My 2025R Thread

[jeepcoma]

June 15, 2023

First job I had for the tractor was mowing. I typically participate in "no-mow may" as we have a ton of wildflowers through the yard and neighbors have honey bees. The first mow is usually pretty heavy. I have been tackling it with the flail mower on my Grillo and it does a great job but it takes a long time. I had a mechanical issue and fell even further behind this year than normal, so I didn't mow until June 15th (day after delivery). Tractor was delivered with the mower attached so all I had to do was remove the FEL and BH and off I went.

I figure a few hours of mowing would be a good break-in. Dealer didn't mention anything specific for a break-in and I didn't see anything in the manual either, so 3200 RPM it was.

The grass in the picture is probably the thinnest part that I had to cut. There was a lot of thicker stuff elsewhere but I guess watching me mow quickly became uninteresting so no pics!

I was pleased with the cut, but it naturally left a lot of materials behind. The flail mower does do a better job, but easily would have taken twice the time. There were also a few spots I avoided - some of the wetter areas where I was afraid of getting stuck, and along the road where the pitch gets pretty steep and the pucker factor kicked in.

The hydro is so nice for mowing compared to the gears on the 2-wheel. There are many times I want to keep the engine at a certain RPM to keep the implement spinning, but need to slow down. Mowing with the flail was always somewhat awkward. 2nd gear at full RPM was a touch too slow, but 3rd gear is pretty tall so I'd either be a half throttle or running.

Adding the mower was a luxury rather than a necessity, but after the first mow I'm not complaining. I'm glad I went with the 60" over the 54", it's particularly useful having that bit of extra width when mowing under the fence line and tight up against obstacles. The load-and-go is a fantastic add-on and makes moving and storage a piece of cake. As mentioned above, once I followed the adjustment guide, taking the deck on and off is breeze as well.

Overall: expensive implement, but happy with the result. No ruts in the yard. Scalped in the usual places I do with the flail mower. Used 21" push mower to hit the areas I avoided with the 2025R.

 

[jeepcoma]

July 8th, 2023

2nd big job was improving the footing on our run-in shelter in the big paddock. 23 tons of rock was dumped

and moved.

I had already set up a wood frame and filled it with dirt, but it had been packed down, rained on, and heavily trodden on over a year or so. It turned into big step-downs and mud.

Those big clumps you see are actually big stumps, they washed into the paddock during the spring flood. I picked those up with the loader and put them back at the wood pile. Nice!

I think it took me about 3 hours to move all the stone, make the grade, smoothing things out, and then scoop all the poop out of the shelter and put it in the low spots. Very happy with the Hydros Plus kit - kept RPMs around 2300 to balance flow rate, ground speed, and noise and it was really nice to be able to reverse, operate the steering wheel, lift, and curl the bucket, all at the same time. I was also happy with the size of the 2025R because I could drive right into the shelter and fill up the bucket with manure without having to touch the ROPS.

(Near) final result:

The ground here is REALLY soft, and I was really happy that with the full weight of the TLB and a bucket full of stone that I didn't leave any permanent depressions. I felt like I made a good choice on the size of the tractor not being too heavy.

Sure beats a shovel!!

 

[jeepcoma]

June 28th, 2023 - Double Trouble

OK, happy with the tractor, but not everything has been perfect. Let's take a step back from the mowing and provide some background...

When I ordered the tractor, the dealer was very backed up. Despite sitting on and demo-ing the tractor that was eventually delivered to me, it "needed setup" and yadda yadda. I turn wrenches and have no problem doing setup, and said so, in order to expedite the delivery. I really needed to mow! Dealer ended up doing their setup on the tractor and mower, and delivering the the hydraulic thumb in a box for me to install. No problem. I read the directions, Tractor Time with Tim has an install video, and it all went smoothly.

I'm up on the backhoe was digging up some rocks and using the thumb to grip a rock aaaaaaand... no pressure. I see a stream of fluid coming down the BH so quickly reach back and kill the motor. 1 hour on the backhoe and thumb (I installed the thumb before I used the BH for the first time). Was operating at 2000 RPM so not even at max pressure.

Yep, that's a burst hose.

