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So I figured I'd move the discussion of my new tractor to its own thread. Here is a picture of my son, AJ, on it the day we bought it. Here it is right before the start of my first big job - moving an old brush pile from next to our storage building. Here is the brush pile after I had pushed some of the left side into a bigger heap right at the start of the job. And here is the end result, about 7 hours later. This is the area where our septic/aerator will be installed within the next few weeks (with a little luck) as we begin some projects at the farm, so there won't be any grass planted as of right now. You can also see a smaller brush pile in the background and that is the next task. I'll save most of it for firewood, but the finishing touch will be to level it out and plant that area with grass seed until the house project begins some time in the future.
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Looks like a fun new toy Todd! Little man will think so soon enough as well I'm sure.
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Been a blast and the little guy already loves it!
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Tell us about the toy and its add-ons etc.
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Ah yes, first loves and first tractors. As I recall, my first love broke my heart, while my first tractor broke my bank account.There's gotta' be a message in there somewhere. So, what about the particulars? Manual shift, hydrostatic, or shuttle? Single speed PTO, or dual speed? (540/2000 rpm) Self purging fuel system, or crack a bleeder screw? (You'll find that one out if you ever run out of fuel) Cat 1, or cat 2 three point? Quick-tach FEL I assume? (Very nice). Front wheel assist, or full time? HP? C'mon man, some of us live by the specs.....
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Ah yes, first loves and first tractors. As I recall, my first love broke my heart, while my first tractor broke my bank account.There's gotta' be a message in there somewhere. So, what about the particulars? Manual shift, hydrostatic, or shuttle? Single speed PTO, or dual speed? (540/2000 rpm) Self purging fuel system, or crack a bleeder screw? (You'll find that one out if you ever run out of fuel) Cat 1, or cat 2 three point? Quick-tach FEL I assume? (Very nice). Front wheel assist, or full time? HP? C'mon man, some of us live by the specs..... You said it best spark! Details Todd, Extreme details!
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7 hours to move that girly-man brush pile?
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
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I'm interested to know... How did you come to decide on a Mahindra? Pricing on them seems very attractive. I've been looking at JD 5055 tractors as an option at the moment, but the 5010 Mahindras are an option too.
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Where are the Mahindra made?
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Where are the Mahindra made? The company is headquartered in India, but the tractors are made all over. My Mahindra is a Mitsubishi diesel engine and drive train. Most of the rest of it is US made. The whole thing was assembled in Texas. They've got three manufacturing plants in the US. I'm not sure where Todd's model came from. Mahindra got started during WW-II making Willys Jeeps for the war effort.
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Well, let me try to respond to all of the posts here. First, Sunil, it wasn't so girly-man because it was about 40 feet long and probably a good 25 feet wide by about six or seven feet high. Plus, there was lots of operator learning curve! The tractor is a Mahindra 4035, 40 engine HP and PTO of 31.5 per the specs. My tractor friends have all told me consistently that the PTO rating is usually low by 2 - 3 HP and that PTO horsepower increases as the tractor gets broken in, so perhaps it's realistic to call it 33 or so. I call it plenty for what I will do with this machine. I got a hydrostatic drive because of the simplicity of use. I know there are tons of back and forth views on HST v. geared, but the HST fits my mission profile the best. The HST costs a couple of horsepower at the PTO, but it's also about 500 pounds heavier than the geared version of the 4035. It has a live PTO, 540 rpm at the rear with no mid-PTO. It's 2wd/4wd with a level to change between the two, plus it has the differential lock for getting myself into even bigger jams than the 4wd will get me into! I got it with industrial tires so I don't totally tear up my fields where we hang out since they are becoming yard quality. I'll pick up some chains for winter and really muddy weather. As for the fuel, I'm not sure, but I think it may be a self-purging deal because of something the sales guy told me about the cap and an insert in the cap. Guess I'll have to ask about that so I don't find out the hard way! It has a Cat I hitch, but has the ability to also use some Cat II implements by rotating the ball in the link ends and getting to the different size holes in the ball. Kind of a cool feature. The FEL has the skidsteer quick attach feature, so it's easy on/off for FEL attachments. At this point, I only have the standard square back 72" bucket, but some other implements are no doubt in my future! I also picked up a 6 foot Mahindra standard duty brush hog with a slip clutch. That's the entire package I bought. I may add a post hole digger and a rake in the near-ish future. I may flip my rear tires this weekend as a buddy suggested it after measuring and showing me how I could add about 10" to the rear width, pushing it out from roughly 75" to 85". I figure width and weight = safety margin. The rear tires are filled and, per the dealer, it added between 300 and 400 pounds per side. Ultimately, the pricing was pretty good compared to everything other than our high-volume Kubota dealer, but comparing the two side by side, the Mahindra won hands down against the