# what is a "Stump jumper" on a bush hog?



## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

I need a bush hog~ I've been shopping craigslist looking for a good used one. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about them so that I can make a wise choice~ but I can't seem to figure out what a "Stump jumper" is or where on the bush hog it is located. Some ads say they have a "Stump jumper" some don't say anything about it at all. What exactly is it~ where is it on the bush hog and is it something I'll need? I'm planning to use it in a wooded area I want to clear the dead/woody stuff out of that the goats ate the greens off of last summer.

Anything else I should know about bush hogs as I shop for one?
Thanks for any help!


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## uncle Will in In. (May 11, 2002)

A stump jumper is the center part of the spinning blades under the mower. It is dish shaped so the mower will slide up and over large stumps and rocks. The blades are bolted to the edge of it.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

thank you


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## BobbyB (Apr 6, 2009)

Bush Hog is a brand name. It has been used to describe shredders for years.

Also look under shredders or 3 pt mowers.

There are shredders that do not use a stump jumper. They have a bar for lack of a better description with the blades attached on each end. And they are easy to hang and bend the shaft coming out of the gear box

A stump jumper is much better


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

Check any used purchase out carefully. Some of the orphan models may no longer have parts available...usually not a huge deal, as you can usually work something out.

The most common problem with used bushogs is that the top deck rusts out.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

A brush hog has blades on hinges that whack brush down. These blades can move around on the hing, so you can whack into stuff too tough to cut. Basicly they are a hammer mill.....

So, if you keep going into the tough stuff ( like an old stump) eventually you get to the hinge part of the blade. When _this_ part of the blade starts whacking the stump, then nothing can give any more, and it will likely start tearing the mower apart.

A stump jumper means this hinge itself is a circle rim of metal - or it has a circle of metal below the hinge area - so that the circle will rub on the stump, rather than whacking it with the bare hinges. It is likely to then hop over the stump, rather than break things.

--->Paul


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## Sawmill Jim (Dec 5, 2008)

Most Bushog's i have seen are heaver built too . The rest are rotary mowers


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## nathan104 (Nov 16, 2007)

If buying used, Id reccomend buying new shear pins. A lot of people will just stick a regular bolt in there and that wont do. You can tear it up like that. I broke my shear pin on my shredder for the first time today. Hit a buried large piece of chain link fencing. It did its job and sheared off saving me from more damage. Buy a couple to have on hand so you wont be tempted to just stick a bolt in there.


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## fixer1958 (Dec 12, 2005)

I bought a 2 year old Woods 6' brush cutter ($1200 new) for $100 10 years ago. He had it on a 3020JD
and used it for "blazing trails" as he put it. Didn't have a stump jumper. He said if he could knock it down with the tractor he would chew it up with the mower.
Anyway, he broke the bolt that holds the crossbar on and it fell off and was leaking fluid. He figured he killed it. I did too.

I bought a new bolt, seal and washer and checked the gearbox.
$8.50 later and it has been working perfectly ever since.

It's modified now for lawn mowing. It has dual wheels on the rear for stability that came off a 10' woods brush cutter he destroyed. I got it for free and adapted it.


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

I REALLY appreciate the responses. Thank you SO MUCH. I'm learning and looking at making a couple big investments (see my electric fence thread to see the other area I'm looking at spending on soon) 

So y'all's help help has been great in deciding what I should invest in. Can I ask y'alls opinion of this "Bush hog" for use on 10 acre of "Hay" that was not cut last year and needs to be bush hogged to prepare it for this years Hay, AND on another 10 acre of wooded area I don't want to destroy but would like to bush hog down the "Scrub" branches left by the goats so it will hopefully produce new more lush growth in the in between areas this coming and future seasons. It will be powered by a Massey Fergusson 135 with the 3 pt hitch, pto~

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-48-RO...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a42d5afd


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## Rocky Fields (Jan 24, 2007)

Hey.

I've been using a King Kutter brushhog for three years without a hitch. I think they are a good value for the money. Their customer service is friendly and will answer all your questions. Maybe pick up locally and save on shipping.

King Kutter Inc in Winfield, AL

http://www.kingkutter.com/

RF


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

When people ask questions, I tend to be a voice of reason - or another way of looking at it - a wet blanket.  Please take my comments as friendly and not as negative as they sound. I tend to pick out the dark side, and let others pick out the good side of such deals. 

First & formost, what tractor do you have? This is a tiny thing, 4 feet, with a 30 hp gearset in it. It will only work with the tiniest tractors.

