Zero Turn vs Pull behind

[BluewaterFever]

Looking for you all's input for maintaining clover food plots, fall and winter annual plots and firebreaks with a zero turn or pull behind mower. I am looking at getting either a used zero turn mower or pull behind brush mower. I have a SxS or 4-wheeler with plenty of power to pull a brush mower. I am not buying a tractor so that is out of the question.
Zero turn can be pretty quick but got to watch out for bigger branches, ant mounds and other debris in the plots and trails. We don't always have the smoothest plots because of the discing when we plant annuals.
Does a pull behind leave a good cut on clover? I am sure it will be fire for most fire break maintenance and blades will need to be changed periodically.
What have you all used and pro vs cons.
Thanks!

 

[livinoutdoors]

Why is a tractor a no?

 

[BluewaterFever]

Why is a tractor a no?

$$$$ and then a trailer!

 

[kmckinnie]

On my cloverplot I could use a zero but it in my field at the house. I guess a pull behind would be best even tho I have seen zeros used for lots of things at clubs.
You may have to be the best judge on that.
I use my tractor.

 

[BeerThirty]

I think you're cheaper investment is the brush hog, and it's likely to give you more versatility.

The Z-turn probably has the crisper cut but based on it being a tilled field and depending on how high you let the clover get, it may not offer much of an improvement over the hog unless you mow it twice.

 

[livinoutdoors]

$$$$ and then a trailer!

I gotcha. Well if it were me, and i needed it for what you are sayin, i would try and find a small older tractor.

 

[killerv]

Used a pull behind swisher for almost 20 years. They have their purpose. They have sure gone up in price. Nice clean field you should have no issues, don't expect a finishing cut. Mine was mostly used mowing before planting foodplots, have to be careful. Engines get hot and dry debris will catch fire on them. I have also had my controls loosen up, fall off, and go under the mower. Talk about a fun time. Bigger sxs or atv, preferably 4wd pulls them better but on a nice clean level field a 2wd will suffice. Large ant bed or stump you don't see will usually bog it down enough to disengage the blades and sometimes snap the belt if it doesn't have enough give.

I watched for a good deal on a used tractor for years, finally found one well taken care of. Night and day difference.

Buddy recently found a early 2000s Kubota B series for 5k with mower, talk about a deal. Very well maintained. They are out there.

 

[rayrayhunts]

With an atv pulled mower you will
Have to go slow most likely less then 5 mph. If you have an air cooled engine it could Over heat. Me personally I would go with the zero turn. More availability with different models and Choices and better resale value. The brush cutter is gonna be limited to only a couple people making them. Parts might be harder to find than a zero turn and it too will be air cooled. Could you get more use out of a zero turn for other things vs the brush cutter ?

 

[Milkman]

A tractor does a LOT more than mow plots. You could sell your atv trailer and use a double axle trailer for tractor and atv/utv

 

[B. White]

I can't speak to plot use, but for the garden I've used the bad boy to mow clover, buckwheat and hemp more often than using the tractor. The high setting is higher than most zero turns and I cut it high and then drop and mow again. Gives me finer material to plow and till in.

I had a place I leased at one point with a lot of good roads (level with no rocks or stumps) and I used a zero turn I had at the time every couple of years to keep it in good shape. It had been logged and we paid to have someone go down all the roads and mulch everything, so very little in the way of stumps or debris. Kept 8 miles of road maintained quickly and easily. The condition the terrain would be the deciding factor for me, if I already had a zero turn I could use. If rough, I would spend the money on a used tractor before I would on a one trick pony pull behind.

 

[slow motion]

I'd vote for a pull behind if a tractor is a no go. Seems it would be more useful in an uneven ground or brushy scenario. Provided you had a way to disengage the mower you could bounce it over small logs and such without getting off. I've always wondered about taking the belly mower off of an old lawn tractor/mower and welding some brackets for wheels and mounting a motor on top to make a homemade pull behind. Redneck engineering kinda thing. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Canuck5]

Buy a sprayer? I no mow no mo

https://fwf.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2021/07/Managing-perennial-forage-plots_QW28.3.pdf

 

[Canuck5]

 

[BeerThirty]

I'm glad you posted this. We don't mow our plots for this very reason, but to each their own.

I pull my brush hog being my Sportsman 550 primarily just for trails and property lines, that's it.

The plots come and go with the season and as they get eaten. Anything remaining just gets tilled right back in.

 

[Canuck5]

The plant before and after mowing (or grazing as the case may be)

 

[Gut_Pile]

Spray it

 

[BluewaterFever]

Lots of great information and somethings I didn't even consider have been brought up in this thread, keep them coming!

 

[davel]

We don't ever mow our clover. The deer do that for us but we wouldn't do it anyway. We only spray the grass.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Buy a sprayer? I no mow no mo

https://fwf.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2021/07/Managing-perennial-forage-plots_QW28.3.pdf

Canuck

Many of our clover plots also have fruit trees (mostly pears) and sawtooths.

Would spraying the clover represent a threat to the trees at all, sir?


Thanks

 

[Jim Boyd]

Buy a sprayer? I no mow no mo

https://fwf.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2021/07/Managing-perennial-forage-plots_QW28.3.pdf

Canuck

Karl @BluewaterFever is part of our group in SC.

Just so happens we have a brand new pull behind spreader…..