KR600Z with a TGR155 cutterbar on an Arbos tractor — a delivery report
In November 2024 we handed over to the customer a KR600Z power arm mower with a TGR155 branch cutterbar, mounted on an Arbos tractor. The installation went smoothly, with no problems balancing and levelling the machine on the carrier. Below we describe what such a set gives a road maintenance unit and how the working head is matched to it.
What the delivery covered
- a KR600Z power arm mower with a telescopic second arm,
- a TGR155 branch and bush cutterbar as the working head,
- proportional joystick control,
- starting the machine and the rotor with a single button on the joystick panel,
- carrier: an Arbos tractor, well ballasted, with plenty of room in the cab.
Why a reach of 6.4 m matters at the roadside
The problem of maintaining the road right-of-way is simple: the operator has to reach the verge and the ditch slope without driving the tractor off the hard surface. The maximum arm reach of the KR600Z given in the parameter table is 6.4 m and makes it possible to cover the verge and the ditch slope while driving on the carriageway. The KR600Z from the KR-Z POWER series has a telescopic second arm, so the reach changes during mowing — the operator adds as many metres as the particular spot requires, instead of repositioning the tractor. For wider ditch cross-sections or a greater distance from the line of travel, the KR700Z with a reach of 7.5 m is more practical, provided that the tractor meets the higher requirements: 130 HP of power, 230 cm of width and 5000 kg of weight.
Stable parameters are the responsibility of the independent hydraulic system: a 220/240 litre oil tank, a pump with a capacity of 73 cm³ working with a power of 68 HP, and an oil cooler that cuts in as early as 45˚C. The structure of the arm is protected by a hydraulic-gas breakaway device, which allows the arm to swing back by about 30˚ in the event of a collision with an obstacle — in work along the road, where posts and remains of fences hide in the grass, this is protection of practical value.
TGR155 — the working range and its limits
The TGR-155 cutterbar is a cutting head for branches and bushes, intended for clearing brush on verges and ditches and for maintaining the road clearance envelope. The key parameters:
- working width: 1550 mm,
- maximum diameter of cut material: 120 mm,
- head rotation: 180˚-235˚,
- output: 0.2 – 0.7 km/h,
- weight: 240 kg.
The rotation range decides how useful this head is at the roadside: the cutting plane is set independently of the position of the arm, so the same machine cuts vertically at the clearance line, horizontally over the ditch and at an angle on the slope, without repositioning the carrier. The pace of the work is worth planning realistically — for dense, neglected scrub it is safer to assume the lower limit of the output range given. To work with this head the tractor must have a creeper gear.
How the head is matched to the job
KR-Z series arms work with 11 models of working heads, so a single carrier handles several different jobs in the season. The choice follows from what grows on the section and what condition it is in.
Grass and young regrowth
For mowing verges and slopes there is the GH-120 or GH-130 flail head, 120 and 130 cm wide respectively. Its character is decided by the rotor and the blades set on it: Y and YI blades cope with bushes and twigs up to 5 cm of dry wood, T6 hammers with regrowth up to 6 cm of dry wood, and the rotor with H360 FORESTAL rotating hammers shreds regrowth up to 10–11 cm in diameter. Refitting changes the working range without buying a second machine.
Woody scrub and the clearance envelope
When the cross-section of the shoots goes beyond what the flails can handle, the right tool is the cutterbar — the TGR155 cuts material up to 120 mm. Thicker limbs and trunks already call for a different solution.
Ditches
For cleaning the bottoms of ditches, the PR80 ditch cleaner with an 80 cm working disc is fitted. Here the hydraulic parameters decide: the minimum required flow is 110 l/min at 200 bar or 85 l/min at 300 bar, with a head weight of 300 kg.
Control and choice of tractor
The machine supplied works with proportional joystick control, and the machine and the rotor are started with a single button on the joystick panel. The range also includes classic levers on Bowden cables, a hydraulic joystick and an ELECTRIC proportional joystick with potentiometric head down-pressure, allowing the pressure to be matched to the ground conditions and the type of material. A head soft start system, which limits the shock at start-up and extends the life of the drive components, and a panel with a control screen are fitted as options.
The second issue is the choice of carrier. The KR600Z parameter table gives the minimum values: required power 110 HP, minimum tractor width 220 cm and minimum weight 4500 kg. A smaller tractor will not provide stable work at full extension. That is why in the delivery described here it mattered not only that the Arbos tractor was well ballasted, but also that the set was balanced and levelled without problems during installation. In the request for a quotation please give the tractor model together with its power, weight and width — on that basis we confirm the choice of the arm and of the head.
