Need Advice Brush Hogging

[BroBro]

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I have a new JD 3203 Compact 32 HP 4WD With FEL weight of Tractor with empty tire's without FEL is 2700 lb's. ( Now 4000 lb's)
JD has ROPP'S and Seat Belt Hydro. Transmission with Power Steering and Brake's
Just sold my MF 245 2 WD no FEL.
Just wondering Which is Safer Brush Hogging with FEL on Tractor or with FEL off.
I live in West Virginia Own 174 acres lot's of mowing with lot's of pertty steep hill's.
All 4 wheel's are loaded and stretched out to the Max.
Also I have added 6 inch spacer's on the rear wheels makeing the rear wheel's measure from outside to outside 68 inche"s.
Stock measurement for rear wheel's is 56 inche's.
The reason I purchased the JD 4 WD with FEL is to mow steeper hill's thus the reason for wideing the front and rear wheel's.
I am useing a New 5 foot King Cutter Brush Hog.
Any advice or warning's from experienced hillside farmer's would be apperciated .
Mowed for years with the old MF 245 but there was alot of place's I could not go.
Long post I know but need ADVICE !!!!
THANK'S !!!

 

[fenix]

I also live in WV and my ground has some steep places.
I mow our pasture twice a year as it seems to keep the
weeds down better in my opinion.
I remove the loader for the mowing and leave it off till I am
finished. Others may disagree and that's fine, we have to do
what we all think works best.
My loader weights over 1000 pounds and even with the bucket set
low that weight makes for a top heavy feeling. Some say with the loader
on you can go up much steeper ground and you can. But is it worth
the risk and you are putting much more strain on your machine.
If I must have the loader to keep the front down on a grade, it is
to steep for me. Wish you to best with new tractor.

 

[leonz]

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I have a new JD 3203 Compact 32 HP 4WD With FEL weight of Tractor with empty tire's without FEL is 2700 lb's. ( Now 4000 lb's)
JD has ROPP'S and Seat Belt Hydro. Transmission with Power Steering and Brake's
Just sold my MF 245 2 WD no FEL.
Just wondering Which is Safer Brush Hogging with FEL on Tractor or with FEL off.
I live in West Virginia Own 174 acres lot's of mowing with lot's of pertty steep hill's.
All 4 wheel's are loaded and stretched out to the Max.
Also I have added 6 inch spacer's on the rear wheels makeing the rear wheel's measure from outside to outside 68 inche"s.
Stock measurement for rear wheel's is 56 inche's.
The reason I purchased the JD 4 WD with FEL is to mow steeper hill's thus the reason for wideing the front and rear wheel's.
I am useing a New 5 foot King Cutter Brush Hog.
Any advice or warning's from experienced hillside farmer's would be apperciated .
Mowed for years with the old MF 245 but there was alot of place's I could not go.
Long post I know but need ADVICE !!!!
THANK'S !!!

If anything I would add rear duals if at all possible and add ballast to the outer duals The problem is traction and adhesion.

If your mowing side hills greater than 15 degrees in slope its a practice you better stop period if you intend on living a long time.

You MUST mow up and then MOW down hill in a straight line period because
your tractors centerline is the ruling factor and if the center line of the tractor is too high it wil;l be prone to tipping.

You can buy smaller wider tires and rims(grain combine) and lower the center line and center of gravity of the tractor and be a lot safer.

