Toppers - educate me please !

[Clive]

As we increasingly become more “park keeper” thanks to SFI and CSS and have more cover crops and margins than in the past we have options that need management involving cutting

Having never owned a topper or mower bigger than a garden ride on I find myself confused by what i should buy

front mount or rear ? or both maybe ?

flail or rotary cut ?

depreciation (i’m allergic to it !) so what brands hold value best ?

reliability ? what’s strongest ? farming urban fringe with people throwing stuff over hedges its inevitable we will end up mowing a bike or shopping trolley on occasion !

width ? all our margins are 6 or 12 plus we have a lot of awkward field corners in scheme now so i’m thinking a 3m machine ? yet many are 2.87 etc ? why is that ?

obviously i want to spend as little as possible here ? are they best bought new / usually only sold in when about knackered ?

all advice / education on this appreciated!

 

[bluebell]

I think the idea of having a topper on the front is good, in the respect that you dont drive first over what could lurk hidden in what you are topping, with the possiblity of tractor tyre damage, ? only downside would be that the tractors radiator would block and need regular blowing clean, we have a rear mounted topper, semi offset 8 ft wide, only top our own land, (so we know where the possible problems are) but you can also top by reversing into and over, slowly more rougher ground?

 

[Henarar]

So sustainable farming involves just topping every year, grazing with sheep or cattle is far more sustainable.

not looked at arable options, why do you need to top at all?


Be interesting to see if TFF opinion on toppers will be go for the heavy, expensive, power hungry one that chews it to the ground

 

[quattro]

Front mounted definitely if you have pto
3.0m Teagle here that’s very hardy then get a rare flail if needing more capacity

 

[AJR75]

Been through a few toppers over the years and finally settled on a teagle dual 3m. Mount this on the front links and find that it's a good all rounder. You do have to watch the radiator blocking in really dusty conditions but generally it's all fine. It's robust enough to withstand some fair punishment and still turns in a good job on grass.

 

[fergus]

Hi, manufacture / farmer here. We manufacture a range of toppers from a basic one rotor 6ft, to a 6m mounted with 8 rotors.

Firstly most basic 8ft toppers are much the same, generally built with a price in mind , most quality machines have comer gearboxes which is a good start.

Toppers with a greater number of smaller blades such as our mulching or float wing mowers, or say a cyclone are far more efficient than large 3 rotor bat wing or flail mowers. The trade off is more moving parts, but as a result the gearboxes and shafts are under far less strain, and the likelihood of serious damage when hitting a lump of concrete is much reduced, as more shearbolts and less inertia!

Front mounted is necessary for a basic topper unless it is offset, if you don't want to be left with wheel marks. However our mulching mowers have high lift blades and baffles that mean lots of airflow and lift that will pick up grass / growth that has been flattened by tractor tyres (see diagram below) ,

.

Flails also okay rear mounted, but for tall stuff front mounted better - front/ rear flails are very popular and give you both options with the same machine. Flails are great for mulching up trash, and will be slightly more effective than a mulching mower, however they will use a lot more power, are heavier and do not fair well with lumps of wood, concrete, wire, as can easily put the rotor out of balance which is very tricky to fix in the UK. Not all flails are made equal, we have two ranges, heavy and light, always check the weight of the machine, there can be a big difference in strength, requirements will be dependent on terrain, what you're cutting and how much of it there is to cut!

We do a 3m wide mulching mower, ideal for 6m margins - like you say most are 2.8m for ease of getting down the road. The body has a double skin, which stops stones damaging the paintwork on top of the machine.

Finding a good second hand topper is not easy like you say, normally by the time they reach the market they are towards the end of their life. As a result with mowers it usually best buying new - they last years, most dealers will have plenty of stock so a deal can easily be had.

Happy to talk it through with you, and find the best machine for the job whether it be one of ours or something else you will get my honest opinion! drop me a pm and I can send over my telephone number.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

I have a Weaving Agrimaster. I think it’s Italian built. Flail type, 2.90 metres wide, swings out to the side and also up to vertical so great for banks and occasional siding up of unruly hedges.

I use it on 110hp. I’ve never had anything beat it yet. Tyres, wire, fence posts, bricks, old water troughs, 3-4 inch timber you name it, this topper loves munching through it.

I’ve had it about 8/9 years and never had to repair anything on it except a new pto guard collar. I put an edge on the flails occasionally with a grinder and it makes a lovely job of the wide grass verges along our drive . It has a rear roller which leaves a great finish.

On day one a crack appeared on the headstock. I called Weaving and Edward Weaving said to keep an eye on it, he wouldn’t walk away from it. That crack has never got any worse so I don’t worry about it.

