Ladies and gentlemen, farmers, landscapers, orchardists, contractors, tractor lovers all. Lend me your ears.
In 2000, due to a blown disc, I was forced to retire from 24 years as a landscape/irrigation contractor.
During that time I had the opportunity to operate a myriad of equipment; from tractors, to track loaders, to dozers, riding mowers, 950 loaders with tires the size of a car, tillers, blowers, hedge trimmers, riding trenchers, and backhoes, ad infinitum. Here I will concentrate on tractors. My previous experience was with JD, no complaints, Ford, and Kubota, again, no complaints. Fortunately, I've yet to meet a tractor I didn't like.
When I retired, I had a backlog of projects that piled up over a 20 year period. Due to the loss of family members, and medical bills, there were few resources to tackle the job of restoring what had been an old gravel pit/screening operation.
To shorten the story, I knew if I didn't get a tractor soon, it wouldn't be long before the blackberries took over much of my ten acres of rugged semi-wilderness. The creek runs through the length of the property, and occasionally floods my road. In addition, the previous owners had raped the topsoil, and the huge cottonwoods, and in their place dumped tons of riprap, trash, and flyash from the local charcoal plant.
My quest for a tractor was leading me to believe I wasn't going to find the ideal tractor at a price I could afford. The Deeres were too expensive, the Kubota salesman was a greenhorn, and uninformed. At the New Holland dealer there was but one sales person who didn't even know there was a website for her product, and didn't know about the 0 interest loan. Plus, all they had to offer was a bunch of TC 30, and some sub-compacts, and they didn't know when they would ever get a TC24DA, which I liked, and was in my price range. The TC 30 gear model was good, solid, and well priced, but all at this dealership were geared.
I was feeling dejected. I wanted my own tractor. After almost three decades of operating, I was ready to buy, but saw no options until providentially, one day I noticed a tractor dealer very near my home. A poorly laid out building was obscuring the view of their full array of tractors. The back of their business faces the highway, and all I could see was the chain link fence, and some machines in for repairs. The relatively small Mahindra sign in front did not draw my attention from the tractors I was craning to see from my drivers seat at 50 mph. It wasn’t until making a u turn and nearing the building I could actually see the old, non-distinctive Mahindra logo,
It's a good thing he decide to put the Mahindras up on ramps, above the 6' fence. I now own a red tractor with a brand I had never seen nor heard of. At first I didn't think red was for me. The thought ended the second I got into that most comfortable seat. Back pain was a huge concern, and seating was just about tops on my needs list. HST was the other. I had been driving a stick shift truck since 1980, and did not want to shift a tractor.
I had decided I would have to be SOLD a tractor. I wanted to be convinced the salesman knew more than I about Mahindra, and tractors in general. At Rogue Valley Farm Equipment, Central Point, Oregon, I wasn't disappointed. Nor have I been disappointed in the 2615.
At first I was a bit startled by a hydraulic leak, and some other minor issues. Kind of like a new parent. It's one thing to operate a tractor, yet another to actually pay out hard earned cash, and have the responsibility of maintaining one.
Mine is equipped with R4, (calcium filled), industrial tires, an SQ60 Bush Hog rotary cutter, Bush Hog 3507 angle blade, and a loader with a Markham toothbar, which is a must have, and turned the tractor into a little bull due to the biting ability the teeth provide in compacted soil. As well as facilitating the loading of logs.
I never dreamed in only 15 months I would have over 180 hrs. seat time. In a word - awesome.
There are absolutely no complaints.
The very first winter, twice, high water wiped out about 100 yards of my road. At the time, I had nothing but the loader to repair the gouged out bed of gravel, granite, and native stones. That alone took several days. I lost over 15 yards of 3/4" minus into the creek.
Whatever the task; loading, mowing, clearing, back dragging, skidding, digging, the tractor has performed faithfully. I am completely satisfied in my Mahindra, and my dealer. If anyone has more questions, please contact me. I am so glad I got a Mahindra.
Aching Back, on the mend.
