MODIFY BRUSH HOG SOME MORE

[3RRL]

Hi,
You may remember from adding home made chain guards to my rotary brush hog mower that I saved a bunch of money by making them myself instead of buying them. I wanted to use that money towards making it so I could lower and raise the rear wheel as easily as my 3pt lowers and raises the front of it. I've decided to modify the wheel brackets and add a hydraulic cylinder that will let me make the adjustment from the seat via my rear remote control valve.

Why did I want to do that?

Well, on my rural property where I mow, there are a few areas where the RC bottoms out when set to 6" cutting height. I would like the ability to raise both front and rear of my mower for these occasions. (At least that's what I told my wife ) Right now I have to unbolt the trailing wheel frame and move it to the higher (or lower) setting. But one setting does no good for all area. Consequently, I have 6" high grass stalks where I could have 2" high stalks, and scalped areas where I should have short grass.

I thought about how I would operate the system and if I would have enough time to raise and lower not only the 3pt, but also the rear wheel. But since the area is so rough and bumpy, I mow very slowly anyway. I'm not sure yet, but it should give me lots of time to adjust them both for those spots. As I get used to it, I'm sure I will get better like I did adjusting my hydraulic boxblade rippers, 3pt and separate side links while driving.

Anyway, this is my first concept using the single tail wheel on the mower.

 

[MrJimi]

Great idea, will that affect the pivot of wheel at an angle? I was thinking about rake and trail like on a motorcycle. will it rotate freely a full 360 degrees is what I'm asking
did that make any sense? LOL

 

[3RRL]

I wanted to make the new connections out of scrap material I have lying around the garage to keep the cost down to a minimum again. It's easier on the pocket book and the ears that way. I have all the hydraulic fittings, hoses and quick disconnects already, and a whole bunch of scrap steel. All I'll need to buy is a new hydraulic cylinder (since my old ones have pitted rods) and some 1/2" pipe. OH, and another double pilot operated check valve (DPOCV) from Mark Carter at CCM. I want the DPOCV so the wheel stays relatively where I place it while mowing and bouncing around.

So far I have less than a hundred bucks invested for those items ... not bad. Then after thinking about it, I have enough steel tubing to add strengthening to the RC, like the heavy duty models. Not only that, but I have enough to alter the pivoting of the rear wheel by making a self-leveling pivot instead of the one like in the first drawing. That means I have to buy extra pins for the pivots but it only came out to 20 bucks.
So here is the second drawing showing the self leveling wheel assembly.



You can see as I lower and raise the tail wheel, the fork stays level throughout the travel. It will also clear the RC blades when I'm going in reverse and the wheel pivots around backwards. The way I have it set is I have 1" of clearance from the ground to 14" clearance when fully extended. That is more travel than I currently have with the stock bolt on adjustment.

 

[MrJimi]

I like your new design much better, it will rotate freely now, I'm wondering about those moving parts and the bouncing around

 

[3RRL]

After thinking about it some more, the real heavy duty models have 2 tail wheels instead of one, so I decided to order another tail wheel assembly with fork from Howse. That set me back another 135 bucks plus shipping. So now I'll have a little over 255 bucks into my project. That is still OK with me since that's about what I saved by not buying the chain guards. So I'm still on track and within budget. I'm sure I'll spend a little more than that though, by the time I'm done. Hopefully under $300 for everything.

So here is the top view of the cutter showing the dual tail wheels and the extra reinforcing bars on the RC body.



I think this is going to come out nice. It's a lot more work than the first idea, but so what? I like it better. Now, I have everything on order already and just waiting for the stuff to get here. Then I'll start by slitting some of the rectangular tubing I have. I will turn some of it into "U" channel for the extra support of the RC main body and frame instead of buying it.

 

[3RRL]

Hi MrJimi,
Thank you...
The first concept was much like the stock wheel bracket. It pivoted on two bolts raising or lowering the tail wheel, so it should work just like the stock one. However, I like the second concept better too.
I figure to keep the linkage pivots fairly tight for the bouncing around and such. I'll try pins and washers with lynch pins first. If that fails, I'll use shoulder bolts to keep them really tight. With two wheels, some of the stress is distributed as opposed to it all being on a single tail wheel.

