Front mount flail mower from mid PTO

[Chanceywd]

@Russell King I tried your suggestion of taking weight off the mower with the loader to transfer weight to the front wheels of the tractor. The difference was like night and day. Without it I couldn't turn uphill. With it I could turn uphill like the mower wasn't there. Thanks again for the suggestion.

@Chanceywd Bill, I also tried using the independent rear brakes but it didn't seem to have much if any effect. Not sure if this is a limitation of the idea or the operator.

It appears from my seat that maybe the roller area is the dragging problem.
You mentioned adding caster wheels to the back so maybe that might be the solution?

I'm impressed by this build and your working out the kinks.

Bill

 

[Russell King]

Thanks Russell.

Adding a couple of chains from the FEL to the mower to shift some weight from the mower to the tractor front wheels is a great idea. I'll give that a try today and report back.

Haha - hydraulic steering on the mower would be fancy. Are you thinking a couple of drive wheels on the mower and also steering them ?

Glad that lifting the mower helps. I was thinking of lifting the front not the rear. Perhaps it is the rear roller that is causing the issue in turning, I had imagined the front wheels being the issue.

The suggestion to add hydraulic steering to the mower was for just a cylinder to steer the wheels but adding hydraulic steering and drive to it would be “super fancy” and the first step in a remote controlled mower that you could drive from the comfort of your couch!

 

[Paul Allwood]

It appears from my seat that maybe the roller area is the dragging problem.
You mentioned adding caster wheels to the back so maybe that might be the solution?

I'm impressed by this build and your working out the kinks.

Bill

Thanks Bill

 

[Paul Allwood]

Glad that lifting the mower helps. I was thinking of lifting the front not the rear. Perhaps it is the rear roller that is causing the issue in turning, I had imagined the front wheels being the issue.

The suggestion to add hydraulic steering to the mower was for just a cylinder to steer the wheels but adding hydraulic steering and drive to it would be “super fancy” and the first step in a remote controlled mower that you could drive from the comfort of your couch!

Funny thing, I was thinking that too, even with a drone overhead following so I could see what the mower could see. But don't think I'll go that far. I've got a few other things on the list before something like that....hydraulic steering for the tractor, backhoe, grapple. And I still have to finish the mower.

Watching the mower when I tried to steer it uphill, it didn't look like the caster wheels were causing any problem, but trying to push the rear roller sideways across the grass definitely looked difficult.....I guess that why I assumed that's what you meant.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Funny thing, I was thinking that too, even with a drone overhead following so I could see what the mower could see. But don't think I'll go that far. I've got a few other things on the list before something like that....hydraulic steering for the tractor, backhoe, grapple. And I still have to finish the mower.

Watching the mower when I tried to steer it uphill, it didn't look like the caster wheels were causing any problem, but trying to push the rear roller sideways across the grass definitely looked difficult.....I guess that why I assumed that's what you meant.

Crowning the rear roller might be a bit much, but maybe taper a few inches of the ends if they're digging in.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Crowning the rear roller might be a bit much, but maybe taper a few inches of the ends if they're digging in.

I don't reckon the roller digging in is causing the steering up hill difficulty, but if it was digging in when I tried steering up hill it definitely wouldn't help. But there are times that the ends of the roller does dig in and leave a small trench, so tapering or rounding the ends would probably be a good move.

 

[Paul Allwood]

To improve the steering and manoeuvrability of the tractor with the mower attached I'm planning on moving the mower back as close to the front of the tractor as I can. If I can move it back about 14" it will be pretty much where it was when I tested it and it steered really well (but this was without the cutter drum installed).

I think the length of the PTO shaft will be the thing that limits how close I can get, so I'll need this to be as short as possible.

I think I can gain around 3" if I modify the shaft where it comes through the bearing block bolted to the front diff housing.



I can gain around another 4" if I make a new PTO shaft using more compact uni joints. I'll use the PTO shaft offcuts to give me the sliding section.



That gives me 7" out of the target 14". Only 7" to go.

I'm hoping I'll get the next 7" (or something close) by reducing the overlap in the PTO shaft - it's currently about 14". I think I'll need to push it around again over our typical undulations to get a better measurement of this.