Brush Cutter for Tucker

For anyone interested, here are a few photos of a brush cutter on a Tucker Terra Cat. I built this with the help of P. Atkinson for our local snowmobile club two years ago in the December of 2004. It is driven by hydraulics from the Tucker and a twelve volt solenoid valve with two electric switches to change the direction of the hydraulic cylinder and the cutter. It cycles about 75 cuts per minute and will cut hardwood limbs up to 1-1/2" dia. This cutter has saved myself and the rest of the volunteers many hours of trimming on our 90 miles of snowmobile trail. The Tucker will go in wet areas where a farm tractor type mower will not go. There are many improvements that could be made to this cutter, but it is a lot better than a chain saw or brush cutters.

I've seen articulated limb saws mounted to tractors that serve a similar purpose, but never one mounted to a Sno-Cat. How much vertical travel control do you have with it (how low and how high can you cut)?

It seems like a great idea for trail maintainence.

It will cut as high as the top of the snocat and down to the ground. I should have made the cutter bar twelve inches longer and mounted it higher on the frame to give it more cutting height. Cutting close to the ground does not seem necessary because the limbs are not that low.

dseymour,
Do you have problems with the tree branches and brush while cutting hitting and damaging the windshield or other parts of the Tucker? I have taken some pretty good bashings from pine trees and branches while grooming with a Pisten Bully after they get loaded with heavy wet snow. This cutter setup would be very handy for preseason snowmobile trail work and after the first heavy snow in many areas.

The cutter is about four feet in front of the cab of the tucker so when the brush is cut most of it falls to the ground and does not hit the windshield. The cutter is also out wider than the cab so nothing hits the cab after it is cut. The speed of the snocat is about two mph when you are cutting so if anything hits the cab it should not damage it. Caution should be used while operating the cutter. Two mph does not sound very fast but it is faster than ten club members with saws and clippers. That is if you can find ten members that would rather work than ride their sleds.