Advice you would give someone getting into Bush Hogging?

[Hay Dude]

Amen brother. And if you are dragging a bush hog that is that heavy on the back that you need the loader to balance it, it's probably too large. That's what front weights are for. Certainly not a loader.

Ok so the OP already has a loader. So now you suggest he pulls off loader bucket and buys a front weight kit and mount which is north of $1000 bucks when the front loader he already has provides just as much weight as front weights, gives him better FWD traction and with the bucket may feel a stump he otherwise could destroy his equipment with? And Lets not forget these other very important advantages, a loader tractor gets unstuck better than one without a loader & bucket and a loader can push fallen trees an branches aside. Saved my butt dozens of times.
You a rich guy? :laughing:
You sure like to spend the OPs money and possibly open him up to safety issues.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Great thread, and all good advice.
I bought adjoining land here a couple years ago and was about to bush hog a cluttered up area. It just looked like weeds, grape vines, etc. Since I was on a mower I thought I'd just cut through there a bit. Son-of-a-bee!!!
It was used as a dump site!!!!! I had no clue until I went in then it sounded like a dump truck loaded with bottles crashed. My deck was wiped out. The barbed wire, old T posts, glass, wire fence, garden hose, etc.
I had to strip, re-weld cracks, repaint, replace all spindles and blades on my deck.
As others said...I'd wear really good boots, gloves, repellant, maybe carry a brush axe (snakes!)...just get an idea of what you'll be dealing with first. That also would (to me) give you an idea what to charge.
At my home place 15 acres need bush hogging right now...but the fellow doing it only charges $300. That's because he will be working close by and he's been doing it, no rocks, trash, trees, etc.

 

[4570Man]

Even if he has a 7 footer, which by the way is less susceptible to damage, renting a skid steer with a mower makes you a much higher cost bidder than the guy down the road with a 7 footer.
I used 15 foot as an example because thats what Ive run for over 20 years.

If it’s just grass and weeds go for it with the tractor. But in my experience these severely overgrown properties you speak of have 3” saplings and that’s no place for a tractor. Plus you usually have a tightwad owner or it wouldn’t look like that to begin with. Personally I don’t hardly waste time giving estimates to bush hog or build decks. That’s the starting place for beer money hacks and I can’t get a job for decent money.

 

[4570Man]

Ok so the OP already has a loader. So now you suggest he pulls off loader bucket and buys a front weight kit and mount which is north of $1000 bucks when the front loader he already has provides just as much weight as front weights, gives him better FWD traction and with the bucket may feel a stump he otherwise could destroy his equipment with? And Lets not forget these other very important advantages, a loader tractor gets unstuck better than one without a loader & bucket and a loader can push fallen trees an branches aside. Saved my butt dozens of times.
You a rich guy? :laughing:
You sure like to spend the OPs money and possibly open him up to safety issues.

The OPs tractor should handle his cutter just fine without any additional front weight.

 

[Liquidsilver]

I'm one that likes the bucket on to carry off big rocks and things I have to stop mowing for. It also comes in handy to break off some low branches.

 

[workinonit]

Ok so the OP already has a loader. So now you suggest he pulls off loader bucket and buys a front weight kit and mount which is north of $1000 bucks when the front loader he already has provides just as much weight as front weights, gives him better FWD traction and with the bucket may feel a stump he otherwise could destroy his equipment with? And Lets not forget these other very important advantages, a loader tractor gets unstuck better than one without a loader & bucket and a loader can push fallen trees an branches aside. Saved my butt dozens of times.
You a rich guy? :laughing:
You sure like to spend the OPs money and possibly open him up to safety issues.

I don't bush hog in places that I'm going to tear my equipment up and neither should he. If someone doesn't have the presence of mind to walk a place before they cut then I'm pretty sure a loader ain't gonna save the day. If his tractor won't handle his cutter without the loader on the front then he has the wrong cutter and/or the wrong tractor. I just think, for me anyway, that the loader on the front is dangerous from a visibility standpoint especially if the bucket is on. I guess part of why I'm uncomfortable with a loader on doing 3 PH work is that It wasn't until 2002 that I got my first loader. Back in the day you hardly ever saw a loader on the old IH and JD row crop tractors around here.

 

[Hay Dude]

The OPs tractor should handle his cutter just fine without any additional front weight.

Truly, neither of us know.
If its a 3 point mount heavy commercial unit, it will lighten the front end, which reduces traction and affect steering performance if the front tires are light.

 

[Hay Dude]

I don't bush hog in places that I'm going to tear my equipment up and neither should he. If someone doesn't have the presence of mind to walk a place before they cut then I'm pretty sure a loader ain't gonna save the day. If his tractor won't handle his cutter without the loader on the front then he has the wrong cutter and/or the wrong tractor. I just think, for me anyway, that the loader on the front is dangerous from a visibility standpoint especially if the bucket is on. I guess part of why I'm uncomfortable with a loader on doing 3 PH work is that It wasn't until 2002 that I got my first loader. Back in the day you hardly ever saw a loader on the old IH and JD row crop tractors around here.

You lack experience if you actually believe walking a property will confirm 100% theres no stumps, rocks, iron pipes, etc.
I can tell you from decades of experience that you can walk the property until you are exhausted and covered with ticks and still miss a stump, pipe or other object.
***Yet another reason to run with loader bucket down***
Theres 5 advantages to the visibility disadvantage. Just look over the hood and loader bucket! Whats so tough about that? :laughing:

Also, if the OP is going into the bush hogging business to make money, and he turns down a field because he *thinks* it might have an object in it, he wont last long. Newcomers to almost any trade need to take on almost all offers, or his competitors will.
Now if this is for beer money or a hobby, thats different

 

[Hay Dude]

If it’s just grass and weeds go for it with the tractor. But in my experience these severely overgrown properties you speak of have 3” saplings and that’s no place for a tractor. Plus you usually have a tightwad owner or it wouldn’t look like that to begin with. Personally I don’t hardly waste time giving estimates to bush hog or build decks. That’s the starting place for beer money hacks and I can’t get a job for decent money.

No doubt 3” saplings are more of a land clearing chore than a bush hogging chore. I’m talking tall grass, invasives like small autumn olive, small cedars, etc.

 

[two_bit_score]

Any updates here @BrokeFarmerJohn? How’s the mowing business?