Bush hogging is best without front loaders on

[big bubba]

good points LD1. with an 8' mower on an MX, you surely must have a drag type mower. in that case, & with the mid size tractor, removing the fel given the acreage makes sense. in my own case, given the weight of the 8' 3ph mower, retaining the fel is a must for me given the hills, etc.
as mentioned, fel removal is according to one's own setup. 500 acres is a lot to mow with an MX!,
previously had one myself, solid tractor, best regards

 

[LD1]

good points LD1. with an 8' mower on an MX, you surely must have a drag type mower. in that case, & with the mid size tractor, removing the fel given the acreage makes sense. in my own case, given the weight of the 8' 3ph mower, retaining the fel is a must for me given the hills, etc.
as mentioned, fel removal is according to one's own setup. 500 acres is a lot to mow with an MX!,
previously had one myself, solid tractor, best regards

No its a mounted cutter. Woods ds96 to be exact @~1600 pounds.

I dont mow 500 acres all at once. Its a mowing business. Like I said it is mostly ~5 acre lots that were once fields....but split up and sold and new people want to build a house but cannot see the lay of the land to stake out a building site. But some of them are mowing pastures, or commercial sites, etc.

Doing ~20 acres a week during mowing season.....its not hard to hit 500/yr. Just some of my larger jobs are 20-30 acres and I can do them in a single day.

 

[big bubba]

real nice setup & site. one day i'll post pics of my own spring fed ponds & similar pastures.
presently prepping a duck food plot for millet, red clover & hairy vetch in the late summer.
cheers

 

[LD1]

real nice setup & site. one day i'll post pics of my own spring fed ponds & similar pastures.
presently prepping a duck food plot for millet, red clover & hairy vetch in the late summer.
cheers

Those are actually three different sites and none of them mine.

As I said....I run a mowing business and do this for hire

 

[big bubba]

Those are actually three different sites and none of them mine.

As I said....I run a mowing business and do this for hire

regardless, nice site

 

[workinonit]

I cant imagine not having my loaders on , if i am using a tractor their will always be a use for the loader, the only time i could take it off would be while finish mowing around the structures which only takes a few minutes .

I think a loader is the most cumbersome piece of equipment you can have on a tractor. It extends the length at least by 50% and in my case even more. They are so easy to take off I can't imagine why anyone would leave it on. Aside from rocks which I don't have.

 

[Hay Dude]

I think a loader is the most cumbersome piece of equipment you can have on a tractor. It extends the length at least by 50% and in my case even more. They are so easy to take off I can't imagine why anyone would leave it on. Aside from rocks which I don't have.

Workinonit, funny how different folks are…I don’t even notice my loader mounted on my tractor..lol I never take them off, maybe once for a repair.
A loader feels like “armor“ for the front end, the hood, the front axle, in case I run into something. When in “uncharted waters” that’s a lot of peace of mind.
When my loader is down and bucket curled back, it makes my tractor maybe 5-6’ longer. Of course 5-6’ IS more length, but 5-6’ on a rig that’s already 35-40’ long isnt that much more. If I raise the loader, it isn’t any higher at all!
However, the extra protection, the ability to push over brush/saplings and break off branches, carry off boulders in a bucket, or carry a chainsaw, brush cutter, smooth out ruts, extra traction for front axle and as a counterbalance for the mower, etc. far outweighs a little extra length.

One place I could see removing loader is when cutting grass fields that have been mowed many times and there’s little unpredictability. I sometimes use my 7495 in open fields where theres grass. I used my Fastrac with no loader on really large grass fields where I know there’s no need or use for a loader. So I guess you could say I do both, but mostly with a loader.

But like they say “you do you, I’ll do me” ????……at least I think that’s what they say????
hahahaha

 

[workinonit]

We are all different for sure. If I left my loader frame on the bucket would definately have to come off. It's so big I can't see the ground in front of me. But as I said, it's not an issue for me. 2 minutes and it is off.

 

[Hay Dude]

We are all different for sure. If I left my loader frame on the bucket would definately have to come off. It's so big I can't see the ground in front of me. But as I said, it's not an issue for me. 2 minutes and it is off.

Raise it up high so you can see under it!

Sometimes I’ll mow a property where there’s some soft areas. Bucket on loader lowered to ground plus a little down pressure, throw tractor in reverse and flatten the ruts! Anytime I see a rock, I pop it with bucket and scoop it up in the bucket and dump in the woods.

