Driving with rotory cutter

[SCDolphin]

What is the safest way to drive from point A to point B over rough terrain with a hd bush hog on the 3 point hitch. Any chance of damage to the hydraulics if the bush hog or other implement is bounced up and down?

Thanks

 

[jbrumberg]

SCDolphin:

It is possible to damage anything traveling over rough terrain . You could connect "check chains" to your 3PH toplink and your lower link lift arm pins with your attachment in a raised position. Jay

 

[RoyJackson]

I loosen or disconnect the upper link, raise the lower links so there's no chance of the side skirts digging in and tow the cutter with the tail wheel on the ground. I do leave the PTO shaft connected. Although the ground is rough, there are no abrupt changes such as a ditch or sharp hump. You may want to disconnect the PTO shaft in your case.
There's a couple areas I pass through that are minor slopes. Even with the loader on, the front end can get mighty light if the cutter is in transport.. Also, with that cutter extending out as far as they do, it can be like the tail wagging the dog.
Just run at a reasonable speed (meaning fairly slow) and you should be fine.

 

[98hd]

I messed up my 3 month old king kutter's hitch setup traveling over rough trails with mine. The side bars got bent all to ****. I had the hitch all the way up, but it was dragging the tail wheel.

It was a crappy design anyway so I will just have to make something better.

 

[SCDolphin]

Roy would you mind taking a picture if you are ever rigged up like that!

Thanks

 

[Soundguy]

IMHO.. the design is fine.. I don't read about pandemic failures of KK 3pt hitch setups day and night. More probable is that your method of transport had something to do with the damage.. Be fair.. place the blame where it deserves to go... don't abuse your equipment then blame the engineer...

I've got plenty of high dollar equipment.. big names.. JD.. etc.. and i can tear them up in a few minutes if I used them wrong... wouldn't be JD's fault if i was rough on the equipment and broke it...

I've got 7-10 ys of use on my current crop of KK equipment.. strangly enough.. none of it is broke... imagine that... what would you attribute that to?

Soundguy

I messed up my 3 month old king kutter's hitch setup traveling over rough trails with mine. The side bars got bent all to ****. I had the hitch all the way up, but it was dragging the tail wheel.

It was a crappy design anyway so I will just have to make something better.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

What is the safest way to drive from point A to point B over rough terrain with a hd bush hog on the 3 point hitch. Any chance of damage to the hydraulics if the bush hog or other implement is bounced up and down?

Thanks

If you're carrying a raised mower over rough terrain. speed (lack of it?) is a saftey issue as well as an issue with equipment longevity. The tractor needs to be of sufficient size/weight/hydraulic capacity to handle the mower under the WORST conditions at which you'll operate. In other words, if it won't SAFELY handle the mower while raised, without taking extreme precautions, the mower is probably too big for the tractor/conditions.

I live in hilly, rocky country. I mow a couple creek banks that would be better served by mowing with a weed eater. (maybe 50 weedeaters?) 75% of the time, I'm carrying the mower with tailwheel raised, even while mowing, not just while transporting. (too many rain ruts. Tailwheel would be constantly dropping in and out of them if it were on the ground, supporting the rear of the mower) Slow ground speed is essential. I also keep near 600 lbs of suitcase weights on the front end of the tractor I use. It'll lift the mower just fine without them. It's when you're on irregular terrain and raise the mower where bad things happen if there isn't ample front weight.

If the hydraulics or hitch components are in jepardy, you need (a) a smaller mower, or (b) a bigger tractor.

On the KK issue. I've owned a few KK items. Their tillers take a back seat to no one. Very rugged, and at a great price. I've got a 6' rear blade out back in the scrap pile that folded like a tent just grading out a few inches of crushed rock on a driveway. Tools like their mowers, rear blades, and such....well....they AREN'T extremely rugged in most cases. Light duty implements probably aren't supposed to be too rugged anyway. I've noticed a lack of consistancy of quality from one item to the next from KK. My employer bought a 6' KK mower to keep the lot mowed at work. With-in 2 weeks, we had cracked welds in a couple places, and hitch components flexing and bending. (very little integrety in "side-to-side" stressing situations) We took it back. First offer was ANOTHER mower just like the first. We went that route, expecting #2 to trash out just as fast. That's been 4 years now. #2 is still hanging in there. (Same operator, same tractor, same weeds to cut) The first mower was a lemon.....a piece of junk. (Never proven, but we always suspected "poor material" in #1, rather than poor workmanship. Design is marginal for strenght, but was same from mower to mower) #2 was ok. That's more apt to happen with equipment near the bottom of the price and quality totem pole. With the almost "no questions asked" return for another mower exchange, I'd say it wasn't the first time they had a return of KK stuff. Local TSC store manager tells much the same story. They handle several KK warranty exchanges a year for breaking/bending where they shouldn't be bending and breaking.

