Just wanted to share some positive feedback on the Groundhog Max. I put in 3 plots on Monday morning, between 1/8 and 1/4 acre, all of which were previously un-worked soil. I sprayed all three plots in early July with 41% gly mixed at 10% concentration which worked great. Didn't need to burn anything off, just went to work with the groundhog on my Honda Foreman 500. The first plot is a trail in the woods, planted to clover. The second plot is in the corner of a 1 acre field sitting above a 1 acre pond, which I planted to Big n Beasty as well as their "Autumn Quick Plot" blend. The third plot is in the middle off the woods, planted to clover and over seeded with the same autumn quick plot. Here's to hope for some rain and good growth! All plots were fertilized with 19-19-19. I didn't take any pics of the wood plot but will include a buck I've seen cruising the trail to the plot in front of my stand from last year.
They really do work well. I did about a 3/4 acre plot last year with one as well, it was sprayed about 4 weeks earlier and it tore the ground up incredibly well. I think for those of us using ATV's for our plots, there really isn't a better option out there.
I am purhcasing one this off season...despite our four wheeler not having hitch for it (and not big enough...old 250)....however I have access to borrowing a 500 Sportsman or a Ace whenever I want and everyone has convinced me these things will speed up our plot prep so much!!!! Garden tillers no more except maybe right around trees and edges....SWEET!
I went through one hitch receiver on mine before I found one that was built tough enough for it. I bought from this guy. If you call him, he actually makes a version for my ATV specifically for the Groundhog Max. I'm sure if you reach out to him and let him know what you want to do he can probably get you squared away. http://www.ebay.com/bhp/receiver-hitch-yamaha-grizzly You will definitely need 4wd. Other than that, I bet a 250 would probably work fine.
Our old (believe Bearcat) ain't 4 wheel drive and only has a ball. The two I have access too I think are both 4WD.
The only exception is the Loyal Roth Disc or the Sod Buster Disc. But those are a lot more money and the Loyal Roth one is not made anymore.
Picked mine up from Tractor Supply, it's on sale for $329.99 right now, and that's for the kit that includes everything you need for the heavy duty 2" receiver that, as they say, "works on 90% of atvs". Unfortunately mine fell into the other 10% and I had to do some rigging (longer bolts, grinder a guard mount off) to get it to mount up. Works great now though!
I had good success with my Grizzly and the Ground Hog Max too. The plot I sprayed and mowed broke up well. The one I just mowed took a little while longer. Either way it beats pulling a tiller around by hand and day. I also used the Koplin hitch and so far it seems to be hanging in there.
I think the trick to the Groundhog Max is to spray really well before use. If the root structure is dead it turns easy. If not you are going to struggle.
https://www.facebook.com/journey.the/videos/o.305450012854505/718057858300286/?type=2&theater I really like my groundhog max, here is a short vid of my buddy rut rip doing an acre plot with it 3 weeks ago. As previously mentioned, getting weeds kill is key for it to work well and start with max not very deep and then after it is disked once, you can drop the max and really tear up ground.
Yes guys you need to keep those weeds dead for the groundhog to be effective. I made the mistake ths season of not spraying until the weeds were waist high. Killed the weeds but left so much dead matter on top of the soil I couldn't even get through it with the max on a ranger 700 !!!! Had to hire my neighbor to come,down with his tractor and his king cutter mower to mow it firat then tear it up with his king kutter three point. Even that was not as effective as it normally would be. Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
I sprayed mine when weeds were shoulder height this year. I turned a solid 1/3 acre plot from dead standing goldenrod to perfect seed bed in about half an hour.
My uncle and I bought one of these and I've had no Luck with it yet hah. I had to make a hitch for my Polaris explorer 500 that i used for 10 min and it folded the hitch up and almost tore the rear end off my wheeler off. Then I borrowed my dads can am outlander 1000 and it worked for about 10 min again then folded up the factory 2" receiver hitch on that too so in a matter of 20 min I went thru 2 receiver hitch's. The ground was mowed with a brushcat, dragged, and sprayed so idk what to do now for next yr but I'm still gonna try using it again b.c I can't get a big tractor back to my plots
Call these guys. Don't just order off the site, but actually call them an tell them what you are trying to do. They make custom hitches specifically built for the Groundhog Max but those aren't on the website. I bought a regular one for my Grizzly and folded it and almost damaged my frame. I got a hold of these guys after that and they made one just for the Groundhog Max that is bullet proof. I've done probably 2-3 acres now of plots with it and it works perfectly. http://www.atvhitchreceivers.com/
I'd say for the 1/4 acre plot i did, which I sprayed took about 20 mins. Last week I did a 1 acre plot, unsprayed and shin high grass and it took about 3 hours...not pleasant but got it done. Spraying is the key. 1 acre plot we did (in-progress in pic) plot I did in the woods and planted 2 weeks ago
The hitch system isnt anything fancy. Its just a square tube you bolt on. The key is it has to be forward braced. Meaning you need to have it bolt n the machine at the back and torward the front. For example my sportsman 700 has it bolted in on the stock ball hitch and then bolted again in the middle of the machine thru the frame. It makes it rock solid and will push the disk with the entire rear end of the machine. A regular hitch attachment only bolts on at the back of the machine. That will not work it will snap off or bend. Previous seasons when I sprayed roundup early in the summer and kept it dead when it was short it works like a beast. We do six food plots and each is 1/4 acre, roughly 30 yards by 60 yards. Just big enough you can shoot the entire plot with a bow. Takes me several hours to get it all done but believe me the max is a killer disk. One more thought is when you setup your hitch make sure the end where you will plug in the groundhog is as close to the machine as you can get. That way the groundhog will be as close as possible to the machine. I made the mistake first time trying it and had the receiver sticking out to far. After I adjusted it it turned the soil like butter. Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
Ya I made a brace going up to the bottom of my frame that I bolted up on each side. Then had it bolted thru the ball hole also It was pretty well made. I had brace supports welded to the side of the tubing I had going up to the frame that bolted on the receiver hitch even for added strength, and it just wanted to break my rear end off lol. Whatever tho I'm still gonna try and get it to work next yr.
You backed it up on 2 4×4's right ? Then when you adjust it down dont drop it all the way down. Just drop it even with the bottom of you tires. You will already have four inches of penetration at that point. If that isnt enough after a test run then drop it another notch. Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
