oldpilgrim
Elite Member
Yesterday I got a chance to really look closely at the 1526 with bh. It really is the 3016 in every way, except for the tuned down engine.
The loader and the bh are the exceptions. The fel has the joystick mounted on the rear fel mount. And the hoses are wrapped and fed down inside the loader arms.
The FEL bad: Reaching the joystick is IMHO more difficult than having the stick mounted on the fender like the 3016. A friend says having the hoses inside the arms had caused his to chafe and leak where they enter the rear of the lift arm which is the flex point. The whole loader assembly SEEMS to be a little lightly constructed than the 3016 version.
The FEL good: with the joystick on the loader mount, IF you ever remove the FEL, the joystick and all the hoses, but the feed/return lines, stay with the loader assembly. Also there are less hoses under the right step plate to get snagged on stuff. It is very easy to mount the tractor from the right as the joystick assembly doesn't partially block the way as on the 3016. It as a real bucket level indicator device unlike the 3016.
The BH bad: Seems more lightly made. Seems bucket is no where as ruggedly built. Overall seems slightly smaller, maybe not, but it looks that way. There is only one 'swing' cylinder to move the boom from left to right and back. I don't know if this is an issue, but it appears that it might be, to me.
The BH good: It appears that it would be easier to attach to the tractor as the upper mounts have been redesigned to align easier. The 3016 BH can be tough to mount on the lower hooks and then swing it up to engage the brackets and insert the pins. The 1526 BH looks to have been redesigned slightly to improve that. The steps to climbing onto the hoe are nicer.. The cut out Mahindra name on the joystick 'tower' is very attractive.
The 1526 was at a dealer and I did not have it side by side with my 3016, and I was comparing by my memory of my 3016 sitting at home, so there might have been other differences. I could see no difference in the actual tractors, just the fel and bh
Overall I think, considering the few changes made to the 1526 loader and backhoe, that the 'good' and the 'bad' differences, in my mind, are pretty much an even wash, with the 'good' slightly outweighing the 'bad'.
Either way, they are both very good and well worth buying. If I hadn't gotten my 3016 when I did, I would have no qualms about getting the 1526. And the cash price was the same as when I bought my 3016 in 2014 !
My 2 cents.
The loader and the bh are the exceptions. The fel has the joystick mounted on the rear fel mount. And the hoses are wrapped and fed down inside the loader arms.
The FEL bad: Reaching the joystick is IMHO more difficult than having the stick mounted on the fender like the 3016. A friend says having the hoses inside the arms had caused his to chafe and leak where they enter the rear of the lift arm which is the flex point. The whole loader assembly SEEMS to be a little lightly constructed than the 3016 version.
The FEL good: with the joystick on the loader mount, IF you ever remove the FEL, the joystick and all the hoses, but the feed/return lines, stay with the loader assembly. Also there are less hoses under the right step plate to get snagged on stuff. It is very easy to mount the tractor from the right as the joystick assembly doesn't partially block the way as on the 3016. It as a real bucket level indicator device unlike the 3016.
The BH bad: Seems more lightly made. Seems bucket is no where as ruggedly built. Overall seems slightly smaller, maybe not, but it looks that way. There is only one 'swing' cylinder to move the boom from left to right and back. I don't know if this is an issue, but it appears that it might be, to me.
The BH good: It appears that it would be easier to attach to the tractor as the upper mounts have been redesigned to align easier. The 3016 BH can be tough to mount on the lower hooks and then swing it up to engage the brackets and insert the pins. The 1526 BH looks to have been redesigned slightly to improve that. The steps to climbing onto the hoe are nicer.. The cut out Mahindra name on the joystick 'tower' is very attractive.
The 1526 was at a dealer and I did not have it side by side with my 3016, and I was comparing by my memory of my 3016 sitting at home, so there might have been other differences. I could see no difference in the actual tractors, just the fel and bh
Overall I think, considering the few changes made to the 1526 loader and backhoe, that the 'good' and the 'bad' differences, in my mind, are pretty much an even wash, with the 'good' slightly outweighing the 'bad'.
Either way, they are both very good and well worth buying. If I hadn't gotten my 3016 when I did, I would have no qualms about getting the 1526. And the cash price was the same as when I bought my 3016 in 2014 !
My 2 cents.
