"spaco" wrote in message
...
| A 6 foot bush hog will take about 40 to 60 hp to run. That lets "cheap"
| tractors out for the most part. I have heard of people using Ford 8N's
| to run a bush hog but with no live power and the bad brakes that many of
| them have, you can push yourself right through the barn from the
| flywheel effect. (I have one)
|
| Pete Stanaitis

I've had a six foot brushhog on both the Ford 4000 and the 8N. The 4000
will outwork the 8N, but with the blade still spinning, you can merely tap
one brake and the tractor spins on a dime. For mowing orchards and among
trees and such it's well worth it. Keep your remaining fingers way away
from the steering wheel and watch for stuff you might hit. The 4000 never
had the turning radius of the smaller one (for some odd reason, it was a
rare one without power steering) but it had the oomph for the big turning
plow fully buried. I will admit that I did use the 8N to lift the 4000 out
of the dirt after having sunk it to the axles from not paying attention.
They each had their uses, but the 8N never got the maintenance it needed, so
it's still in my mother's barn after the 4000 long ago got sold. Futz with
it enough, get some jumper cables, and it'll still start twenty years after
being parked. Tires are all flat, though....
Wish someone in northeast Texas could talk my mother into selling it,
though. She's getting stubborn in her old age. They're plentiful there, so
the price isn't as high as along the northern coasts.