What size bush hog for d17

Hi I am looking at bush hogs and was wondering what size would be a good match for a 1959 d17 gas.

It will handle a 6-footer with no problem. Seven footer should work fine. 

I think you can go 7 foot with the understanding that you will need to go slower in the thick stuff.  You can also overlap and only cut 6 foot wide if it gets thick and it will usually look better with some overlap anyway.

We always used 6' although in most cases it would handle 7'. What I like is the 6' will take out the tire tracks and "fit" in the bottom of the ditch when mowing roadsides and does a really nice job without dragging cut grass or gouging.

Edited by Dave in il - 03 Oct 2012 at 8:55pm

I put my 3008 (8 ft twin spindle) Bushhog on my D17 SIV Diesel...I think it would pull it as well as my 175D, but the front end was too light. I'd go for a 6 footer. the 7' just feels clumsy because it is so long, and it will also scalp more. Also for the extra $$$$ over a 6',  a 7' is not worth it.

With a six footer, you can handle the heavy where the 7' would leave you going for the overlap. With the tip speed kept up on the cutter blades, the 6' will do anything you want, be better at keeping the front end planted and you will have no problem in the heavy cutting.

I have a 7 foot 3-point FMC 7X7 sidewinder that I'd mostly ran on my 180 gas and it handles it just fine even in very heavy/tall stuff.  It's also pretty tough and has taken quite a bit of abuse.  The slip clutch works good when you need it to.  But it's just so big and bulky for a 3 point unit and sticks out so far behind as Eldon points out.  Before the 180, I did run it behind my D17 Series IV with a WorkSaver 3-point adapter and while the D17 pulled it okay it was too much brush hog to hang off the back of it.

A few years ago I bought a Allis 172 pull type brush hog from Michael Crowe and I love it.  I pull it behind my Series III D17 and use it all the time now and the FMC 7 footer just sits.  The only issue I have with the 172 is the slip clutch needs to be tightened up a bit as it slips in not to heavy of stuff if I go too fast.   That's probably a good thing as it probably does a better job going a little slower and I'm less likely to tear up stuff .  I do know that even though I'm giving up a foot over the FMC, I use far less gas running the D17 6-foot vs. the 180 7-foot to do the same job.

I really like to find a 10 foot pull type for bigger jobs like mulching cornstalks and pasture cleanup stuff but that's probably a couple years down the road.  I'd use the 180 for that if I got one but I've actually pulled a 12 foot non-batwing pull-type (belonging to my farming partner) behind my Series IV years ago and it was okay to clean up weeds & grass about a foot or so high.  Anything heavier than that it did not like, lol!  Mike

 I was mowing today with a 5' bush hog in 4' grass/weeds. the field has been left untouched for 12 years, lots of dead under growth. The "CA" handled it just fine in 2nd gear.