Ford 8n and a brush hog for HILLS?

jacksun65 · #41 11/11/11, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by agmantoo

The responses regarding not using a chain is an over reaction. I have a large Bushhog brand rotary cutter that does not have a top link. It is designed to be carried on the lift arms and rear trail wheels. This feature allows the Bushhog to somewhat float over rough ground. I also have a smaller rotary cutter and it functions just like the larger one when a chain is used instead of a toplink. There are rotary cutters that are marketed from the manufacturer with chains part of the design. I live in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains and bushhog hundreds of acres of hills each year. My concern with using the small older tractor is stopping it. Once both rear wheels are locked, provided the brakes will lock them, it will slide like a sled down a steep hill and will do this with the steering out of control. Engine braking is mandatory but still dangerous. NEVER clutch the tractor with it pointing downhill!

You can call it over reaction or what ever you want but once you are dead thats it. There is a top link for a reason.
Last year we had a local man mowing some hills on his property he had been doing it for years. he was coming down a hill and the frount of the mower caught on a stump. The mower flipped up the pto shaft bent and it came down on his head. Now what do you tell his family?

People playing russian roulette get away sometime also.

Yvonne's hubby · #42 11/12/11, 01:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacksun65

You can call it over reaction or what ever you want but once you are dead thats it. There is a top link for a reason.
Last year we had a local man mowing some hills on his property he had been doing it for years. he was coming down a hill and the frount of the mower caught on a stump. The mower flipped up the pto shaft bent and it came down on his head. Now what do you tell his family?

People playing russian roulette get away sometime also.

I would call it a very unusual combination of circumstances at play to cause that sort of accident. (assuming we are dealing with one of the old ford or fergusons and a 5 foot bushhog) The back wheels would have had to been set extremely wide, (in order for the bushhog to get between them) the pto shaft would have had to have been weak, possibly crystalized, (not extremely rare, but certainly not the norm), and hitting a stump at precisely the "wrong" height to get the rear of the bushhog to flip up. The design of the lift arms and hitch for the equipment makes it a nearly dead level hookup, which normally stops everything with a teeth jarring wham if/when you hit a solid obstacle. (Ask me how I know this.

) Some folks get hit by lightning on a clear day too, but the odds are against it. Hate to hear about your neighbor. Farming is a dangerous occupation at best.

greengrow · #43 11/12/11, 08:36 AM

I would have a roll over bar added to any tractor to be safer.

Instead of replacing the top toplink with a chain you can shorten the toplink and put in a couple of lenghts of steel so that there is flex in the link.

It has happend a lot of times on hills or even flat ground that something as small as a mounter seeder, or hay tedder has rolled tractors of even 100hp when the driver was not being careful.

Yvonne's hubby · #44 11/12/11, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greengrow

I would have a roll over bar added to any tractor to be safer.

Instead of replacing the top toplink with a chain you can shorten the toplink and put in a couple of lenghts of steel so that there is flex in the link.

It has happend a lot of times on hills or even flat ground that something as small as a mounter seeder, or hay tedder has rolled tractors of even 100hp when the driver was not being careful.

the roll over bar is a great invention, not only for safety, but you can add a shadey spot to any part of the field.

foxtrapper · #45 11/12/11, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacksun65

There is a top link for a reason.

Yes, it's there to adjust impliment tilt angle, and to sense pull force when plowing, adjusting till depth accordingly.

It was not ever there to prevent bushhogs from flipping up, and generally the parts are not strong enough to hold a bushhog or tractor when flipped.

FarmboyBill · #46 11/12/11, 11:37 AM

Well, If he had been mowing there for years, Why didnt he know the stump was there?

VERN in IL · #47 11/12/11, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greengrow

I would have a roll over bar added to any tractor to be safer.

Instead of replacing the top toplink with a chain you can shorten the toplink and put in a couple of lenghts of steel so that there is flex in the link.

It has happend a lot of times on hills or even flat ground that something as small as a mounter seeder, or hay tedder has rolled tractors of even 100hp when the driver was not being careful.

I would never mow a hill without a roll bar!

..and they do make umbrellas for roll-barless tractors such as the John Deere 4020. You can have shade everywhere.