How to brushhog uneven terrain without damaging equipment

[nschneid]

To preface, I've already bent the mower deck on my Cimmaron 6' brushhog. They fixed it at the shop, somehow, but in doing so they ground off a bunch of the skids on each side, and weakened the deck even more.

I'm not sure how I bent it. How would you bend a mower deck? I may have done it backing up into inclines that looked awkward to go forward into (or were inaccessible the other way) to try to hit the grass, but I don't know.

My acreage has mostly flat land, but there are a few fairly steep banks and such, some areas that are forested AND steep (those are some of the ones I back into, to cut up to the tree line).

Does anyone have any tips on how to not ruin a brushhog? How do you mow banks? Is it a bad idea to back up with the mower low?

edit: oh and one more question: I hit something like a brick or a rock or something (I don't know, didn't see it) and it pierced the side of the brushhog on its way to the next county. Is this just a crummy brushhog or is that normal?

 

[JRobyn]

If I'm going to back mine into thick stuff on an UP incline, I generally raise it up, then back up, then drop it down onto its victims. I have bent a tailwheel frame backing into stuff, but not the deck. Maybe just lucky? If you had a rock come right through the side of the deck, it sure sounds like a light gauge metal. Maybe you need a heavier-duty hog?

 

[jeff9366]

Rotary Cutters trail far behind the tractor. There is a limit to how well Rotary Cutters can traverse swales or back up banks.
(However, you should check that your PTO shaft is not too long, stressing the entire mower when it is compressed. Backing up banks will compress the PTO shaft if it is too long.)

VIDEO: tractor PTO shaft - YouTube

I use a HydrauLink Top Link between my tractor and my Land Pride Rotary Cutter.

VIDEO: hydraulink - YouTube

Weightier Rotary Cutters are more robust than light Rotary Cutters.


Finish Mowers have two belt powered spindles operating off the PTO powered gearbox, reducing their trail behind the tractor. If you mow regularly and can forgo mowing saplings and brush, consider a Finish Mower.

VIDEO: tractor finish mower - YouTube


Smoothing the pasture is another option. A Disc Harrow trailing a Chain Harrow is an effective combination for moving dirt from high spots to low spots.

 

[TripleR]

I have a hydraulic top-link and use it to facilitate how JRobyn does and agree your deck sound too thin.

Some people use chains to replace the top link or down supports on the cutter, but I've never tried it.

 

[nschneid]

If I'm going to back mine into thick stuff on an UP incline, I generally raise it up, then back up, then drop it down onto its victims. I have bent a tailwheel frame backing into stuff, but not the deck. Maybe just lucky? If you had a rock come right through the side of the deck, it sure sounds like a light gauge metal. Maybe you need a heavier-duty hog?

So you don't really try to cut anything when you're going backwards up the hill, you just cut on the way back down... I could see how backing up a hill could kind of jam the implement into the hill and maybe bend it.

I'd like to have a heavier duty one but I don't really have the money to spend on it.

 

[nschneid]

Rotary Cutters trail far behind the tractor. There is a limit to how well Rotary Cutters can traverse swales or back up banks.
(However, you should check that your PTO shaft is not too long, stressing the entire mower when it is compressed. Backing up banks will compress the PTO shaft if it is too long.)

So I guess the more conservative, correct approach would just be to raise it up all the way while backing up to keep it clear of everything, then lower and roll forward? I can't think of a way that I could possibly stress the frame while dragging it forward.

Smoothing the pasture is another option. A Disc Harrow trailing a Chain Harrow is an effective combination for moving dirt from high spots to low spots.

I'll keep that in mind, it's mostly just 5% of the pasture I'm worried about though. Basically the ditch that runs in front of my acreage and an awkward area in a corner that runs up to the fences and has lots of trees and banks, with almost no room to turn.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Tractor supply sells a chain attachment, actually 2 chains the fasten to each lift arm and the to the top link attachment point on your tractor. This allows the bush hog to float up more so than the third arm will allow and also used the tail wheel to keep the height more uniform when traversing ditches, swales etc. I would recommend these for mowing hilly property. You need to watch the PTO shaft when raising the bush hog to extreme up limits, you could bind the PTO shaft or even bend it. Make sure you have plenty of clearance for the shaft to compress also or you could end up shoving the tractors PTO shaft into the tractors internals.