Right in the middle of the hose too, no kinks, no severe bends, no damage to the protective casing. A bit hard to see in the pic but the wetness is starting right at the top crinkle on the sheath. Seems like a clear cut warranty replacement, so I call the dealer hoping I can drive in to pick up a replacement today, or have one shipped to my house.

Well, I guess that's not the way Deere works. The dealer wouldn't warranty it. Why? Because I did the install, not them. An item that can be "field installed" apparently means the dealer can install it on a customer application, but not the customer himself. A lengthy conversation ensued.

The dealer did agree however to transport the tractor to their shop to validate my install and cover any future warranty work, all at their expense. I agreed to this, and took the hose to a parts shop and the built me a new hose of the same length for ~$100. Not very happy about the out-of-pocket expense, but at least I could get back to work.

While the BH was out of action, two days later I had the "event" with breaking the mower deck. I had planned on ordering the parts and fixing myself, but since it was already heading to the dealer for the BH, I paid to have them fix the deck as well. I would have had to drive to the dealer anyway to pick up the parts, since apparently I can't have them shipped to me? Do not like.

They inspected my work, validated the install and agreed to cover any future warranty on the hydraulic thumb, and fixed the mower. Personally (and this is a lot of hindsight now months after the fact), but I think they should have done more to help me. At the time, I didn't seem to have any leverage. They set up the mower deck, I didn't intentionally try to break anything. I admit I might have done something wrong, it was my first attempt to install it, but I got no support. Regarding the hydraulic hose, that 100% was a faulty hose. Working pressure is supposed to be around 3000 PSI and burst pressure twice that, so my operating under 2000 should not have caused a failure. They absolutely should have covered that under warranty. I even supplied them with the burst hose and they didn't look at it or provide a replacement, after they verified my install.

Overall, happy with the equipment but not happy with the dealer. I realize that "stuff breaks, then you fix it" and I am prepared to pay for my mistakes. In this case, I don't think I made a mistake, and certainly wasn't abusing the equipment. With less than 10 hours on a brand new machine, I was not happy with my dealer.

 

[dodge man]

As I recall the parts to fix the mower are a little over $50. Your dealer might not ship parts to you but other places will. Green Tractor Parts is one plus Amazon.

 

[jeepcoma]

July 8, 2023 - Fighting the Knotweed

We have a section of land, about 1/3 acre, right up against the river that has a Japanese Knotweed infestation. It's an invasive species up here and very hard to eradicate. Its stalks are similar to bamboo, it grows quickly, tall (8'+), is thick, and has a vast underground root system. I've finally been making some progress on destroying it and reclaiming the land. Because it grows so densely, one of the problems I've been having is mowing into obstacles. In addition to the usual rocks that wreck my blades, past owners of the property have cut down trees (and left them), wind and weather have downed some large branches that are hidden, there are thick bushes such as ironwood that are difficult to get at, oh and some past owners used to dump garbage there so I've found metal rods, gas tanks, wire, and other nasty stuff.

There is a very short window in the spring, after mud season ends but before there is too much growth to see what you are doing, to tackle this sort of project. In the fall, you mostly have to wait until the first frost kills the leaves of the knotweed, and hope it doesn't snow. This means there might be just a couple of weekends in an entire year that are ideal conditions to make progress. I finally started making progress last year, and was able to keep it up again. This year, I started early with my 21" push mower to cut the knotweed down and was able to keep at it every few weeks during the summer, not to kill it but to control it enough that I could get in there and work.

Today's goal was to dig out those few rocks I keep scalping so that I can get in there and aggressively mow with the flail mower, or ever the tractor, without risk of damage.

This turned into a bigger project than I expected. (surprise!) Here I am positioning the backhoe for removing rock #1.

During this project, I spent some time "playing" with the backhoe and trying out some more "advanced" techniques. To work on using all the controls with a light touch, I practiced keeping the teeth parallel to and right at ground level (just scraping the top without digging into it), while at the same time retracting the boom arm, which also means operating the dipper stick and curling the bucket to keep it level. The goal is to be able to go from full extension to full retraction and back while keeping those teeth right even with the soil without digging in. I think the HydrosPlus pump made this possible. I also think a small amount of practice every now and then makes me a better backhoe operator (and saves time in the long run). Plus, it's fun!