You gotta buy implements that fit your tractor. A hog should be as wide as your tractor, as well as sized for the hp of the tracotr.

Hogging 8 acres would be a lot of work for this little fella. But sounds like you will only do that once, not every year or every few months. So - you can get by.

It says brand new, and you are paying alomst brand new price for it. Did not see one mention of who makes it? You get those from a Tractor Supply or other known store. If you do need warrenty work, where do you go? Will you need to ship it back to China????

1/10 inch steel is a pretty thin deck. As small as it probably works, but won't hold up to years of sitting outside, bopping into trees....

I'm not impressed.

I bought my 5 foot used hog for $300 at a farm auction. It works well behind my 27 hp tractor for doing what you want to do. It is decades old, I haven't put any money into it, worked good for 5 years now for me, will likely work for more. I could sell it this spring for at least $300 again.

I guess I'm not impressed, without seeing it, would be very hard for me to buy this.

But it might fit you - depends mostly on what tractor you have.

The stump jumper part is the round ring you see in the last drawing, where the blades attach #3.

--->Paul


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## Cheryl aka JM (Aug 7, 2007)

I really appreciate the advice~ even "wet blanket" advice. I'm a novice obviously.

So~ My tractor IS larger than that bush hog~ and I really WANT a bush hog........
But what I really NEED is to trim the hay that I fooled around waiting on the nieghbor to cut last fall and never happened because the man who is selling me hay this winter says if I want that field to produce next year I need to cut down those dry stalks and fertilize this spring. So................

I have a finish mower (bought the tractor with the finish mower with the house and property)..........
Can I get away with cutting the dry stalks in the approx 10 acre hay field with the finish mower then rent a spreader for the fertilizer?

I LIKE to own a bush hog for the lower fields~ I'd like to BORROW a bush hog this year (but the only people I KNOW with a bush hog are the people who did not get my hay cut last fall after telling me they would) Do I NEED to use a bush hog or can the finish mower do it? Approx 6ft deck with three blades on it......all new blades.....I ran over a cinder block with it last summer and had to replace the blades so I KNOW they are new!


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

You have standing forage and your buying hay? What are you feeding the hay to? If possible I would utilize the standing grass for the livestock instead of mowing it down.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

What tractor do you have?

A finish mower tends to be delicate - the blades are solid, so if it hits something, it wrecks itself. Also gopher mounds and other roough ground it will have fits with the dirt. As you found out. What are the odds there is a rock, post, stump in the 10 acre field?

A finish mower often discharges the clippings to one side. Fine for cutting 4 inches off the top. Plugs up something _aweful_ for cutting overgorwn pasture grass! If you can take a side off, or it is a full rear discharge model, never mind - but if it has a small discharge with bottom shield, you will not get far.

Other than those 2 issues, the finish mower will mow the grass. My BiL has a 15hp tractor & runs a 4 foot finish mower behind it. He cuts through tocks, weeds taller than the tractor, rough ground, stumps. It eats belts monthly, and he's taken out the bearings 3 times already in 4 years. I talked to him about a little brush hog like you mention, but he says no, he wants the veebelt to protect his tractor, he doesn't like the direct shaft drive of a brush hog, thinks it will snap his tractor pto....

Which is silly, the brush hog has those swinging blades so the tractor - nor the hog - gets bad shocks. The 2 blades just pivot around & nick up a bit, everything stays safe & doesn't break with the brush hog. I just can't quit get that through his head....

And there goes another set of belts at $30, as he chops through his woods with a finsih mower again.....


I'd think if your tractor can handle a 5 or 6 foot brush hog, a working used one could be found for less than $600 and serve you for a long time. You don't need new, just servicable.

--->Paul


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## Rocky Fields (Jan 24, 2007)

You didn't say how tall the hay is and whether it is green or brown. The answer will determine the cutter of choice.


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## ericjeeper (Feb 25, 2006)

rambler said:


> .
> 
> Which is silly, the brush hog has those swinging blades so the tractor - nor the hog - gets bad shocks. The 2 blades just pivot around & nick up a bit, everything stays safe & doesn't break with the brush hog. I just can't quit get that through his head....
> 
> ...


 This is not totally true. We sheared a gear in the driveline on a Massey 225 once with a bushhog. do not assume that the shock stops at the pto gear box on the bush hog.Most often the device will have either a slip clutch or a shearpin. But sometimes they can be rusted tight.


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