self leveling loader

[double g]

new to tractor buying we are looking at a j d 4520 with front end loader.. understand there is a front end loader that is self leveling extra ofcourse.. is it worth it? or for the hobby farmer just the 4000x? all coments welcome...

 

[kennyd]

Not only is the CX self leveling, I think the lift capacity is much great also. I think it's worth it.

 

[MJPetersen]

For one thing you are MUCH less likely to spill stuff off the back of the bucket onto the hood of your tractor. And usually the lift capacity is greater.

I know I am one to talk as I do not even have a loader for my little tractor, but I have been studying them for several months and there are a bunch of loaders available here but all are a bit large for a small Yanmar. I am considering making one for myself, and am seriously considering the self-leveling. That seems to be most of the examples that I can find here coming out of France, Sweden, and Germany. I even found one built here in Poland that copies a design from France.

Mike

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Not sure about John Deere, but I have a hydraulic self leveling loader on my 7520 Mahindra and while it is nice to have, I wouldn't get it again. It was an extra $900 for me back in Dec 04 and I have not gotten my $$$ worth out of it and don't see myself getting my $$$ worth ever. I suppose that if you were using your tractor for unloading trucks and moving pallets of material all the time then it would be a good option to have, but for the occasional unloading that I do, it was $$$ poorly spent. One other thing, by chance is the self leveling feature on the John Deere able to be turned off and on? Mine is on all the time and was a hindrance for a while until I got used to always curling the bucket to keep the dirt in. I believe that M series Kubotas have an on-off switch for theirs. I would be happier with mine if it had on-off capabilities.

Good luck with your decision, oh by the way, what does Deere charge for their self leveling feature?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Not only is the CX self leveling, I think the lift capacity is much great also. I think it's worth it.

That is interesting that it would have a higher lift rating. Why do you think that it would increase? I was told by my loader manufacture that the lift capacity actually went down 8-10% with their self leveling option. When I asked why it would be lower, he didn't know, just said that that was how it was.

 

[joes_427_vette]

I would question the greater lift capacity myself. The self leveling has nothing to do with the lift cylinders and only acts as a fluid balance in the system with the bucket cylinders. I have used it in two case 580s and thought it was a helpful feature. Wouldn't mind adding this feature on my NH 55 depending on the cost.

 

[Glowplug]

Not sure about John Deere, but I have a hydraulic self leveling loader on my 7520 Mahindra and while it is nice to have, I wouldn't get it again. It was an extra $900 for me back in Dec 04 and I have not gotten my $$$ worth out of it and don't see myself getting my $$$ worth ever. I suppose that if you were using your tractor for unloading trucks and moving pallets of material all the time then it would be a good option to have, but for the occasional unloading that I do, it was $$$ poorly spent. One other thing, by chance is the self leveling feature on the John Deere able to be turned off and on? Mine is on all the time and was a hindrance for a while until I got used to always curling the bucket to keep the dirt in. I believe that M series Kubotas have an on-off switch for theirs. I would be happier with mine if it had on-off capabilities.

Good luck with your decision, oh by the way, what does Deere charge for their self leveling feature?

The Kubota M-series self-levelling loaders are capable of being turned on and off. They are helpful if you're using your loader like a forklift, loading pallets and such. But if it weren't able to be turned off, I wouldn't have one. If you're going to be using the loader for material handling, digging and such then I don't think you'd benefit from self-levelling, and it would probably be detrimental to you. Others may have completely different opinions though. FWW, I keep my self-levelling feature off 99% of the time.

 

[kennyd]

Just to clarify what I said:

I think the lift capacity is much great also

Obviously, I may be wrong...

This self leveling on the JD loader is mechanical though, so you can't "turn it off".

 

[bjcsc]

My tractor was originally delivered with the 542 MSL (mechanical self-leveling) loader. It was a nightmare. I don't know about other models, but the 542 MSL won't dump the bucket fully until it is near full height. It won't rotate the top of an open 4in1 to the ground for backfilling. The stroke on the dump/curl cylinders is very short in order to work with the MSL mechanism. My dealer ended up swapping mine out for a regular 542 once he realized it wouldn't dump. He said he talked to Deere about it and they knew it was a problem and that they were redesigning it. Maybe they have. Whatever you do, make sure the self-level does not come at the expense of dumping the bucket...

 

[double g]

thanks for all the input.. still wondering..