Trailed topper

Bicki85

Just wondering have any of ye any experience with a MAJOR 9ft trailed topper . Thinking of purchasing one , seem ideal, any advice appreciated

Zoo4m8

Have one here, bought secondhand a few years ago, not one bit of bother with it, covers a lot of ground in no time...

dar31

Zoo4m8 wrote: »

Have one here, bought secondhand a few years ago, not one bit of bother with it, covers a lot of ground in no time...

Have had two of them here no problems with them, going to sell or trade it in soon for a mower as it's more suited to our job

severeoversteer

you would want fields bigger than 2 acres for the 9ft trailed major

have one or two small fields and its a curse of a yoke to top with

but the bigger fields can be topped in no time, can top flat fields doing over 20-25kph

Bicki85

Are they heavy on land ?

FarmerDougal

Pros
Cover ground
Hyd lift

Cons
Need flat ground
Wide angle shaft is a must
Awkward sharpening blades

Had the side mounted 8ft for 16yrs before we got 9ft trailed.
Would go for disc mower if doing it again

MfMan

Have a Conor 8ft trailed, wide-angle shaft (a must). Very strong and robust; disk mower not an option because I have a good bit of bumpy and uneven land for topping.

Machinery salesman told me with that the Major's are designed to travel when working, mostly by resting on the skids, whereas on the Conor, the skids are always raised a few inches, not in contact with ground while working and only to protect the blades from bumps and ruts. Is he right?

shot_ov_a

looking at buying one of these also. what sort of power is needed to drive on in average rushes?

feckin day gone again!!

severeoversteer wrote: »

you would want fields bigger than 2 acres for the 9ft trailed major

have one or two small fields and its a curse of a yoke to top with

but the bigger fields can be topped in no time, can top flat fields doing over 20-25kph

Why is it hard to top a two acre paddock? Also, I think mowers are for mowing and toppers are for topping.... Disc mowers leave too much toppings behind them which holds back grass growth .. A good topper should make dust of it... D flemming trailed topper is good..

severeoversteer

feckin day gone again!! wrote: »

Why is it hard to top a two acre paddock? Also, I think mowers are for mowing and toppers are for topping.... Disc mowers leave too much toppings behind them which holds back grass growth .. A good topper should make dust of it... D flemming trailed topper is good..

seem to spend to much time turning on headland

if the field is big enough I like to top at over 20kph
180hp tractor, cover some ground and not be messing about

feckin day gone again!!

severeoversteer wrote: »

seem to spend to much time turning on headland

if the field is big enough I like to top at over 20kph
180hp tractor, cover some ground and not be messing about

We'd all love big fields!! I see some posts about mowers being better than toppers... I disagree, I hate too much toppings left after d mower (esp grass that grows around cow dungs.. Even with pushing out d top link. I know a mower is a cleaner cut but it definitely leaves too much lying on d ground afterwards..

trixi2011

feckin day gone again!! wrote: »

We'd all love big fields!! I see some posts about mowers being better than toppers... I disagree, I hate too much toppings left after d mower (esp grass that grows around cow dungs.. Even with pushing out d top link. I know a mower is a cleaner cut but it definitely leaves too much lying on d ground afterwards..

mower cuts the grass vrs topper brakes the leaf of the grass damaging plant slowing regrowth

feckin day gone again!!

trixi2011 wrote: »

mower cuts the grass vrs topper brakes the leaf of the grass damaging plant slowing regrowth

I'm totally in agreement... Way cleaner cut but its a pity disc mowers don't disperse d toppings a bit better... Toppers definitely mulch it and scatter it better...

Sam Kade

I bought a new trailed abbey topper years ago ended up trading it for a disc mower. Not much topping to do and the mower can be used for mowing silage ground.

trabpc

severeoversteer wrote: »

seem to spend to much time turning on headland

if the field is big enough I like to top at over 20kph
180hp tractor, cover some ground and not be messing about

What???? 180HP topping.... I think a 135 would do. The 180hp better doing work that pays for itself..... No?

trabpc

trabpc wrote: »

What???? 180HP topping.... I think a 135 would do. The 180hp better doing work that pays for itself..... No?

