1st time at my new property & 1st time ever brush-hogging - some lessons learned

[NUTTERDW]

Never use a solid or hydraulic top link on a machine with a long wheelbase attachment. Supporting the tractor by the tailwheel and the front wheels (as in crossing a gulley) will eventually lead to some serious breakage (like tractor transmission case cracking, toplink mount broken, etc) . You should understand the mechanics of the inability of 3 supports unable to conform to local terrain. Use a chain or a rocker link assembly. This puts some slack in the 3 axle constraint (front wheels, rear wheels, tailwheel). Rear tractor axle weight usually wins. What are you you willing to sacrifice ?

I found for myself a heavy wire choker cable the right length works great. I think mine is a 3/4 inch choker. I have used it for 30 years and only replaced the choker one time. Just measure your third link and get a choker in that range. I had tried other methods for the third link but this one worked the best.

 

[Lena]

Saturday I went out to my newly acquired 34 completely raw undeveloped acres and attempted to do some brush hogging. I currently own a relatively newer Kioti CX2510HST 25 hp tractor/loader/backhoe. I have not used it for anything up until this point for doing anything other than some light gardening work at my current house. I realize my tractor is under sized for that type of acreage but it's what I have to work with at the moment.

I bought a 5 foot rotary cutter used last weekend, with a stump jumper. I also realize that 5 foot may be slightly oversized for my tractor, but I opted to go to the 5-foot over the 4-foot and take smaller bites.

For my first attempt, I attempted to clear some area in the woods and quickly discovered that rotary cutters are not meant for uneven terrain. Besides just the shear difficulty of maneuvering with it, I experienced a lot of issues with binding my top link. Only after I got home and watched some more brush hog videos, did I discover going on uneven terrain was kind of a no-no, especially going in and out of valleys/dips/etc.

Other issues I had is that my hydraulic top link quick connect kept popping loose. Not sure why that was happening.
And the other fittings on my top link kept loosening, causing me to loose hydraulic power. I'm assuming all this was because of the binding. I guess I'm pretty lucky I didn't do any major damage to the PTO but it didn't bind up. But you live and learn. Kind of a tractor rookie here. Have some seat time, but not at doing anything more than a little light gardening work for years.

Another problem I had was that the previous owner had put a rubber no flat tire on the rotary cutter wheel. The tire was not a perfect fit and kept slipping off, and I had to fight to get it back on the wheel only to have it pop off again, 3 or 4 times. By the end of the day the wheel was pretty bent up and the fork was kind of leaning within the rear bracket, so I'm going to have to replace the whole assembly, I think.

With all this fighting of the equipment, I underestimated the need for hydration as well. I was working in 90 degree temps - I have not done any significant amount of work in those temperatures in at least 5 years. By 1pm I was rationing my water. By 4pm I think I was in the early stages of heat stroke or something similar. Lesson learned, bring a lot more water than you think you need. Since the AC in my truck doesn't work, bring my 18V cordless fans and plenty of batteries too.

I ended the day brush cutting in a largely level field with about 4 foot of weed growth. Went slow, kept my loader bucket down and curled back. Found several large tree stumps that I thankfully spotted by keeping the bucket low. When the bucket would start to slide up the stump, I was going slow enough that I could back up and change course.

It was a good day, but kind of a rough first day out.
Re-thinking a lot of my preconceived ideas of how I was going to go about building a home here now that I've actually spent a few hours on the ground. We're not building for awhile, so I'm going to continue to get to know my property over the next year or two before breaking any serious ground.

After struggling with mounting the brush hog, I think I'm going to buy a Speeco Quick E-Hitch also. And seriously looking at a PTO Link (quick connect). When it's hot, I really don't want to be struggling with those.

I have used a section of chain in place of the top link, hook up to your cutter on level ground, Any time you rear tractor wheels drop in a ditch the chain will allow the rear of the cutter to raise with out damaging anything.

 

[don.sizemore]

I found a tire iron useful in removing the PTO shaft from the tractor when it was not wanting to come off.

I have a Mahindra 1625 (25hp) and a 5 ft brush hog. Slow and easy works fine. As for getting the pot shaft off, mine slides on 1/2 way and I have to depress the lock pin again (or just hold it all the way) to slide it the rest of the way on. Same getting it off. I press the button and slide back about two inches. It locks again and I press the lock pin again and slide the rest of the way off. Hope this helps

 

[Merck]

Saturday I went out to my newly acquired 34 completely raw undeveloped acres and attempted to do some brush hogging. I currently own a relatively newer Kioti CX2510HST 25 hp tractor/loader/backhoe. I have not used it for anything up until this point for doing anything other than some light gardening work at my current house. I realize my tractor is under sized for that type of acreage but it's what I have to work with at the moment.

