Bushhog crazy wheel frame bent. Help

[masseyrider]

I never lift the BH when backing up. The wheel should swivel as you turn. When backing up, it should flip around 180'. Have you greased the grease fitting to make sure it swivels easily?

My mower, a Bush-hog is a semi-mount with 2 tail wheels. I don't have the option of lifting it. I've had it aboot 20 years. Other than greasing the tail wheel shafts and wheel bearings I've never had an issue.
Yours may be cheap build/poor design.
I've never heard of a MK Martin.

 

[Midniteoyl]

The tailwheel looks to have a more extreme rake to it than I'm used to seeing.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I received a NorTrac brush hog mower with used tractor. I really bent the main post and the frame. I have looked at a replacement, but can't find one that fits, anywhere. Main issue is the post length.
Sending off to a body man with right tools to try to salvage it. Bending an 1 1/4" post back into place won't be such an easy task, considering the design of fork.

 

[oosik]

I have one major problem to overcome - if I buy a rotary cutter. For 40+ years I been clearing my fields/meadows of large rocks.

Two guesses where I put them. AH - in the brush at the edge of the fields/meadows. This is the brush I want to chop down with a new cutter.

The real concern - do I want to spend the time moving all these rocks again. OR - just be happy with things the way they are.

 

[ericm979]

Lift the cutter with the tractor and check that the wheel can rotate 360 degrees. Usually there's a visible gap on the shaft above the wheel between the tube the shaft rides in and the retainer on the top. From the pic it looks like the retainer on the top is right down on the tube. If that's true it may be why the wheel is not swiveling when you back up.

The bent wheel bracket shouldn't affect that but once you figure out the problem it's probably worth bending it back into shape.

My Kodiak rotary cutter has a similar single square tube supporting the tail wheel. It's really sturdy and I back it into trees and bushes all the time. You change the wheel height by removing one bolt and letting it pivot up or down, then inserting the bolt at the new position.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

In my case, it spins freely, I must have been backing up and hit an immovable object, then kept trying to back up. Not fast, just applied the "gas".
The post is out of whack in two directions, not by much, but with as thick the post is, it might as well be. Frame is similar to OP.

 

[chim]

Looks like the yoke is just a narrow flat strap in the picture. Not a very robust piece of that's the case.

 

[ArchonOSX]

I agree, the design looks weak at the top. The legs of the wheel Fram are too long without any support to prevent racking.
I would weld a piece of 1/4" flat steel across the top front of the wheel frame to act as a gusset for both of the vertical wheel mounts.
Make it as wide as you can and still have clearance for the wheel.
It should never bend like that again.
If you want to really overkill it then weld a gusset on both the front and the back of the wheel frame.
Happy Day!

 

[Cycledude]

I usually raise the mower before backing up especially if I’m worried about hitting something that could cause trouble. Mine is a Woods Dixie cutter and it appears to be much more heavy duty than the MK Martin that started this post. Bought mine new about 40 years ago and haven’t really ever had any trouble with it, cost about $800 . Mine has a slip clutch and I don’t think there are any shear pins at least if it does have shear pins I have never had to replace one, my gearbox also appears to be built much more heavy duty.

 

[masseyrider]

Mine has a slip clutch and I don’t think there are any shear pins at least if it does have shear pins I have never had to replace one, my gearbox also appears to be built much more heavy duty.

If you had shear pins you would know it. When I had one with shear pins I could hardly finish my field talk about 40 years of cutting.