Kubota, largely because of weight and some nice standard features on the Mahindra that cost extra to get on the Kubota (i.e., rear work light, one set of rear hydraulic remotes). As compared to the other brands I looked at, listed in the bulging eye BG thread, I believe, I chose the Mahindra primarily because of the weight and features. The price was competitive with a few other brands - LS and Kioti in particular. I had narrowed my choice to the Mahindra and Kioti, largely based on standard features. The Manindra ended up winning in my mind because of the weight. Of all the brands I looked at, it was 900 pounds heavier than the closest comparable competitor. Again, I may be obsessing on it, but tractor weight is a huge safety factor for me. Deere was never really an option because their pricing was substantially higher at the dealership near me - to the tune of $3000 - $4000 more, so they didn't get any consideration after my first visit there. I believe this particular model has a Mitsubishi engine and drive train and was assembled here in the US. Don't know for sure about the origin of all the parts. I got a standard 3 year bumper to bumper and 5 year power train warranty. Fortunately, it didn't break the bank for me, but it's a big expense for sure. Insurance was only $75 per year through Erie, so that seemed like a real bargain. All in all, I'm really happy and have not had any buyer's remorse. Going to start brush hogging tomorrow after I knock off work a little early. Fortunately my boss is understanding of my new obsession - I just hope my clients have the same enlightened outlook! I don't know if that is enough in the way of details, so I'll be happy to answer any other questions. You can also check out the full spec sheet here.
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Todd, my JD also is a quick disconnect FEL. However, I've never removed it. That would be like cutting the pockets off my shirt. I seldom take mine out of 4WD.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Sounds very nice Todd! If you decide to remove the rear wheels, let me be the first to warn you.....a weighted tire/rim combo will, at worst, squash you like a bug. At best, it simply falls over, registering a 4 on the closest Richter Scale, and requiring 3-4 guys or a small forklift to stand it back up.
Once it leans a few degrees past vertical, you don't try and stop it, you just get out of the way.
"Forget pounds and ounces, I'm figuring displacement!"
If we accept that: MBG(+)FGSF(=)HBG(F1) And we surmise that: BG(>)HBG(F1) while GSF(<)HBG(F1) Would it hold true that: HBG(F1)(+)AM500(x)q.d.(=)1.5lbGRWT? PB answer: It depends.
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Good warning, Spark! Don't know if we'll try to get into that or not, particularly since the tires are loaded. I'll probably leave that decision up to my friend who suggested it as he's pretty well informed on all things mechanical and will know if we have the tools necessary to safely pull off the change. But I'll remember to be light and quick on my feet if we do it!
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I agree, Dave. Unless I get another implement to attach for some particular reason, my bucket will stay in place all of the time. As for removing the entire FEL assembly, I see no reason whatsoever with my uses, easy to do or not.
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Todd, my JD also is a quick disconnect FEL. However, I've never removed it. That would be like cutting the pockets off my shirt. I seldom take mine out of 4WD. In the five years I've had mine, the FEL has been off once -- and that was to see how difficult it was to remove and put back on. As for 4WD, about the only time mine is taken out of 4WD is if I have to take it on the road to a neighbors, etc.
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Todd:
If you have front hydraulics, look into a grapple bucket. It makes moving things MUCH easier. You could have moved that brush pile in an hour or so with a grapple bucket depending on how far you had to move it. Can you change buckets easily? JD has a system for quick attaching front implements, so switching between buckets, plow, etc. is a 5 minute deal. I use JD as an example because that's the only one that I have experience on, besides Kubota.
Making the rear wider will help with stability.
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Todd:
If you have front hydraulics, look into a grapple bucket. It makes moving things MUCH easier. You could have moved that brush pile in an hour or so with a grapple bucket depending on how far you had to move it. Can you change buckets easily? JD has a system for quick attaching front implements, so switching between buckets, plow, etc. is a 5 minute deal. I use JD as an example because that's the only one that I have experience on, besides Kubota.
Making the rear wider will help with stability. We have a quick attaching bucket, pallet fork, and hay spears for our 7810 John Deere. Our loader is also a quick attach and deattach. The total time to remove the loader is less than 5 minutes. I second the comments on the grapple. So handy when moving brush.
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Todd, my JD also is a quick disconnect FEL. However, I've never removed it. That would be like cutting the pockets off my shirt. I seldom take mine out of 4WD. In the five years I've had mine, the FEL has been off once -- and that was to see how difficult it was to remove and put back on. As for 4WD, about the only time mine is taken out of 4WD is if I have to take it on the road to a neighbors, etc. I had the delivery guys help me remove and reinstall the whole FEL assembly when they delivered the tractor so, like you, I could see how it's done. I have no reason to think I would ever take it off. The bucket itself I can see removing from time to time to swap out with other implements that run off the loader assembly and the quick attach should make that a breeze. Like you, too, I see no reason to ever take it out of 4wd other than road driving.
