If there is one machine designed to do this exact job, it’s a Ventrac. Today we are mowing an overpass next to a highway. The inconvenient access to this job, combined with the steepness of the hillside, means it is full of challenges for traditional equipment.
But it’s just another day in the office for Ventrac. This Ventrac 4520 tractor is equipped with dual wheels and tire chains, plus a mid-mount weight kit. The tire modification on this setup will give us the most traction because this is a steep area with longer grass growth in some spots. The tire chains help improve traction and reduce wheel spin in rough/steep environments. Ventrac tire chains can be run on the outer set of dual wheels with standard field trax tires on the inners, or they can be run as a group of 8, as shown in this video with the entire wheel setup having chains.
The standard dual wheels on a Ventrac 4520 are rated for slopes up to 30 degrees, and while adding tire chains does not increase the slope rating of the tractor, they do add further traction on surfaces. And with the Mid-Weight Bar installed, you’ll gain extra traction right over the front wheels.
The Mid-Weight Bar Kit includes a mounting bar that goes through the center of the frame on the front half of the tractor. Added onto the bar are two brackets that serve as mounts for two 42-lb suitcase weights. This setup adds over 80 lbs on both sides of the tractor. Flail mowers are a perfect choice for any overgrown area with a variety of different types of vegetation. Add Ventrac’s capabilities to mow difficult areas such as slopes, wet areas, or retention basins, and these mowers will step up your game when it comes to maintaining any property. A flail mower cuts by using knives attached to a balanced rotor. The rotor runs parallel to the ground, and the hanging knives spin vertically to cut the grass.
This system can produce a high-volume cutting process as it grabs the grass while holding it under the mower for a longer time, allowing it to shred into fine cuttings that are then dispersed evenly along the width of the mower. Evenly dispersed clippings allow for less windrowing and clumping of grass that can kill turf. Flail mowers also provide a much more pleasing aesthetic result than alternative types of rough-cut mowers. Swinging knives typically handle impact from debris better than fixed rotary blades, and replacing a knife is easier and less expensive than replacing a rotary cutting blade. A huge benefit of the Ventrac Flail mowers is the cut height adjustment mechanism, which allows the user to adjust cut height faster, easier, and with more precision. The process of changing the height of the cut on a Ventrac flail mower does not require tools and can be accomplished in under a minute.
