15 foot bushhog

I recently purchased an IH 1066 Turbo Diesel Tractor without T/A. I am going to need a bushhog
for next summer and a 15 foot bushhog is what I really need. Here is my question: Some bushhogs are rated 540 (pto) or something like that..others are less, some are more. What does this mean and what number would be best for my tractor? What is
a good brand to buy and which ones would you stay away from? Thanks, Mitch.

We bought a new JD HX-15 15' flex wing mower this summer that we use on a 1066. The 1,000 rpm pto is the only way to go on a tractor that size as it has too much power for a 540. The hp is not what will tear up the mower drivetrain, torque is and the fast a shaft turns the less torque it has so the 1,000 will hold up much better. We bought a new mower since the used ones we saw were beat to death and weren't much cheaper than new ones. My first choice would have been a Bush Hog, they have the heaviest gear boxes and have a 5 year warranty compared to Deere and Wood's 2 year. I have heard of alot of gear box problems with Woods and they are 1,000 lbs lighter than the Deere. Our Deere does a great job and I've even used it on our back yard with good results. The Deere has a domed deck which is supposed to prevent material from building up on it but as you can see it doesn't make much difference.

Pto's used to all come in 6 spline, 540 rpm speed. A shaft of that size, at that speed, can olny safely transfer 60-75 hp. Beyond that, it takes very exotic (expensive) metals to make a shaft good enough to handle more hp. So, the 1000rpm pto with 21 finer (I think 21?) splines on it came out, that can handle 200 hp or so. The faster speed & slightly bigger shaft gives allows more hp transfer.

I would expect any good 15' bush hog to need the 1000 rpm pto. Your tractor probably is capible of either speed, but might need a special shaft which may or may not have come with your used tractor. On JD, you pull the shaft out of the tractor & flip it around & put it back in. On Ford, you swap shafts. I'm not toally sure on IH.

Look at your pto, and tell us which style is sticking out?

--->Paul