mini loaders, and 21K GVW dump trailers

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this tractor has a 24 hp diesel and 4 wheel drive.


my brother, who does 2X the work i do, and 2X the size jobs i do runs a kubota tractor, and wouldnt have it any other way.

so i have seen its capabilities and how easy on the lawn they are.

when i have my buddy bring in his tracked skid steer to load logs for me, it never fails- he still sinks in or tears sod turning.

so on the occasional job my tractor wouldnt be able to lift i can still call in his skid steer. i can name SO many jobs just in the last few weeks i should have had some kind of loader there.

i feel this will be a huge benefit.

Good luck with it!
 
I know you said kubota is expensive but there is a reason. They are very good tractors. I would look at the TLB series kubota has, the loaders on them are VERY strong. I watched a guy use a b26 to load logs and I was amazed at what it could pick up. Also I saw the smaller JD you where looking at on a local craigslist for $4200 4x4, loader, backhoe, belly mower, brush hog, and a couple other attachments with 113 hours.

almost sounds too good to be true.

i wonder if it was located in Nigeria, " send a check and we will have it shipped to you ! "
 
if i can't lift it.................

i cut it smaller.

Kubota are excellent tractors.they have gotten pricey but i would buy one over a JD.my buddy has an 855 and a 4300 JDand they are well made but have some goofy quirks that would drive me nuts.i like to be able to tilt the attachment and raise/ lower the arms at the same time.difficult or impossible with JD depending on which model you have.
 
almost sounds too good to be true.

i wonder if it was located in Nigeria, " send a check and we will have it shipped to you ! "

The backhoe alone would cost that. It's definitely a scam. Saw a vermeer bc625 chipper on craigslist with 120 hrs selling for $2500. No phone number, no location given. You get what you pay for. If you pay next to nothing, you get next to nothing - or sometimes, nothing at all!
 
well i picked up my JD today.

its just enough power for what i personally need it to do, it turns pretty sharp, runs pretty smooth. i have to take it back in to the shop in a couple weeks to get the ag tires switched out with some turf tires when they come in.

my only two complaints.................................. it would be nice if the loader lifted another 1-2 feet higher. it seems like its just high enough to dump into my trailer. i will have to park it next to the curb as often as possible to gain a few inches of height.

other complaint is it is VERY tipsy. if i am not careful it will roll. if i dont have the weight on the forks right and turn, she will roll

so i am probably going to have to take it in, and have that fluid / weight put in the tires to keep her on the ground.

we took out a 45-50 foot willow in a back yard today.

JohnDeere001.jpg


JohnDeere002.jpg


this WAS a 45-50 foot willow tree, now its just a load in my dump trailer. we fit all the brush, logs AND the chips from the stump grinding in there. the whole trailer was filled 1-2 feet high with chips before i even loaded brush in there. it all fit nicely.

JohnDeere003.jpg


fits nicely next to my stump grinder in the trailer. though, when i have more time i will rearrange it and maybe load the tractor in backwards, load the stumper next to it and see if i can set the forks down.

JohnDeere004.jpg



i think this will work VERY well for my needs.
 
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That's the size of a big lawn tractor so it has limitations but it is a lot stronger then our body's. Looks nice!
 
That's the size of a big lawn tractor so it has limitations but it is a lot stronger then our body's. Looks nice!


yeah, i bought this tractor knowing it wouldnt lift as much as a skid steer, as much as even a mini track loader, etc.

but i bought it knowing it is WAY more efficient than my wheel barrel !!!!!!!!!!!

it saved us 3-4 hours worth of wheel barreling !
 
yeah, i bought this tractor knowing it wouldnt lift as much as a skid steer, as much as even a mini track loader, etc.

but i bought it knowing it is WAY more efficient than my wheel barrel !!!!!!!!!!!

it saved us 3-4 hours worth of wheel barreling !

Ya it gets the job done, fits in the trailer with the grinder and saves time. Looks lie a win win to me.
 
Nice rig, like I said earlier, thats the exact model I want to get. Good to know it's working out for you. Once you get the weight in the tires I think you'll be real happy.
 
I would not worry about fluid in the tires, just put a box blade on the back and it should have plenty of counter balance, you dont really have the lift capacity to need much more than that.
 
I would not worry about fluid in the tires, just put a box blade on the back and it should have plenty of counter balance, you dont really have the lift capacity to need much more than that.


they tried to sell me a weight box that attaches to the 3-point hitch, but im taking that hitch links off to make the tractor a little bit shorter to fit in the trailer better. while its just a box with weights, i didnt want the length added.

now, the tires, filled, might keep the rear corner from lifting up so easily......


the machine is rated to lift 800 pounds according to John Deere, and the forks being about 400 pounds alone kind of hurts that... but... i was loading some stuff today that lifted the rear tires both off of the ground. so, i believe the loader can pick up plenty, it just needs some weight in the back end.
 
You are going to love that tractor. I had the 2305 and yes they are tippy without rear balast. I now have the 2520 and it isnt near as tippy. Here is a link to a rear bracket that holds the weights and isnt near as long as a weight box. A guy could easily build one of these to mount right on the 3pt hitch, and eliminating the imatch. I would definatly put weight in the back or fluid in the rear tires, you will be able to use the front end loader to its cappacity then.



http://www.heavyhitch.com/
 
i just got a quote for filling the tires with the fluid

~ $250 to fill the tires ( fluid included )

the guy says it can add ~ 250 pounds per tire.

