comparing specs becomes more useless every year. The amount of ways companies seem to cook the books on the spec sheets seems to increase every year. No is no replacement for getting your butt in the seat and running the machine.
Yeah, it's becoming like the phrase "security through obscurity!"
It's a bit unfair in that I have only tried out the MX5200. Felt pretty familiar, to my B7800, just bigger. Kubota bias I won't deny: it's warranted given the proven performance of over 900 hours of seat time on my B7800. BUT, I'm not known to be "brand loyal."
I did not like the loader joystick position on the Mahindra. Apparently I'm not the only person that the salesperson had heard that from, in which case he responded pretty quickly that one could relocated it down. Yeah, if that was all I needed to do then no biggie! So, not a show stopper. But, when coupled with the view of a hanging wire (and connector) underneath the tractor these things didn't leave me with a steller impression; and if things were priced the same I'd have ceased to consider it.
The point about things hanging out and snagging and breaking is BIG to me. So much so that when I looked at some New Hollands (out on the lot, by myself) first thing I spotted was an hydraulic block that stuck out to the side totally exposed I completely ruled them out. Not even a question of whether I'd have that damaged in short order! I've literally had my B7800 on top of a stump which I'd managed to dig all the way around (it was like a moat and I was on an island with the tractor!). My B7800 has only ever left me stranded once: salmon berry cane folded over underneath the tractor and manged to flip back up inside the frame's channel and shove the hydraulic return line's hose off a pipe (one of the times when one would have liked to have a non-HST tractor!).
To deal with my fears with SCR I've stepped back and am considering a used MX5100 (someone mentioned this). I feel that this more readily levels the playing field with the Mahindra 2555 (though it's 55hp vs 50hp): the lack of DPF/DEF was the big reason why I considered the Mahindra. I have older VW TDIs and am quite versed in EGR issues; the issues on newer CR and DPF/DEF [SCR] (though VW didn't go that route, and is now clear what the price for not doing so is!) keeps me from stepping forward with technology. I suppose if the newer Kubotas or the Kiotis (with SCR) had a big advantage then I might be more accepting.
So, as the thread really started out to be about, it's really the loader differences that have me really pondering here: Mahindra's loader joy stick could be moved, and I could probably help tuck away any of the hanging stuff. Seth's story is real world, and that's what I really appreciate. However, I know that I will ALWAYS find that I am underpowered for something; if I were to get the Mahindra 2555 I know that I'd be posting here at some point on what I wasn't able to do with it. I've always said that if I needed more power that I'd go rent it: I go out and rent excavators because they have the power and function that I need, but it's for only certain projects and I don't need their capabilities all the time (though, excavators are REALLY cool! I rent a Takeuchi 285 and that thing is an awesome machine!). And my mentioning of the Takeuchi, sorry if I'm appearing to be muddling the topic here, is that it's hydraulics are extremely smooth: I've rented Bobcats and didn't like the hydraulics, not real smooth (you have to be good in order to not have the thing jerking all over the place). Having put over 900 hours on my Kubota B7800 I can say that the hydraulics on it are pretty decent (for a low end machine). I suppose that I could see that quicker operation can also make for jerkier movements, meaning that the Mahindra's slower loader operation COULD make it feel smoother (comfort vs speed trade-off?)
So, is Mahinda really putting 37% more loader power out there -"to the ground"- than Kubota (and a high percentage more than Kioti)? Is Kubota de-rating the loader based on a lighter tractor weight (350 lbs less, which isn't 37% less)? Is Mahindra over-rating and possibly compromising their tractor frames (or the loader itself)? If we were talking something along the lines of 10% or so I wouldn't really be so puzzled.
I work my B7800 really fast. A slower loader might be a bit more frustrating for me. But, with a bigger tractor (more capacity) perhaps I would be working slower anyways?
jeff9366, thanks for the notes. I've had a tooth bar on my B7800 and it gets used a LOT: I've managed to use it to break up some massive debris piles, moving around tree trunks that are several times the weight of the tractor. Also have a subsoiler, well, if I take off the plow piece (middle buster plow), but have never used it to break up roots: I use my box blade's rippers to chisel away at roots, and other than the time I was stupid and was doing that with the rippers all the way down (had them down to "till" up a garden spot), it's worked well: that stump, a cedar, I got out with the big excavator; stump split up about 60%/40% and I was only able to pick up the 40% chunk (probably about 3k lbs) with the excavator. Running the Takeuchi 285 made me well aware of what power and weight mean
As it stands now I'd have to say that my work is:
60% mowing (my B7800 with a 5' field mower is getting dwarfed)
30% lifting/bucket work (I now NEED to be able to move pallet loads of firewood; the B7800 can but just get them up off the ground, it cannot stack- I'd like to be able to stack two at the same time, but that ain't necessary- I'm not in the firewood business, so it's not a huge need; hauling single pallets, though, to the house will be more frequent [and in the wet winters here I don't want to be tearing the crap out of things]; in the future I expect that I'll be needing to move some round bales, though not on any large scale)
10% dirt work (stumps; leveling etc)
I figure that with a different tractor that those percentages could/would shift around a bit. If the tractor was a big hammer then I'd probably be doing a lot of nailing!
Again, I really appreciate folks taking the time to discuss this with me. I suppose that I'm trying to help solidify what I really NEED vs what I'd WANT: most of what I have is basic, no-frills, in which case I cannot find the justification for anything fancy (if money were no object then sure).
