Brush hog advice

[Code54]

"Get a mower that's SAFELY below the absolute limits and you'll have a more practical, safer, and probably more efficient rig. Your tractor will thank you later. Not saying you need to undersize implements, just don't push the limits to the hilt."
This is VERY good advice!!!!
I personally run a 5' on my 50hp tractor and am happy with it, never bogs, and it allows me to tuck it into places and cut brush that I would otherwise not be able to cut with anything wider. I recently bought a 1200lbs+ flail mower and I can assure you that when it is on the back of the tractor I know it! A flail sits much closer to the tractor so the weight is a bit easier to handle than the brush hog would be. I know I would not enjoy taking it over rough or steep terrain let along a brush hog that is hanging an additional 4' behind me.
The other thing is a lighter (say 600-800lbs) hog will cut a remarkable amount of stuff and with a little practice you will find it really does not get too beat up. Plus as other have said they are fairly easy to find at a decent price.
Last and not least - look at some of the off brands local dealers sell around the area - there are some "unknown" makes that are heavy duty without the heavy duty price! i recall Tennessee River Implement (I think that is the name) had some decent stuff out for a good price in our area

 

[greg_g]

Any actual facts to back that up? .

Nope, just the ageless rule of thumb for geared tractors; PTO hp is ~14% of flywheel hp, and drawbar hp is ~14% of PTO hp. 32-14%=27.5 at the PTO (as opposed to the manufacturer claimed 29).

//greg//

 

[stevewatr]

Love the action on this thread! I'm going to keep all my opyions open, except I am leaning more torwards a 5 footer. Only way I'll buy a 6 after this thread, is if I get an incredible deal on a used one.

The reason I did not want to wait for spring is I also think this is a great time to brushhog here in Mass. At least for the moment it is! We still have no snow accumulation here, and we have been bouncing all around temp wise. High of 50 for tommorow......on Janurary 13th! My mowing area is mostly flat, with some gentle slopes. I like the fact that lots of the stuff is dead right now, and I do not have to worry about yellow jackets.

Another thing to consider. Once the snow flys, sellers are going to lose motivation, and hold off for spring. In spring, demand goes up, and so will prices.

I have a McCormick dealer about 20 minutes away, I'll see what he has. I know the McCormick hogs are made by Woods, they are just painted red.

One of the cheaper ones offered me is a Bush hog, guy says he knows its a bush hog, he thinks it is from the 1970's?? But he says it works well, and is "heavy duty". $400. He is supposed to send me photos this weekend.

I check CL every day in the tristate area.

Thanks,
Steve W.

 

[Rowdy Raven]

I have a 4' Bushog that I use behind my Satoh Buck (18.5) hp. It used to be awkward to use until I put a FEL on the Satoh, now it is balanced out well and really works well. I keep it on the ground as much as possible because the 48" Squealer is fairly heavy for a small tractor. Got mine for $300.00 from a local dealer, it is an older unit with the chain to the rear instead of a solid strut. It really is great on high weeds and small saplings. Dealer serviced and sharpened the unit before I picked it up as well.

 

[stevewatr]

Found a Woods 60, I assume that is an older version of the BB60?? Guy says it has a dented in side, but still works fine, and he'll take $600, but he is 3 hours away, so I don;t think it is worth it.

A couple other guys I soke to selling tractors with hogs do not want to sell the hog without the tractor......oh well........the search continues.

 

[Soundguy]

tractor / implement packages sweeten the deal on both sides usually..

 

[stevewatr]

tractor / implement packages sweeten the deal on both sides usually..

I hear that. Take my Ford 1920 for instance. I got a steal on it, but it has no loader. For what I would have to pay for a good used New holland Ford loader, I could buy an older model 50 hp gas tractor with a loader on it!

However, If this one had a loader on it, I would have most likely been outbid.

Steve W.

 

[stevewatr]

Found another potetial seller today. Selling a tractor package on CL, mentioned a brush hog, so I called, and he said he'd sell it seperate, but he said it is about 5 years old, and a cheaper unit he bought a TSC. I asked him if he meant Countryline (what they have now), and he said that was not it. He said he recalls it only cost about $500 new??? Anybody know of a 5' hog Tractor supply was selling a few years ago for $500??? He said he honestly does not know what its worth, and threw out a figure of $200, I told him I'd like to see it, and he said he's get the name brand and get back to me. Even if it is a cheaper unit, for $200 I can afford to beat it up a little.:thumbsup:

 

[RoyJackson]

Found another potetial seller today. Selling a tractor package on CL, mentioned a brush hog, so I called, and he said he'd sell it seperate, but he said it is about 5 years old, and a cheaper unit he bought a TSC. I asked him if he meant Countryline (what they have now), and he said that was not it. He said he recalls it only cost about $500 new??? Anybody know of a 5' hog Tractor supply was selling a few years ago for $500??? He said he honestly does not know what its worth, and threw out a figure of $200, I told him I'd like to see it, and he said he's get the name brand and get back to me. Even if it is a cheaper unit, for $200 I can afford to beat it up a little.:thumbsup:

Might be a King Kutter. TSC was selling that brand for a few years.

