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Jack, I use a 5' KingKutter that I drag behind, attached to my drawbar, using the rear PTO with an over-riding clutch. Couple of things-
First, the KingKutter is EXTREMELY heavy. I'm not all that strong- I can lift the tongue if I put my legs into it, but I then can't pull it forward onto the drawbar if it's on turf, so I just jack it up and back the SA into it. My father-in-law has a 5' bushhog, (sorry, don't know the make) and I can lift that sucker with one hand and I bet I could pull it up a flight of stairs. He's offered to let me try pulling his MUCH lighter one, but I haven't tried it yet. So theres a big difference among makes.
That said, I'd have to say that the SA is a little light, (at least right now. See below) and here's why. I do fine on gently sloped ground, but I have a side to my fields that tail-off toward some woods, where it gets close to 15-20 degrees, and she labors there. (Going uphill. She cuts fine going downhill. LOL) I take the PTO out of gear there, and just cut going downhill. ALso, going steep uphill I can feel the steering getting real light too, which aint a good feeling.
The other wrinkle is that I'm in this godforsaken crop reserve program that's supposed to clean up the Cheasapeake. It's a 10 year contract thing, and I can only cut 1/4 of my land every year, so after 3 years unchecked growth, I'm mowing through some pretty tenacious thick stuff, including this woody spiky tangle of vine that hugs the ground. It'll grab your boot and trip you if you try to walk through it. With a full cut, the SA will tend to bog down in that, so each pass I only make a partial cut, and I do fine.
When I helped my father-in-law cut his field, with only a one-year growth, I had no problem at all with the SA, even with slopes. So it depends on what you're cutting.
I'll be curious to see what its like trying his lighter bushhog. Can't do it now. I got tire problems. LOL I'm sorry I got in that crop program. I got every weed known to man, and some that ain't known even to God, and they keep reseeding themselves. It gets so dang thick, I cant see the groundhog holes coming. It's a mess.
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