I bought a 5 foot rotary cutter used last weekend, with a stump jumper. I also realize that 5 foot may be slightly oversized for my tractor, but I opted to go to the 5-foot over the 4-foot and take smaller bites.

For my first attempt, I attempted to clear some area in the woods and quickly discovered that rotary cutters are not meant for uneven terrain. Besides just the shear difficulty of maneuvering with it, I experienced a lot of issues with binding my top link. Only after I got home and watched some more brush hog videos, did I discover going on uneven terrain was kind of a no-no, especially going in and out of valleys/dips/etc.

Other issues I had is that my hydraulic top link quick connect kept popping loose. Not sure why that was happening.
And the other fittings on my top link kept loosening, causing me to loose hydraulic power. I'm assuming all this was because of the binding. I guess I'm pretty lucky I didn't do any major damage to the PTO but it didn't bind up. But you live and learn. Kind of a tractor rookie here. Have some seat time, but not at doing anything more than a little light gardening work for years.

Another problem I had was that the previous owner had put a rubber no flat tire on the rotary cutter wheel. The tire was not a perfect fit and kept slipping off, and I had to fight to get it back on the wheel only to have it pop off again, 3 or 4 times. By the end of the day the wheel was pretty bent up and the fork was kind of leaning within the rear bracket, so I'm going to have to replace the whole assembly, I think.

With all this fighting of the equipment, I underestimated the need for hydration as well. I was working in 90 degree temps - I have not done any significant amount of work in those temperatures in at least 5 years. By 1pm I was rationing my water. By 4pm I think I was in the early stages of heat stroke or something similar. Lesson learned, bring a lot more water than you think you need. Since the AC in my truck doesn't work, bring my 18V cordless fans and plenty of batteries too.

I ended the day brush cutting in a largely level field with about 4 foot of weed growth. Went slow, kept my loader bucket down and curled back. Found several large tree stumps that I thankfully spotted by keeping the bucket low. When the bucket would start to slide up the stump, I was going slow enough that I could back up and change course.

It was a good day, but kind of a rough first day out.
Re-thinking a lot of my preconceived ideas of how I was going to go about building a home here now that I've actually spent a few hours on the ground. We're not building for awhile, so I'm going to continue to get to know my property over the next year or two before breaking any serious ground.

After struggling with mounting the brush hog, I think I'm going to buy a Speeco Quick E-Hitch also. And seriously looking at a PTO Link (quick connect). When it's hot, I really don't want to be struggling with those.

You need a bigger tractor. I would suggest a Pat's quick hitch setup. It works on any implement and you have to get off and hook up the PTO anyway.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

OK, so I've learned some lessons, both on my own, and reading here. It seems that on rolling, ever changing, hilly terrain, like I have here, I should be using a chain instead of a top link. I have a piece of chain I have that is easily as long as my toplink maximum length. I have a grade 8 bolt I plan to use to adjust chain length. Question is, how do I determine the correct length? Thanks all...
AND, would the same apply to a flail mower, chain instead of toplink?

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

OK, so I've learned some lessons, both on my own, and reading here. It seems that on rolling, ever changing, hilly terrain, like I have here, I should be using a chain instead of a top link. I have a piece of chain I have that is easily as long as my toplink maximum length. I have a grade 8 bolt I plan to use to adjust chain length. Question is, how do I determine the correct length? Thanks all...
AND, would the same apply to a flail mower, chain instead of toplink?

As I read it you make your top link chain long enough that it holds the mower level when cutting. You only want it to go slack if the mower when you are entering and exiting a valley.

 

[California]

I'm doing it a little differently. Maybe the pros will comment.

The 3-point arms determine the height of the front of the mower. I use the adjustment rod under the seat to set minimum height.

Then the top link from the tractor to the quick hitch is adjusted short, so the top of the mower won't collide with the top of the quick hitch after crossing the bottom of a ditch.

The chain between the top of the QH and the mower is normally slack. It is needed only to lift the entire mower, in my case to make tight turns in cramped space.

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

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A stout 5 or 6/foot pry bar also makes it easy to shift rear implements back and forth as needed to line them up to mount.

Thanks for the link on the tail wheel assemblies. I notice they have a lot of different varieties in terms of bushings, bearings, axle sizes, hub material. Any recommendations? With a difference in price from cheapest to most expensive only being about $30, I'm willing to get whatever the best one is.

 

[Gator6x4]

I have used a section of chain in place of the top link, hook up to your cutter on level ground, Any time you rear tractor wheels drop in a ditch the chain will allow the rear of the cutter to raise with out damaging anything.

Good post. Farmers found this chain trick years ago. Bush hogs, gullies, uneven terrain are good ways to cause tractor damage. A chain instead of a solid rigid top link will allow the rear of the bush hog to come up without damaging the rear housing on the tractor where the rigid top link attaches to the tractor.