Bolts broken and missing after brush hogging - advice sought

[HowardTractor]

I finished up a round of brush hogging and found a broken bolt and perhaps another missing. I guess my lx2610 is going in for service to have this fixed. Any thoughts as to why this happened or how to avoid it in the future? I didn't think I was being too hard on the machine. I was going really slowly and being careful. The area I was clearing was the edge of woods around my property and there were significant brambles but the land pride rcr1260 rotary cutter was making short work of them.

I tell you, I often wonder if I bought the right machine. It seems any time I use this thing something is bent or broken. Are they starting to make these out of tin? Should I trade this in on something that will hold up better?

See photo. That loose bolt about half way up the picture pulled right up and was bent and sheared off. It looks like there is one next to it that is missing. This thing cost almost as much as a car. It ought to hold up a bit better.

 

[mcfarmall]

Looks like a seat bracket bolt or something of that nature. I'd dump that lemon and head down to the John Deere dealer ASAP. I might be willing to attempt that repair myself though.

 

[HowardTractor]

I talked to the guys at the shop and apparently that bolt is just to keep that fender support plate in place. It doesn't really do anything structurally. So they are going to come out and replace all the bolts, but I can still run the machine. I still wonder if I should figure out how to trade this in on a skid steer or something a little hardier. It always seems to be just a little under equipped to do what I need (But maybe that would be the case for whatever I have).

 

[NCL4701]

Moving to a skid steer depends on what you’re doing with it. Unless you’re clearing land and don’t much care about tearing up the ground a good bit they aren’t great at bush hogging. There’s a reason you don’t see skid steers mowing right of ways by roads or mowing hay.

There’s some cross over between functions of a skid steer and tractor but they’re very different machines and both are better than the other at some things.

If you really need a tractor but the LX isn’t cutting it, maybe consider an L or MX.

 

[whitetiger]

Moving to a skid steer depends on what you’re doing with it. Unless you’re clearing land and don’t much care about tearing up the ground a good bit they aren’t great at bush hogging. There’s a reason you don’t see skid steers mowing right of ways by roads or mowing hay.

There’s some cross over between functions of a skid steer and tractor but they’re very different machines and both are better than the other at some things.

If you really need a tractor but the LX isn’t cutting it, maybe consider an L or MX.

Actually, rotary cutters on a skid steer are a very popular attachment. We have sold quite a few and have several in the rental fleet.
Just think about it, setting in a climate-controlled, dirt-free cabin mowing with the shredder in front of you.

 

[Elliott in GA]

I have mowed down 5 foot plus tall walls of briars/bramble briars/multiflora rose with my LX and rotary cutter with no problems or damage. One of these walls was probably 30 yards deep and 150 yards long, and as you would expect it had assorted small (approximately 1 inch) trees and bushes imbedded in it - along with dead limbs and etc. on the ground. I cut down (cut at nearly ground level) and chipped all of the 2+ inch trees in the wall with my pole saw and chipper. I drove forward along the edge for a lot of it, but I backed in for most of of it. My rotary cutter was set to 5-6 inches cut height.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I zoomed in the picture, and it looks like that bolt is a special 'shoulder' style bolt that doesn't have a lockwasher under the head. Same thing for the 2 nuts further in( flats only).
I'd apply a good amount of neverseize onto the holes in the casting and add lockwashers.
Tractors have been know to vibrate a tad and without lock washers bolts and nuts will 'back off' then go MIA.

 

[Bmyers]

There is always a possibility that you got a lemon. Yet in most cases it comes down to two things. Either the wrong piece of equipment for the task or an operator that doesn't know how to use the equipment properly.

My guess, again purely a guess, you are pushing the equipment beyond what it is designed for. Can it do what you need? Possibly in smaller bites. As NCL4601 pointed out, you might be served better by a larger tractor.

Then again, you could be like my father who runs everything hard till it breaks and then spends time fixing stuff.

 

[fried1765]

Actually, rotary cutters on a skid steer are a very popular attachment. We have sold quite a few and have several in the rental fleet.
Just think about it, setting in a climate-controlled, dirt-free cabin mowing with the shredder in front of you.

I have a new brush hog that I do not even use.
I pay my neighbor to do the cutting, once each year with his CTL (Cat), and his massive hyd. driven mower.
He works in airconditioned dust free comfort, and I just watch from a distance.

 

[chim]

I finished up a round of brush hogging and found a broken bolt and perhaps another missing. I guess my lx2610 is going in for service to have this fixed. Any thoughts as to why this happened or how to avoid it in the future? I didn't think I was being too hard on the machine. I was going really slowly and being careful. The area I was clearing was the edge of woods around my property and there were significant brambles but the land pride rcr1260 rotary cutter was making short work of them.

I tell you, I often wonder if I bought the right machine. It seems any time I use this thing something is bent or broken. Are they starting to make these out of tin? Should I trade this in on something that will hold up better?

See photo. That loose bolt about half way up the picture pulled right up and was bent and sheared off. It looks like there is one next to it that is missing. This thing cost almost as much as a car. It ought to hold up a bit better.

View attachment 105428

I re-read your initial post and had another look at the pictures. It appears that at least two bolts were either loose from the initial assembly, or worked themselves loose to the point that one fell out. The second bolt was loose enough that the movement of the seat assembly worked it back and forth and bent it. The good news is that your post reminds me it's time to go over my tractor and check for loose bolts.

There wasn't anything I saw that would make me believe you were abusing the tractor, or that it wasn't fit for the task. If this was the only problem you've had it doesn't seem like the tractor is flawed. Unfortunately things like this happen. I've seen posts from operators who had wheels fall off because the lug nuts backed off.

You stated that every time you go to use the tractor, something is bent or broken. It would be interesting to know what else has been bent or broken. I bent the one loader stand on an L3200 several years ago. The design, quality and assembly were all just fine. It was bent when I forgot to put it up in the storage position and it drag on the ground. The L3200 wasn't a lemon - I made an error.

 

[RBsingl]

Rear rotary cutters tend to vibrate a little so anything not properly tightened at the factory is likely to work loose while using one.

The vibration will be worse if there is a swinging blade out of balance or if the equipment setup geometry is forcing the PTO U joints to an extreme angle. This can happen when the cutter is raised to transport height with the PTO clutch still engaged.

Of course you can always buy a new RV and then everything else you own will seem well designed and manufactured with care by comparison I did some consulting for an industry group many years ago and even then design along with poor QC at both the supplier and assembly level was amazingly bad for most of the big players.

Rodger

 

[NCL4701]

Actually, rotary cutters on a skid steer are a very popular attachment. We have sold quite a few and have several in the rental fleet.
Just think about it, setting in a climate-controlled, dirt-free cabin mowing with the shredder in front of you.

True. But you also tend to end up with this type result because turning with a tractor with an open differential in 2WD is much different than turning with a skid steer or CTL. And yes this is the result of a CTL mowing grass (completely covered in grass beforehand) on slightly wet ground. YMMV so do as you see fit.

This is the same sewer line after mowing with a tractor in 2WD.

 

[HowardTractor]

Thanks for your thoughts. All good things to keep in mind.