Hi all! I operate a Kubota SVL75-2 on our heavily forested and topographically varied Northern MN homestead to manage gravel roads/trails, move snow, and generally keep things orderly. For attachments I have a 74" Kubota/Land Pride smooth bucket, 74" Kubota snowblower, and Virnig forks. We are looking to expand our orchards/food forest and gardens. We need to manage more of the property to improve the surrounding second-growth forest and keep cleared areas clean for fruit trees and other planting. Part of this will be some permaculture grading such as swales to catch runoff, and hugulkulture berms with buried logs and other material. For these purposes, I am looking at acquiring a skeleton bucket/grapple, brush mower, and power rake. I have found Jenkins attachments available not too far away, which is nice because I am under some pressure to get new apple trees planted. I like that the Jenkins are made in MN. Unlike other MN brands, I have found them in stock at a few places. Does anyone have feedback on Jenkins? Specifically: The standard brush mower has a gearbox whereas the " Super Duty " mower is direct drive. Now, I'm not interested in forestry mulching, just rough brush mowing and land taming/reclamation, so I had been thinking the standard mower should be fine. I'm not planning on cutting trees with it except for ~1-2" aspens/poplars that tend to fill in unmanaged spaces. Would I regret not having direct drive, though? 74" feels about right to me for a bucket, so that is what I am thinking for a skeleton grapple . This seems great for raking, scraping land for roots, very rough grading, pulling smaller stumps, digging rocks, and carrying logs. Do you agree? Has anyone used the Jenkins power rake ? I'd be using it for taming rough land into orchard spaces, prepping lawn for planting clover/grass, cutting swales, and maintaining roads better than I have been able to with just a bucket. Currently all of the roads are wavy because they are sloped and I find it impossible to get a consistent, even grade. Shouldn't a power rake help? Thanks all! Have a great day.
I have purchased a Low Profile Dirt Bucket, Rock Bucket and a Snow Pusher from Jenkins for my Case 1845C Uniloader. They are made in USA and the workmanship quality is excellent. I would definitely recommend their products. Call them and ask them your questions, that's what I did before purchasing from them.
1" - 2" sapling is just fine with a gearbox. Make sure they use the 75 hp one (2" tapered splined shaft) not the 40 hp one (1.50" dia shaft) The cost is not that much.