Bush hog side to side movement

[Mud Mechanik]

I have read many topics on the side to side sway needed on a rotary cutter, my tractor manual even says that 2 inches of sway ( 1 inch each side of tractor centerline ) is necessary to prevent damage to lift arms. I have almost always limited the sway to nearly none and have never damaged the tractor. I'm just looking for some more opinions on how everyone else does it.

 

[TripleR]

In the 50+ years I have run things on a 3PH "tight/no movement" just some less sway than others. I would rather my cutter move over a bit when, not if it comes into contact with something rather than bending or breaking something.

 

[Gary Fowler]

The only time excessive slack in the lift arms would be of any consequence is if mowing on a slope then it would track to the far side, otherwise it just trails along behind mostly centered. It needs a bit of slack to give a bit if you swing too tight to a tree or some other immovable object.

 

[namesray]

agree with the above 2 posts. the sway does take alot of the stresses encountered with trees, roots, humps/bumps, or other obstacles. the other day i hit a well head on a customers property. just caught the side of the bush hog luckily. it was hidden in deep golden rod. i was going along and suddenly, bam!!! by the time i got stopped i was about 3 feet past point of impact and could barely see what i hit in the weeds. it was their water well head and i caught it on the condiut and wire side too. no damage done to the well head wires or my equipment and the extra slack in the 3ph i am sure helped me out by letting the bush hog shift out to the side instead of putting full force at the point of impact.

just for a bit more info for your thoughts, i used to (for about 2 years) hook those 3ph chains so tight there was no mavement. never had a problem, never broke anything, but since i have been leaving some slack in the check chains of 3ph, i also have not noticed much difference in their use of efficiency. either way not much difference with bush hog cut and you get the benefit of the sway off striking potential obstacles. i am not sure if mine is quite 2 inches though. probably little less then that, but still some slack.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I have read many topics on the side to side sway needed on a rotary cutter, my tractor manual even says that 2 inches of sway ( 1 inch each side of tractor centerline ) is necessary to prevent damage to lift arms. I have almost always limited the sway to nearly none and have never damaged the tractor. I'm just looking for some more opinions on how everyone else does it.

I would suggest that your tractor ain't big enough to tear stuff up.
If you try that with a 100 hp tractor that weighs 10,000 pounds, you will likely have a different experience.

 

[farmboy1954]

Hello Mud Mechanik, it has been several weeks since I have had time to enjoy our conversations on the net. On my tractor when I pin the sway bars they still have about 2-2.5 inches of movement with all the equipment I hook up to it. I find this helpful not to have to have the attchment in a bind if I get into a tight spot and I ususally do around some of the pine trees I am mowing around in Seminary.

Farmboy

 

[Ed of all trades]

I don't want my bush hog moving from side to side at all. If I am cutting close to a tree and my bush hog swings over I just knocked a lot of bark off of my tree. I have done it this way for 25 years or more at one time bushhoging over 200 ac a year with no problems and will continue to have my sway bars tight.

 

[Mud Mechanik]

I have always removed the top link while cutting to allow for the cutter to follow ground contour without binding, and like Ed of all trades does, I tighten my sway bars to stop all side to side movement. I just read in my owners manual for the new tractor that the cutter needs a little wiggle room and wanted to get some opinions, thanks for your replies.

 

[phiferpharm]

I set my Hog up using the pin setting the Kioti has that allows about 2" of play. I also think that I tend to think of the Bush Hog as a lawn mower at times versus being a brush mower. Yes, I would like to get the same quality of cut as my ZTR, but that is not really what the Bush Hog is best at doing.

 

[TerryR]

I always pull my Bush Hog all the way to the left so it cuts to the tire mark on one side (I have my wheels set to max width) and allow almost no side-to-side movement. Almost all our property has side hill slope no matter how I cut it, so any slack would allow the cutter to drop down the hill and leave the tire mark uncut. In 15 years it has never been a problem.

Terry