I drop my bucket but never felt the need to remove the FEL itself.
Ok ok ok but is it a Cummins or does it have a HEMI in it ?
I'm going to use an electric actuator to allow operation of SSQA from the driver seat. I have all the commercial parts, just need to fabricate some attachment brackets and put it all together.
Exactly.
I drop my loader when mowing. It rattles and bounces all over and makes me feel better. Plus I get into some tight spots and that little bit of extra room makes all the difference. It stays on for all other activities. It’s a great built in ballast for 3pt work. Scoop up some dirt and you have an instant front ballast box.
The dealer failed to mention this at first and I struggled a few times before grumbling that something must not be adjusted correctly. “Put it on dirt and take it off !!” Was the answer. Problem solved lol.
If you’re planning to haul a tractor, even a SCUT, with attachments I’d look at a 20’ trailer. A rotary cutter and FEL adds up to lot of length. But for a half mile I’d just road the tractor back and forth.
Help me understand your statement. I don't have any personal use with a tractor so this is for my fyi. Are you trying to use your tractor the least amount of hours as possible? At 61 years old my first criteria would be cabbed comfort so that sets the purchase price up there.
Tires, engine/trans overhaul, etc are much more expensive and difficult to do on a tractor then a mower. At 44, my tractor should last the rest of my life, but it certainly wouldn't if I put the mowing hours on it, at least not without multiple rebuilds.
I’d beg to differ with you. My little 25hp CUT does all sorts of things but has never mowed the yard.
The pics were just small thumbnails on my phone. My apologies
You forgot the CTL and mini ex.
I road my tractor the one mile between the house and the shop on a regular basis. Not a lot of traffic, although it’s the only road that accesses about sixty properties along a couple miles of shore, so traffic isn’t insignificant. No heavy truck traffic, since it’s not a through route.
I'm assuming at that weight your Cub Cadet is a riding mower. They did make CUTs in the 25-35hp range. I have one along with a Kubota L4350 and the CC is my go to most of the time just because of it's maneuverability vs the bigger Kubota.
Yes, it is indeed a garden tractor. I bought it from estate of our #1 SIL's uncle - who our grandkids knew and liked. It had about 40 hours on it and became the first non-electric, non-toy thing the boys learned to drive on (except our eldest at 5 was already running steering and blade on my D5). If we ever get a house up and lawn to cut, it will do that job, but also have an ancient 15HP some brand with IIRC A-C label. I am shocked that the old banger comes with a proper frame to attach thing while the now near 20 YO CC is nothing but light sheet metal.
Nonsense. I have used my BX23s for clearing several acres. Moving 20 tons of gravel. Grading land and grading a driveway. Clearing my 1000' long driveway of snow. Moving hundreds of yards of mulch. Making a 1/4 acre garden plot. Moving pallets full of tile. Unloading heavy shipments from box trucks. Moving building supplies. Skidding trees. Moving wood. All with under 300 hours on the machine.
The 755 tractors are a real work horse for their size, my dad had one for years and beat the **** out of it clearing trails and moving dirt and it never complained at all.The OP never mentioned a desire for a bush hog or the need to mow pastures. If mowing acres of pasture/fields was the need, I’d certainly agree with you. I use to bush hog with a 1st gen Ford 2000 (gas), without an overrunning clutch on the PTO- it took some operator skill.
I went 10 years on our 10 acre property making do with what used tractors we could afford. No one in my or my wife’s family had ever purchased a new tractor. I started with a Deere 112 garden tractor (10hp Tecumseh) with a mower deck, front snow blade and front snowblower, because the primary needs were mowing and snow removal. A used rototiller gave me the ability to prepare our garden plots. Next I added a Ford 9N, which took over snow plowing duties, powered a cordwood saw and three point hitch concrete mixer, and dragged logs out of our woods.
In 1991 I purchased my Deere 755 (20 hp diesel, 16 @PTO) with FEL and 60” belly mower, which has seen use over the past few days setting 400 pound paver steps on Mrs. YankeeFarmer’s latest landscaping project. I have never wished for more horsepower. I run a 4 foot rototiller for garden plots and converting former woods areas to cultivated areas. The FEL has lifted everything in its capability, and wisely refused to lift items outside its capability. And I am smart enough to move very slowly when the loader is at or near max capacity to avoid over stressing other components. In 34 years, I haven’t broken anything on the machine, although I do need to replace the tachometer cable and light switch. Below is a picture of the driveway I excavated with it when we built our addition. Most of the stones in the wall came from excavating the hill.
My 2 cents worth for the OP: My tractor with the 60” belly mower was my mower for about 28 years. It was a PIA to install/ remove the mower deck, so that stayed on from April to November, when it was removed for added ground clearance in snow removal and woods work. The rest of the year I had to be especially conscious of the low ground clearance. To make matters worse, I had to run my rear tires in the narrow position to clear the mower deck. With the mower deck removed, I reverse the rear wheels and the wider track provides much more confidence and stability on our hilly, uneven terrain. I know more modern tractors have easy on/off mower decks, so consider how that will impact your intended uses. (These modern tractors don’t feel near as stable as my old 9N did.) Finally, one of the most useful attachments I have added was a set of pallet forks that replace the front bucket for moving rocks, logs, and, occasionally, pallets.
On a side note, I've also got a 9.5k mini and a 82hp bobcat for my 2.25 acres. I do some side jobs here and there and occasional maintenance on some forest property, but I'd keep them all even if they never left the property. Just too dang handy to give them up.
I found my people...