The other thing I practiced was moving the tractor with the backhoe. I didn't have any trouble pushing or pulling myself forward and back by manipulating the arms and curl on the bucket, or (aside from some slight puckering) lifting the rear of the tractor and pivoting using the side-to-side swing. I'm not sure if that's a machine-to-machine variation that some have the pressure set higher, or a capability of the 2025R over the 1025R (it shouldn't be according to the specs) but some comments I've seem imply that it's not possible with the 1025R. The pump kit should have nothing to do with it because I have not touched any of the pressure settings. Curious of others' experiences trying to move around with the backhoe?

 

[jeepcoma]

July 22, 2023 - A Sticky Situation

Day after the above work, I ordered the toothbar from Heavy Hitch. There was a great Tractor Toothbar Torture Test - Who Makes the Best Cutting Edge? comparison video as well as some others I watched. I went with the Heavy Hitch because:

1) it looked better for lifting logs
2) it looked better for lifting rocks
3) it looked better for digging into hardpack earth (where you don't care about preserving the top sod)

After putting it on, I liked it straight away. I like how it sticks out just far enough that I can often seen the end of the bucket. This helps with picking up large rocks because I can get the angle and position just right to scoop under the rock instead of pushing it along with the edge. And, it's been really useful in the woods too (unexpectedly) as I can pierce small saplings and smash them down, or the little bit of extra extension lets me bash down a pine branch so I don't hit it with the ROPS. Some logs can be picked up simply by skewering them and the stick right on the end. Anyway, I had that installed as I headed out into the woods.

Last year I did some brush hogging along our river with the 2-wheel tractor to start making some paths. There's two acres that are very wet and very overgrown with scrub. I wanted to clear a path out to 1) let us walk along the river and 2) make a small trail the kids can ride ponies through. Eventually I'd like to build a bridge so we can get to the other side of the river and clear more trails there.

Last season's brush hogging went well but it left a lot of small 0.5" - 1.5" stumps in a few different sections. I decided to do two things at once - put the mower deck on to mow down those small woody bits, and boxblade to start improving the trails.

There's one spot that's right at water level, it goes down, and then up a short but steep hill (couple feet wide, couple feet elevation gain). I went over this twice with no problem. I was done for the day, heading home for dinner, when I got myself stuck.

Third time over the same spot softened that group up just enough. And those R14s aren't the best in these conditions. With 4wd and the rear diff locked, it took about one second flat before the mower deck was high-centered and I was good and stuck.

What happened was one of the ripper shanks snagged on a tree root. Didn't hit it the other times, but the ground softened just enough for it to kiss it, and the shape dragged the rear end down. As soon as it hit the end of the shank, forward progress ended and those tires churned right into the mud. I didn't try to go forward any more (this is hardly the first time I've been stuck in the mud, so I've learned a thing or two), but I couldn't even go backwards (as now both the mower deck and the BB2048 (non-L!!) box were on the ground), and that dug me in more.

At the time I wasn't sure the problem, so I contemplated removing the rear blade. Clearly it was a problem. Also the mower deck, but that looks mighty hard to remove in the current circumstances. I kicked the tires, had a beer, and noticed one of the ripper shanks was tight. I couldn't wiggle it, or pull it out. Ah ha! Grabbed a saw and started sawing, and cut through a nice big 4" root.

By this time it was dark, so I called it a day, and left the tractor in the woods. I judged myself to be "moderately stuck, but nothing to worry about" and that turned out to be a fair assessment.

Next morning, with the box blade rippers free, I had a plan. Using a shovel, I dug out an inch or two behind each wheel. Using the loader and bucket, I was able to dig in and push myself backwards those few inches (those Heavy Hitch teeth are really nice for digging in).

The cheerleading squad didn't last long.

Then, I lifted the front of the tractor with the loader and had enough room to shove some ramps underneath the wheels and over the top of the ruts that I had created (not the final position as pictured below). Free!