Just giving you some ideas

 

[big bubba]

I think a loader is the most cumbersome piece of equipment you can have on a tractor. It extends the length at least by 50% and in my case even more. They are so easy to take off I can't imagine why anyone would leave it on. Aside from rocks which I don't have.

fair enough. how easy are your hyd lines to detach as well?

 

[MechanicalGuy]

Unless I'm using the loader or forks I never have the loader on my tractor. I can't imagine running the bush hog with the loader on. It's so easy to remove there's no reason to leave it on anyway.

I can't imagine taking the loader off for anything. I've never taken mine off and 90% of my tractors' utility is with the loader. I always have the grapple on, or the bucket, or the forks. I can't imagine driving around without the utility of a loader.

 

[workinonit]

I do much more ground engagement, bush hogging, ditch bank cutting and finish mowing than I do loader work. I just find that huge weight out in front very cumbersome and in my line of sight. That said, my tractor is almost twice as big as yours. I would say with the loader and something for ballast it would be 25' long or longer. Just too much out front to try and maneuver with. To each their own. But my loader is very simple to remove and install. It can be done in a couple of minutes. So no biggie taking it off when it's not needed and saving the wear on my tractor.

 

[workinonit]

fair enough. how easy are your hyd lines to detach as well?

I have the single point connector so off and on in a matter of seconds. All six connectors at once.

 

[workinonit]

Raise it up high so you can see under it!

View attachment 738733

Sometimes I’ll mow a property where there’s some soft areas. Bucket on loader lowered to ground plus a little down pressure, throw tractor in reverse and flatten the ruts! Anytime I see a rock, I pop it with bucket and scoop it up in the bucket and dump in the woods.

Just giving you some ideas

Y'all keep 'em on. I'll take mine off. LOL. No way I want that thing out in front of me all the time.

 

[two_bit_score]

I can't imagine taking the loader off for anything. I've never taken mine off and 90% of my tractors' utility is with the loader. I always have the grapple on, or the bucket, or the forks. I can't imagine driving around without the utility of a loader.

Only to switch to forks.

 

[JethroB]

Since we're talking about poison ivy, the best way to get it off if you know you've got it on you is to use gel hand sanitizer composed of alcohol. That will disolve and remove the greasy urushiol. Trust me. This is not well known it seems, but it works better than anything else I've tried.

Alcohol hand sanitizer is good too for getting the diesel stink off your hands, gloves, boots, etc.

 

[300gr]

When bush hogging in an unknown environment i lower the bucket just enough to catch anything that might tear the tractor up. Of course i go slow. On a known field i raise it well above weeds in order to see better

 

[EddieWalker]

I just bought a new tractor with a loader on it, so it's been a new experience bush hogging with a loader. I've run into trees with it twice now because I thought I could make past them while turning. I wasn't going too fast, but it was still a solid hit that scared me into thinking I had damaged something. Or bent something. Fortunately, I'm still good and nothing was damaged.

What I really like about mowing with the loader is being able to fill the bucket with a load of dirt while mowing, and then dumping it in a low spot, or where a tree used to be and the stump needs filling back up. I have more of those areas then I realized, so it's nice to be able to do two things at the same time!!!!

 

[japody]

I just bought a new tractor with a loader on it, so it's been a new experience bush hogging with a loader. I've run into trees with it twice now because I thought I could make past them while turning. I wasn't going too fast, but it was still a solid hit that scared me into thinking I had damaged something. Or bent something. Fortunately, I'm still good and nothing was damaged.
t?
What I really like about mowing with the loader is being able to fill the bucket with a load of dirt while mowing, and then dumping it in a low spot, or where a tree used to be and the stump needs filling back up. I have more of those areas then I realized, so it's nice to be able to do two things at the same time!!!!

What did you get? Don't forget pics.

 

[Hay Dude]

I just bought a new tractor with a loader on it, so it's been a new experience bush hogging with a loader. I've run into trees with it twice now because I thought I could make past them while turning. I wasn't going too fast, but it was still a solid hit that scared me into thinking I had damaged something. Or bent something. Fortunately, I'm still good and nothing was damaged.

What I really like about mowing with the loader is being able to fill the bucket with a load of dirt while mowing, and then dumping it in a low spot, or where a tree used to be and the stump needs filling back up. I have more of those areas then I realized, so it's nice to be able to do two things at the same time!!!!

Eddie, good to see you out there knocking some screws down. Before you know it, you’ll hang up the tool belt and make a living out of it like Im doing. lol
Get yourself a bale spear. I can knock low branches off with mine really well. The smaller lower tines can pick up logs very well.