2305 and MMM, worth it?

[megotatractor]

I bought the 2210 (grandaddy to the 2305) because of its ROPS and low center of gravity for mowing the hills and ditch around my place. I have the 62" deck and it does a nice job mowing. However, as I get older I wonder if I wouldn't have been better off with a rear mounted finish mower just for easier switch over from mowing to loader work. Mounting and dismounting the MMM as you know requires a certain amount of bending over, pulling latch, PTO, sliding in and out, realigning the pins when installing...The one problem I find with the 62" MMM is that if I'm doing any dirt work at all with the loader the deck is wider than the bucket and often gets in the way. I fear "high centering" the tractor on the deck while the loader is mounted concerned I could bend the deck. In the case of wanting to leave the deck on while using the FEL a 54" deck might be best, just a theory... and the JD MMM mechanical lift system on the 2000 series sucks.

 

[jenkinsph]

1*An x500 is not an up grade over a 2305.
It mite be 1/2 the price but I doubt it's half the tractor.

I was referring to his mower, that is what he has to upgrade from. Notice most of his work is mowing. I don't see much use for a 1 ton tractor of any brand.


Steve

 

[rswoods]

I was referring to his mower, that is what he has to upgrade from. Notice most of his work is mowing. I don't see much use for a 1 ton tractor of any brand.

Steve

As I mentioned in the first post, I do have 1 1/2 acres to finish mow, and for that, the LX173 works well but it is getting tired and will need replacing soon. I also have about 2 ac to bush hog a couple of times a year, a 200yd gravel driveway to maintain and keep clear in the winter, brush to pile and burn, an expanding garden, and other things I'm sure a small tractor would be useful for. I admit I would probably not be using it to its capacity.

Thanks to all for the responses. I appreciate it.

 

[jenkinsph]

Maybe I did a poor job of expressing it but I meant to say to upgrade the mower now or later but consider having a tractor new or used without the mmm and go with a rfm or bushhog and eliminate the mmm problems of install and removal, high centering the deck and so on.

I use an L130 with 48"deck and 23 hp Kohler to mow the lawn and a 4520 for tractor work and a 110 tlb for loader and backhoe work. Makes things much simpler to me.


Steve

 

[rswoods]

Thanks for the clarification. I have thought of that myself, and mentioned it somewhat in the first post. There are benefits to having a smallish dedicated mower, especially with lots of trees and plantings to mow around and under. I would have to do some serious pruning to get a 2305 with ROPS into some of the places I can get the LX173. Thanks again.

 

[TripleR]

Thanks for the clarification. I have thought of that myself, and mentioned it somewhat in the first post. There are benefits to having a smallish dedicated mower, especially with lots of trees and plantings to mow around and under. I would have to do some serious pruning to get a 2305 with ROPS into some of the places I can get the LX173. Thanks again.

I obviously don't know your terrain and vegetation, but when we bought our 2305, we gave a JD 265 to my daughter and kept a JD 425 to use for trimming and haven't used it since. The 2305 surprised us with how manuverable it is and how well the 62" deck gets under bushes.

As to a RFM, I have used them and still have one for another tractor and have found it much more difficult to trim with, but you can fit one under bushes and trees fairly well, but backing into them is time consuming.

I don't have a FEL on my JD, but do on my Kubota and use the FEL with the deck on and haven't had any problems. I only remove the deck during the winter months.

I don't guess there is one "perfect" setup, just one that meets more of your needs.

While I am sure a 2305 will fit your needs, you might also want to look at different brands and/or models. I went to buy a tractor I was convinced was the right one for me and after "hands on" testing wound up with something different. Good luck.

 

[MR_NC]

MR NC

First, my deck height adjustment knob does not work. No matter what height setting I put it on, when lowered it is stopped only by the gage wheels. Second, when I raise my deck, it "leaks" back down to the gage wheels in less than thirty seconds. The only way I can "transport" is to continually bump the "joy stick". Like I said previously, both times the repair lasted only a short time.

I am glad your 2305 works as it should, I just wish mine did. Maybe my third trip to the dealer will be the one that fixes it. Right now though I regret buying it.

3 trips to a dealer for this is wrong on so many levels... It's good that it's you and not me because I handle situations like you are finding yourself in very poorly. I have a way short fuse for such things.

Regardless, I have attached a picture you should be able to take with you to your dealer (possibly a different dealer). The picture has the contact information for the service guy I deal with at my dealer. He has provided me top shelf support. I am sure he can communicate to your dealer what they did with my tractor to make it work right. He can also probably get your dealer in touch with the JD "rep guy" that approved all the stuff (including this deck alteration) to my tractor.

I understand you have a BROKEN tractor. What I can't understand is the folks that complain about leakdown when they have a WORKING adjustment knob. Please don't feel I was calling you out in any way. If you felt that was the direction of my post please accept this information as an olive branch.

Best regards,
Sean

 

[TripleR]

3 trips to a dealer for this is wrong on so many levels... It's good that it's you and not me because I handle situations like you are finding yourself in very poorly. I have a way short fuse for such things.

Regardless, I have attached a picture you should be able to take with you to your dealer (possibly a different dealer). The picture has the contact information for the service guy I deal with at my dealer. He has provided me top shelf support. I am sure he can communicate to your dealer what they did with my tractor to make it work right. He can also probably get your dealer in touch with the JD "rep guy" that approved all the stuff (including this deck alteration) to my tractor.

I understand you have a BROKEN tractor. What I can't understand is the folks that complain about leakdown when they have a WORKING adjustment knob. Please don't feel I was calling you out in any way. If you felt that was the direction of my post please accept this information as an olive branch.

Best regards,
Sean

No offense taken. Thanks for the information, I will print it off and take the machine up myself as to this point I have delegated this to someone else as I won't always be around; preparing future generations. My age and health keep me from doing all I want or use to do.

Believe me, I know what you mean. The people who normally use this machine told me it was working fine. I was checking on another tractor that had gone toes up on that farm and hopped on the 2305 to move some stuff and mow a path for the Service Truck and discovered what "fine" meant.

I am curious as to why the hydraulic system would not hold the deck up for transport just like it does a FEL. Maybe I am missing something as this is the first system I have seen like this.

 

[LBrown59]

Maybe I did a poor job of expressing it but I meant to say to upgrade the mower now or later but consider having a tractor new or used without the mmm and go with a rfm or bushhog and 1*eliminate the mmm problems of install and removal, high centering the deck and so on.
2*I use a 4520 for tractor work and a 110 tlb for loader and backhoe work. Makes things much simpler for me.
Steve

1*I do that with these.

2*I use these 2 about the same way.

 

[LBrown59]

Thanks for the clarification. I have thought of that myself, and mentioned it somewhat in the first post. There are benefits to having a smallish dedicated mower, especially with lots of trees and plantings to mow around and under. I would have to do some serious pruning to get a 2305 with ROPS into some of the places I can get the LX173. Thanks again.

I handle that by using 2 different tractors for mowing.
The rops on this one is a lot lower than the rops on this one .