As for knocking a hole in the side with a rock or other hard object, your bush hog has too thin material. I had a light weight Howse BH once that while never penetrating the side, it did round it out from numerous rocks hitting the sides. Even 1/4" thick plate can be dented pretty good from a rock missile being tossed into it. Don't worry, a hole in the side wont affect the cutting ability of the BH.

 

[Handloader109]

Sounds like a light duty mower not really a bushhog (that being a brand really). Now another thing is how fast were you moving backwards? If you are slowly moving to the rear, I would think that you could control mower and keep from ramming the hill. If you are going in reverse at a fast clip, then all bets are off. Even with a good mower.......

 

[Gary Fowler]

I forgot to mention that the chain attachment also allows you to adjust the ride height of your mower so you don't have to continually readjust it when raising/lowering etc. This is especially important for tractors whose 3 PH don't stay in the same place or leaks down.

 

[Snowback]

If you are in a wooded area, or if stumps are around, it is not uncommon to hit, dent, or possibly bend the sides of some cutters while making share turns. The cutter hangs out so far behind that sharp turns will swing it way out to the direction opposite your turn.

I've accidentally smashed into some stumps and trees in tight quarters a few times, and there is a LOT of force and unexpected shock imparted to the cutter and tractor as well. Good way to wake you up from the hypnosis one sometimes falls into while cutting a larger area.

 

[nschneid]

I forgot to mention that the chain attachment also allows you to adjust the ride height of your mower so you don't have to continually readjust it when raising/lowering etc. This is especially important for tractors whose 3 PH don't stay in the same place or leaks down.

Are you talking about a chain limiter?

 

[MESSMAKER]

A good cutter can take a shot from a rock with little ill affect. I would go slow and not worry about it. Most cutters end up with some welds on them if you use them enough.

 

[CADplans]

This is how I got RID of my bush hogging issues,,,,

 

[4570Man]

I use my finish mower as much as I can. Having wheels on all 4 corners and being shorter helps a lot. Also if you can help it don't back across into the ditch. I have had become luck backing down from the top, but this isn't always possible. Even better is running across the hill, but sometimes they are too steep to do safely.

 

[jenkinsph]

Use the mower on the 95% of the field that you can mow without problems. Then fix the problem areas as you have the time. A landscape rake and your fel can help with this for starters. I get off the tractor and look for stumps, rocks and old engine blocks before finding them with a mower.

 

[compact]

As others have suggested, a hydraulic toplink greatly improves handling on uneven/rocky terrain. you can hover the cutter at any height desired, lift the back 2.5 feet to maneuver or hit large trees (smaller higher on the trunk), or drop the cutter down into a ditch. Mowing over rocks with the front lifted and tailwheel down is also effective, all done from the seat of the tractor.

 

[DieselBound]

Use the mower on the 95% of the field that you can mow without problems. Then fix the problem areas as you have the time. A landscape rake and your fel can help with this for starters. I get off the tractor and look for stumps, rocks and old engine blocks before finding them with a mower.

I'll run with my loader bucket edge down for early warning detection. Kind of a pain to run around with the loader while mowing, but I leave it on all that time (I multi-task a lot).

I once hit an old VW axle with my brush hog. REALLY tough stuff! It came out as a tie. Happened right around dusk as I was getting ready to pack it in for the day; turned around to see a great light show -sparks- happening as I started to pull up the mower.

If you raise the front and leave the back down then you're still going to hit stuff as it hits the back end of the mower.

I have an old field mower that doesn't have the float in the top link connection like new ones do. I have found that if I have the top link adjusted so that when I have the mower raised the backend droops then it tends to ride more on the tail wheel and less on the leading edges of the skids (which would otherwise dig in more). The downside of this is that you tend to bunch cut material at the rear of the mower (with tall grasses and brush you'll need to go slower or raise up a bit).