# bush hog size



## cooter (Jan 7, 2013)

looking to buy a bush hog for my m6040 tractor. 6' wide doesn't cover the width of the rear tires, no one seems to like the 7' models and 8' are heavy as my land is hilly I was told weight is a concern for safety reasons. do I stick with the 6' width models . all sugestions appreciated


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## ErnieS (Jun 1, 2011)

Your tractor is roughly 56 HP at the PTO. An 8 footer should be well within the capacity. I assume you have a loader? That should be enough weight to get you up hills with the mower raised. If not, I would add some weights to the front or back up steep hills until you feel sure of yourself.
I did run a 6 foot Bush Hog on a 24 house Kubuta without a loader and had to drop it pretty fast one day when I hit a deep rut going up a 10% grade. The same mower is just fine on my 39 horse (36 PTO) FarmTrac with loader.


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## MBTRAC (May 28, 2012)

As a rough rule of thumb to operate a bush hog effectively/efficiently count on average 5-6hp per foot in light conditions (e.g low pasture topping/lawn maintenance) with heavy cutting (tall/thick or wet pasture or scrub clearing) requiring c.8hp+ per foot.........yes you can do it with less but these HP ratings max. the potential of implement/tractor combination in all conditions.

IMO better to get a slightly smaller diameter than too large a bush hog, always opt for a HD gearbox, & if the "right size" bush hog will not comfortably extended beyond your wheel width buy the implement with the offset option so it extended past the wheel one side (allowing easier cutting up to fence lines, under trees....etc)


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