By the way that's a MF 135 not a TM

severeoversteer

trabpc wrote: »

What???? 180HP topping.... I think a 135 would do. The 180hp better doing work that pays for itself..... No?

she is only on 850-900rpm doing 20kph with trailed topper and suspension cab

go big or go home


toppings not the only thing it does like

trabpc

severeoversteer wrote: »

she is only on 850-900rpm doing 20kph with trailed topper and suspension cab

go big or go home


toppings not the only thing it does like

Suspension cab? What's that........ How about no cab. Save a fortune not buying wipers.

Cattlepen

Had various toppers over the years and found major to be the best as it had two blades at the end of each rotor that had knife edge sharpness so you got a clean cut. The abbey topper is crap. Dull blunt edge that bashes grass. Personally having tried both toppers and mowers, I prefer mowers. If it leaves a bit cuttings the cattle generally eat it.
Btw, anyone topping at 20kmh is a header. Machine isn't getting a chance to do its work and your wrecking you tractor at that speed in a field

cjpm

Cattlepen wrote: »

Had various toppers over the years and found major to be the best as it had two blades at the end of each rotor that had knife edge sharpness so you got a clean cut. The abbey topper is crap. Dull blunt edge that bashes grass. Personally having tried both toppers and mowers, I prefer mowers. If it leaves a bit cuttings the cattle generally eat it.
Btw, anyone topping at 20kmh is a header. Machine isn't getting a chance to do its work and your wrecking you tractor at that speed in a field

It's ok if you have cab suspension!!

Cattlepen

cjpm wrote: »

It's ok if you have cab suspension!!

Still wrecking you tractor and machine though

cjpm

Cattlepen wrote: »

Still wrecking you tractor and machine though

I'm only messing with ya.

Agree 100% with your opinion.

feckin day gone again!!

cattle dont be in the field after its topped.... besides, forcing them to eat dirty toppings.... hardly the best practice?!:eek: Goin to try skids on mower this time and see is it better... a lad topped a field for me one day i was away and i couldnt believe how little toppings were lying on the groung afterwards... he had a trailed topper..

Cattlepen

feckin day gone again!! wrote: »

cattle dont be in the field after its topped.... besides, forcing them to eat dirty toppings.... hardly the best practice?!:eek: Goin to try skids on mower this time and see is it better... a lad topped a field for me one day i was away and i couldnt believe how little toppings were lying on the groung afterwards... he had a trailed topper..

How would the toppings be dirty? It's just cut grass. I've never had a problem doing it

Nekarsulm

Have an abbey 8 foot side mounted. Shaft driven (as opposed to belts).Troublesome yoke. Fields need to be smooth, dropping the outside into a wheelrut etc will either shear the bolt or more likely 1) twist the Driveshaft 2) twist the Hardy Spicer 3) strain the rubber "donut" or 4) pop one of the circlips holding the side plate into one of the gearboxes.
They are for topping grass only. Not for rushes/black thorns/ bracken/land levelling.
Also as it slides on the skids, the inside skid can cut the sod while turning corners.
You need 75 hp minimum.
Also chrome finish on ram is poor. Pitted within a few years.
Have upgraded almost the entire driveline by now , heavier shafts, yokes, and added a Claas slip clutch between main and secondary gearboxes.

Muckit

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Have an abbey 8 foot side mounted. Shaft driven (as opposed to belts)....Also as it slides on the skids, the inside skid can cut the sod while turning corners.
You need 75 hp minimum.
Also chrome finish on ram is poor. Pitted within a few years.

I agree with alot of the points you have made.

However l find raising the lift slightly to take the weight off the inside skid will avoid scrawing. Also if a patch is badly rutted, drive slowly at 90* over them or else skip that bit.

l store it with the ram closed ie working position. If I have to back it into the shed in transport position, l close the ram after l uncouple linkage.

Is yours the one like mine with the square 3point linkage frame that pivots on the rh linkage arm? Bad design too. The newer ones that pivot in the middle of the body of the topper are a better job l reckon. I use mine with two plates either side of the slotted linkage mounting as the linkage pen used to always be popping out

Nekarsulm

My one is the same linkage as yours Muckit. Also have a heavy plate as a "washer" on the slotted pin. Important to use a hydraulic top link to save a lot of adjusting between transport and topping.

feckin day gone again!!

Cattlepen wrote: »

How would the toppings be dirty? It's just cut grass. I've never had a problem doing it

Dirty from d dung....
The mower scatters d dung when topping.... Even with top link pushed out it still smears d dung on grass.. Anyway, if I'm topping it's after fertilising so cattle are gone..