Got a TYM T224 coming..

[JTKub]

My dealer and the area rep notified me yesterday that a new loader had been hot-shotted from GA rather than pray/hope with Fedex. It supposedly arrived in perfect condition early this AM and they will deliver the complete machine to me tomorrow.

 

[JTKub]

This little fella finally made it. It's awesome..

 

[tacticalturnip]

As I said on MTF, it looks a whole lot better in your driveway than at the dealership!

May you have a lot of fun, and get a lot done.

 

[JTKub]

The only mod I've done so far was to the ROPS. It is so ridiculously high on this little machine that it's an absolute hazard on my property and impossible to get into the garage. The ROPS easily flips flat to the rear, by pulling two pins and removing the yellow triangle. I took a step further and put it in remote storage mode for now. Even the vertical supports with the light pods are well over 5ft high.

The auto throttle is pretty neat. The further you push the go pedals, the higher the engine revs, like a piece of commercial/construction equipment. The last CUT/loader I put any time on was a mid 80's Kubota 4x4 manual transmission. I was a kid working in a horse farm then.

 

[JTKub]

When you start mowing with the TYM I'd love to see some shots of how it does.

Cut quality is great so far. You'd expect from a brand new setup I suppose. It's a little stiff in the way it "floats", so dips and high spots can scalp. A larger nose-roller would help. The deck runs very smooth and quiet and has a big discharge opening. It's a pretty simple design with one tensioner pulley and spring. I have to get a better look at the gearbox for fill/drain ports. There is ZERO in the 45 page mower manual about what lubricant to use in the gearbox, but I'm sure it's 80w90 or heavier gear oil. I've only put about 2hrs on the machine at this point and have used about 1/4 tank of fuel.

The PTO on/off is nice and smooth on this baby TYM as well. I already whacked one big rock with the outboard blade and buggered the tip of that one a bit.

Having the loader on for my mowing takes lots more thought, caution, maneuvering and time. I knew this going into the purchase, so removing the loader for mowing is best for me.

Everyone's situation and needs are different, but for just grass cutting needs, the ~$2300 these 54 MMM retail for, you're better off having a small, more nimble machine dedicated for mowing, or get yourself a nice used 3pt finish mower for less $. I know this topic gets kicked around often and IMO, it's a fact for many of us. Again, I knew this going into buying my TYM setup, so I'm not complaining..

 

[tacticalturnip]

Thank you for the follow up, it's appreciated.

In my fantasy world I have a SCUT as my dedicated mower, because I miss mowing with my old Deere 1025R. However, I couldn't fathom paying Deere prices just for what would already be a financially outrageous purchase.



So I kind of live vicariously through others, and enjoy mowing with my little Cub.

 

[JTKub]

Thank you for the follow up, it's appreciated.

In my fantasy world I have a SCUT as my dedicated mower, because I miss mowing with my old Deere 1025R. However, I couldn't fathom paying Deere prices just for what would already be a financially outrageous purchase.



So I kind of live vicariously through others, and enjoy mowing with my little Cub.

I hear you on the Cub. I still regret giving my father in law my GT 2544 years ago! He basically destroyed it. I'll still be using my craftsman LT2000 for some mowing and leaf mulching for sure.

 

[ning]

Have you taken the mower off? What's the view under the machine without it - is it the same as a unit that isn't sold with a mower?

I have my eyes out for a unicorn - a gently used new-ish SCUT... I don't think I need a mower, though my old craftsman (paid $1k to a mechanic who'd taken it to pay off a mechanic's lien, practically new fifteen years ago) will likely die the day I buy a SCUT without a mower... most of my mowing would probably be fine with a 4' behind a SCUT though so I'm not sure it's much of an issue for me but I do want as much ground clearance as I can get because my wife's main garden is up a rocky "path" and the SCUT's raison d'etre would be delivering soil & chips to her garden, and taking away stuff she doesn't want...

 

[JTKub]

Have you taken the mower off? What's the view under the machine without it - is it the same as a unit that isn't sold with a mower?

I took the mower off today just to see how the process goes. It's not bad. I did it in the garage and simply slid the mower out sideways. It's heavy, but slides and rolls easily on smooth-ish concrete. In pic two a few posts above, you can see the two brackets used to support and suspend the front of the deck. Those brackets pop right off after releasing two spring loaded U-clips that stay on the nose of the tractor frame. For the rear, there's two U-clips that stay on the tractor, that are connected to links that go up/down with the 3-point. I forgot to pull the collar and release the deck driveshaft, so when I slid the deck out, the male splined end came out with the deck and the female end stayed coupled to the mid PTO.

My youngest son used my Craftsman LT2000 w/ the mulch plug installed to mulch up leaves. I've seen mulch kits available for the MM54 deck, but it's not just a plug. It's baffle plates, etc and kit is over $300 IIRC. He (14) really gets a kick out of driving the T224.