Wanting a bush hog for my tractor

sphelps

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Been looking on c/l for a used one but all seems to be worn out for the money . So considering a new one .
‘Just using for the back of my property doing some clearing and to keep the weeds down . ..
Any tips on what to look for ? I believe the pto hp is 21 on the tractor ..
Was thinking just a 4’ deck it might handle a 5’ deck idk .
 

jakedaawg

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Diesel or gas tractor?

Those things take a beating...whenever I buy used implements I look for basic overall soundness of the main housings.

I check the gear box lube and feel for excessive backlash in the gearing. No one ever checked the gearbox fluid level let alone changed it, guaranteed!

I buy knowing that every bearing and bushing is gonna need replaced as well as every consumable. (Blades and driveshaft u-joints in a Bush hog, probably the fasteners too.)
 

sphelps

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Diesel 4x4 Chinese Jinma ..24 hp I believe..
Not wanting to spend a ton on a cutter .. I know TS sells cheaper ones ..County Line or something like that and there are a few dealers not too far away that carry LMC and Bush Hog ..
12ACCEA2-ADD8-493A-9D28-A7DC0653071E.jpegB399FFC0-19B0-4FB2-A1DD-9A87572CE17E.jpeg
 

dingbat

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I pull a 5ft. King Kutter behind a New Holland TC 25D. I mow 20+ acres. Probably close to 1200 hrs. on it.

The frame has held up well. Everything else has been replaced from use. Had to put new seals in the gear box two years ago but it’s still sound.

The county line units that TS sells are pretty solid. Better build than the bush hog the neighbor used to run
 

BWR1953

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I used to have an old Ford 1210 three cylinder diesel which was 16HP (13 at the PTO) and it was a beast. I used it to do the massive cleanup needed when I first bought my 1.5 acre place here. It did a bang up job.

That Ford could easily handle a heavy 5 foot box blade and it also handled a heavy 4 foot bush hog for "cutting the grass" here. I have video of it doing some serious grunt work but if I posted it here the "tractor police" would yell at me. :lol:

I"d think that your machine with 8HP more at the PTO than my Ford had could handle a five foot cutter no problemo.

Click image for larger version  Name:	small.JPG Views:	1 Size:	1.36 MB ID:	10688139
 
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gm280

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Sam, if you have the welding equipment, have you thought about building your own? If all the other parts are available, the frame would be the only part you would have to manufacture. Just a thought.

Maybe think smaller. Instead of a bush hog, try a bush pig and work up... :laugh:
 

sphelps

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BW , It probably could handle a 5’ Cutter . I only have around 1.5 to 2 acres to clean up with a lot of trees to go around . That’s why I was thinking on just a 4’ .
‘The other half of the yard is cleared and I use my ZT for that .. I plan on working on the back half till I get it finish mowable .
Then if I run out of stuff to use the tractor for I will probably sell it .. As long as I take care of it I should be able to get most of my money back out of it ..
GM , I have too many floating projects to have time to build a bush hog or pig for that matter ! LOL !
 

dingbat

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County Line Decks are 14 ga
LMC I think are 12 ga
The deck thickness is for the most part irrelevent. It’s the apron/frame that takes the beating. If anything I would lean towards a thinner deck for the reduction in weight.

One thing I learned years ago about farm implements...if it gets used, it’s going to break.

In the end it all comes down to long parts support. If your resourceful and know how to source parts it doesn’t matter who or what you buy. If you relay on dealers for parts, your better off buying a high volume machine from a local supplier
 
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alldodge

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So long as your not cutting trees down with it the Northern tool one should be fine. I found a 5 footer in Nashville on CL for $50 with a broken gear box. A new one is about 130
 

sphelps

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Not planning on cutting down any trees but maybe small saplings and palmetto thickets .
I noticed on some cutters the top support bracket is attached by a chain while others like the nor-trac are more of a hard connection . https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/grd/d/lmc-andy-bush-hogs/6747818250.html
Is the chain there so maybe if you hit something or backup on something it won’t bend the supports ?
This is my first tractor so still in the learning stages ..
 

alldodge

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The rear supports needs to flex so when the tractor Vee's so to speak. If it doesn't then things bend or break. It can be just a piece of chain. The John Deere MX uses solid arms with a slot. The issue with this setup it looks good, but the bolt keeps breaking when doing rough stuff.

jd.jpg
 

dingbat

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Assuming you have a class 1 hitch, stay away from any chain or flexing scenarios. Last thing you want is to break a chain and get it wrapped up in the PTO.

Most decent units use a swivel knuckle to float the rear of the deck on uneven terrain. Works well. I have an area that is to steep for the tractor to traverse. Mow it by backing the mower up the hill. Pushing a good 45 degree angle
 
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BWR1953

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BW , It probably could handle a 5’ Cutter . I only have around 1.5 to 2 acres to clean up with a lot of trees to go around . That’s why I was thinking on just a 4’ .
‘The other half of the yard is cleared and I use my ZT for that .. I plan on working on the back half till I get it finish mowable .
Then if I run out of stuff to use the tractor for I will probably sell it .. As long as I take care of it I should be able to get most of my money back out of it ..
GM , I have too many floating projects to have time to build a bush hog or pig for that matter ! LOL !
That's pretty much the same thing I did. I got the old tractor to help me clear out a LOT of carp around here, including trees (using the box blade.)

The bush hog worked well when I still had tons of weeds and other such tough greenery but as the cleanup work progressed over time, the hog was too aggressive and slow. It tore up the yard and took 2 hours to do the cutting because of how long it took to maneuver. After a couple of years I ended up selling the tractor with bush hog and bought a garden tractor as a replacement.

Then a couple years ago I rented an excavator and did some major tree removal again. This time I just burned everything instead of hauling it all to the dump. Now that there is more sunlight reaching the ground, the yard is filling in nicely with grass (and some weeds) and in 2019 I'll start using weed and feed type stuff to enhance it further. It'll never be an actual lawn, but it's heading nicely towards being a grass yard at last.

I did have a small ZTR for awhile but with a 40" cut and 15HP it was just too small for this place. The ideal setup for here would be a small tractor with loader like you have, plus a 72" ZTR. I was able to borrow my buddy's 72" Dixie Chopper ZTR for one cut this year and man was that ever awesome. Super smooth and fast!

I've been eyeballing the Rural King tractors and they're lookin' pretty good.
 

dingbat

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Swivel knuckle... wouldn't let me upload to the last post for some reason
 

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sphelps

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Thanks for the insight guys ! After enjoying watching my 89 yr old mother sing in this years Christmas play at church I stopped by the TS store and checked out the County Line bh ..
They do look pretty stout for the price I guess . The 4’ one looked much smaller than the 5’ One . Lol !
Still debating the size . The outside of my rear tires are just a couple inches shy of 5’ ..
I forgot to measure the actual mower to see how much it would overhang the tires ..
 

dingbat

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How tall and thick is the stuff you are mowing? You don’t have much HP when push comes to shove. You might make better time with a 4’ mowing at a higher ground speed.

Mowing the pastures isnt a problem but mowing the 3 acres of “grass” we use as our extended back yard is a slow process. If I don’t cut it every 2 weeks or so I have to drop down a gear to get thru the stuff. Just not enough HP . I have 22 HP on the PTO
 

sphelps

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Mostly weeds brier bushes , palmettos ,
and small saplings. Not much actual grass yet .
 
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