ATV pull behind rough cut mower

[Wind Gypsy]

I'm thinking about purchasing a rough cut mower to pull behind my ATV. Would be used for cutting/maintaining trails on the heavily wooded 6 acres we live on and mowing weeds/grass for plots/old field/screening planting, and cutting trails on the hunting land.

There are few different brands and so far i've found a lot of negative input on swisher reliability/robustness and positive on Kunz which of course cost twice as much. Not much on DR.

A flail mower seems like it would be better for thatch but I do have a fair bit of woody regen and sapling growth on the trails that I worry would be problematic with a flail mower.

Any input or recommendations are appreciated!

 

[Tree Spud]

Agree with Swisher issues. When I purchased mine they advertised a 14.5 hp engine and I received mine with a 12.5 hp. The trailer tongue & hitch were a poor design. This was 6-7 years ago, maybe they have upgraded the design to be more robust.

 

[Bill]

I hope I don’t jinx myself. We have beaten the snot out of our swisher and it keeps running.

I have had to change the blade driver once and if you ask to much you will burn belts.

Other then that it’s been good. it starts on the first pull.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Agree with Swisher issues. When I purchased mine they advertised a 14.5 hp engine and I received mine with a 12.5 hp. The trailer tongue & hitch were a poor design. This was 6-7 years ago, maybe they have upgraded the design to be more robust.

Thanks, I've seen a bunch on the tongue/hitch being a weak design.

 

[Maddog66]

I have an older Swisher 44” RC mower. It starts and runs fine and if I take it easy it will cut stuff that is above my head when sitting on the seat. There are 2 things that I might change in the future.

1. I’d go wider than 44” because it doesn’t cover my ATV tracks very well. Seems to take forever at 44”/pass.
2. I might get a 60” 4-wheeled HD finish mower if I had to do it again.
A. Most of my uses for it are on existing trails, small existing plots in the woods, and in my apple orchard. A FC mower would make a cleaner cut and look much better.
b. But I would also use it for mowing my big plots tight to the ground prior to spraying or discing. The RC mower, unless it’s real sharp and you go slow, doesn’t do very well.

*** now if I was mainly opening new trails and cutting lots of woody stuff, the RC would be much better, obviously.

 

[River-X]

I don’t have any experience with a tow behind small mower ( we have big one on the farm like 10’ batwing), but I do have a DR walk behind and that thing is a beast! It will chew up just about anything without bogging down. Very reliable and virtually maintenance free except routine stuff like an oil change or a quick blade sharpen.

 

[Bill]

A FC mower would make a cleaner cut and look much better.

I don’t think you would like it. I started with a borrowed finish cut swisher. It did a great job on the clover as far as looking good to me. But if I got it in grass over a foot tall it bogged down and stalled. No matter how slow I went.

 

[Maddog66]

Yeah Bill, you’re probably right. The thing I don’t like with either of them is that they sit sit so low, it’s impossible to “top” my clover plots at the right height to rejuvenate them. Do you have any issues with that?

I need to get over my OCD for clean looking trails……is what I need to do:)

 

[Bill]

Yeah Bill, you’re probably right. The thing I don’t like with either of them is that they sit sit so low, it’s impossible to “top” my clover plots at the right height to rejuvenate them. Do you have any issues with that?

I need to get over my OCD for clean looking trails……is what I need to do:)

Height is an issue I forgot about. I like to mow the weeds above my clover. I don’t believe in the tender shoots thing and like my clover to set seed. I use the tractor mower on all the clover I can get to with it. But I do have a few spots I have to use the swisher on. I’ve threatened taller wheels but haven’t done it.

We use the pull behind to cut a lot of deer trails through high grass fields. Deer don’t always follow them but they do much of the time.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I don’t have any experience with a tow behind small mower ( we have big one on the farm like 10’ batwing), but I do have a DR walk behind and that thing is a beast! It will chew up just about anything without bogging down. Very reliable and virtually maintenance free except routine stuff like an oil change or a quick blade sharpen.

I'm considering this route as well. I need all the exercise I can get but I'm pretty time constrained.

 

[River-X]

What I really like about the walk behind ( self propelled) is that if I walk up to a large bunch of brush, if you tip it up and walk it in to the brush or small trees, it will chew it right up. It will take down 15 foot tall buckthorn like nobody’s business. Chews it up into mulch.


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[roymunson]

My hunting buddy has a walk behind DR, does a pretty nice job for trails into stands etc, if you're mowing a big open area, a 3 point is better.

Better yet, take out a 2nd and 3rd mortgage and get a ventrac with a rough cut front end. Too expensive, but a man can dream about those...

 

[River-X]

I agree 100% about large open areas, a pull type would be better. I figure more than two acres and I get the big mower. Walk behind works wonderful for mowing in the orchard!

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I bought a used 44" swisher rough cut and it worked great. The hitch design wasn't ideal, but it worked well and the engine was very reliable. I liked it so much that I decided to get a second 44" swisher so I didn't have to haul it back and forth between my cabin and house. I definitely recommend them.

 

[Kooch]

I run over my trails once a year with my ATV sprayer and a smoking dose of glyphosate. Once in a while I’ll add 2,4-d. It keeps them open nicely. Of course, I cut them in with a chainsaw and my walk behind DR mower. That machine is a beast.

Last year I bought a used DR rough cut tow behind and it sure makes mowing ~5 acres easier. It doesn’t make a pretty cut though, and the ATV tracks just get smashed instead of mowed. Overall I like it. It’s the two wheeled model with the 20hp engine.

They both shine in specific uses. Hard to “make” trails with the pull behind.


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[Wind Gypsy]

Found a discounted display model kunz that ought to be overkill for my needs which sounds great.

Rough Cut Mower AcrEase Model MR44BE - Kunz Engineering

Have you seen the Rough Cut Mower AcrEase Model MR44BE at Kunz Engineering? Well, you're about to look at it. Click on this page right now!

kunzeng.com

 

[Bill]

That looks like a nice one.