How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines.

   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines. #1  

JFM

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Nov 14, 2004
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I have six acres of steep land in western Maryland that had been pastured for years but now lying idle and growing up in broom sedge, wild roses and honeysuckle. I intend to clean it up and return it to pasturage

I have my eye on the following tractors for sale nearby for bush-hogging and for trailering large brush and tree limbs: (1) MF 135, International 2404 Lowboy, Ford 641, and JD 850. Price was a major factor in considering these tractors (all around $3000) as I will likely sell the land within the next five or six years, and therefore not interested in a long-time investment. Another important consideration was that these tractors have a low center of gravity, which will be a safefy factor on this steep land.

I anticipate that low-lying honeysuickle vines that have crept out into the pasture for about 20 feet will be the most strenuous task for the tractor and bush-hog.

Will any of these tractors have sufficient HP to do the job? What type and size bushhog would you recommend? Thanks for your help. Posted 11/14/2004 Remove 11/30/2004
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines. #2  
Welcome to TBN! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I have an IH2500b which is a lowboy type as well. I'd be worried about getting replacement parts, should you need them.

What PTO HP are these tractors rated at? Our IH2500b is rated at 50PTO HP and I ran a 5' hog on that. It worked OK, but our little PT425 running a 4' hydraulic brush hog off of a 25HP gas motor is much more productive just because of the maneuverability.
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines.
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks for the info on your IH 2500B. The PTO HP on the IH 2404 Lowboy is 36.7 and on the MF 135, it is 35. I don't have the numbers yet on the other two tractors, but I believe they would both have a great deal more HP than either of the above.

I don't know a thing about Power Trac equipment. From the photos, They appear to be too small and light to handle 6 acres of brush cutting on steep terrain. What do you think? Thanks! JFM
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines. #4  
Tractortips shows the Ford 641 at 32.19 PTO HP. And the JD 850 at 22.27 PTO HP. I would recommend a 5-6 ft cutter for the IH or MF135, I am not sure on the Ford and JD as I have not used either one of those before.

Ben
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines. #6  
I don't have any experience with that IH model you mention, however the ford 640 and the mf 135 are decent machines. And with a 5' hog, would probably cut anything you could get the front axle over. I'm guessing the 850 will fall in their somewhere around the 640.. perhaps not as much a brute.. but way newer.. and the mf 135 being the most capable of the group.

Soundguy
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines. #7  
Any of them will work.

I just got rid of my 850. The others I dont know but I think the 850 is the low end of your choices power wise. Good machine, small but the right size for its power. Good resale.

The 850 would do it with a 5 foot hog, as long as you are not in a real hurry and are only cutting weeds. A 4 foot hog would be a better match for it if you are getting into real big multiflora balls. If you keep your RPM's up, you wont notice the honeysuckle.

6 ac really isnt that much, and unless you are going to cut it twice a week small isnt going to hurt you.

You might look into a carryall instead of a trailer for moving cut limbs. Smaller, but they hang on the 3pt, so it moves with you, unlike a trailer that follows you. Plus they are handy to work off of for building fence.
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines.
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Ben, thanks for the HP info on the ford and JD. Boy, did I ever mis-judge those two!
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines.
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Soundguy, thanks for your evaluation of the tractors. Very helpful. JFM
 
   / How much HP needed to cut honeysuckle vines.
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Varmintmist, your rundown on the JD 850 is much appreciated. I am surprised to find it does not stack up well against the other three, powerwise.

JFM
 
 
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