Anyone have a Lane Shark brush cutter? (1 Viewer)

[Waorani]

That might be able to be arranged!

 

[Waorani]

Hydraulic kit showed up yesterday and got it installed today. Disappointed that the 3rd function they sent was almost identical to the one I already had. Different wiring/control buttons but sure I could have made mine work. Debated calling them but they say no returns up front so I went ahead and installed full kit. I get it, all tractors/loaders/combinations are different with different hose lengths, etc so it could be a mess for them. My tractor is 20+ yrs old so not surprising the LaneShark support guy I sent pics to didn't recognize my 3rd function. Couple that with the hydraulic kits come directly from WR Long and you get the idea. I'd probably have had better luck talking directly w/ WR Long to begin with had I known. But I'm plumbed/wired and ready to go. Rest is water under the bridge at this point.

At the moment I'm still planning on getting the LaneShark cutter. But the other knockoffs all seem to be built around the same 10gpm optimum as the LS. I don't see any reason I can't run any of those with the system I've now got. I previously mentioned Modern Ag Products has a similar unit (Path Slayer) and it's galvanized. I've got one of their galvanized bush hogs and grapple. They're well built, heavy-duty and the galvanizing is appealing. Not much info about them online though. I'll probably ride up to the dealer I got my bush hog/grapple from next week. I'd be surprised if they have one in stock but at least I can get pricing. Guessing even worse than LS.

 

[Waorani]

Given the galvanizing, design, general ruggedness and my experience with the brand, I pretty well convinced myself over the weekend I'd rather have the Path Slayer over the LaneShark. Talked to the Modern Ag dealer today. As expected they didn't have one in stock. It's a small place in a small town and implements aren't their main business so I wasn't surprised. Owner said they had sold several but hadn't gotten any feedback so he can only assume folks are satisfied. Not a ringing endorsement but not negative either. He said if folks are having problems with stuff they're usually coming in for parts, service or at least to gripe.

As expected, the Path Slayer is more expensive than the LaneShark. Before talking to local dealer I found several listed for $6800 (assume MSRP) but I got a quote for $5475. Also said he might be able to knock a couple hundred off of that depending on whether it could be added to an existing order. Not holding my breath on that but I told him to go ahead and order one for me.

So now the wait.

 

[Waorani]

Two and a half months later the Path Slayer finally came in and I picked up today. Not sure why it took so long but dealer called his rep while I was there a couple weeks ago to complain and it showed up shortly after. It's a beast at 580lbs - 130 more than the lane shark. Was worried initially when I couldn't get it to run but I wired the 3rd function buttons so they would work most logically for open/close of a grapple. Thought I'd then plumbed pressure for the cutter with that in mind but of course I got it wrong. Will be an easy fix but in the meantime I just have to hold a button down to run it rather than use the full-time switch that came with the new 3rd function kit.

Played around a little while today but only with the cutter facing forward like in pic. It cut through 1" privet and other similar underbrush fine when driving into it at ground level but it wasn't hard to bog it down when lowering down like a mower on heavy brush. Probably a bit of a learning curve there and turned up vertically cutting along a brushy edge it should be fine. It took down a single 3" sweet gum and 2" oak fine when slowly approaching at ground level. Don't think I'd want to go bigger and wouldn't want to spend all day hitting that size stuff. All in all, initial impressions are good. It's not skid steer mounted forestry mulcher by any stretch but I think it will do what I want it to do.

 

[greenbeast]

Curious to see it in action vertically

 

[Waorani]

Spent about an hour cutting vertically today. In areas of small brush sticking out horizontally, it cut just like a mower leaving a clean, flat edge. Most areas I want to cut though haven't been trimmed in many years and are a tangled mix of stem sizes going in all different directions. A low pass followed by a higher pass gets a lot of it but larger limbs are mangled, like you see with the bigger units they use along roadways, so not as clean looking of a cut. To get everything cut back initially I think it's going to take a combination of horizontal and vertical cutting. After that, vertical cut every year or two should go quickly. I'm creating a lot of debris to be cleaned up but hopefully that will clean up quickly with the grapple. Later debris should be small enough to just run over with the mower.

Overall I'm pleased and I think it's going to be fine for my primary use - maintaining edge brush growth. I did notice it loses RPM if you lift/tilt the loader. I believe this is because the loader has hydraulic priority over the 3rd function. Lowering doesn't seem to affect so you can cut while lowering down on stuff with the deck horizontal.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Looks heavy....as in heavy duty. Any concern about using it without a cab?

