Rotary Cutter Let's get to bottom of this! Brush hogging in reverse..

[Piston]

I've read all about the advice on backing up when brush hogging. I know that I should never drive forward into saplings and such while mowing, and then stop, reverse my direction, and keep mowing in reverse.
Some reasons for this as I understand, are saplings that you just pushed over could then spring back up and puncture unprotected hoses/radiators, get jammed up in engine compartments and things like that. Also if you just shredded some large saplings, then backing over them could potentially puncture a tire.
If mowing forward, you have the advantage of keeping a FEL low, to feel for rocks, stumps, old car tires, and all sorts of strange things we find in the woods.

If your reasonably sure you don't have such things, or if whatever your mowing isn't so thick that you can't plainly see what your mowing, is there any reason you can't/shouldn't brush hog in reverse?
Assuming the saplings aren't big enough to puncture your tire and your just mowing say, 1/2" saplings that are spaced apart, is there any reason you can't go in reverse?

I will be doing a LOT of brush hogging later this fall and am trying to learn from other peoples mistakes. As of now, I don't have any experience brush hogging actual brush, its just high weeds so far.

 

[Ken]

Yesterday bush hogging a field had just driven over some brush. and backed up to get some that had missed. A large chunk of small tree came out of front of guard flew up into the steering wheel area and then struck me in the face. Using a open cab tractor.
The sting and blood made me think could of saved time by driving around and cutting again.
I avoid the practice now .
ken

 

[leonz]

Hello Ken,

I am glad you are OK and are able to write about
your experience.


Your situation makes a good point for a front
mounted three point hitch with a front P.T.O.,
to mount a rotary cutter and make it a bit safer
to use as it is out in front of the operator.


Having the engine and hitch out in front adds more
space between the implememt and the operator and
a larger margin of safety in the case of impacting
objects and throwing them.



The Pronovost/Hardee implement company as well as Erskine
offer a front mounted three point hitch with a P.T.O. unit and gearbox.



_________________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:

 

[jake98]

I bent the heck out of my shroud backing into bushes, but I think that's still better than wrecking the tractor trying to go over them forward.

 

[nybirdman]

I have done about 40hrs.in the last week brush-hogging,about 700hrs total on two tractors(over the years).I prefer to go forward with the FEL down,but to get under the trees I have to back in.It tends to lift up the bush-hog ,but it does work.I have had a couple flats over the years(fronts) but it comes with the job.

 

[RoyJackson]

I did a fair amount of brush mowing in reverse. These were areas that had low hanging branches or were thick thickets.
Main thing is to go slow (very slow!!) and watch the cutter. If the tail wheel starts to rise, it's either rolling up an uneven area or a rock, stump, tire, what have you. Then you can make a decision to get off the tractor (after disengaging the PTO, of course) and investigating or continuing in reverse.
If it hits something, be prepared to move forward quickly.

I wear goggles when I brushcut (along with a filtration mask due to the dust and pollen). A full face shield/hardhat (like loggers wear) wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

[Piston]

Has anyone that you guys have seen, fabricated some sort of 'bumper' for the back of a brush hog?

I know they aren't designed to be pushing things over in reverse, but that doesn't mean people don't try

 

[wedge40]

Maybe I've always done things wrong, but if I can get to it going forward I back up. Sometimes the only way to get to certain areas is to back into them. I just got done doing a small area (Getting ready for the pole barn build) and backed up to get close to batter boards.

Wedge

 

[Bird]

Naturally, I preferred driving forward, but I've backed into corners that I couldn't get to any other way. I had a borrow ditch across the road from my place that I did not want to get stuck in, so I'd back the rotary cutter into at an angle, pull forward and to the right a bit, then back into it again. And with some brush I knew I couldn't drive over forward, I raised the mower with the 3-point, backed over the brush, and slowly lowered the mower into the brush. I don't necessarily recommend that last method, but I went slow and careful and got away with it.

 

[kebo]

Has anyone that you guys have seen, fabricated some sort of 'bumper' for the back of a brush hog?

I know they aren't designed to be pushing things over in reverse, but that doesn't mean people don't try

The closest I have seen to a "bumper" on a bush hog is the MX series of bush hogs from JD. I wish more of the BH manufacturers would start doing that, or at least make it an option. Obviously that's going to add to the cost though.

 

[RSKY]

If you can't get to it any other way you will have to back over some areas.

Two problems with this. And I do it all the time.

First the wheel on the back of your mower is angled and braced for going forward. Mow backwards and it will spin around but it is under stress. As you back up you turn the wheel a little to angle the mower between two trees. Since the wheel is stuck out behind the mower which sticks out behind the tractor that little adjustment of the steering wheel translates to a large movement of the wheel and it slams the side of the wheel assembly into another tree you didn't see. Usually you can just put bigger bolts thru the top where you tore them out. But sometimes you need a welder to fix it.