 

[MrJimi]

Rob, I've seen lots of your work, you will do just fine and the first design would not rotate freely but the second and third will do great
I'll be looking for your great pictures

 

[3RRL]

MrJimi,
I borrowed the PM you sent because I thought it was a good question....

How wide is your RC ? and would one wide wheel do you better?
Just curious
Jim

Hi Jim,
My cutter is just over 6 feet wide. I really thought about only using the one wheel, especially in trying to use what I had and keeping the cost down. But after adding all the steel reinforcement and the frame for this self-leveling feature, I figure two wheels will work a lot better. Not only that, it will help against the "tilting" of the RC which causes some of the scalping.
Rob-

 

[GuglioLS]

Rob,

Another brilliant modification project to keep you off the golf course. I love it! Did the thought cross your mind to put wheels on the front? Not that it matters, you can use the TPH to set front cutting height to match rear cutting height. Just wanted to throw that out there as another possibility. Do you need any parts plasma cut? Or maybe there is some way I could install an electronic sonar device to automatically set cutting depth and to lift it when approaching a rock or something?

The self leveling wheels is just another day at the drawing table for you isn't it? Very impressive.

I look forward to seeing this all come together and the video of you moving it up & down on the fly.

Cool Project

Larry

 

[Highbeam]

Your brush hog deck can now be raised and lowered in front by the 3ph, tilted by the TNT, and now raised by the rear. Cool. Rather than lowering the rear wheel does your hydraulic top link not allow you to lift the rear of the deck by shortening it?

 

[quicksandfarmer]

This looks like a cool project, but I have one concern that stems from the way I use my mower. I use my mower a lot to back over things that are too big for the tractor to drive over. When I do this, the rear wheel takes the brunt of the abuse -- if there's something hidden in that bush, the wheel is going to be the first to find it. I'd worry that the hydraulic cylinder would be exposed to damage.

What would be really cool is if it were designed with a "backing mode" so that when the cylinder is fully retracted the wheel lies flat on the deck, out of the way, and the weight of the mower is just held by the 3 point hitch. The wheel isn't really useful anyway when doing backing, and this would allow you to get the back edge of the mower closer to things like walls and trees.

 

[3RRL]

Your brush hog deck can now be raised and lowered in front by the 3ph, tilted by the TNT, and now raised by the rear. Cool. Rather than lowering the rear wheel does your hydraulic top link not allow you to lift the rear of the deck by shortening it?

Hi Joe, and thanks.
Yes, I can lift the rear of the deck via my hydraulic top link.
But I'm not crazy about the idea of cutting with the rear end of it in the air suspended by my top link and lift arms only. I'd like the tail wheel on the ground. That also allows the "float" slot on my cutter to work. This idea is to be able to change the cut height from the tractor seat without having to get off to do it manually.

 

[sandman2234]

Dual wheels and 3pt hitches don't work well together. Most of the ones with two wheels are using the drawbar.More later...
Hours later....
I kept looking at your drawing with the dual wheels, and then I remembered that your famous for your avatar sized pictures, so I clicked on it, and presto, a full sized drawing that I could read!
If your dual wheels swivel, then fine, if not, they will not corner worth a durn. Larger heavy duty bush hogs that are pulled with the drawbar usually don't have swivel wheels, which is what I thought you were going after when I caught this post on my way out the door earlier. Glad to see it appears not so!

David from jax

 

[3RRL]

This looks like a cool project, but I have one concern that stems from the way I use my mower. I use my mower a lot to back over things that are too big for the tractor to drive over. When I do this, the rear wheel takes the brunt of the abuse -- if there's something hidden in that bush, the wheel is going to be the first to find it. I'd worry that the hydraulic cylinder would be exposed to damage.

What would be really cool is if it were designed with a "backing mode" so that when the cylinder is fully retracted the wheel lies flat on the deck, out of the way, and the weight of the mower is just held by the 3 point hitch. The wheel isn't really useful anyway when doing backing, and this would allow you to get the back edge of the mower closer to things like walls and trees.