 

[namesray]

i have spent a lot of time mowing on steep hills in north central pa. i have mowed at a golf course for 6 years with steep hills and my grandpa's farm had just about all its hay fields and pastures on the side hills. we mowed hay with a farmal h narrow front end with sickel mower. i don't know the exact degree of the slope, but if you weren't paying attention, you WOULD be going over one way or another. also bush hogged with international 444. nice tractor= real wide wheel base. (don't have these tractors any more after my grandparents passed away) put the 444 ACROSS hills so steep, i now with my kubota b7800 (simular to your john deere in size=width=57" b7800 weighs a little less then your john deere rig) have to go UP & DOWN and it will just about pick up the front of the tractor with fel going up this steep hill. there are also a lot of hills i mow across too. i leave the loader on when mowing on these hills. i actually use the loader bucket as a stabilizer to not let the tractor tip. i curl it back slightly and just let it skim the ground. the width of the bucket so close to the ground won't let it tip easy (bucket width is 59" tractor wheel width is 57"). think of it as like down riggers on a backhoe sort of. the bucket holds the tractor from tipping to the side on its front axel pivot by forcing it to stay with the hill slope. the hydrostat transmission makes this easier because i can "feel" my way easy across the slope. sometimes i take a slightly up hill angle because the hills are so steep the bucket will cause the front end of the tractor to slide down hill a bit. i know without the loader on and bucket down like this, i would tip over in some places i mow. i would feel lost with out that loader on them hills. it would also be handy to have out there if you had to use it to emergency stop or something. better then nothing at all. this is a skill i have learned and i took my time at doing this to start out. i do not recommend you go outside your comfort zone at all. i am just saying my opinion is that having a loader on side hills can be handy. there was a thread on here that gave mathmatically how to caculate the degree of slope with the center of gravity of your tractor that you can safely mow. i think it was titled "concerned about the angle." with what ever you do be careful and STAY SAFE. up and down is better then side to side, but keep it in 4 wd. at least with my b7800, it will go out from under itself going down hill in 2 wd. Stay safe and good luck.

 

[BroBro]

Fenix -- Great looking farm !!!!
Lots of fertilizer and lime on that grass.
That pic of the slope look's just like my farm.
Thank's for the pic's.

 

[fenix]

Thanks BroBro, we try to keep it looking nice but it's hard to stay
ahead of. You are right on the lime and fertilize. The lime was spread by
truck and those guys are very confident on steep ground.
It is amazing were they can go.

 

[rekees4300]

Just wondering Which is Safer Brush Hogging with FEL on Tractor or with FEL off.

Off. Especially on hills.

 

[Hollow]

If your mowing with the bucket close to the ground a FEL can easily raise your tractor's center of gravity 20% to 30% of it's total height. Much worse if you keep the bucket raised 2' or 3' off the ground. But if you've got a little tractor like that and it's 68" wide that thing is going to be hard to turn over if your driving slow and being careful.

 

[jdtractor]

Hi I live in southwestern Pa next to WVa approx 20 miles out , the ground here is steep. My farm is made up of all hiilside and ridge hay field with steep sides. I grew up on Hillsides with tractors , both track ,and tire. Ive owned several dozers and 4x4 tractors ,with FEL and without.I mow ground steep and rough full of slips and etc........... this ground is steep to the point a 4x4 will not climb all of it forceing me if I want it mowed to go up around (we call it dog legging) then come back down. It takes an extra 15min on some passes. I mow with tractors in the 60hp range, with FEL ON and OFF.The FEL saves the tractor against trees etc and heavy brush. As far as helping hold the tractor on the hill, I cant say it doesnt nor can I say it does. It all depends on the operator etc............ I use mine more on then in the past simplely because I dont want to remove it and I always have ajob waiting for the FEL it seems like.I mow side ways some but I preferr up and down with seat belt on to hold you in the seat, not only that but you can rest your legs more and pay attention to the ground etc.....and tractor. just my 0.02 cts good luck ,stay safe

 

[RoyJackson]

Off. Especially on hills.

I'd like to qualify rekees' post a bit.

If the brush is tall and thick, and you are not familar with the area, I'd suggest leaving the loader installed and the bucket low (cutting edge a few inches off the ground). The bucket would knock down the brush so less likely to have any rude surprises or tear any hose, wires, etc off from under the tractor. You may only have to do this for the first time mowing.

