3pt. hitch mower for less money. You could even look at used commercial mowers like a Toro Groundsmaster if you want a finish cut. I think if you were cutting brush or heavier trashy material is when to look at a HD mower for a high flow skid steer. If the grass is cut semi regular a 3pt. mower would be way faster than a skid steer. I tried a skid steer rototiller on my 17 GPM skid steer. It was painfully slow compared to the tiller on the 3 pt. with about the same HP engine. High flow would have been better but that's an expensive option and still not as efficient as a PTO unit. A flail is good if there is some trash but a good flail like an Alamo costs more.

I know...bouncing around a lot. The Loftness flail mower is priced online at about $8000 for a 90". My skid steer will generate 50hp hydraulic so it's within the specs for the attachment.

Anyone used a Loftness flail?

I bet you could get one of these for about half the price and a decent used tractor in the $4000 range as well. Then you'd have another machine in your arsenal with dozens more of available attachments.

https://www.alamo-industrial.com/Products/ProductView.asp?ProductID=13

https://www.alamo-industrial.com/Documents/Literature/1_shd_aug_2013.pdf

I use the Bobcat brand BRUSHCAT. Great for tall thick grass and does a pretty good job finish mowing too. It will take out any thing 4inches round ( when used with common sense ) and keep going. I LOVE MY BRUSH CAT !! Btw. Cuts great on standard flow , switch to high flow....ohh yeah !

Welder Dave said:

I bet you could get one of these for about half the price and a decent used tractor in the $4000 range as well. Then you'd have another machine in your arsenal with dozens more of available attachments.

https://www.alamo-industrial.com/Products/ProductView.asp?ProductID=13

https://www.alamo-industrial.com/Documents/Literature/1_shd_aug_2013.pdf

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The flail mower looks good. Good luck finding a 40 hp tractor in Northern California that runs for less than about $20k.

I don't know what can be used in California with all the emissions rules there but generally you could find a decent used 40-45 HP tractor in the 4-$5000 range.

Its just that everyone from the city moves to the country and wants to be a small organic farmer so the demand is high and the supply is low. Below 50hp the emissions aren't an issue. I looked at buying a tractor a while back but it was cost prohibitive. Now I own the skid steer so why not use that and avoid the added maintenance of another engine.

For what you want the mower for, a skid steer isn't the best option. What about a used commercial mower like a Toro Groundsmaster 328. I see them listed in the 4-$8500 range. Thousands of golf courses in California so should be lots of used commercial mowers for sale. May even find one with a flail. Would do circles around a skid steer for general mowing and not mark up the ground when turning. If having a low cut is a priority I would think not marking up the ground would be too.

I did what Welder Dave is suggesting and picked up a John Deere front deck mower F935 for $2500. It has a hydro drive, a 72" commercial deck, and a Yanmar diesel engine. Cuts grass beautifully, can handle some brush, and is like a billy goat on where it will go. That is cheaper than what you can buy a riding mower at Home Depot for and you have a really stout machine.

Welder Dave said:

For the money you're looking at spending you could buy a used 40 HP AG tractor and a standard 3pt. hitch mower for less money. You could even look at used commercial mowers like a Toro Groundsmaster if you want a finish cut. I think if you were cutting brush or heavier trashy material is when to look at a HD mower for a high flow skid steer. If the grass is cut semi regular a 3pt. mower would be way faster than a skid steer. I tried a skid steer rototiller on my 17 GPM skid steer. It was painfully slow compared to the tiller on the 3 pt. with about the same HP engine. High flow would have been better but that's an expensive option and still not as efficient as a PTO unit. A flail is good if there is some trash but a good flail like an Alamo costs more.

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Sorry for the up but I wanna just say THX a lot for the recommendation. Best wishes