Bush hogging 30+- acres

[eggy]

Looking for some thoughts on a tractor that can handle bush hogging about 30 acres in a day, but yet be loaded on a trailer, without use of a goosneck. We have been toying with getting into the bush hogging end of this service for some time.

[scottb]

Your going to be needing at least a 30 pto hp tractor. Do you want new or used check out your local dealers. Be careful with bush hog work those rear tires can be expensive to fix.
As far as new tractors go Jd MF Nh and Kubato all make well built tractor in the compact range that would haul great. Used look for a 135 Massey Fergson(good luck) or a 2 or 3000 ford these are all great tractors that would be easy to haul and maintain.

[captdevo]

i cut 47 acres at a factory, i use a jd 4400 with 12' batwing mower, it's trailerable, but it would take at least a 24' trailer and some meat to pull it with, especially with a bumper pull trailer.

[sbvfd592]

3 words bob cat with tracks

[gusndemboyz]

Bob cat with tracks , thats 4 words isn't it. Depending on how fast you are able to mow. If you are able to mow at 5 mph you could mow 3 acres a hour with a 6 ft. bushhog. This would have you putting in a 10 hour day. The bigger the mower the bigger the tractor, the bigger the price tag.

[Runner]

Anything that is 30+ hp. out of the PTO, and you can't go wrong. Anything less, and you'll regret it at some point or the other. Also, a diesel would be awsome for this, as you'll be running it for hours, and it has that low end torque you'll want at times. The dog-gone thing about these tractors, is that you can't go wrong, as an investment. As you'll find out as you do a bit of research and shopping around, you pay about as much for a USED tractor as you do a NEW one! I would love to have a decent mid size like this, and I tell myself that everyday. Nothing big, just something around 30 to 35 hp out the back, w/ a front bucket (WAY too useful not to have), I would also opt for hydrostatic, as this makes bucket work so much more efficient, and four wheel drive as well. Good luck with it, and happy shopping!

[eggy]

Thoughts on a John Deere 790?

[eggy]

Is it true the pto hp mis generally 86% of the tractors gross hp? So a 790 would be at 26 hp for the pto ...to small?

[cglservice]

yes a 790 would be a little slow you can run a 6' shreader with it but it would havet to be a lite duty model. Very good machine with four wheel drive. I run a 6' woods finish mower on mine plenty of power and it makes good time. But if you are going to get in to loader work then the hydro trans. would be more efficent.
Go with whats is comfortable for you , and check you dealers out well dont let the name on a machine be the decideing factor. You may need service later. Good Luck

[AltaLawnCare]

As per my brochure on the 790..

It has 25 rated PTO hp with 3 cyclinder diesel. JD has a good price on the 790, but I think its too small for a 6' rotary cutter.

Without a FEL (Front end loader), the weight of the 'hog is going to make the 790 really squirly.

If you're going to add a FEL, then hydro is a must. Hydros lose more power than geared (like the 790) to the PTO.
;)

[FrankenScagMachines]

Well I don't know about other brands but I got to play with many many different models of JD's up at Hendrens in Columbus (46 & 9) they have a good selection with some Bush Hogs for them. Got to play with Gears and Hydros, with loaders too. They were all super easy to use and very comfortable to operate as well. I liked the gear drives for just fiddling around and I do think a hydro would be easier for loader usage or variable speed situation. You don't need to search for the right gear that way. The gear drives all have a gas pedal and lever so you can use the pedal or you can set the lever to a set speed and then use the pedal for power boosts as needed. The pedal combo on a gear drive made it as easy and fun as driving a manual shift car! Maybe easier! The diesels (almost all they had) were very easy starting in summer, didn't get to use them in winter. On most models (2wd) you will NEED weights on front if you have a Bush Hog on back w/o a loader on front. I accidentally popped a wheelie with a 2wd that had a Bush Hog on back but no weight on front. Had a little bit of a high gear, but it would be dangerous on a hill and definately would not stick going sideways either. Hendren's are very good people with a good reputation, check them out sometime. Their website is www.hendrens.com . And for model info, www.johndeere.com . Now we all know how many people use and love John Deere's so they must be doing something right? Plus you have Bryant Implement down your way too. Always guaranteed good parts availability on JD. A JD dealer in every town practically. Worth a look!
Good luck!
Eric
PS Eggy, what's the name of your mowing company? I might have heard of it.

[southside]

Used:- Ford New Holland 2120 running 4'6" slasher.

Good rule of thumb is to match slasher(bush hog) sizes to you
engine horsepower. eg 50 hp = 5' slasher,40hp = 4' slasher.
Better to be over powered than under.

The 2120 has a very nice diesel made by Shibaura in Japan.
Very torquey and reliable. Has 12 speed shuttle trans and is nicely
balanced.

[southside]

Heres a pic of a Ford 2110. 40hp 4wd. Earlier model than the one
I first mentioned but essentially the same.

[tim cooper]

I have a Kubota L2900 4wd hydrostatic drive with 5 foot bushog finishing blade.. Cuts very well (If grass is not too high). Trick is keep blades sharp. I cut my 5 acre lot in about 2 1/2 hours, plus it's great on fuel consumption. I bought 4 years ago tractor, trailer, mower, for 14000 bucks... Thought it was pretty good deal... lol, now i get all these posts tellin me i got screwed on price!!!

[eggy]

The stuff that we would cut is pretty tall. It gets cut only twice in a area that has growth eight months. The sub uses a large tractor I would say about 75 hp and a large bush hog about 6ft and leaves a lot of grass standing..........so am I barking up the wrong tree thinking I will do a better job with a 30hp pto tractor and smaller mower.....he gets done with 30 acres pretty quick I would say about 6 hours......

[JB1]

we cut an industrial plant that has 70 acres that we mow three times a season, we call a rental company and they send us a John Deere 100 hp cab tractor and 15" batwing mower and we'll use our small 30 hp tractor in the tight areas. this works good for us.

[eggy]

Is it common to rent a tractor and bush hog? Do most rental stores do this? How does your 30hp tractor do in the tight spots? Do you have to go over it twice?

[Scag48]

Deere 4600 or 4500 with a 9 or 10 foot rotary. I've got our 27 HP Kubota with an 8 foot woods rotary. It cuts everything pretty well, just for cutting fields, not a whole lot. I can cut about 2 feet of growth and that's about it. I'd say any tractor with about 40-50 HP will be PERFECT. You could cut just about anything with a 10 foot rotary. I think you could use a batwing on a 45 HP and you should be able to do fine. The trailering will be the toughest part though.

[southside]

If it's only cut occasionally then 65-75hp would be a better option.
If the current machine is leaving grass standing up then he is
either cutting at too high a ground speed or his blades are dull.
Slasher blades are a pain to resharpen.

[AltaLawnCare]

Around here the rental stores get $200.00 per day to rent a small under 30hp traaactore and bush hogg...

A little pricey.