TC40 Test Drive

[Hawgee]

Ok. Done. All predisposition's are in check. My legs are not shaking. I'm not dizzy. I did not have a chance to have it at home and do some real jobs with it but am genuinely impressed. Checked front to back with the dip sticks and filter locations for ease of service. Water is as easy as the rest. On start up, I was on the off side. (right side when sitting in the saddle) When I went around to the left side to climb on, I first noticed no more decibels than on the right. With the exhaust low and just behind the left front tire, there was no noticeble increase in volume. Just the gentle sound of the newer high rev'n 4 banger. Yes, the tractor as a whole is stamped made in the U.S.A.. The engine is stamped "Iwa" (Shibaru?) something or other, referring to the import. There is just enough diesel knock and vibration to keep my coffee stirred at idle. This smoothed out with increases in RPM. But then the uneven ground is enough to keep my brew mixed. All linkage and pedals were new and tight. I say this because some have posted about sticking or hard to use problems. This does not have thousands of hours on it and did need a rocking or two to get out of 4 wheel drive on two out of four tries. I found that if the 3 range tranny was put into neutral, it shifted much better. Again, there is no gear wear and hours on this. The meter read an even 1 hour. Thats a half hour for out the door and loading in Georgia and a half hour of loader and joy stick install and service and salesman practice. There was not as bad a situation on the 4 wheel drive scuffing as I thought. This drive was in crushed gravel with sand and did a wee bit of moving and lifting with the front tires. Will be a little worse with a load in the bucket. It did have the R1's mounted and the rears are full of calcium. It is Coastline's standard policy to ballast the rears if loader is installed. Remember folks, I'm one of the few still looking for traction in a damp clay soil. It would be nice to have a full set of R4 shoes at a later date.
The low end at .9 mph is slow enough for anything I have planned. Controls were comfortable and where I expected them. Someone with a bad back might complain about the location of the parking brake release.
I noticed a little robbing of hydraulics from the bucket roll when raising the boom. It might just be the operator on the stick.
Wow, what more can I say. You will hear more later. I did not leave anything untouched on this thing. It's just that I need to get out and finish some fencing before the day is gone or the rain returns.

Oh, before I forget. This is for Muhammad. The black screen on top of the hood is not a in-field mouse pad or GPS locator. It's not even a ultrasonic pest deterent, although it could house one. It "IS" a extra path for fresh air when you get too may of Cowboy's grasshoppers stuck in the front grill. But then we should be checking that from time to time. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)