What size Brush Hog?

[LD48750]

Just got a JD 855 and would like to know if I can run my 5' Brush Hog on it?

Should I take off the mid Mount Mower?

Better with or without the loader?

 

[Soundguy]

25 engine hp and 19 at the pto.

you could likely run a ld 5' mower as long as you keep the ground speed low and don't try to cut 2'tall lush grass. .. or if cutting tall stuff, just take a smaller bite in thick areas.

i'd leave loader on for counter ballast.

otherwise you are cutting 4' and should have no problem spinning 4 thru anything you can walk the tractor over.

so.. if you have a 5' hog your 2n can handle.. i'd sure try it out. that 855 likely has much better lower gearing for lower ground speed than the tall brisk gears in that 2n's 3 spd.

 

[beenthere]

:welcome: to TBN
Your call if you try to hog brush with a mid-mount mower hanging under your 855. I wouldn't, but may help push the brush over for easier hogging with the 5'. I demo'd a 5' brush hog (JD 513) on an 855 and it handled it quite well (IMO).
Keep Soundguy's suggestion in mind. With the loader for counter weight and slow and easy through the brush. Hydrostatic would be best, IMO.

 

[JD5210]

You may want to look at this link.

TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors

 

[techwrtr2]

I pull a 4ft behind my 855. It works well and allows me to tackle stuff I might otherwise have to avoid. I didn't go wider because I had concerns about it being too wide to fit places. I know if I can drive the tractor through, that mower will go through as well. Not so much with the rear mount finish mower I have.

While leaving the loader on is an option, depending on where you mow it may be a problem too. I generally don't leave it on so I do not take things out with it. The bucket is also wider than the tractor (60") so that's a problem too. Better off to hang some suitcase weights off the front.

 

[LD48750]

I pull a 4ft behind my 855. It works well and allows me to tackle stuff I might otherwise have to avoid. I didn't go wider because I had concerns about it being too wide to fit places. I know if I can drive the tractor through, that mower will go through as well. Not so much with the rear mount finish mower I have.

While leaving the loader on is an option, depending on where you mow it may be a problem too. I generally don't leave it on so I do not take things out with it. The bucket is also wider than the tractor (60") so that's a problem too. Better off to hang some suitcase weights off the front.

I was thinking other then a counterweight, the loader could act as a brush guard.
One of the first projects is a path through the woods & swamp around the pond.

I do believe a 4' would be better but, I already have the 5'er.

 

[metalcaster]

My 790 pulls a 5' IMCO cutter through just about anything, just need to keep the ground speed low. I keep the loader on to bend down the brush and act as a feeler for tree stumps and rocks.

 

[techwrtr2]

I was thinking other then a counterweight, the loader could act as a brush guard.
One of the first projects is a path through the woods & swamp around the pond.

I do believe a 4' would be better but, I already have the 5'er.

Where I'm cutting can influence whether I keep the loader on or take it off. If I'm going through unknown terrain and the loader won't present a problem, I leave it on. I may use it as something to encounter and address what may be up there rather than getting hung up. Like the occasional stump or rock.

Places that I already know and cut regularly, I keep it off as a hindrance more than help.

 

[beenthere]

One of the first projects is a path through the woods & swamp around the pond.

I often back the brush hog into heavy brush that I want to "bust through" to save any of the delicate parts that seem to be vulnerable underneath and in-between where sticks seem to want to poke through. Once a path is through the "brush" then forward hogging is easier IMO.
I beefed up the rear deck edge of my 513 with a heavy square tubing to avoid bending up that rear curtain.

 

[LD48750]

I often back the brush hog into heavy brush that I want to "bust through" to save any of the delicate parts that seem to be vulnerable underneath and in-between where sticks seem to want to poke through. Once a path is through the "brush" then forward hogging is easier IMO.
I beefed up the rear deck edge of my 513 with a heavy square tubing to avoid bending up that rear curtain.

Yah... that's what I do too for the heavy stuff.

Back in with hog high and let it down easy.

It's amazing what these things will destroy.