Stupid brushhog question

[rambler]

I must have 20-30 implements around here with pto driveshafts. You should respect them, not be scared of them? What do you run with your tractor, or how?

The 3-4 times one came apart or broke off for me, they generally roll over to the right side & just spin on the ground. There is no wild flailing of the shaft all over the place. However, not a situation to take lightly, and anything _can_ happen, or it could catch on something & whip that around, etc. But generally it just sits to the right & spins...

As to the pull type pto equipment, when turning with the implement the pto shaft will _shorten_, not extend (for the geometric crowd, the pto shaft is 14" ahead of the hitch pin - when you turn the pivot point of the hitch pin will make the shaft shorten when it angles). So there is little chance of the pto coming apart just by backing up. The problem is if you turn too sharply - either moving forward or back, easier to screw up moving backwards - you will cause the knuckles to knock, tear apart, or hit something (like the tractor tire) with the shaft. Just something to be aware of.

Most trailer-type implements have far longer pto shafts with much more overlap, and give a larger margin for safety than the 3-point implements.

Anyone can learn to back up stuff, just go slow & be careful. Practice practice practice. Long hitches with wheels way far back makes it much easier. When you think you're good, then try to back up a 4-wheel front-steering wagon. If you manage to get good at that, then try backing up a baler (with a pto) with a bale basket behind it....... It's like backing up a train without the tracks to guide it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

--->Paul

 

[chrisjbell]

<font color="blue"> But couldn't one just stop if he screwed up steering and started going in the wrong direction? And then move forward again and correct the mistake? </font>

Well, yes and no. This is one of the reasons that I have learned to remove the FEL when using my 3PH hog. If you get into a tight area, having one thing sticking out front and another sticking from behind makes it really tough to get out of a tight situation. The tendancy is that when you move one implement away from, say, a fence, the other end will get closer. I'm getting better at it, but have to admit that in a tight spot I've had to resort to making nasty orange marks on my fences /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.

You'll just have to practice - you'll get the hang of it after a while. And if you don't need (or have - didn't check your profile) your FEL, get rid of it before mowing in tight areas. They're easy to install and remove once you've done it a couple of times.

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( There is no wild flailing of the shaft all over the place )</font>

I've never had one come off or come apart myself and I've only seen one. It was a big brush hog behind a big tractor and the guy had just pulled out of a tractor service facility and started mowing down the shoulder of the road; may have been just "road testing" after some repair, but I don't know that. It appeared that the PTO shaft just was not properly connected to the tractor and it came loose at the tractor end. And it really did flail all over the place! Lots of noise, and the driver did what I would assume to be the only sensible thing to do at that point; stopped and just sat there on the tractor seat until it quit turning. This was on a wide 4 lane divided highway and I was walking along the opposite side of the road and was glad I was quite a long ways from it. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[BB_TX]

<font color="blue"> is something inherently dangerous related to backing up with the brush hog </font>
No more so than going forward if you know what is in your path. You just have to be careful that you know what is behind you. I do a lot of backing when I mow. I have a deep creek that runs thru my property. There are many areas that I can not mow close to the creek going forward, so I back into those area. I put the tractor in low range and back VERY slowly into those areas.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> You should respect them, not be scared of them? What do you run with your tractor, or how? </font>

OK. I'm not scared of them, I respect them.

I personally know one person with one arm due to a driveshaft accident. It didn't come apart, as in this discussion; he got a shirt caught in it. That was enough to respect the heck out of me.

My brush hog and mower deck are hydraulic; no driveshafts.