My Trimax: Trethias Farm
No one wants or expects manicured lawns and perfect stripes out here but site owner David Chandler, who runs the site with his son Leroy, has tough requirements from his mower. "We have 20 acres of hardy grass - it's agricultural ground really - and we have a fair few undulations. We want the grass short enough and neat enough for our campers to be able to play games on - cricket, football, volleyball and so on. We also want good even distribution of the cuttings without ridges of hay left everywhere. "
Last June David bought a Trimax Procut 237 to go on the back of his tractor and though he's not quite had a full season out of it yet, he's very pleased with its performance. "The Procut copes really well with ups and downs without any scalping. Even though it's a sturdy piece of kit, it rides over bumps really well. The distribution is excellent; it has a good mulching chamber which spreads the cuttings evenly."
Jokingly, David calls the Procut a 'manly' piece of machinery, meaning it's a robust mower which needs a 40hp tractor to pull it. "It's a sturdy thing. If it clips or catches on something, it can cope no problem. You don't have to treat it gently or worry about going over things too much."
David cuts the whole site once a week in summer taking 10-11 hours in total. He also mows individual pitches during the Saturday changeover between customers: "If someone's been camping for 2-3 weeks, then the grass round their pitch will be quite high. The Procut allows me to quickly get into all the nooks and crannies and I can change the height very easily. The Procut 237 is wider than anything I've used before and that makes a huge difference to speed of cut. It also cuts in reverse which makes things a lot quicker." He estimates the Procut's saved him around 2 hours a week.
In terms of maintenance, David is happy with a weekly greasing session. He's had his blades sharpened once and anticipates changing them next season. "I think they're about £6 each so for my eight blades, that's less than £50, which I think is a low running cost."
Cornwall agriculture, construction and groundcare equipment dealer Vincent Tractors supplied Trethias' Procut. Salesman John Scott says "The climate in Cornwall means we have a long cutting season, still cutting regularly even in winter. More campsite owners are realizing that cheap and cheerful mowers won't do, even for a few acres. They're asking us about top quality high end products. The Trimax Procut is great for cut and throw at Trethias Farm. It cuts in forward and reverse and gets into all the tight spaces around hardstanding pitches, saving a lot of time. I'm delighted David's getting on so well with it."