rear remote necessary?

[rollbar]

I wanted to buy a 8' drag scraper for leveling yards, but my 4520 jd did not have a rear hydraulic remote valve.should not have bought the tractor without it,but a implement dealer told me rather than installing a rear valve ,just use the loader bucket dump valve for the cylinder operation on the scraper. My question is has anyone used this type of rigging . Someone
else told me it was not a good idea, not sure why . If I a put a set of remotes
on the back, any idea the cost? thanks for any input

 

[deereguy]

I bought my JD 4500 w/o a rear remote then had the dealer add it when I bought the loader. It was a package price but I think it was $500(?) for them to add it. Its the factory remote and fits like it should with the handle being on the right fender. I'm glad I have it- but haven't used it, it's been 5 years. I tried to use it this past summer and found that the couplers are slightly smaller than standard hydralic couplers.

 

[MadReferee]

I wanted to buy a 8' drag scraper for leveling yards, but my 4520 jd did not have a rear hydraulic remote valve.should not have bought the tractor without it,but a implement dealer told me rather than installing a rear valve ,just use the loader bucket dump valve for the cylinder operation on the scraper. My question is has anyone used this type of rigging . Someone
else told me it was not a good idea, not sure why . If I a put a set of remotes
on the back, any idea the cost? thanks for any input

If you want to use the loader valve you have 2 options.

You can install an electric diverter off the curl/dump work ports and using a switch you can switch between the curl/dump and the rear cylinder.

You can also install QC's on each curl/dump work port and manually switch the lines each time you want to use the rear cylinder.

Neither method is optimal since you will have a pair of long hoses runnng from the loader valve back to the rear cylinder. Your best option is to simply purchase whatever is needed for a real rear remote. This will open up many possibilities for other uses.

 

[Corm]

The thread title asks "is a rear remote necessary".... the answer is No, you can run things off of the loader circuit, BUT, once you have a rear remote, you'll wonder how you got along without it! I run a backhoe off of mine, I also made up a hydraulic cylinder for my top link. The hydraulic top link is SO handy. When using my back blade, I can adjust the top angle of the blade on the fly. This makes a huge difference in time savings, and in the final results. You CAN get as good a result using a manual top link, but it is such a PITA to use, you end up not taking the time to make those little adjustments that make a difference in how nice your drive way ends up looking. When using my 3pt chipper, it is very easy to adjust the top link so the chipper sets flat on the ground, regardless of how the tractor is setting. When using my wood splitter, using the lower 3pt arms in conjunction with the hydraulic top link, makes it real easy to get the splitter level and at the right height for my back, again, regardless of the tractor being level or not. Same for my cordwood saw. When I trailer my tractor to go brush hog my Dad's field twice a year, I used to have to manually shorten my top link in order to stop the brush hog from dragging on the ground as I drove up the ramps on my trailer. Now all I have to do is pull a lever to shorten it, and once I'm on the trailer, I can lengthen it again so the brush hog sits flat on my trailer so I can tie it down. Also, hooking up 3pt implements with a hydruliic top link makes that job much easier.

The ability to use a hydraulic top link, once you get your rear remote installed, is probably the single handiest addition you can add to the usabilty of any of your 3pt implements. Just my opinion, YMMV

Corm

 

[3RRL]

rollbar,
Like Corm said, it is not necessary but like a lot of things, you end up wishing it was much easier to hook up and have the correct connections without having a bunch of stuff to undo, flop around (maybe) and reconnect. Then your fel won't operate of course so that may be a hassle too? I guess it's like asking if a box blade a toothbar or backhoe or even if a tractor is "necessary"? Well, there are ways to get around it, but it comes down to a matter of "ease of use" in getting the job done.

Like Mad said, having the rear remotes is so handy and will open up lots of other uses for additional implements you may have or are thinking of getting. I installed my own and it was easy to do with the help of Mad and others here on TBN. A 2 spool open center valve would get you 2 sets of rear remotes. You can buy the valve, hoses, connectors and QD'S for between $200 and $300 bucks if you make your own bulk head and do it yourself. Then you'll have it forever for anything hydraulic you want to run. Just my 2¢.

 

[rollbar]

thanks fellas for the input and the information. I think setting it up right and installing the rear remotes would be the best option in the long run. Thanks