4 ft brush hog

[daytime dave]

So I was in the market for a four foot brush hog. I looked on line at several different brands. I could get one shipped to the house with a freight fee.
I checked on Tractor Supply and they had one at two stores that weren't very close to me, but dad had one of their compact brush hogs years ago and it was pretty good. I made an excuse to go to the area where one of the Tractor Supplies had one in a couple of weeks time. A call to the store confirmed why I was hesitant to go that route. They wouldn't hold one, even if I paid for it, for more than a day or two. Perhaps they didn't understand that I was going to pay for it, not hold it and not show up. Reviews were mixed on that unit and as time got closer to when I could make the journey, there were none showing at any stores in my greater area. So, I did what I should have done in the first place.
I contacted my local John Deere Dealership. Yes, they had one with an accessory safety chain set up on the rear. Ok, the price was almost a thousand more, but as I looked at the pasture, I decided that I'd get it. It was still in the crate, so I would get it when they had prepped it. I pulled into the dealership on Saturday morning and the salesman was all ready. He took me to the service area and the service manager went over the mower, which was hooked up to a tractor that they surmised was close to the size of my 28 hp Mahindra that I told them I would be using it on. They had cut the PTO shaft to fit that tractor. If there was any issue with it not fitting mine, just bring the unit or the shaft back and they would cut it free of charge. After showing me a few other things, I paid for it and they loaded it on my trailer. The salesman showed me another feature I wasn't aware of and away I went. Oh, just before I went out the door at the dealership, the salesman opened a file drawer and handed me a new John Deere hat.
Boy, the unit was really well made. It was pretty heavy too, for a compact tractor sized unit. I got it mounted to the Mahindra and found the PTO length was perfect. I made some adjustments to the 3 pt hitch and tried it out. It cut almost like a mulching mower. I few more adjustments and it was ready to give it another workout. I mowed just a bit and it started to rain. So far it has rained so I can't mow. I am really happy with it though.

I don't know why I didn't call them first. When I think of all the hassle it would have been to pick it up and prep it myself, not having time for that, I am really glad I went with the dealership. When I raise it on the tractor, I can feel how heavy it is. It's a wonder it works on those little John Deere 1000 series tractors. Was the extra expense worth it? So far, yes. Pictures to come when I mow next.

[HenryFan]

If you ever decide to sell it, it will probably be worth more than a Tractor Supply unit.

My first bush hog was a 5' Deere and I eventually gave it to a neighbor when I moved to a 6' Bush Hog Squealer. The 5' Deere was beat half to death but it still worked. All I ever did to it other than sharpening or occasionally replacing blades was to replace an input shaft seal. My neighbor used it for quite a while after he received it.

I think you will be happy with the purchase.

[Hatchdog]

As noted you can’t go wrong with John Deere other than the price. I have a JD 5’ brush hog I bought exactly 20 years ago and it’s going strong. Since moving to this house in 2016 I don’t use it very often as I no longer have any pasture. But my last place was 10 acres of pasture with another 10 acres my in-laws had next door. I mowed the 20 acres 3-4 times a year with the JD cutter. Plan is to take it up to the property and leave it there as there’s pasture to mow there. That way I can just haul my tractor up without the mower.

Glad you're happy with your brush hog and yes we do want to see pictures when you get the chance. Happy mowing.

[rickhem]

I'm glad you got what you wanted Dave. There's something to be said for the fact that you're buying it from a place that deals with that kind of equipment as a mainstay of their business.
I have a 6 foot Titan rotary cutter, and I bought it from a place called MacFadden's. They're really close to where I live. I went there and picked their brains for a few visits before I bought, and they did the same for me as you got. Mostly I'm just cutting the grass around the perimeter of the hay fields, so my 30HP at the PTO drives it just fine. I'm kind of occasionally wondering if a flail mower would have been better, but the brush hog does what I need it to do.
Good luck and happy mowing with yours!

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

John Deere makes great products.

Although I have one, my Bush Hog (a 5 Footer) is an International brand. Although I don't believe it was made by IH.

It's Red. Maybe I should paint it Green and Yellow? lol

[BrokenolMarine]

We bought a five foot bush hog with the tractor a little over four years ago when we moved to Oklahoma. I told the Kubota salesman I wanted a decent quality, but it didn't have to be commercial quality. I also got a grader box, hay spears, and pallet forks, plus the trailer.

Funny thing, once we actually started using the bushhog, every time you'd bang into something, the edge would dent, sometimes enough to contact the spinning blades. Have to stop, raise the bushhog, and hammer to rim back into place.

This spring we took the tractor in for a full service. Took the bushhog in and had our guy weld a new rim all the way around. We could have bought a new entry level bushhog for the cost of the repairs, but the upgrades made this one a beast.

Our guy told us the salesman, no longer with Kubota, had sold us a first level bushhog, marked by the thin construction of the deck and sides, and the smaller gearbox. Each step up gets progressively heavier steel in construction, and heavier gearing and driveshaft.

Sounds like your JD bushhog is at LEAST a mid level product. Congratulations.

[rickhem]

I've looked at Woods brand and Frontier (which I think is JD) brand, and those are sure stout pieces of equipment. First question that everyone asked when I was looking into this, after asking what tractor this would go on, is "what are you looking to use it for?" I'm happy with mine, but wonder if a flail mower would have worked out. Probably would have been almost twice the price though.

