Beaglenut
Member
Quick impressions since we had our new Max 28 delivered last Wednesday (it's at our new house where we have no internet yet so sorry for the slow reply):
I'm happy with the tractor, I lucked out and it was 80 degrees and sunny the day it was delivered so I got to mow until dark in shorts and a t-shirt, and even got to test out the headlights. Then the next day a front came through and I got to mow in 20+ mph north winds with the temp dropping into the 40's by the time I finished. Normal Missouri weather pattenrn for October.
The tractor itself was flawless. I'm 6'2 with size 14 feet and found the seat, foot controls and steering wheel comfortable. I mowed with the FEL on, haven't attempted to take it off yet primarily because I dont want to take up the extra space in the garage and I don't want to leave it sit outside. Had no problems navigating to mow with the loader on. I went over all the bolts on the tractor and wheels after 8 hours of mowing and didn't find any loosening up, they showed me all the spots to grease at the dealer but I know I need to rely on the manual to make sure I hit them all and haven't done that yet. Very happy with how easy it is to maneuver the tractor, we have a big garage with a single door and it was no problem to get the tractor in and to one side so I could still pull in my truck. I agree the seat belt is a pain, it's way to easy to lose sight of and I had to get off the tractor to find it a few times, plus just forgot to put it on a few other times. A better solution is needed. The oil dipstick location I can live with as long as oil use doesn't become a nagging issue, and based on everything I've read it won't be.
The RFM not so flawless. The dealer sold me a Farmline brand (said it was much cheaper than a Mahindra) and I lost one of 3 bolts on one of the two covers over the belts in the first 45 minutes of mowing. Have had to keep tightening those things up every time I stop, would appreciate suggestions on how to make them stay tight. Also hit a relatively small rock and one of the blades started hitting metal making a really loud noise. Neighbor came over and helped eliminate the noise with a 2x4 and sledge hammer, but showed me there was also a chip out of the blade, his impression is that the mower is cheaply made overall. There's also alot of grease coming out on the top which is a concern.
Also bought a rear blade but haven't played with it yet, hopefully the off-brand on that won't be as much an issue as the RFM seems to be. I (of course) played with the FEL but didn't do anything productive with it, it seems very easy to control and solidly built.
We'll be back at the house this weekend, hopefully I'll get to go through the owners manual and check out some more stuff.
I'm happy with the tractor, I lucked out and it was 80 degrees and sunny the day it was delivered so I got to mow until dark in shorts and a t-shirt, and even got to test out the headlights. Then the next day a front came through and I got to mow in 20+ mph north winds with the temp dropping into the 40's by the time I finished. Normal Missouri weather pattenrn for October.
The tractor itself was flawless. I'm 6'2 with size 14 feet and found the seat, foot controls and steering wheel comfortable. I mowed with the FEL on, haven't attempted to take it off yet primarily because I dont want to take up the extra space in the garage and I don't want to leave it sit outside. Had no problems navigating to mow with the loader on. I went over all the bolts on the tractor and wheels after 8 hours of mowing and didn't find any loosening up, they showed me all the spots to grease at the dealer but I know I need to rely on the manual to make sure I hit them all and haven't done that yet. Very happy with how easy it is to maneuver the tractor, we have a big garage with a single door and it was no problem to get the tractor in and to one side so I could still pull in my truck. I agree the seat belt is a pain, it's way to easy to lose sight of and I had to get off the tractor to find it a few times, plus just forgot to put it on a few other times. A better solution is needed. The oil dipstick location I can live with as long as oil use doesn't become a nagging issue, and based on everything I've read it won't be.
The RFM not so flawless. The dealer sold me a Farmline brand (said it was much cheaper than a Mahindra) and I lost one of 3 bolts on one of the two covers over the belts in the first 45 minutes of mowing. Have had to keep tightening those things up every time I stop, would appreciate suggestions on how to make them stay tight. Also hit a relatively small rock and one of the blades started hitting metal making a really loud noise. Neighbor came over and helped eliminate the noise with a 2x4 and sledge hammer, but showed me there was also a chip out of the blade, his impression is that the mower is cheaply made overall. There's also alot of grease coming out on the top which is a concern.
Also bought a rear blade but haven't played with it yet, hopefully the off-brand on that won't be as much an issue as the RFM seems to be. I (of course) played with the FEL but didn't do anything productive with it, it seems very easy to control and solidly built.
We'll be back at the house this weekend, hopefully I'll get to go through the owners manual and check out some more stuff.