I bought a tractor

[TreeGuy]

Oh, the joy of learning experiences . . . .

I know a guy who's more than willing to help with advice and hands on. Granted, he doesn't always have the same opinions as other experienced tractor owners but he's done loads of research and also had learning experiences. Look him up anytime you have questions.@treeguy.


Get a 4' if you can, or one as wide as your outside dimension of the tractor. If your doing trails and basic clearing that's all you need. If you were gonna mow big fields you may want to go as big as the tractor can handle. My 38hp pushed a 7' well, but I ended up buying a 5' and love it. Nothing stops it as it's rated at the high end for HP.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[G-Man]

13 hours ago, goosifer said:

So, an update on Goose's tractor adventures.

Going back a few weeks, I got the new tires and rims installed, back tires filled with beet juice and front tires with an inner tube because they are not a perfect fit for the rims. My buddy who helps me with stuff went out to brushcut the trails. (Over a year ago, I bought a used 48" brushcutter off of Craigslist, as I knew I'd be getting a tractor.) On day 2, he gets a flat tire in a front tire. The valve stem cracked at the base. The inner tube is an odd size so I had to order another one online. Took four days to arrive. In the meantime, my buddy that helps me got, and still is, sick with pneumonia.

After leaving the tractor on a tire jack for a week, I decided to go out today to see what I could get done myself. I put the tire back on no problem. Figured out how to operate the tractor and implements no problem. (Today was the first day I actually drove my tractor.) The brushcutter gave me problems. The belt slipped off of the pulley. I didn't bring any tools so I had to run to the shop to get sockets and a wrench. I get the belt back on. Tightened the tension too tight. The belt was burnt black and smoking and still slipped off again. I put on a new belt no problem. (Had a spare with me!) Still, the brushcutter sucked, does more knocking stuff down than cutting. Also, the belt and pulleys get verrry hot, even with the new belt. I need to adjust the belt tension again as the new belt stretched out and wasn't grabbing the pulleys well. I will also try to sharpen the blades some more with a file. One friend I briefly spoke to today suggested there might be ball bearings in the pulley housings that need to be changed. I don't know.

At this point my plan is to do what I can with the brushcutter to at least knock down the foliage, then disc everything up, then spray Roundup to kill whatever foliage survived. Oh, and buy a new, bigger brushcutter for next year.

Anyone have any tips or ideas regarding the current brushcutter I'm using? (I should have taken a pic. I can tomorrow.)

Sell your 4 ft to taco. He can swap the gearbox out from his 5 ft and put smaller blades on it. Put your money toward a house, or Bush hog .. sized confit size and hp of your tractor.

[wolc123]

Like tree guy say's, it appears that you are trying to use a finish mower as a bush hog.     Those things are designed for cutting grass, not brush.     A 5 foot Bush-hog squealer would be just about perfect for your tractor.    That is a light-duty cutter designed for tractors in the 25-35 hp range.     Rhino makes a pretty good equivalent (I use a Rhino SE6 on my 43 hp tractor), but it does not make quite as neat of a cut as the old Bush-hog 5 foot "Squealer" that I had on my previous 32 hp tractor.  For your tractor and usage, I would avoid the "heavy-duty" cutters.   They run a lower rpm and do not make as neat of a cut on food-plots.   A light duty bush-hog is perfect for cutting brush up to about 2" diameter. and general food-plot  maintenance.   Finish mowers are best left on the lawns with the hydro transmission mowers.   

I would also recommend figuring out a way to get tubeless front tires on your tractor.  Repairs are a lot easier to make on those, in the field.   

Edited August 17, 2019 by wolc123

[airedale]

Another consideration is the Flail mower, they do a great job on light brush and grass-weeds, a favorite for maintaining orchards as they mow between the rows of trees pulverizing everything. They are made for different duties, heavy duty for constant use is what one sees the road and highway departments use along side the roads, medium duty for occasional use on brush weeds and grass, a light duty would be for just grass. I bought a medium duty 6 footer a couple of years ago and I love it, I have the hammer blades and it will pulverize small trees-branches and brush, they are closer to the back of the tractor making for easier maneuvering, the leave a much smoother cut and they do not send rocks flying like missiles like a brush hog. Nice used ones turn up on Craigslist every now and then. Plenty of you tube videos on all these mowers showing them in action.

Al

 

Edited August 17, 2019 by airedale