Mowing No easy over on my Easy Over Mower

[kevtjam]

Was going to do some digging with my FEL and driving over rough ground so I decided to remove the mower deck of my recently acquired new BX2380. I followed the directions in this video:

How to Remove/Install Kubota "Easy Over Mower Deck" on Any BX Series Kubota - YouTube

and easily got everything properly unhooked. When I went to back up the ramps the tractor would not climb up and over the ramps. I ended up just pulling the mower out from under the tractor and going about my business. I expect I can reattach it much the same way. Any idea why it would not climb the ramps? I had it in 4wd and gave it plenty of gas.

 

[gimmodog]

was the tires spinning or just didn't have the power to climb the ramps. To help next time you can use the FEL as power assist by curling all the way down, lower to the ground then curl up. This will push the tractor backwards. A good way to get unstuck in mud or snow also.

 

[ruffdog]

Did you have the FEL installed at the time? If you did, It would make it much harder to drive over lifting that weight.

 

[jesseb3@att.net]

Was the parking brake on? (Happens to the best of us.) Were you in low range? With the FEL on, you'd struggle in high range.

 

[robertm]

If you do it on asphalt or concrete, try a rubber mat underneath the deck so it doesn't slide, and you HAVE to be in 4WD at full throttle moving slowly in the start up the ramps. With that, there is absolutely no reason it won't climb over.
Please clarify if the reason was the deck slid with the tractor, or other.
One note for other drive over users, be sure to grease the stub shaft that mates to the quick coupler on the deck. Mine froze together last year, and it was a joy trying to unhook the deck. A rubber mallet had to come to the rescue.

 

[JWR]

If you did exactly what you described -- backing up over the ramps -- you were going the wrong direction. The video tells you to pull forward up and over the ramp/deck. That should cure your problem.

I will say, I do not see how the guy in the video kept the deck from moving while he rolled up on it. MAINLY I think by using the front wheels turning while in 4WD to climb the ramps on the little "traction protrusions" made in the ramps. In older machines (e.g. my B2150) I almost always had to have help from someone to hold the deck in place while I drove up and over it (it had no ramps). I use pieces of 2x6 for crude ramps which help of course. But in most cases I tied a rope to the deck and a nearby tree or something to hold the deck and prevent deck movement. It does not take a lot of force, just some help.

Note that in the new design the ramps are way too steep for easy climbing but the mfr really had no choice because of space limitations -- not enough room for longer ramps. If I owned the new system like you do, I would be fabricating a couple of supplemental longer ramps, sized to just barely fit between the tires and the factory ramps . I'd have the home-made ramps made with small bent-downward protrusions to lock into existing notches in the factory ramps. This would make it much easier to climb the (homemade) ramps. You would need to take measurements and make careful choices of homemade ramp lengths so you can get them out when the event is over, etc. Might require a couple of cut-and-try cycles to get the supplemental ramps just right.

Aside: I am especially intrigued by the magical lever that places the PTO shaft right back over the mower drive shaft with one feld swoop. How the heck does that work ? How does it get the splines lined up, etc. What ever that little invention is needs to be made larger and applied to standard rear PTO shaft mating on large tractors !!! The world will beat a huge and very lucrative path to the door of anyone that makes and sells that gadget ! There is a fortune to be made there.

 

[atitus74]

Aside: I am especially intrigued by the magical lever that places the PTO shaft right back over the mower drive shaft with one feld swoop. How the heck does that work ? How does it get the splines lined up, etc. What ever that little invention is needs to be made larger and applied to standard rear PTO shaft mating on large tractors !!! The world will beat a huge and very lucrative path to the door of anyone that makes and sells that gadget ! There is a fortune to be made there.

Hahaha yeah, for sure!

 

[robertm]

While normally a good catch on the backing up, I suspect the OP was backing up over the ramps to dismount the deck. You HAVE TO back up to dismount, or you will push the deck to China.

Regarding making ramps, the factory ramps are at the max for dimensions to fit in between the deck and the tires. I tried a mock up for fun, and there is no room and a risk of wedging in in between the deck and tire.

The lever engagement for the deck shaft is slick. The shaft off the gearbox is ground off very round (not blunt-cut) so it has to mate the coupler in the slave. It forces the gearbox to rotate the 1/4 turn (max) to receive the coupler. Frankly, why it wasn't designed to just couple and eliminate the lever is beyond me.

 

[ruffdog]

The OP was removing the deck to do other work.

 

[robertm]

Because I've done the drive-over with my BX2670 multiple times, I can't see anything but A) the OP tried to "idle" over the ramps, which would have likely killed the tractor, or B) was not in four-wheel drive and could not gain traction. There is the possible C) parking brake was on, but the OP would have discovered that the minute he went to move after pulling the deck out manually, and probably wouldn't have posted.
The disengagement lever can sometimes pop out of its detent when jiggling the deck, causing the deck to hold on, but again, it's an easy "duh" even if the OP resorted to the manual detachment of the deck. There is no rocket science, but I believe Kubota's answer to the drive-over is okay, at best. I've tried it on the lawn, and it's a waste of time. Better on a hard surface with a rubber mat underneath.