The grader box will likely be my next purchase for the tractor. I have a long gravel driveway that gets a little rutted after heavy rains, and the tire tracks compress more than the center and the edges, not to mention the potholes that just appear out of nowhere. Guys here at work say that the box blade should be the width of your back tires at a minimum, which is 56" on mine, so a five footer sounds about right. There seems to be a lot of differences in those in terms of construction and durability too.

[Sir Henry]

I need a brush hog.

[Mags]

...every time you'd bang into something, the edge would dent, sometimes enough to contact the spinning blades. Have to stop, raise the bushhog, and hammer to rim back into place.
...

I made a double L shaped fork with a long handle for leverage out of 2" pipe to bend the rim back into place. Mine is an older JD 513.

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[Steve51]

One of the commenters mentioned a flail mower. I have a 53" flail mower that I use on a JD2025R compact tractor (25HP).
I chose a flail mower because it is more compact & easier to maneuver in tight places, like some trails through the woods.
It does a good job cutting, maybe a little better looking than a brush hog, but you must mow at a much slower pace. I bought mine
with hammer blades because of brush and fallen limbs along the wood line. All of my pasture land borders wooded areas.
I think Dave made the right choice for what he is doing - should give many years of good service.

[rickhem]

One of the commenters mentioned a flail mower. I have a 53" flail mower that I use on a JD2025R compact tractor (25HP).
I chose a flail mower because it is more compact & easier to maneuver in tight places, like some trails through the woods.
It does a good job cutting, maybe a little better looking than a brush hog, but you must mow at a much slower pace. I bought mine
with hammer blades because of brush and fallen limbs along the wood line. All of my pasture land borders wooded areas.
I think Dave made the right choice for what he is doing - should give many years of good service.

Interesting. This is the kind of first hand knowledge/experience that I look for. Also interesting that getting hammers instead of blades is an option. Looks like lots of details that I know nothing about. Hate to say it, but that happens a lot.
Thanks Steve. I too have trails and was hoping that the flail mower would do double duty. I'm cutting the edges of the fields at about 4 MPH with my tractor, a JD 3520. It's all weeds, so I can go faster, but they don't all cut, and the tires lay down some stalks that the blades must go right over. It leaves a unfinished look and in a couple days those laid down stalks are straight up again.

[HenryFan]

It has been my experience that tires do lay down vegetation which the bush hog does not always cut on the first pass but since there is some overlap with a 5' or a 6' bush hog, it gets that vegetation on the second pass.

With a 4' implement, I don't know if there is overlap or not since I have no experience with an implement that size.

[Hatchdog]

I offset my mower to the left slightly which helps with the overlap cut. When mowing fields I find sharp blades and a slow pace makes a nice cut.

[HenryFan]

I find it hard to keep blades sharp on a bush hog. Also, removing blades from a 6" bush hog for sharpening is a pain.

I try to keep an extra set of sharpened blades so that when I do remove the blades on the implement, I have a set to replace the dull blades. It is easier to remove one at a time and replace one at a time so that I don't have to fight the belly pan when both blades are removed at the same time.

Hatchdog is right about a slow pace makes a nice cut. In any event, the thicker the vegetation, the operator is forced to go slower.

[Mags]

I carry a couple of extra pto shear pins and tools to install one. Sometimes there are very thick branches hidden in the grass that I don't see or see and decide to run over anyway jamming up the mower and causing the pto shear pin to shear. It's more convenient to have the pins and tools on hand in the field than to go all the way back to the shop to install a new pin.

Separately, looking at how a flail mower works, it seems to have an advantage over my JD513 rotary for picking up grass flattened by tracker tires. The finger blades of the flail look like they would be right at ground level for yanking flatten grass up for shredding.

[Hatchdog]

The first time I sharpened my blades I put a nice edge on them I could shave with. Opps…. They wore down to nothing quickly. I asked the service guy at the dealer about that and he laughed and told me that was a common mistake. These blades are designed to chop not to cut necessarily so be sure to keep a not so sharp edge on them.

At first I would remove the blades and sharpen them and I had to use a 6’ piece of uni-strut as a breaker bar on a 3/4” drive ratchet to remove the bolts. Later I just raised the mower with the 3 pt and put jack stands under it. Then I would crawl under it with an angle grinder and give the blades some love. Mostly knocking the bumps off and smoothing the cutting edge being careful to keep it on the dull side.

[daytime dave]

All good information here for everyone.
I went with a four foot mower as I may do some trails and my Mahindra is on a small frame. It's 28 hp engine gives it some ooomph, but it's small stature is similar the the JD 2000 type tractors. That is what they set it up on at the dealership. With it's weight, I don't think anything bigger would be a good idea on my hills. I had to put the maximum amount of weight on the front just to get it to steer well going up hill. I did get a decent afternoon to do a little more mowing and pictures are here. (I also thought of a flail mower, but the cost was more and I had never used one.) I'm mostly mowing trails through the goldenrod and small bushes for the ATV to go around the pasture.

[Hatchdog]

Looks great Dave, that set up should serve you well. Happy cutting.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Bigger sure would not have been better. A 4-Footer is plenty big enough for your tractor. Before I could afford it, I mowed with my old 4-Footer with my big John Deere, lol. It did the job. Until I finally bought a new 5. Many guys let their egos get ahead of them and buy one a foot or two bigger than they should have. The one you bought looks great.

[Steve51]

Even with a flail mower, If the grass or weeds are taller you will notice in a day or two where your tractor tires laid down the grass. The flail will not lift the flattened grass that much.