What Size Tractor For 10-12 Foot Bush Hog

[jamesehatcher]

Hey Everyone,

First to admit I am a newbie and in over my head. I have recently come become a managing partner in a large farm in North Ga. The farm is 550 Acres and has about 250-300 Acres in fields (mostly open with scattered planted pines).

I have experience in land development (oh the good ole days) but little experience with farming equipment.


Our main concern is cutting the open areas to keep the place looking nice to protect its value. Heres a video tour of the farm on youtube.....its quite a place: Far Winds Video - YouTube

I love an older Deutz because its aircooled and fuel efficient. I found a DX 3.50 with low hours and a DX 110. The 3.50 is a 61HP tractor and the 110 is a 102HP according to tractordata.com

Whats everyones input...Open to other tractor ideas. I would prefer the DX3.50 as its a better deal, but I need it to be able to pull a 10' bush hog and or a 12' flex wing. Do they make a larger size flail mower and would that be an option?

Thanks for all your help.....probably the first of many questions.

 

[bigbull338]

if you went with the DX110,you have about 90pto hp wich would pull a 12fy an a 15ft batwing shredder with ease.the 12ft shredder would lugg the 60hp down pretty good.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I would think a 61 hp tractor would have no problem with a 10 foot and be able to handle a 12.

 

[radman1]

If you are mowing 250-300 acres, get a 15' batwing and the 102 hp tractor. That is a lot of mowing. A 10' mower will take forever. If it was me and that many acres, I would go 15-20' batwing and the bigger tractor.
If the mowing is fairly heavy grass, it takes a good amount of hp to run a mower. My JD 4520 with 60 engine hp and 52 pto hp, really grunts with my 10' mower in tall grass. My CaseIH Maxuum 120 with 105 pto hp, handles a 15' batwing fairly easily and could probably handle a 20 batwing in most conditions.

 

[Billac]

A lot depends on what you are cutting.
My 7 ft Woods is all my Deutz-Allis 7085 will handle in wheel high grass alfalfa(I use it to cut hay).When I'm just cutting grass & weeds a 50 hp D17 Allis will handle it fine.
I think my 7085 is 80 to 85 hp but someone can correct me on that.

 

[charleyfarmall]

I mowed 60 acres of overgrown field with thick tall grass ( enough that I couldn't see forward and hit a few hidden round bales) last week using a 10 ft bushhog. I have 60hp at the pto and I bogged down more than once. Most of the time it was fine. I think that's the minimum hp to really get work done if you are doing anything other than maintenance mowing.

The general rule of thumb is 5hp per foot of cutter but a little more power goes a long way. Based on the limited info on what you are cutting I think you should be looking at 85-100 hp ( engine) tractors, and definitely a 15" batwing. I think 20's get to darn big to maneuver.

 

[flusher]

Flail mower? Not for 300 acres. You need a bat wing brush hog, 15 footer, and a big tractor (100 hp pto minimum). HP translates into mowing speed. How quickly do want to mow your acres? The answer will go a long way towards sizing your tractor/mower combination.

 

[Gary Fowler]

A lot depends on the condition of your land also. 5 HP per foot is a good go by for rotary cutters. More HP is good for more speed, but if your land is like mine the ground it too rough to go more than 5 MPH anyway and even then it will beat you up pretty good. If it is highway smooth and you are able to mow faster, go for the HP to do so, otherwise a 60HP at the PTO will do fine for 10-12foot bush hog type cutter.

 

[Soundguy]

I wouldn't be looking at a flail mower if you want speed or HP efficiency.

also.. if I had that much to mow.. I'd be looking at 20' mower IMHO..


soundguy

 

[Verticaltrx]

Forget the 10-12' bush hog, a 15' batwing and a tractor with 100-120hp on the PTO is about minimum equipment IMO. With that setup you could move along pretty quick if the ground was fairly smooth and the vegetation wasn't too tough. Getting 100-120ac a day mowed isn't out of the question.

We run a batwing on a tractor with only 82hp on the PTO and it does quite well for most cutting (mowing pastures, etc). But, it does slow down in the really heavy stuff. 120 PTO hp is about the ideal amount for an average 15' batwing, once you get into the 150hp range it's pretty easy to smoke the wing clutches in tough going (BTDT).