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Todd:
If you have front hydraulics, look into a grapple bucket. It makes moving things MUCH easier. You could have moved that brush pile in an hour or so with a grapple bucket depending on how far you had to move it. Can you change buckets easily? JD has a system for quick attaching front implements, so switching between buckets, plow, etc. is a 5 minute deal. I use JD as an example because that's the only one that I have experience on, besides Kubota.
Making the rear wider will help with stability. I was thinking long and hard about a grapple, Scott! You are spot on that it would have easily taken half the time if not even less, but I ended up doing a lot of hand loading to get logs and tangles of vine and brush into place on the bucket. I don't have an extra set of hydraulic valves on the front, though, so I don't think the tractor is properly equipped for a grapple unless I'm missing the boat on how they work and what extent of hydraulics are needed for them.
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We have a quick attaching bucket, pallet fork, and hay spears for our 7810 John Deere. Our loader is also a quick attach and deattach. The total time to remove the loader is less than 5 minutes.
I second the comments on the grapple. So handy when moving brush. Mine has the quick attach bucket setup so swapping out front end implements should be pretty simple. I don't have any other attachments at this point, but have considered pallet forks for things like this brush pile I just did as even those would be a huge improvement over just the bucket alone. The grapple would be a nice addition, but as I mentioned in reply to Scott's post, I don't know if the tractor is set up for one or not.
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Todd, be really careful with the FEL. I've almost turned my tractor over three times by overloading on a hill going sideways. Beer was involved in only one of the occasions.
Lawyers aren't always known for making great mechanical decisions. Take it easy for awhile and keep the rollover bars on.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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We have a quick attaching bucket, pallet fork, and hay spears for our 7810 John Deere. Our loader is also a quick attach and deattach. The total time to remove the loader is less than 5 minutes.
I second the comments on the grapple. So handy when moving brush. Mine has the quick attach bucket setup so swapping out front end implements should be pretty simple. I don't have any other attachments at this point, but have considered pallet forks for things like this brush pile I just did as even those would be a huge improvement over just the bucket alone. The grapple would be a nice addition, but as I mentioned in reply to Scott's post, I don't know if the tractor is set up for one or not. Forks are pretty good for moving things like logs, picking up downed trees to easily cut up with a chain saw, getting your chainsaw out of a pinch situation, and I can go on... Great attachment, and I would buy one. Very many uses, and your back, arm's, leg's, head, family, friends will thank you, But... ...They really suck at moving brush! Got a steel grill on that baby? Brush has a way finding the right passage thru the grill guard, and you don't have one, to mess up the grill. I need a new one on the Kubota, and they ain't cheap!
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Todd, be really careful with the FEL. I've almost turned my tractor over three times by overloading on a hill going sideways. Beer was involved in only one of the occasions.
Lawyers aren't always known for making great mechanical decisions. Take it easy for awhile and keep the rollover bars on. We may not be known for such decisions, but I know I would not willingly put myself into that sort of spot! I don't even like going across a hill sideways with nothing in the bucket let alone with a load. Easy to see how that one could turn ugly quick. And I'll probably avoid legal beverages when I'm using it, too! I did a bunch of brush hogging today after I got home from Sunil's and it was a good experience. Lots of learning curve, but I can see how the tractor is going to really speed up my mowing time compared to my Cub Cadet, even though it has a 54" deck on it. This 6' brush hog is just really nice and makes easy work of stuff. A friend gave me a tip on keeping the bucket low while mowing to help with keeping the center of gravity down, but also as a way of guarding against unwanted stump incursions while mowing in tall grass. I had it pretty much skimming just a couple of inches above the ground and that technique kept me planted and also saved me from whacking two stumps with the mower. Of course, I got a good jolt when the bucket hit the stumps, but that's why it was down there!
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Forks are pretty good for moving things like logs, picking up downed trees to easily cut up with a chain saw, getting your chainsaw out of a pinch situation, and I can go on... Great attachment, and I would buy one. Very many uses, and your back, arm's, leg's, head, family, friends will thank you, But...
...They really suck at moving brush! Got a steel grill on that baby? Brush has a way finding the right passage thru the grill guard, and you don't have one, to mess up the grill. I need a new one on the Kubota, and they ain't cheap! Good points, JKB. Thanks! I hadn't thought of being able to use forks to hold logs while I cut them - great idea!
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