Tractor Mike's video: Could a New Bush Hog Break My Kubota PTO

I received a question from Johnny who is thinking about buying a 12' bush hog to go on his Kubota. The tractor is a Kubota L6060 and the cutter is a Bush Whacker MD-144. Since it's only 5 1/2" from the center of the PTO shaft to the drawbar he's worried about topping a hill and the two getting together. In other words, he's concerned that when the tractor hits level ground and the cutter is still coming up the hill, the angles will change enough that the PTO shaft could get in a bind with the drawbar. It's a valid concern. That does seem pretty close, but I’ve not heard that Kubota has had issues with drawbars and PTO shafts coming together. Johnny wondered if he should just get a different drawbar to prevent a problem. In the owner’s manual of the cutter there will be some specifications for the PTO shaft/drawbar relationships that need to be followed, so he'd want to be careful if a drawbar change is contemplated. If there was an issue and the driveline hit the drawbar, it could rip up the shield, bend the PTO, ruin the cutter's gearbox, or even break the PTO stub shaft off the tractor. None of those would be covered under warranty. The tractor company won't pay because they'll blame to bush hog for causing the issue, the cutter folks won't pay because, I'm betting that it clearly advises against driving through valleys or over the top of hills in the owner's manual. The repairs, which could be real expensive, will be the responsibility of the customer. So, how would you know if this will be an issue? I’d make the salesperson/dealership who is trying to sell the cutter help figure all of that out. It might be worth it to negotiate that when the cutter is delivered, it be set up properly on the tractor and then the dealer has some skin in the game to make sure the two are compatible together. I would recommend hooking the tractor and cutter together, but NOT hooking up the PTO, and driving through the steepest places and checking the angles to see if there are issues. It may just work fine. Johnny is wise to be thinking about all of this before purchasing the cutter. There are certain conditions that may be just too uneven to brush hog with a pull-type cutter like that. LINKS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT... The Tractor Fun Store: https://asktractormike.com/products-for-sale/ Support the Tractor Mike Channel: https://www.patreon.com/TractorMike Visit the Tractor Mike website: http://asktractormike.com/ Visit Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Ask-Tractor-Mike-312112962245304/ Copyright 2020 Tractor Mike LLC