SWEET, thats 500 pounds on the back end without any additional length ( ballast box ) or any additional width ( wheel weights )


but, does that weight sound correct ????

can you get 250 pounds worth of fluid in a 31X13.5X15 size tire ???



also, he says if the tractor doesnt have tubes inside the tires its another $35 per side to add the tubes.



i havent decided if i want to keep the R4 / "AG" tires or change to the turf tires yet. the ag tires did NO damage to the lawns on the friday / saturday jobs, but the ground is frozen at the moment... and the turf tires are suppose to be wider.
 
i just got a quote for filling the tires with the fluid

~ $250 to fill the tires ( fluid included )

the guy says it can add ~ 250 pounds per tire.

SWEET, thats 500 pounds on the back end without any additional length ( ballast box ) or any additional width ( wheel weights )


but, does that weight sound correct ????

can you get 250 pounds worth of fluid in a 31X13.5X15 size tire ???



also, he says if the tractor doesnt have tubes inside the tires its another $35 per side to add the tubes.



i havent decided if i want to keep the R4 / "AG" tires or change to the turf tires yet. the ag tires did NO damage to the lawns on the friday / saturday jobs, but the ground is frozen at the moment... and the turf tires are suppose to be wider.

The Ag tires will rip up the lawn, especially in the spring. How much is too much though, thats a judgement call. I run ag tires on my lawn (1954 John Deere 40T) and no worries. I'm fine with the marks it makes.

As for the weight, sounds about right.
 
so i have to ask again,

i still dont know how they will get 250 pounds of fluid PER tire-

its a 31" tall X 13" wide tire-

does 250 pounds sound about right, PER TIRE ??? how much does that stuff weigh per gallon ??????

they said its $250 bucks for the fluid and installation and another $35 per side if they have to put tubes inside the tires.

also, my brothers tractor tires always freeze in the winter, is this normal or did his shop put crappy fluid in his tires ?








now, i am waiting for a quote on another dump trailer. 18' long inside, 8' wide deck over trailer. 19" or so tall metal sides which i can add wood sides to for more height. G rated tires, very heavy duty hoist, ramps for the equipment. 15,400 GVW

sounds beefy enough, and has almost 1/3rd more cubic yards capacity than my current PJ 14'X8' deck over dump trailer.


it is made by " Versa-dump " does anyone know if these are quality trailers ?
 
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that stuff is a rip off.

i have gotten a few flat tires already.i would have been pissed to watch $250 leak onto the ground.

it's also added strain on your drive train.

get a weight box.weight box and stone dust is a lot cheaper and easier on the machine,not to mention you can take the weight box off if you don't need it.
 
i have gotten a few flat tires already.i would have been pissed to watch $250 leak onto the ground.

it's also added strain on your drive train.

get a weight box.weight box and stone dust is a lot cheaper and easier on the machine,not to mention you can take the weight box off if you don't need it.

the "ballast box" will become an issue every time i load the tractor and stump grinder into the dump trailer. that extra foot or more of space / length it adds will mean that i cant fit both machines into the dump trailer. big deal breaker for me.


my other option is wheel weights-

$80 a piece x 4 = $320 + tax

but they are only 60 pounds a piece which only gives me 250 pounds of weight on the back end.


im trying to do get the best weight / pound per dollar, that doesnt add length or width to my machine. if you use two wheel weights per side the wheel weights do not stick out past the rims. ( 3 wheel weights does )
 
the "ballast box" will become an issue every time i load the tractor and stump grinder into the dump trailer. that extra foot or more of space / length it adds will mean that i cant fit both machines into the dump trailer. big deal breaker for me.


my other option is wheel weights-

$80 a piece x 4 = $320 + tax

but they are only 60 pounds a piece which only gives me 250 pounds of weight on the back end.


im trying to do get the best weight / pound per dollar, that doesnt add length or width to my machine. if you use two wheel weights per side the wheel weights do not stick out past the rims. ( 3 wheel weights does )

Is the dump trailer you getting bigger? If it is get the box.
 
Is the dump trailer you getting bigger? If it is get the box.

the dump trailer i have now is 14' long

the one im getting a quote for is 18' long

so, a 9 foot long stump grinder, and an 8' long tractor ( with the forks / bucket over the front wall of the trailer ) well, thats 17 feet taken up right there, which only leaves 1 foot of room... which is already pretty close for comfort.
 
A 7.50x16 front tire holds 120#
A 10x28 rear holds 324#
A 13x24 rear holds 584#
I would think its possible to get 250# in your tires. NO, they sould not freeze if the fluid is mixed correctly. Liquid ballast is nice because it takes no space on the tractor and it helps keep the center of gravity low.There are some drawbacks though thorns and nails are going to require a tire service to repair the tire.The cheap ballast mixes are calcium chloride or magnesium chloride and water, calcium chloride is extremely corrosive so if you leak any or get a flat clean the rim or it will eat it up.magnesium is better from a corrosion stand point. If you have your tires filled make sure you air up with the valve on the top and i keep a few extra valves because the fluid will corrode them and when you try to air up the tire they will stick and spray fluid all over. Having jack handy is a good idea so if a valve sticks you can get the weight off it quick.
 
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