It’s been a very good buy, no doubt about it.

 

[Clive]

to add some context - tractor would be 240hp and has a front linkage but not front pto

are they all pto powered or do sone run of hydraulic motors ? we have no pto driven machines on farm and would rather keep it that was if possible?

 

[Zebbedee]

Spearhead bat wing here can’t fault it tbh

 

[AJR75]

to add some context - tractor would be 240hp and has a front linkage but not front pto

are they all pto powered or do sone run of hydraulic motors ? we have no pto driven machines on farm and would rather keep it that was if possible?

Would adding a front PTO be out of the question? Might sound a bit OTT for the original intended use but it's what I did with mine and it's been a revelation in terms of usefulness- I wouldn't be without it now that's for sure.

 

[Highland Mule]

So sustainable farming involves just topping every year, grazing with sheep or cattle is far more sustainable.

not looked at arable options, why do you need to top at all?


Be interesting to see if TFF opinion on toppers will be go for the heavy, expensive, power hungry one that chews it to the ground

@Clive needs something like this if he wants to be sustainable.

 

[Bury the Trash]

As we increasingly become more “park keeper” thanks to SFI and CSS and have more cover crops and margins than in the past we have options that need management involving cutting

Having never owned a topper or mower bigger than a garden ride on I find myself confused by what i should buy

front mount or rear ? or both maybe ?

flail or rotary cut ?

depreciation (i’m allergic to it !) so what brands hold value best ?

reliability ? what’s strongest ? farming urban fringe with people throwing stuff over hedges its inevitable we will end up mowing a bike or shopping trolley on occasion !

width ? all our margins are 6 or 12 plus we have a lot of awkward field corners in scheme now so i’m thinking a 3m machine ? yet many are 2.87 etc ? why is that ?

obviously i want to spend as little as possible here ? are they best bought new / usually only sold in when about knackered ?

all advice / education on this appreciated!

for a waste of money waste of diesel time etc in fact for allround waste of resources they get a big ole thunbs up n hi 5 .....

 

[The Seeker]

Buy big

 

[Bury the Trash]

@Clive needs something like this if he wants to be sustainable.

View attachment 1127685

yea but a shedder not a mule

 

[Clive]

@Clive needs something like this if he wants to be sustainable.

View attachment 1127685

if you want to come and fence / water both sides of several miles of 6m margin ( mostly roadsides) and bring sheep you can have the grazing for free !!!

 

[Henarar]

yea but a shedder not a mule

Nice looking lambs though

 

[neilo]

As we increasingly become more “park keeper” thanks to SFI and CSS and have more cover crops and margins than in the past we have options that need management involving cutting

Having never owned a topper or mower bigger than a garden ride on I find myself confused by what i should buy

front mount or rear ? or both maybe ?

flail or rotary cut ?

depreciation (i’m allergic to it !) so what brands hold value best ?

reliability ? what’s strongest ? farming urban fringe with people throwing stuff over hedges its inevitable we will end up mowing a bike or shopping trolley on occasion !

width ? all our margins are 6 or 12 plus we have a lot of awkward field corners in scheme now so i’m thinking a 3m machine ? yet many are 2.87 etc ? why is that ?

obviously i want to spend as little as possible here ? are they best bought new / usually only sold in when about knackered ?

all advice / education on this appreciated!

Having hired one in regularly at home over the years, I bought an ancient, ex-contractor 4.6m Spearhead batwing when I came here. I had been treated so badly in a past life that one of the 9 blades was actually only half a blade (they hadn't worked out why it sounded rough?), which really does take some doing, and the tyres were perished.
I've had it 11 years now, and it's not used a single drop of oil in any of the gearboxes in that time and still runs as sweet as a nut. Replacement blades are relatively cheap (and from Spaldings, etc) and are practically indestructible. Just give the edge a run over with a cordless angle grinder once in a while to sharpen. Will do 100ac in a sensible day but will want 150hp on the front.

Spearhead apparently made their name by sending machines over to clear the old airfields in East Germany when the wall came down. They were the only machines that stuck the debris, concrete blocks, etc.

Not the cheapest to buy new, but depreciation really isn't an issue as you'll never need to change it.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Nice looking lambs though

nice looking lawn as well

 

[Henarar]

if you want to come and fence / water both sides of several miles of 6m margin ( mostly roadsides) and bring sheep you can have the grazing for free !!!

12m may be worth it for a local, what is growing there ? And why the need to top at all ?

 

[Bury the Trash]

if you want to come and fence / water both sides of several miles of 6m margin ( mostly roadsides) and bring sheep you can have the grazing for free !!!

let it rewild