Trail maintenance (mowing mostly). Recommendations?

[jkahan]

Looking for what people use to brushhog (brush mowers) trails -- I have about 9 miles of trails - all accessible by atvs, tractors, etc... but a lot of them are steep; I generally only use a tracked atv, tracked Kubota RTV, or excavator... There are places where wheeled vehicles are either going to get stuck or do damage to the trails. Thinking of a tow-behind brush mower - two popular brands are of course Swisher and DR.. I actually have (well my neighbor has it now) an old DR walk-behind brush mower and it is a beast and awesome but using it for all these trails is impractical and it won't make it all the way around (even with chains). It "appears" (based on reviews) that the DR tow-behind models have some problems with reliability and repair metrics. I also have a brush cutter on my mini but it is impractical for covering long distances as one can't cut while moving with it (flow metrics).. So looking for recommendations / experiences and sorry for the rambling.

Obligatory Kubota photo...

 

[gmgmgm]

The trails must be steep if you need tracks for them.

Which parts of the trail are you trying to cut - the main grass/bottom, or the edges, or the sides?

I have a "verge/ditch" flail, with which I can cut the bottom grass, the edges, and the sides up to about 5ft high. You have an M5045 tractor, perhaps such a flail would work for you too.

I'm in the UK, flail mowers are much more popular than "brush hog"-type. A flail doesn't stick out so far, so it might be easier on steep slopes, and navigating around tight wooded areas.