I learned a lot from this experience

• Do one thing at a time. Mowing and landscaping don't mix, because you need the group clearance. Plus, the mower deck is an expensive dangly bit to be whacking into things.
• Don't be shy using the FEL to lift the tractor. In hindsight and with more experience today, I think I probably could have gotten myself out right from the start with the loader
• When I snag something with a ripper shank and stop moving, the first thing I do now is raise the 3-point. For smaller roots, this breaks them right up, and I can put the box back down and continue without on my way
  • If the 3-point can't break free, just an inch of rearward travel is usually enough. Then, move forward an inch, put the box back down, and continue like nothing happened.

I've probably got a 1/4 mile length of trails in there, and since that incident have had no problems using the techniques I learned. And, with a 48" blade clearing a 8' wide path, that's a lot of passes...

This is a current winter pic from a couple days ago which hides most of the lower ferns and leaf cover (makes it seem less thick than it really is), but I've turned this

into this

Awesome!

 

[dodge man]

I also take my mower deck off unless I’m doing just light end loader work. You can also get your box blade higher by shortening your top link all the way. It would probably create the wrong angle for using it but would help for transport. One of your 3 point links has is adjustable you can buy one of those for the other side and shorten them up as much as possible to get things higher.

 

[jeepcoma]

You can also get your box blade higher by shortening your top link all the way.

Yes great point, I forgot to mention that I did shorten the top link as much as possible (looks like I had done it by the time I took that pic because the blade doesn't seem to be planted in the ground).

The hydraulic top-link will make this adjustment much easier to accomplish, but I still think it's a band-aid solution and not a real fix for "not enough height". Today I was bringing some deck furniture down (those teeth on the Heavy Hitch Toothbar make great hangers) and here backing down the blade is contacting the ground. This is by no means a steep hill, but the geometry is just right. It doesn't take much. It's hard to tell from the picture so I drew a line to approximate the grade. You can see this it actually the second time I scraped here. At max lift there's not a lot of clearance so it doesn't take much of a bump to cause clearance issues.

I wish JD did a better job here with product descriptions. It's unfortunate that they list the L-series in the catalog as "economy duty" or whatever, implying that it's sub-par, when in fact it's not (as far as I can tell) - it's simply shorter. At this smallest width, you can choose from the 2048, 2048L, 5048, 5048L. If you want to go 60", there's the 2060, 5060, or 5060L. Yikes! And, the price difference between all seven models is only like $200 or so cheapest to most expensive. It's not surprising dealers are confused too.

Ultimately I think I'm going to be looking to trade in the 2048 for the 5060L (anyone want to trade?). It would be nice to match the width of my mower deck, and I would likely use it while mowing the paddocks to help spread manure and even out lumps, bumps in the yard from frost heaves, etc. And, when I end up leveling the 3.5 acers of horse pasture, the extra foot will save some time.

 

[jeepcoma]

You might take a look at Pats Easy Change.

Thanks for the recommendation, they look like a nice unit, and simple! Plus Pat's doesn't require a set of pins for each implement. One thing appealing of the quick hitch is that I would be able to keep the hitch, arms, and cylinders as one single unit together when I remove it to put the backhoe on. I'm not sure if that is a good idea, or simply seems like a good idea. The Pat's system wouldn't change the way I remove and attach the 3-point hitch. How big a deal is it that the top mount is not part of the quick system? Seems like a con, but getting 2/3rds of attachment quickly hooked up is a big improvement over not...

Pat's says there will be some black friday sales going on so I will probably wait until then and see my best price for Pats vs JD. And I have some time to do my homework on the pros and cons of each system.

Current pricing is $205 (with $10 coupon) for Pat's shipped, or $410.85 (with 10% + free shipping coupon) for the JD "LVB25976: iMatch™ Quick Hitch Coupler, Category 1"

 

[dodge man]

The top link is easy to hook up, it’s just a matter of getting it the right length a slipping the pin in.

I can’t remember what I paid for my Pats but I think it was quite a bit less but that was over 4 years ago too.

Im sure a different box blade will lift higher for you. My 4 foot lifts much higher. I found mine used for $350. I’d been keeping my eyes open for a deal for years. I think a 4 1/2 foot wide woukd be ideal but not very common.