2520 owners

[duster74]

IAM new to this. would the 2520 be good to mow with 90% of the time and does the deck come on and off as easy as they say

 

[newt92]

Welcome to TBN Duster74!! I cant help with the mower question, but what other impliments are you planning to get? Other than mowing, what else are you going to do with the tractor? Just some questions for someone to give good advice on. I love my 2520, and had it for 1 year now.

Dennis

 

[duster74]

IAM gonna get a loader box blade and tiller. ive got bout 5acres.I need to move about 10 dump trucks of dirt and level off about 3 acres mostly sloped not bad though. does the 2520 feel stable on hills. after done with moving dirt mostly use to mow. THANKS FOR INFO

 

[jdbower]

You can also look into renting larger equipment if it's mostly a one-time landscaping deal. If it's a long-term project or you just like toys the 2520 is a good choice. The mower does come off pretty easily - especially compared to a traditional mower if you don't have a concrete surface to dismount on. I still think I may have been better off bypassing the mower and bagger attachments and getting a ZTR or dedicated riding mower, but at least now I use the 2520 a lot more. It's not that the 2520 is a bad all-in-one solution, in fact the 2520 is a great choice in that arena. It's just that any all-in-one solution has compromises.

As for slopes, the 2520 doesn't feel very stable on them but it's a lot more stable than it feels. Since my land is mostly flat I can't help too much other than to say hitting divots in the lawn is a little scary at first but you'll get used to it. If you have steep slopes you'll want to load your tires, go up and down them rather than along them, and it's another reason to look into a low center of gravity dedicated mower.

 

[Fred Cowell]

jdbower,
What machine would you describe as a "low center of gravity dedicated mower?"

I'm still contemplating the best solution for 40+ acres of coffee mowing. CoG is one of my main concerns. Brawn to handle all the mowing hours year after year is the other. Maneuverability is also key.

I'm fairly sure I need a 72" mower to handle 12' rows in two passes. Reading the fine commentary on TBN has me bouncing from ZTR to 2520 w/MMM all the way up to 4x20 w/MMM. Thoughts?

 

[ChuckinNH]

Member "Runner" has quite a bit of experience with a 72" RFM on a 2520, and has moved to a mmm for stability, and traction on slopes. In a tractor, to be used day in, and day out I would look bigger, and heavier. I would start with a 4105 (3000#, and 65" wide w/ R-4 tires) The turning radius is a bit big though. Other than a specialized orchard tractor, or articulated tractor, I think you will need some weight, and width. The 3000 series seem narrow, and high for that application. Actually, I would look hard at a Kubota L3240, and up with their wider turf tires. It is an impressivly stable looking set up to me.

 

[duster74]

THANKS JDBOWER . ive heard that the mower deck slams up and down when you raise or lower it and the wheels dig in.do you have any problems with that .

 

[farmerhays]

If you have the hydraulic deck lift (instead of the mechanical lift that works with your 3pt lever), the hydraulics are very fast and the deck is either 'up' or 'down' -- you won't be able to get a position in between those extremes using only the hydraulic lever.

The mower deck will settle to the 'down' position with the hydraulics. The loader doesn't settle but the mower deck seems to with mine. This isn't a problem since you can't fine-tune the mower position due to the fast hydraulics anyway.

Just set the suspension cable to limit the 'down' position to the proper mowing height and use the hydraulics to lift the mower fully 'up' to clear obstacles. Don't expect the mower to stay in the 'up' position unless you take up the slack in the suspension cable.

The casters on the 62D will gouge the turf if you have significant uneven terrain and haven't gotten JD to fix the pivot issues (see other thread here at TBN about this and the retrofitted grease fittings). I haven't gotten my deck back to my dealer to fix yet. Just remember that the 62D is a suspended mower -- don't use those casters to carry the weight of the mower when mowing; use the suspension cable dial to set the mower height!

 

[jdbower]

I've installed a rear set of hydraulics for my lift and the valve I've selected actually allows for a decent amount of control over the speed the deck raises and lowers, worst case if you lower the RPMs before you move the deck it will go slower. However, the hydraulic lift isn't designed to hold the deck in place and it will leak down - you'll need to set the level control knob to keep the deck in place for more than a few minutes.

If you use the mechanical lift the deck will raise and lower the same way the 3PH arms raise and lower. This may be a better solution for some people.

I haven't had too much of an issue with the original wheels, but again I blame that on my flat property. As mentioned, the updated wheels (probably standard on new mowers) seem like they'd be a great improvement for people who have wheel gouging issues.

As for what I meant by a lower center of gravity mower, I mean pretty much anything other than a CUT retrofitted with a mower deck. Most riding mowers would fit the bill, but a ZTR is probably the better choice for a machine designed just to mow - especially if you're looking at 40 acres. They can be very fast and they probably handle slopes as well as anything could beyond some specialty mowers that can angle themselves.

 

[duster74]

thanks guys. does it mow as nice as a smaller tractor

 

[Houndsman]

Fred,
Runner and ChuckinNH have great points. If'n it was me, I'd hold off on the color of the equipment and give that "Z-turn vs. Tractor" argument more thought.

If'n it's only mowing you're going to do w/ your money, then move to the next step and figure what dealers are on the big Island----easy vector.

But...should the money give you greater compact flexibility for all of your estate plantation? (Great shots, by the by.) Then, "midmount vs tailmount?"

A tractor can service the total estate, pull trailers, load/unload, mow (albeit not as sweet as a Z-turn), plant trees, route/move invasive species, till, etc.----why it will even move a bunch of 80cm tanks out to the truck for a multi-day dive trip. I'm a 2520 owner, and I'd argue a 27-30 hp YANMAR diesel can haul and skoot well enough between those rows.

I'd also give the tire choice a lot of consideration. That beautiful HI Wx can make that soil a real quagmire-----sounds like a real trade-off between traction and soil impact.

Fred, recommend you buy the TALON and not the KC135----do more for that special operation.
v/r houndsman

 

[Nuru]

Member "Runner" has quite a bit of experience with a 72" RFM on a 2520, and has moved to a mmm for stability, and traction on slopes. In a tractor, to be used day in, and day out I would look bigger, and heavier. I would start with a 4105 (3000#, and 65" wide w/ R-4 tires) The turning radius is a bit big though. Other than a specialized orchard tractor, or articulated tractor, I think you will need some weight, and width. The 3000 series seem narrow, and high for that application. Actually, I would look hard at a Kubota L3240, and up with their wider turf tires. It is an impressivly stable looking set up to me.

The 3000 series with Superturfs is also very stable. If you want to use those tires with a MMM, you will need to get some offset wheels - from Unverferth, ~400/pair for the wheels.