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| Having trouble hooking bush hog to tractor; Anyone have any tips or links? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 22 2007, 06:15 PM (2,946 Views) | |
| Trialbyfire | Jul 22 2007, 06:15 PM Post #1 |
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You're BANNED!
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Our 5' bush hog is a tight fit to our new Kubota (think it's a 3400)...but it's getting ridiculous! I'm not a tractor person, and my husband is *learning* <_< ....I still think we must be doing something wrong. Unless it's perfectly level it's just a total bitch to connect and tonight we basically had to abandon the project and hope for more patience and luck when it gets light out in the morning. Somehow the teenage kids that work for me occasionally have no trouble connecting it, but I never see them do it.....however I think they literally lift and haul the equipment around, which I can't do. There must be an easier way..... Any good online sites for farm equipment help for idiots??
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| Lawndart | Jul 23 2007, 04:49 AM Post #2 |
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Slave to Horses, Beagles, and Kids
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when you say tight fit, do you mean its tight up against the back tires? Or what? If its too close to the tractor, just get a hitch extender (tractor supply). I can hitch up our hog, except for the PTO. For some reason, its impossible for me to get that sucker in the pto shaft, clip it, and attach the safety chain without hurting myself. It does help if everything is level, and there are definately better places to attach/detach equipment than others. I think some of this stuff requires more abdominal strength then the average non-farm people have. My husband bullies stuff around all the time, but he was raised on a farm. It definalely is easier if you have two people doing it, providing that those two people are working together (ask me how I know this )If the hog is too low, can you attach the lift arms first, then block it raised while you attach the rest? |
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| spike25 | Jul 23 2007, 04:50 AM Post #3 |
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I Visited Candy Mountain and All I Got Was This Lousy Incision
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3 point hitch? They can be a pain for sure but using a jack to lift one side a hair can help! I used to work with one that caused a lot of swearing but in time I got better. I hooked up the center part first so I could lift the mower then the side things-excuse the technical terms!!!!!! :-) I still have a problem getting a PTO to line up and slide on! |
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| Trialbyfire | Jul 23 2007, 05:54 AM Post #4 |
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You're BANNED!
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Well, my understanding (not having seen a smaller bush hog in comparison) is that the description of it being a tight fit has to do with the hitch arms on the bush hog being almost the same max width as the tractor hitch arms -- e.g. a smaller bush hog would have more narrow "arms" and that would alllow more play from the tractor arms. So you have to back it up almost perfectly, and even then, if it's not 100% level you simply can't *reach* the bush hog with the tractor arm so there is all sorts of backing up and going forward for that last 1/2 inch, trying to lift it a half inch, etc. Hard to describe....sorry! It's almost like buckling a seat belt. The arms of the tractor have to be backed almost perfectly into the arms of the bush hog or it won't connect. Obviously the bush hog is so heavy, too, that you can't hold it up or help level it to match the tractor arms. Makes me wish we'd picked the smaller bush hog because everyone that sees it says "wow, that's a tight fit." Anyway....I have decided that at least for mowing season it should get put away in the garage; at least it would be level and I did see on another site that some people put piano moving caster things under their equipment so they can move them. Guess we'll have to start planning an equipment shed with a level concrete floor now..... What's another few thousand dollars, right???
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| Trialbyfire | Jul 23 2007, 05:58 AM Post #5 |
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You're BANNED!
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Oh yes, I understand what you mean. :lol: My suggestions never get taken until all of HIS ideas are exhausted first. Then they become HIS ideas and the fact that I suggested them first doesn't seem to get mentioned. I do like the idea of a jack, Spike25. Maybe that's what we need to get it out of the spot it's in right now. It wasn't a chosen spot...but the kids that we hired to do some work happened to puncture the tractor tire (a rear tire, of course) right there so we dropped the bush hog there and had the tractor repaired. It seemed fairly level, but obviously not level enough. |
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| Lawndart | Jul 23 2007, 06:16 AM Post #6 |
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Slave to Horses, Beagles, and Kids
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Ah, if the lift arms are tight, there is no easy fix that I know of. I'll ask hubby when he gets home, but I think that is why the equipment salemen are supposed to know what implement would work best with your style/model/size tractor. Of course, if you are like us, you search the bargain sheet for, well, bargains, and end up having to make those decisions yourself.
Those one ton jacks (are they called hydralic floor jacks?) are worth their weight. I mean the ones with four tiny metal wheels, a long lift arm that looks like it has a dinner plate on top, and a 4ft crank arm. The only drawback on these is those tiny wheels are tough to drag across gravel or dirt. Probably because they are meant for shop use :lol: Wish we had an equipment shed! |
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| Turtledove | Jul 23 2007, 11:05 AM Post #7 |
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Shunnnnn the unbeliever. Shunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
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I think that teenage boys just have a knack for dealing with things like this. I have a 4 foot bush hog and a New Holland 24HP tractor. Whenever I need to swap the manure spreader for the bush hog or vice versa, I just call my 16 year old son and he does it in about a minute with no cursing or swearing
I can do it, but I have a lot more trouble trying to get everything lined up. He doesn't lift the bush hog, he seems to be really good at positioning the tractor and then giving a couple of expert taps with a hammer and voila, I am hitched up and ready to go. I should hire him out
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| onthebit | Jul 23 2007, 11:30 AM Post #8 |
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Off visiting Candy Cave, be right back.
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We have a couple of the one ton jacks, they are priceless around the farm dealing with the equipment! OP, wish I had some suggestions for you. Our 10' bushhog is quick and easy to hook up but the 18' one with the wings is a b**ch to hook up. I dread assisting with that task. |
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| Trialbyfire | Jul 23 2007, 02:28 PM Post #9 |
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You're BANNED!
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Thanks everyone! Think we'll be getting a few jacks to have around, for times like this when we're totally stuck. Of course it poured most of the day so no sense standing in the rain and hooking it up; can't mow anyway! The dealer who sold us the tractor sold us the bush hog too. It fits, but it's not an easy fit unless it's on level ground. But yes, somehow the teenaged boys make it seem easy. When they show up, that is. I'd love to rent out your son, Turtledove! The boys around here, while strong and very handy when it comes to emergencies and fixing things, aren't all that great for long term projects. Learned this the hard way last summer trying to get our house and barn stained. Nor do they want to help me train my horse except when weather conditions are perfect.....oh yes, and somehow they always seem to show up when they need money.... :lol: I've learned never to get out of the shower without a bathrobe as you never know when they'll be standing in my kitchen to help me finish that job they started 8 days ago....
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| Lawndart | Jul 24 2007, 05:09 AM Post #10 |
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Slave to Horses, Beagles, and Kids
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DH says reverse the mounting pins on the Bush Hog. Face them in instead of out. He has explained this to me with much arm motioning, unfortunately, I can't really relay that here. :lol: |
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What's another few thousand dollars, right???

I can do it, but I have a lot more trouble trying to get everything lined up. He doesn't lift the bush hog, he seems to be really good at positioning the tractor and then giving a couple of expert taps with a hammer and voila, I am hitched up and ready to go. I should hire him out

12:21 PM Jul 11