 

[Waorani]

Looks heavy....as in heavy duty. Any concern about using it without a cab?

It does sling stuff but generally not back towards driver. In the 3 or so hours I've run it now, only one piece came back in my general direction. I'm wearing glasses and will probably get something like this soon - Delta Plus ProGuard Loggers Caps - https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p/24448/14731/delta-plus-proguard-loggers-caps.
The greatest potential for debris coming back at you is probably when cutting horizontal with deck lifted level. It's easy enough to tilt cutter up directing debris more downward but I could see not paying attention to what you were doing and getting something in the face. The way my FEL is set up it looks like it would be pretty easy to build a quick attach mesh shield of some sort - something I think I'll do now that it occurs to me.

Went back to horizontal today and cleaned up what I did vertically yesterday. Unfortunately, I kinked one of the hoses while converting back and it later started leaking. It was a cheap Tractor Supply 1/2" hose with a greater minimum bend radius than a better quality 3/8" hose. Got new 3/8 hoses made today and will pay better attention next time.

I'm finding that many areas have limbs sticking out 10-15' or more and once I hit those it opens up underneath. So rather than just trimming a couple of feet off a vertical face I'm going much further back than I would have thought if that makes sense. The worst stuff is an introduced/invasive shrub that is abundant in this area - silver berry/Elaeagnus. It puts out long, slender, vine-like shoots with spines that grow into a tangled mess and fight being cleanly cut for all they're worth. They snag on everything and then you can hardly shake loose from the grapple when you pick up. If I can get that garbage under control, everything will be a lot easier next time.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

It does sling stuff but generally not back towards driver. In the 3 or so hours I've run it now, only one piece came back in my general direction. I'm wearing glasses and will probably get something like this soon - Delta Plus ProGuard Loggers Caps - https://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p/24448/14731/delta-plus-proguard-loggers-caps.
The greatest potential for debris coming back at you is probably when cutting horizontal with deck lifted level. It's easy enough to tilt cutter up directing debris more downward but I could see not paying attention to what you were doing and getting something in the face. The way my FEL is set up it looks like it would be pretty easy to build a quick attach mesh shield of some sort - something I think I'll do now that it occurs to me.

Went back to horizontal today and cleaned up what I did vertically yesterday. Unfortunately, I kinked one of the hoses while converting back and it later started leaking. It was a cheap Tractor Supply 1/2" hose with a greater minimum bend radius than a better quality 3/8" hose. Got new 3/8 hoses made today and will pay better attention next time.

I'm finding that many areas have limbs sticking out 10-15' or more and once I hit those it opens up underneath. So rather than just trimming a couple of feet off a vertical face I'm going much further back than I would have thought if that makes sense. The worst stuff is an introduced/invasive shrub that is abundant in this area - silver berry/Elaeagnus. It puts out long, slender, vine-like shoots with spines that grow into a tangled mess and fight being cleanly cut for all they're worth. They snag on everything and then you can hardly shake loose from the grapple when you pick up. If I can get that garbage under control, everything will be a lot easier next time.

I almost suggested a face shield setup like that to you but wasn't really sure how much risk there was...although it definitely looked like it wasn't risk free. I have been bushhogging my woods to clear out some sweetgum, et. al. thickets. So glad I bought the heavier Land Pride bushhog vs the light duty one. It's supposed to handle up to 3" trees and I've certainly tested its limits.

 

[greenbeast]

Using the mulcher on skid steer I’ve damn near spotted myself multiple times when something gets thrown back into the plexiglass windshield.

They won’t even sell a mulcher to you unless you have the special glass and rightly so!

Glad this is working out, have to admit I was skeptical at first. Sure is gratifying to tear stuff up on a tractor.

 

[Waorani]

I'm on the lookout for some woven mesh to build a debris guard. The local metal sales place didn't have any and I'd hate to have to order a full sheet. In the meantime, a bit of a setback. Got the hoses fixed but then noticed one of my lift cylinders leaking. Tractor is 20yrs old but only has 300hrs on it. I replaced seals in the other lift cylinder a couple years ago so I don't think it was from the cutter use. Fortunately I bought two sets of seals when I did the first one. Unfortunately Kubota thinks very highly of their parts - $150 for a few o-rings/seals. I'm sure they could all be bought for a few $ if I knew what I was doing. If they wear out again, I'm going to replace the entire cylinders with aftermarket.