 

[greg_g]

Anybody know of a 5' hog Tractor supply was selling a few years ago for $500???... Even if it is a cheaper unit, for $200 I can afford to beat it up a little.:thumbsup:

Rural King was selling a $469 piece of Chinese crap about 5 years ago, not sure if TSC fell into that same trap. It was such a piece of garbage, that they dropped the line in a matter of months. I made the mistake of buying one for extra light duty work, but the **** thing tore up just lookin' at it. Six months later I was almost ashamed to accept $250 for it. But since I'd already stuck that much into it for repairs, I took the money. So given that experience, I personally wouldn't throw good money away on a $500 farm store rotary cutter.

//greg//

 

[Hollow]

Even if it is a cheaper unit, for $200 I can afford to beat it up a little.:thumbsup:

King Kutter does make some econo mowers, but the good thing about that is they are cheap to fix if you want to invest the money to repair it. Stump pans are about $100, gear boxes are about $120 to $150. I think a new one goes for $800 now.

 

[stevewatr]

TSC currently sells a line called Countyline, apparently the rotary cutter they sell now under that name is mage by King Kutter, but another guy on another thread said his tiller he bought a few years ago was made by Farm Force.

Worst thing is, woke up to 2" snow this morning, our first accumulative snow of the winter, ruining my plans to get some work in.

 

[stevewatr]

Looked at a couple of used hogs today. Was offered a John Deere 606 for $400. Photo looked good, so I drove over an hour to see it. It had a strange slip clutch set up, and the shaft on the gear box had a lot more splines on it. He had a drive shaft for it, and the end of the shaft to go to the PTO had the standard splines. He had a newer looking JD 513 with slip clutch, but wanted $650 for it. Also had a beat up JD 5' with shear bolt for $400, and an old blue King Kutter towable unit. Almost pulled the trigger on the 6 footer, but chickened out.

 

[stickfarm]

I used an old belt from a round baler as a guard on mine; has work great for years.

 

[stevewatr]

Well I did it! Bought a cutter. took some persistance on my part, then an almost 2 hour drive, and another hour to load it, ( chain fall hung from a tree branch deal), then drove around for the past couple days with it in the back of the pickup because it was too heavy to unload. Today my neighbor came down with his FEL, and helped me get it on the ground. It is a Bush Hog model 305. Called the company with the serial number, and they said the number seemed odd, the guy I spoke to even said it may have been a prototype. It is a 5 footer with a slip clutch, and it is heavy. The last specs on the 305 said 825 lbs., but the BH guy said the earlier ones had more steel/weight. Found a parts breakdown online for several variations of the 305, mine appears to be a 305R, even though the tag does not have an R after the 305. mine has side skirts that can be unbolted. I'll try and post picks soon, and expect to have lots of questions, like, what size top link do I need? How do I determine this measurement?

 

[RoyJackson]

...what size top link do I need? How do I determine this measurement?

You mean the hole size? Just measure the upper attachment hole size (or the pin, if you have one). Category 1, 2 and 3 Three Point Hitches have standard sizes...worst case I can foresee is your tractor is Category 1 and the cutter is Category 2. If so, you may need some bushings for the cutter top connection and lower links.
If the length of the upper link...try the one that came with your tractor. As long as you have enough adjustment (I'm assuming you have the threaded type of upper link) that allows the tail wheel of the cutter to set on the ground, you should be fine.

 

[stevewatr]

Hi Roy,
My tractor was missing the top link when I bought it. Length is what I was wondering about. TSC has them, but they sell 2. One is extra long Cat 1, one is not. I assume the regular one, adjustable from 21 to 31" is what I need.

 

[greg_g]

Hi Roy,
My tractor was missing the top link when I bought it. Length is what I was wondering about. TSC has them, but they sell 2. One is extra long Cat 1, one is not. I assume the regular one, adjustable from 21 to 31" is what I need.

Those Indian toplinks are inexpensive. Before I went to a hydraulic toplink, I had an Indian toplink for every implement. It stayed with the implement, rather than with the tractor. When I backed the tractor up to the implement, the toplink was still adjusted to the length that it was when it was dismounted.

Inexpensive solution to the aggravation of attempting the "one-size-fits-all" approach. A correctly sized HTL however, now there's the proper solution.

//greg//

 

[RoyJackson]

Hi Roy,
My tractor was missing the top link when I bought it. Length is what I was wondering about. TSC has them, but they sell 2. One is extra long Cat 1, one is not. I assume the regular one, adjustable from 21 to 31" is what I need.

I think the standard length would do fine...

 

[ruffdog]

I bought a new Buhler 6 foot cutter last year for my TC33D. The store was switching over to selling king kutters and the Buhler was discontinued so I got it for $700. I had been using the neighbors old 5 ft mower and my 6 ft belly mower.

I don't use the upper link so the total weight is not an issue. The heavier duty Buhler has much more weight to swing than the smaller cutter so I have to watch what I'm doing more. I have the 72" belly mower sticking out the side so I thought I might as well get the same size cutter to use. I grew up using a 5 ft woods dixie cutter on the back of a ford 8n and 801.

I notice that the 6 ft has a higher tip speed so it cuts cleaner than the 5 ft cutter. The cutters take less HP to run than the finish belly mower so I can travel faster. I tried out the Buhler by backing it over a small pile of 2" soft maple branches and it blew them apart like they were balsa wood. OH YEAH!!!
The cutter can handle the taller grass easier than the belly mower so I don't have to mow near as much.