In MOST cases I know of personally, KK product failures OFTEN occur when the line between "light duty" and the need for "heavy duty" get's crossed. Buy light duty and expect problems when you exceed their physical limits. Sometimes it's as simple as the terrain you're operating on. Mowing grass on a flat. level, clean field doesn't require the strenght and stamina of mowing on choppy, hilly, rock infested, tree lined property. The process of simply driving over rough terrain is more abusive than mowing the tallest of weeds and brush on ground flat as a pool table. If that's your situation, expect to NEED a heavy duty mower OR replace light duty models frequently. BTDT.

 

[greg_g]

I had the hitch all the way up, but it was dragging the tail wheel. It was a crappy design...

Does not compute.

//greg//

 

[shvl73]

Does not compute.

//greg//

could the toplink have been mis-adjusted?

 

[RoyJackson]

Roy would you mind taking a picture if you are ever rigged up like that!

Thanks

Sure, but you can do the same thing...
Just rig the cutter to your lower link arms, connect the PTO shaft and raise the cutter several inches off the ground (don't hit the PTO shaft!).

Since the top link isn't connected, the lower attach points of the cutter will pivot around the lower link "eyeballs" rather then lift the cutter. This will raise the front end of the cutter, leaving the tail wheel(s) carrying some of the weight. I use this method when returning from a field area. I'm mowing 3-4 acres (some mine, some a neighbor's) field. I'd guess the furthest I've got to tow it might be ¼ mile over the field.
The main thing is don't go too fast.

When I'm just moving the cutter (I leave it on my parking are sometimes) and not planning to operate the cutter, I just use a rope or bungee and tie the PTO shaft to the upper frame work of the cutter (so it doesn't drag).

 

[98hd]

could the toplink have been mis-adjusted?

That's what I thought at first, but the main bars, that come from the deck and go up to where the top link mounts, bent above where the lower pins mount. IIRC they looked to have twisted and bent backwards between the toplink mount and the lower pins, which made the properly adjusted toplink (when I started) too long.

I never stated I was easy on equipment, but I'm not very hard on it either. It was fine for the trip out to the field (about 1/2 mile) and while I cut it, but on the way back some bouncing here and there twisted the top of the 3ph badly.

If the main side bars had been made out of some tubing or even some better quality steel it probably never would have happened. This summer I will get some steel and get out the welder and make something that will work well.

I'm not trying to say all KK stuff is bad either, I really like my KK tiller I bought, it has worked great for me.

If I get up to where the mower is soon I'll try and take pics.

 

[Glowplug]

Me confused. It sounds like it may be a problem with your tractor and not the implement.

 

[SCDolphin]

I am planning to run eithe the Bush hog or Wood brand medium cutter wt ~ 1,100lb on a Kubota L5240 hst.
Does that sound too heavy??

 

[RoyJackson]

I am planning to run eithe the Bush hog or Wood brand medium cutter wt ~ 1,100lb on a Kubota L5240 hst.
Does that sound too heavy??

No, not at all...
I went through the L5240 specs on the Kubota web site. You can read it here, but you'll need Acrobat Reader. The L5240 specs start on page 4.

Per the spec sheet, your 3PH lift capacity is 2980 pounds, so an 1100 lb cutter would be no problem. The weight of the tractor is around 4000 lbs, so, again, no problem.

You can try transporting the cutter without front weights (see how it does), but I think you'll want to transport with your loader installed or front weights.

SCDolphin, if you haven't read the manual thoroughly (since the machine is on order, I doubt if you have), make sure you read it and understand what you're reading. Your dealer and your friends on TBN will be happy to help (especially in spending your money!).

I'm going to contradict my earlier posts. With the size tractor you purchased, you can probably transport the cutter completely raised (that doesn't mean you have to raise it completely...just enough to clear the ground plus a few inches) across the fields. Again, you'll probably want the loader on or have front weights installed to balance the tractor. As long as you move at a sensible speed, you should have no trouble at all.

 

[Bob_Young]

Hi Dolphin,
To be safe with that 1100+lb. Woods, try to get your hands on a copy of the 5240 Operator's Manual and check out the Implement Limitations section. It'll tell you the maximum recommended size/weight for a variety of implements. The rotary cutter is listed right near the top.

I bought a BB720 the same time I bought my L4300. Woods lists the 720 weight as about 1150lbs. With guard chains, it probably goes over 1200 lbs.

The dealer warned me it'd probably be too much mower for the L4300, but I went ahead anyway. Figured I could pull it with the old Ford 4000 if the L4300 couldn't handle it.

Well that's pretty much how it worked out. The Implement limitations table shows max cutter weight of 880lbs. for the L4300, so the 720 w/chains is at least 300 lbs. overweight. The L4300 w/FEL 'handles' the cutter if I restrict it to even, fairly level field mowing, often with the 2pt. hookup Roy's been talking about. For the rough stuff & uneven terrain, it goes on the Ford 4000.

