Brush hogging

[Bradbilt]

I am looking to get a brush hog for my ford 260C(52 PTO HP)(try to recoup some of my $$ invested)
The tractor is approx 80" wide.
So I was figuring at least 7'(84") brush hog, if not a 8'(96")

What do you guys think? Or possibly a flail mower?

And how would I go about setting a price? Hourly? Per acre? Add travel time?

 

[Hiltz]

Sorry I cant help you on what size to get but I can tell you the question of how much to charge has been discussed here many, many, many, times. Do a quick search on Bush hog job pricing for all the information you will ever need about pricing.

 

[jeff9366]

A Rotary Cutter/Bush Hog is a much more robust implement than a Flail Mower.

First of all you need to calculate your cost per hour to run your tractor and the implement.

I figure my L3560 costs me $26/per hour to run, without fuel and without an implement. (Your tractor is larger than mine.)

'Hogging uses a lot of fuel, about a gallon per hour.

Then wear, tear, fluids and blades for the implement.

Sooner or later you will need Kevlar tires if you 'hog industrial sites.

And you cannot do anything commercial without INSURANCE.

Your COST is likely to be $40/per hour.

Charge by the hour so the customer can have the degree of finish in the work they want. (The customer will dispute what an 'acre' is.)

One hour charge to customer upon arrival, before tractor comes off the trailer.

 

[Bradbilt]

Ok. Thanks for the pointers

 

[Happy Gilmore]

We have a John Deere 709 rotary cutter. I mainly use it off the back of a Ford 4630, which is similar in PTO hp to your tractor. In the heavy thick grass you definately know it's there. I wouldn't go any bigger than that. Often times I wish I had more hp in front of it. You'll also want some weight hanging off the front of your tractor if the loader isn't attached.

 

[RoyJackson]

Don't forget that you'll need to transport your tractor and cutter to the job site.
With the equipment you (and others) are discussing, you'll need a pretty decent sized truck and trailer. You'll want to factor in the truck and trailer fuel and insurances costs.

 

[MESSMAKER]

Don't forget that you'll need to transport your tractor and cutter to the job site.
With the equipment you (and others) are discussing, you'll need a pretty decent sized truck and trailer. You'll want to factor in the truck and trailer fuel and insurances costs.

Good point. Most trailers are 6.5 feet wide. You get into some serious $$ to get a wide enough trailer that is long enough plus having a vehicle that will pull it. If you need the bushog for yourself and can get work you can drive to you can make it work out. I suspect this will limit you to a very few jobs.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I wouldn't worry about an exact match on the width. I use a six foot cutter behind an eight foot wide tractor. The only place it bothers is cutting close to a fence line. I miss a foot to six inches depending on how I adjust the sway links on the 3ph. Other then that I have only one sides tires mashing the grass flat before the cutter goes over it while a tractor matched to the cutter width puts all four tires over the grass/brush before the cutter gets a chance at it.

 

[Bradbilt]

I have more than enough truck and trailer to haul it around, so that is not an issue. As for a 6' mower behind my 6.5' tractor that is not going to work. I need to mow to fence lines and then weed sack the edges. So i am not going to make myself more work by leaving beings that much grass

 

[PoorPlowboy]

A two spindle 8 ft cutter is easier to spin than a single spindle 7ft cutter.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I have more than enough truck and trailer to haul it around, so that is not an issue. As for a 6' mower behind my 6.5' tractor that is not going to work. I need to mow to fence lines and then weed sack the edges. So i am not going to make myself more work by leaving beings that much grass

I don't know what "weed sack the edges" means but I'll give you that the majority opinion is to have the cutter cover the width of the tractor. I always was a contrary red neck and often had to make do with what I had so look to what the real bottom line is. If a customer wanted their fence lines trimmed real close I'd either back into each space between the posts or walk the line with a string trimmer rather then size or set up my machine to match one specific piece of equipment. **** my first mowing job was to trim the edges under the barbed wire fence and around the apple trees with a hand scythe for my father that was mowing with a team of horses and a IH rubber tired ground driven mower.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Really ? Are we so goody two shoes that we need to censor h e double hockey sticks?

 

[Bradbilt]

Dam spell check WEEK WACK. AKA string trimmer

 

[vtsnowedin]

Dam spell check WEEK WACK. AKA string trimmer

Ahhh.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Dam spell check WEEK WACK. AKA string trimmer

Ahhh.

 

[MESSMAKER]

If you got the rest covered, then price is the remaining question. I think the only guy I know who runs a 7 foot cutter gets $65 per hour with a 4 hour min. Usually most get about $10 for each foot of cutter they run. You can get into trouble pricing by the job. It always ends up being bigger and taking longer than you first thought. I usually add 20% to what I think and it turns out about right.

 

[Ken45101]

The general rule of thumb is 5hp per foot of cutter. So 50 hp will support a 10' cutter. Of course, it depends on what you are cutting. Heavy spring growth will bog it down. I have a 6' cutter on a 50hp tractor and it's a good match. I could go another foot or maybe two wider if I were buying again. The cutter was originally bought for a 40 hp tractor.

As for getting close to the fence line, you can adjust your 3pt swing arms to shift the cutter to one side or the other.

 

[Bradbilt]

Ok guys. I found a 84" Offset Bush Hog They are asking $1,800. It seems a bit high to me, but then trying to find a 7 or 8' is not that common.

Will the 84" offset bush hog fit on my 102" wide trailer behind my tract to will it hang off to one side. How much offset is there?

 

[Verticaltrx]

You do not want a 7' single spindle cutter. They are extremely long and cumbersome and take a disproportionate amount of power to run (due to the extra long swing of the blade.) I honestly don't think you'd have enough power to run a 7' cutter in heavy grass.

That said, either a 6' or twin-spindle 8' cutter would be my choices. I see nothing wrong with the cutter being narrower than the tractor, but others have different opinions. I run a 5' cutter on a 6' wide tractor and it works fine. If it's in your budget a 8' cutter is a nice option though.

 

[Bradbilt]

I'm sorry. I left out it is s twin spindle Bush Hog SQ84