Bush hogging is best without front loaders on

[Bill Guenthner]

The funny thing is, on my farm I ended up getting rid of all the poison ivy I had...because I had sheep.

Poison Ivy is a sheep's favorite food. They will mob graze it out of existence. Because of their greasy wool, it does not get on them and bother them, and sheep prefer weeds anyway.

But then, instead of dealing with plosion ivy, you have to deal with all the sheep farming jokes! (LOL)

The deer and raccoons eat all of the poison ivy around here. Generally if you have a lot of poison ivy it’s because there isn’t much wildlife around. Lots of poison ivy in municipal parks and sprawling subdivisions.

 

[Smokeydog]

Have lots of deer, raccoons and other wildlife and still have lots of poison ivy. Goats love it too.

 

[jyoutz]

I always keep my loader bucket attached while rotary cutting. There always seems to be things that I find that I want to pick up: ancient or wind blown trash, limbs, etc… The bucket makes a nice trash can.

 

[Xfaxman]

I have to have the front loader on to use the brush hog:

The view from the seat:

 

[3gunr]

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 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 .

 

[big bubba]

If the bucket is causing the issuer you, why not just drop the bucket instead of removing the entire loader?

yes to this. can't imagine dropping the fel, i need the counter weight to balance the 8' 3hp hog (2k lbs). i do agree with you that smaller tractors are close to the ground & prone to debris on the radiator & air filter, one of the many reasons i stay with the utility M series. never a problem even with sedge in bloom
one potential problem w/removing only the bucket is that the loader arms could be at risk if you hit something solid, like a tree.

glad you had the eye to notice it before causing trouble. your set up is prob quite easy to remove, etc, & therefore has solved your problem, good work. but i disagree in general with the idea of removing the fel just for brush hogging in most cases.
btw welcome to this forum & continue your good work

 

[Hay Dude]

Today, I cleared about 8 acres. Some of the brush included 10-15’ tall bradford pear and they were 3” caliper. The loader easily pushed them over. I could then grind them up with the bush hog. With no loader, I would have to use the mower itself, which will do it, but only in reverse.
The loader is terrific for pushing through heavy brush and small trees while going forward. Its an extra layer of protection for the front.
I also use my loader and bucket extensively to break off low hanging branches jutting into fields.

 

[LouNY]

I have never routinely removed the loader from any tractor I have owned.
Of course on the older ones that would have taken a couple of hours,
my Branson is supposed to be quick and easy as are the Puma and New Holland at the farm,
the New Holland has never been off, the Puma was Once to work on the loader.
Oh almost forgot the Kubota it's never been off.

 

[Cougsfan]

I mow both ways, with the FEL on and with it off. If it is a field I don't know I like the bucket for alerting me of rocks. I have a very hilly, rock free 20 acre fallow section that I mow a couple times a year, and I prefer to mow it with the FEL off. With no FEL the ride is better (less bumpy) and my particular tractor is just a little easier to drive for 10 or 12 long hours it takes to mow it. Also the bucket bounces around a bit and makes not a lot, but significant, noise.
My Branson's FEL comes off and goes on in a couple of minutes. It is not much harder to remove the entire FEL compared to dropping the bucket alone. FEL or no FEL is not that big of deal one way or the other, and is probably affected significantly by the characteristics of your individual tractor (size, weight, ease of FEL removal) .

 

[LD1]

Old thread.....

But, I mow close to 500 acres a year. And its mostly with the loader off.

Alot of it depends on the job. Quite a bit of my mowing is 4-5 acre lots that were a corn or bean field the year prior and it got split up and sold and the owner just wants the weeds knocked down to survey the land and stake out for a home. Little to no risk of hitting rocks, fence, tires, stumps, etc in a lot that was a farm field for the past 50 years.

Sometimes I leave it on. Thats usually if its just a small job or something that comes up and I am in the middle of another project that requires the loader. I wont take it off to mow just an acre or two just to put it back on.

But my loader is 6' and mower is 8'. So even using it to try and detect stumps/rocks is no guarantee.

But by and large no loader is much more pleasant mowing. Its not in the way in tight corners, it isnt obstructing my view, easier on the machine without the weight, I can brake steer easier cause I can leave it in 2wd....whereas the loader sometimes requires 4wd if its damp and hilly, and its less weight to carry around on both the tractor and trailer. Which equates to fuel savings.

Keeping the radiator screen clean is always a must. Watch the temp gauge. Fall mowings suck but in general I try and always get an early start and be done by noon. Its cooler and with the dew on....makes a difference of cleaning the screen at the end of the day vs every 30 min,