Second, when you adjust the mower to mow forward you always have the front lower than the back. The simple explanation is that the blades cut the grass or whatever in the front and if the back is higher the blade doesn't touch anything on its way around to the front again. Hope that makes sense. Now when you back up the blades cut the grass in the back of the mower then continue to the front which is lower and cut grass again. Hope I am explaining that correctly. So if you back up very much you are not only stressing the little wheel hanging off the back but you are stressing the gearbox and driveline also.

Third, and this is the one I have torn up more stuff with, when you are going forward and there is something on the ground sticking up say a couple of feet, the tractor will go over it and 99 times out of a hundred the mower will too. Back up in tall grass and something sticking up a couple of feet that you don't see and WHAM !!! Everything stops !!! Suddenly the mower frame, 3-pt, and tractor are stressed way beyond what they are designed for. Usually something breaks. This is why you always move as slow as possible when mowing in reverse.

Fourth, if the ground slopes uphill and you back up mowing the little wheel on the back is trying to lift the back of the tractor off the ground. (This is how I first tore the wheel off the back of one mower. I believe I was fourteen or fifteen years old.) Try to visualize the tractor and mower as a yardstick. Push the yardstick along the ground then try to push it up a light rise. See how the middle of the yardstick comes off the ground. The weight of the tractor drive wheels is being applied to the mower wheel.

Fifth, I know I only said two but keep thinking of more, if the ground drops away you can come close to flipping the tractor when the drive wheels drop off in a ditch you didn't see because the mower was blocking it.

Everybody does it all the time. You can't bushhog without backing up some but we try to do it as little as possible.

BE SAFE.

 

[300UGUY]

I try to back up bushogging as little as possible. One thing I found that when I used a solid toplink, I bent link pretty bad. Now I use a adjustable chain toplink I bought at TSC. It flexes, and lets the stumpjumper work as it should, and I haven't bent anything since. Going very slow also seems to leave fewer pointy things that puncture tires.

 

[Ken]

Hello Ken,

I am glad you are OK and are able to write about
your experience.
Thanks for the remarks. The face still is tender but doing good. Will be back bush hogging tomorrow. Only about 30 acres to complete.

Your situation makes a good point for a front
mounted three point hitch with a front P.T.O.,
to mount a rotary cutter and make it a bit safer
to use as it is out in front of the operator.
Will look into a front mount 3 point hitch. Have a forward PTO on the tractor now. Not used.

Having the engine and hitch out in front adds more
space between the implememt and the operator and
a larger margin of safety in the case of impacting
objects and throwing them.



The Pronovost/Hardee implement company as well as Erskine
offer a front mounted three point hitch with a P.T.O. unit and gearbox.



_________________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:

Thanks for the reply
ken

 

[Fixemall]

Last week I was cleaning up a field for a friend and I was 90% done and I backed under a pine to clean up some stray saplings and found a discarded spacesaver spare tire and rim...blew up the u joint and cracked the gear box, lucky I was able to weld it back together but the sound it made will definitely make me think twice about backing up into the unknown in the future.

 

[leonz]

Last week I was cleaning up a field for a friend and I was 90% done and I backed under a pine to clean up some stray saplings and found a discarded spacesaver spare tire and rim...blew up the u joint and cracked the gear box, lucky I was able to weld it back together but the sound it made will definitely make me think twice about backing up into the unknown in the future.

Yowie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! not healthy, not healthy,
AAAAYYYY Caramba Lucy!!!!! you got some splainin to do.


I am glad that you are unhurt after that mess.

_________________________________________________________________
Once you go flail you never go back:thumbsup::licking::drool:

 

[leonz]

Thanks for the reply
ken

Do you have mid mount P.T.O., on your tractor?

 

[JimP]

When I cut grassy materials i go forward. But for cutting wild rose or saplings I back into them to avoid the thorns and prevent damage from running over trees. It is also the only way to mow over a bank with a drop off. I go slow and have a slip clutch adjusted to take the shock if the blade stops on a hidden rock or stump. I also use a chain toplink to avoid bending the solid toplink. It seems like half of my field mowing is in reverse but it gets the job done.

 

[TripleR]

I have been bush hogging for close to 50 years and I mow forwards and backwards depending on the material and terrain. I have never torn a bush hog up nor run a stob through a tire...yet.

As mentioned, you may need to slow down etc. I have backed up ten feet then lowered the cutter to about as low as it will go then driven forward back over the stobs then repeated the process.

When mowing slopes, I will often mow backwards and forwards.

I may be doing it wrong, but so far it has worked for me.

 

[slowzuki]

I mow forward or reverse whichever is needed. Have hundreds of hours in hogging stuff up to 3". I prefer to drive forwards over brush because big stuff will bend up the sheet metal on the rear of the hog. Pay attention to the direction brush is laying if it didn't get chopped, don't go opposite the grain for anything bigger than your thumb as it will poke up into your tractor and bend or break things.

 

[mooseracing]

I know they aren't designed to be pushing things over in reverse, but that doesn't mean people don't try

On an older model I have it doesn't have the skirt in the rear so I never worry about fubaring the metal.

Any thing bigger than an inch or so I push over it backwards. I've already bent the dipstick and breather tube from trees catching it while mowing.

I do what works to get what I Want done.