Thanks quicksand,
I know what you mean about the tail wheel getting in the way when cutting in reverse like that. It's that way right now.
With this raising feature, it looks like they will be not only sucked up higher, but closer to the mower. So maybe it will help in situations like that. The cylinder I chose has a 1-1/2" rod diameter, so it is pretty beefy. After considering what you said, I might be able to make the width of the linkage arms so they touch when folded up, making them solid to the stationary frame? Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[3RRL]

Rob,

Another brilliant modification project to keep you off the golf course. I love it! Did the thought cross your mind to put wheels on the front? Not that it matters, you can use the TPH to set front cutting height to match rear cutting height. Just wanted to throw that out there as another possibility. Do you need any parts plasma cut? Or maybe there is some way I could install an electronic sonar device to automatically set cutting depth and to lift it when approaching a rock or something?

The self leveling wheels is just another day at the drawing table for you isn't it? Very impressive.

I look forward to seeing this all come together and the video of you moving it up & down on the fly.

Cool Project

Larry

Thanks Larry,
I really appreciate your offer for the sonar and plasma cutting. If you are serious, I'll take you up on both. I'll email you dxf files later. You'll have to tell me what's involved with the sonar device though.

I did think about adding wheels to the front, but that would blow my budget. They are $135 bucks a set! Plus, I though they would get in the way up front there, and I have the 3pt controls anyway.
Your offer is too kind.

 

[sandman2234]

Considering the cost of consumables associated with a plasma cutter and the amount they use in a days operation, that indeed is a generous offer.
It would be cool to be able to cross the mountain and go see him cut them for you, or maybe he can make a video of it also!
David from jax

 

[3RRL]

Dual wheels and 3pt hitches don't work well together. Most of the ones with two wheels are using the drawbar.More later...
Hours later....
I kept looking at your drawing with the dual wheels, and then I remembered that your famous for your avatar sized pictures, so I clicked on it, and presto, a full sized drawing that I could read!
If your dual wheels swivel, then fine, if not, they will not corner worth a durn. Larger heavy duty bush hogs that are pulled with the drawbar usually don't have swivel wheels, which is what I thought you were going after when I caught this post on my way out the door earlier. Glad to see it appears not so!

David from jax

Hi David and thanks,
Yeah, those are thumbnails I post in the thread to give the guys on dial up a break. You need to click on them to enlarge the photo. I should have mentioned that before. You are correct in seeing that those wheels can fully swivel 360 degrees. I saw the heavier duty RC's made by Howse had them like that.

OAN...I just found out that my hydraulic cylinder has been lost by FedEx! Crap. The tracking showed it was on the delivery truck Sept 1st and today is the 6th, so I called them to see what the problem was. FedEx told me it was lost and I need to contact the shipper. Now I have to take it up with the eBay seller and PayPal. So now I don't know when I'll get it. Geez, what a bummer ... not what I wanted to happen...

 

[GuglioLS]

I am serious about the Plasma cutting, the sonar feedback control system would blow my budget, so maybe I can add that at a later date after I win the lottery or something.

I just went to see the Plasma cutter dude today, and had those cylinder protector plates cut, (the ones you designed for the grapple). The plasma cutter is still working to perfection, so they are happy about that.

I can get any size or shape of metal cut for you in a jiffy, plus the place is located in a real convenient location for me to get to.

If you do decide you want something cut, just send me the usual file. Oh one more thing on those auto cad DFX files you send, in the future - put a scale drawing of the part with no reference or centerline point lines, doing that will make it even easier to just copy the actual part shape into the plasma cutter software with no additional work to take those lines out. The plasma cutter software wants to cut those center lines and reference point lines

Bummer about the cylinder

These are my "favorite" shipper logos, they are all experts on how to loose the important tractor stuff

Larry

 

[3RRL]

Larry,
Hahaha....I see what you mean now.
Here's some good news.
I emailed the eBay seller and they replied right away. They sent an email back telling me I could pick up another cylinder from. They are in Ontario and only ten minutes from my house, so I drove down there just now and picked it up. What a great seller!

Next week I'll start with the fabrication of the frame and such. Look for photos then.

 

[Rowski]

nice idea.

I like the drawings... some day I would like to learn how to design on a CAD type program.

Few questions:

How would you return the rear tail wheels to same cutting height? Some sort of gauge like on a loader for bucket position.

Pilot valves to keep cylinder from creeping?

What about side loads? Seems (for me) that the tail wheel take an a beating especailly when turning and catching rocks logs ect.


I can't wait to see the finished product.