The L4300 raises and lowers the 720 just fine...if the FEL is on. Otherwise the front of the tractor goes up. So 3pt. hitch lifting capability is NOT the guage of whether the tractor can handle the mower.

Not only that, but the L4300's 3pt. hitch geometry is a bit tight for the Cat I/II 720. I have to partially take apart the hitch to get hooked up. Needless to say this is more trouble than it's worth so the 720 stays on the Ford. Even the Ford gets a little light in the front going off and on the trailer with the 720 in back.

For reference purposes, the L4300 is about the same size as the L4240. It has the same size engine and uses the same tire sizes. I've often wondered whether swinging that heavy mower around in sharp turns while mowing with the L4300 puts me at risk for tearing up the rear axle housing/3pt hitch attachment points on the tractor. There's a lot of weight and momentum at work during a sharp turn at speed. Swinging it into a hidden stump could do a lot of damage.
Bob

 

[N80]

I've got a basic light duty mower (JD LX-6) for my L4400. It is close to the max weight recommended (880 pounds, like bob's L4300). I generally travel over rough terrain with the mower up, tail wheel off the gound. This way you get some bounce, but that has not affected the 3pt system so far (2 years). If you go through a ditch or a swale you can still bang the tailwheel down so you have to be careful.

The issue here, really isn't anything more than speed as some have already mentioned. If the terrain is rough, you go slow enough not to damage your mower or tractor. It's just that simple.

But, if you have a long way to go, on rough terrain, I think Roy's set up is the best. But if I've got a mile or less (which is something I do all the time), I still just ride with it up and take my time.

And my memory may not be serving me well and I can't reason through the geometry very well AND I know someone is going to says this isn't possible, but I think that when my toplink is disconnected and the mower is being pulled only by the lower lift arms, the front mower edge on the LX-6 gets very close to the rear tires. The front chain hanger sticks out in front of the mower. So, it might be worth while to check your clearances if you plan to do it this way. The clearance is determined in large part by the height of the lift arms. The higher they are, the less the clearance. I can't explain this, but clearly, the top link provides some stand-off between the front of the mower and the back tires as the mower is lifted on the lower lift arms. Other tractor/mower combos may be different, but take it under advisement. If you want to pull it that way, just raise and lower the mower and pay attention to your clearance.

 

[JoeinTX]

I would just say go that you need to go slow and easy.

In all of my years of shredding, I've actually broken something when in use only once. Luck? Karma? Freakish bettering off the odds? I don't know. I do that I am very careful and cautious with the hard-earned dollars I've poured into the equipment. You see some drop the mower to the ground with a pronounced thud, slap it into 3-high, adjust their earphones and sunglasses...........and just take off and never look back. It's a "**** the torpedoes, full steam ahead" mentality that results in a lot of unnecessary damage and dollars.

For me, when transporting I raise the unit entirely off of the ground, but not usually full-up, to keep a little balance. Keep your sway bars/chains snug and pay attention. I've never damaged a lift arm or mount or top link this way.

As for the KK shredder, the mount looks a little willowy to me, but a lot of people use them just fine with no problem, so.....

 

[dknarnd]

Buy light duty and expect problems when you exceed their physical limits. Sometimes it's as simple as the terrain you're operating on. Mowing grass on a flat. level, clean field doesn't require the strenght and stamina of mowing on choppy, hilly, rock infested, tree lined property. The process of simply driving over rough terrain is more abusive than mowing the tallest of weeds and brush on ground flat as a pool table. If that's your situation, expect to NEED a heavy duty mower OR replace light duty models frequently. BTDT.

Everyone on here should pay attention to this particular quote by Farmwithjunk. The majority of my mowing is on rough and rocky terrain and I use a 5' light duty Bush Hog that requires major welding every year. All my mowing is about 25 - 30 acres of field grass/weeds which gets cut once a year. However I also have nephews and a brother that likes to help with the cutting (play) and they are very rough on the equipment; but it does save me hours of seat time.

 

[N80]

I think its the brothers, nephews and friends that bump the requirement up from light duty to heavy duty!

Seriously though, I think other things come into play here. I have rocky, rough terrain to mow, plus some flat clean fields too. My light duty mower has handled all this just fine. But, I'm careful and alert when using it. I might be using it in a location that would benefit from a medium duty mower, but I take that into consideration as I use it. Second, terms like light and medium duty are not very precise and by and large don't indicate anything at all. My JD LX-6 is a light duty mower. But its materials and build compare to some other brands medium duty stuff and it is much better built than some of the lower end stuff. Same with my BB. I think the key is to know what you have and how to use it properly.

 

[98hd]

Finally got pics of my bent hitch.