Then he said "Don't buy a bush hog that's wider than the tractor"

[Jstpssng]

This is one of those "I heard it from a guy who knows somebody who..." stories...
.
I was talking to a neighbor about his LS. He mentioned that his son, who works as a mechanic for a heavy equipment dealer downstate, told him to buy a 4 foot mower so that it won't stick out past the rear wheels. Supposedly they get a lot of tractors in which have been "Broken in two" when the edge of the mower hits a tree.
My first thought was that he's full of organic fertilizer.
My second thought is that if somebody hits a tree that hard they're going to have more than a broken tractor to worry about, and I hope they have their seat belt on.
Third thought, there's no way that I'm going to reduce my mowing path by 20% just because I can't pay attention when I get near a tree.

I know to be careful when using my 3 pth backhoe, but has anybody ever heard of a tractor getting the rear broken off from mowing?

 

[oosik]

Strange as it sounds - the number of threads here on TBN regarding broken everything would tend to verify your friends, sons story. New owners - shinny tractors - the joys of driving - OOPS, what did I do now.

 

[RickB]

This is one of those "I heard it from a guy who knows somebody who..." stories...
.
I was talking to a neighbor about his LS. He mentioned that his son, who works as a mechanic for a heavy equipment dealer downstate, told him to buy a 4 foot mower so that it won't stick out past the rear wheels. Supposedly they get a lot of tractors in which have been "Broken in two" when the edge of the mower hits a tree.
My first thought was that he's full of organic fertilizer.
My second thought is that if somebody hits a tree that hard they're going to have more than a broken tractor to worry about, and I hope they have their seat belt on.
Third thought, there's no way that I'm going to reduce my mowing path by 20% just because I can't pay attention when I get near a tree.

I know to be careful when using my 3 pth backhoe, but has anybody ever heard of a tractor getting the rear broken off from mowing?

No. Not even after 25 years at 3 different dealerships. A broken lift arm or lift arm pin Is a far different thing than a tractor broken in half.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

It real time I have never seen a tractor broke it in half.

 

[TMGT]

I was asked to look at repairing an axle housing for a New Holland, believe it was a TC45, apparently they caught the finish mower on a concrete barrier and broke the housing (its used at a race track).

After looking for a used replacment, I determined it was a weak link since I found a number of tractors with either broken housing or missing housings.
So i guess on some tractors it might be true.

Not sure what they ended up doing with it, I passed on repairing it since I couldn't guarantee it would hold up and the repair would be close in cost to a used housing (when you could find them).

 

[BrokenTrack]

I have seen a tractor broken in half...it was an Allis Chalmers though it does not matter the make or model.

The Amish had got here late the first year they were here, but the Lord provides, and gave us a nice stretch of weather in October. In order to get their hay in, they borrowed a tractor, baler and wagon and was making hay literally as the sun shined.

Then on top of a hill something let go in the transmission and down the hill the tractor baler and wagon went. It hit a rock wall, bounced over that, drove itself out into a swamp, hit a tree and literally broke in half.

The Amish put on their Sunday best, went back to the farmers house and said, "As we speak, we are getting teams of horses together to pull the tractor out of the swamp, and as soon as we can get the parts, we will put the tractor back together for you."

The old dairy farmer then shook his head and said, "Do not be foolish. You have good weather so you need to borrow my other tractor, get your hay in now, because you have all winter to fix the broken tractor."

My Amish neighbor said when the man said that, they knew they had moved into a good town. But the old farmer was right, things break, and weather in Maine is fickle, so don't worry about done deeds, get your hay in when you can, and fix what you can later when you can.

 

[Diggin It]

I think that's more like the operator broke in half by not paying attention to what they were doing.

I've always read just the opposite, get a cutter slightly wider than the wheel track so you don't leave tracks you have to go back over.

 

[kf4uda]

I think that's more like the operator broke in half by not paying attention to what they were doing.

I've always read just the opposite, get a cutter slightly wider than the wheel track so you don't leave tracks you have to go back over.

I agree on both points.

 

[Smokeydog]

If you could break a tractor in half I would have done so several times. Have much natural ability, engineering degrees and seat time in finding the weak spots in equipment. Being able to gorilla proof equipment a valuable skill in my career. A farm too steep, big trees, big rocks, sinkholes, groundhog holes, toughest ivy and vines that pull full size trees down, brick hard clay ground to bottomless grease like mud. Perfect proving ground coupled with my superpower of breakage. Kubota my kryptonite?

 

[mikester]

If you manage to break a tractor in half with a mower attachment you win the Darwin Award!

I want my mower decks, snowblowers, attachments wider than the tires so I can get close to trees, lawn edging etc. that way I dont need to use a weed eater. Shame on me if I hit something, even more shame if I break something.