Bush Hog Use on (2-4") trees How do you do it?

[AndyMA]

Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

Recently I've read so many different posts regarding the capacity of Bush/Brush Hogs on larger brush. I was going to post this message under another thread, but then decided to post it under its own heading to get maximum responses. I have a question. How do you "mow" 2-4" trees with your Bush Hog? I'm really interested in how you drive over them. I have been using brush hogs for over 20 years. I currently have a SQ600 on a Ford 2120 (43hp). I've used much heavier duty ones on larger tractors and not that much changes. Sure the 2120 will cut a 2-3" sappling without any trouble (and I agree with Bird, the noise will scare the pants off you the first time). The issue is how do you get the tree under the mower to be cut? Something has to knock it over and that's not going to be the front edge of the mower. The way I do it is with the FEL by keeping the bucket level to the ground and about a foot above it. Otherwise what is the tree going to hit, the front, underside, axles and everything else on the tractor, ripping off alot of things. I know I've lost a fair amount of lines, hoses etc. even after knocking the trees over They pop up and by the way tie rods don't seem to like the trees much either. The loader also finds many of the rocks before the blades do. Even after sucessfully running over (mowing) a 3" tree, in my experience it is mostly delimbed and debarked on one to two sides. I may not have even severed it's connection to it root. This is where I go in with my wood chipper and backhoe and clean up. I also find that even 1/2 to 2 " brush leave behind a fair amount of sharp stumps that do a pretty good job at puncturing tires. I'd also like to know how you do it with a sub 30 horse tractor. Sometimes I knock the area over with my loader and then back into it with the mower cutting at about 18", then drop it and pull forward . It's a totally different story on roses, juniperds. etc. which even when they have 3" trunks get fairly well shredded.
Thanks for you input. By the way my comments don't apply to cutters like the Brown Tree Cutter which are designed to cut larger trees.

One last thought, for those of you who worry about scratches and dents, Don't cut brush.

Thanks for your input.

Andy

 

[PineRidge]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

Andy I used to take my 25 HP and raise the 72" brush hog then slowly back over the saplings. As it started to bite the tree I would then slowly lower the deck to let it eat the tree as a meal. That way you aren't left with anything sharp that will damage your tractor tires. Wear a pair of hearing protectors as it will scare the bajeebies out of you at 1st. If your deck is front discharge you may want to consider goggles as well cause the chips will fly!

 

[AndyMA]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

Thanks Mike, I pretty much do that to. I mostly posted this because I wanted to see what some other do and make many of the new Bush Hog type users realize that to cut a stand of 3" trees wasn't like mowing your front lawn. Now there are tree shreaders, but that's a whole different story. Hey Santa you listening....

Andy

 

[bebster]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

I too back onto the tree and lower the deck and hold on tight as it goes to town. I wear my chain saw hard hat with ear mufflers and face mask.

However, I don't like the resulting larger stump that is still there afterwards. I've found that the toothbar on my FEL after a day of rain can often get the sapling up by the roots just as quickly. Then with the 4N1 I can grab it and put it on a pile for burning. The end result is no tree, no stump and not much of the roots left either.

 

[em14]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

Andy,
When I was kid and naturally working for my Dad, we took one of the early Bush Hogs, I think it was a 5 ft blade, (these things were built like tanks) and mounted a 75 hp IH Power Unit on the deck so that it would connect to the PTO input shaft via "V-Belts". The sole job of the IH was to drive the blade! To protect the tires we put the Bush Hogs tires inside larger old tire carcasses and seldom did we have a puncture. All of this was pulled by an 8N ... the method of operation was very simple ... try to climb the tree with the tractor and if it bent over and you could then drive over it ... then you drove over it. The Bush Hog ate trees like you couldn’t believe. Now I'm going to tell you that this was never considered great sport by me ... but I must admit we cleared a lot of bottom land. We also used a D-7 on what was too big for the Bush Hog ... and.. You could hear this operation a very long ways. No one ever got hurt using this rig … It may have been because it chewed most stuff pretty good … I do remember being hit in the back as I was “Bush Hogging” by a piece of oak about the size of a piece of stove wood! Chains ... what chains … Thank Goodness the Hogging has gotten much safer today thought it still requires that one be extremely careful …
Leo

 

[cisco]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

With larger stuff, I used to back up to the tree, and slowly lower the brush cutter. However, I've gotten lazy, and now just lower the FEL to 2' or so, and drive over everything with the brush cutter (Woods BB600) about 6-8 inches off the ground. I come back at the amputated branches and stump at a 90 degree angle to my first pass, with the cutter lowered to 2-4 inches, and sometimes do it again with the cutter fully lowered. Stump (if not dragged out by the last brush cutter pass) can be pulled out with FEL teeth.
As noted elsewhere, the noise is major. Sharpening the cutter blades helps.

 

[icat]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

Sounds like we all do it basically the same. The trees on my property are mostly 1" in diameter and about 5 foot high. I use the FEL to knock them flat and then just keep driving right over them. I find I can generally "pin" the trees to the ground using the tires on the tractor. The 1" trees are pretty much destroyed by the first pass. On the larger trees it sometimes takes two passes. If needed I deploy the Bush Hog from above the remaining stump and then lower it. Noisy but effective. If the tree is really large I scrape it with the FEL until it's smaller and then Bush Hog it. Sometimes when I hit them with the FEL they pull right out. If they do then I drag them over to the brush pile to be burned at a latter date.

My biggest problem is that the trees are Huiesache Trees and they will grow right back. These trees can grow five foot or more in just a year, so once you've cut them down you need to poison the roots to kill the darn things - otherwise you'll be mowing them again and again. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Bellville]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

Andy, I am new to this and don't pretend to have near the experience you have, but I have been amazed at what a brush hog will do, I have been backing over 1" to 3" trees and have good results grinding them to the ground. I started out driving over them pushing them over with the FEL but was concerned over what was happening under the tractor when they tried to spring back up.

Like everyone say's it makes a racket and shoots wood chips out everywhere, but it does really do a great job.

Coming from someone who until a few weeks ago was only clearing with a chainsaw, this has been tremendous improvement in my clearing program. I have done more work in the last three weeks than I did all last year /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And like you said, if you don' t want to scratch up your tractor, don't cut brush.

 

[ScottAR]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

My Dad and Grandfather used to do somthing very similar. They too had one of the early bush hogs with solid tires. Pulled it with a 730 Case instead. Dad said if they could get the Case over it, it was doomed. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[JerryG]

Re: Bush Hog Use on (2-4\") trees How do you do it?

Andy,
I more than likely should not say this, but. I think that a lot of the time you need to as they say take the size of tree that is spoken about with a grain of salt. Sometimes memories are larger than the actual thing, kind of like the big fish that got away. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif Not the manufactures rating, but talking about the smaller tractors and the larger trees.