If it's a pretty cleared field like in Fenix pictures), leave the loader off, mow up and down slope and definitely consider buying a couple hundred pounds of suitcase weights for the front end of your tractor.

Also, don't mow when that grass is wet...wet grass is slicker then greased owl sh*t!

 

[dmccarty]

I really do not have any flat land but then it is not that steep compared to others. I do have a Tiltmeter and watch it when I am in an area that is tilting me to one side or the other. A 10 degree slope makes me nervous. I might push to 15 degrees in one spot but I know the ground and I can see where I am going. 15 degrees makes me very nervous. In theory I should be ok up to 20 degrees if the implements are low to the ground. Maybe a bit more but I do not ever intend to find out.

I use the FEL to put more weight on the tractor and especially on the front of the tractor. My 4700 needs some weight with the mower. I put the bucket down to skim across the ground to feel rocks or stumps. I have plenty of both.

The Tiltmeter has taught me a couple of things. One, 10-15 degree slopes are not comfortable. Two, it does not take much to change the tilt angle on the tractor. A hole, rock, stump, log, etc can change the tractor's angle very suddenly.

Later,
Dan

 

[GPintheMitten]

Granted I don't have much experience brushhogging on hills and have only had a loader a short time. But I would be careful of the loader skimming or close to the ground possibly hitting something like a rock or stump and riding up over it, it could change your tilt in a hurry. Just something to be mindful of, I guess.

 

[jshwhite]

I'm no safety expert, but I have done some bush hogging on some very steep hills and I can say that I certainly wouldn't want to do it without some weight on the front end. I leave the loader on, but weights would probably do the same. When climbing a steep hill, the weight keeps the front end solid on the ground, which makes a BIG difference with the 4x4.

Just my thoughts - hope it helps.

 

[dmccarty]

Granted I don't have much experience brushhogging on hills and have only had a loader a short time. But I would be careful of the loader skimming or close to the ground possibly hitting something like a rock or stump and riding up over it, it could change your tilt in a hurry. Just something to be mindful of, I guess.

You go real slow. If you hit something it is not that bad. The bucket is low to the ground and even if the bucket rode over the stump/rock it is not going to move up much. If the bucket moving up over a stump would cause a roll over you should not be on the slope in the first place.

Later,
Dan

 

[BroBro]

Well I have been doing some hogg'n and I will tell you right up front I will never mow without the FEL on.
It is more stable and the added weight is very nice to have.
I have had this little tractor up hills that I can hardly walk up with the loader on and when going down hill I have on occasion needed to drop the bucket to stop sliding.
My sidehill courage is alittle suspect at this time but it is improving slowly.
I always wear my seatbelt and ROPS are always up.
But still 174 acers is a 174 acrers alot of seat time with a 5ft hog.
The only problem I see is I wish the little tractor would handle a 10 ft. hog but I guess that is a little much LOL !!!!

 

[gec343]

I didn't even know 10 foot brush hogs were available. My new L4600 is being delivered today, and I'm still debating with myself whether a five or six foot brush hog is needed. I have 80 acres of high grass and brush to mow. Hey, I like your signatures, which are both very true!!

 

[nybirdman]

I didn't even know 10 foot brush hogs were available. My new L4600 is being delivered today, and I'm still debating with myself whether a five or six foot brush hog is needed. I have 80 acres of high grass and brush to mow. Hey, I like your signatures, which are both very true!!

Yes they make 10ft.BH but you have to have the horse-power to run them and tractor enough to handle the weight.Depends what you are mowing but you may be able to handle a seven ft.(lite or med duty).Heavey brush a six footer on your tractor.

 

[94BULLITT]

I didn't even know 10 foot brush hogs were available. My new L4600 is being delivered today, and I'm still debating with myself whether a five or six foot brush hog is needed. I have 80 acres of high grass and brush to mow. Hey, I like your signatures, which are both very true!!

You will probably want a 6' so it will be wider than tractor.