25HP HST tractors and low range speed.

[ThirdMan]

Rock Crawler, I am not sure what all you want to do with the backhoe, but your chart does not have the swing arc on it. I think most of the SCUT units only swing 135 or 140 degrees, while the CUTs can swing 180 degrees. After using a SCUT backhoe some I think that is worth taking note of.

Mowing with a heavier unit when the ground is wet might be a problem depending on how soft that hill gets. A zero turn would not weigh so much. Have you considered a used commercial ZT?

I went though a lot of what you are considering this spring. We have to mow a 20-30 degree slope up by the road with a guardrail at the top. But our sloped area is much smaller than what you have to contend with. Our SCUT can mow it up and down, and my wife runs in low 4wd and has to use the diff lock for some of the 30 degree areas. On the flat areas she runs it in high 2wd and it is not too much trouble around trees (except for the height with the ROPS). We love having the FEL and BH and would not be able to accomplish the work we do without this machine. A 5 foot mowing deck is great for what we contend with and a big difference from a smaller riding mower.

 

[mapper]

There is a mounting kit for adding the backhoe to the MF 1736/1742 and there is an image of it on the MF website.

If you talk to the dealer in Evans City, he may have a way to get this ordered as a TLB. The only advantage is you get the tractor unit plumbed for the backhoe at the factory. You may just wish to order the power beyond portion and get an aftermarket backhoe that sets in the 3 point hitch.

Check carefully about mounting a backhoe on the 3PH on the 17xxe series that will void the warranty, don't know about the 1736 and 1742.

 

[mapper]

When looking at a MF 1726E compared to the 173? Beside it, both same ci engines, same frame, same triple rate hydro, same tires... Does the 30 something HP have more driving or in high range, or does the increased HP only translate to increased PTO performance? The 1726 (by the way) tops out at 6 mph in mid range at rated RPM and full pedal using GPS. Acceptable, but 7 or 8 would be better. I'm wondering if the 30 something HP version would have the ability to pull a higher speed in mid range, and would it have more ability to maintain speed on slopes or would there be no change to the drivetrain performance?

1734e tops out at ~5.5 mph in mid range, 15 mph in high range - but you won't be mowing in high unless it is almost flat. Unless your lawn is really smooth and you don't have many obstacles I doubt you would be able to go much faster. When I mow my pasture I don't go at max speed unless I want to beat the heck out of myself.
Also max recommended side angle is 20 degrees. 10 degrees left with 1/3 full fuel tank can starve the engine as the fuel flows to the left side tank and the fuel line connects to the right tank, ask me how I know:laughing:. The fuel fill location is nice though, just in front of the left floor board, no having to hoist the fuel cans up to a high tank location.

 

[Phillip w]

I have a little 1531 massey ferguson. While I have a lot of trounce with the tractor, that 3 speed hydrostatic drive has done a good job. I mainly use the high to "road" the tractor down the road like to another field or pasture or something. I generally us mid-range do working the tractor. Don't use the low much but it is nice to have. Tractor pulls hills ok. Do have some power issues when working the tractor hard.

 

[Rock Crawler]

1734e tops out at ~5.5 mph in mid range, 15 mph in high range - but you won't be mowing in high unless it is almost flat. Unless your lawn is really smooth and you don't have many obstacles I doubt you would be able to go much faster. When I mow my pasture I don't go at max speed unless I want to beat the heck out of myself.
Also max recommended side angle is 20 degrees. 10 degrees left with 1/3 full fuel tank can starve the engine as the fuel flows to the left side tank and the fuel line connects to the right tank, ask me how I know:laughing:. The fuel fill location is nice though, just in front of the left floor board, no having to hoist the fuel cans up to a high tank location.

So it sounds like the added HP doesn't change the operating speed in mid range. No point for me to consider moving up in HP based on that.

 

[leonz]

Have you looked at steiner articulating lawn tractors? You can always rent a back hoe
or invest in a small rental return zero swing track drive back hoe.

You can get more than a handful of attachments including a front mower
for a 4 wheel drive steiner and dual wheels on both axles and all weather cab.

Your asking for a lot of trouble with a high angle of mowing like that and driving up a hill and backing down
rather than backing up and driving down to maintain stability with the center of gravity.

I think you will be happy with the steiner as the largest model has a lot of horsepower to run a front mounted rotary or flail mower.

 

[paulfun9]

As it stands right now, I have a hard on for the MF 1726E with a 3-point finish mower and the beastly Woods/MF BH75. I believe you are the one that just recently suggested that I could likely back the finish mower up the 32 degree hill. So based on that I opened up my research width to encompass CUT units.



I really would like to consider the KIOTI FEL/BH/3-Point Mower CUT units, but that BH subframe that you drive over to install looks like a major pain in the butt to install/remove compared to the other brands more conventional BH install/removal method.







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QUOTE]



I back up and go straight up steep slopes all the time with my 3 point finish mower with no problems at all. If your property is open I wouldn't waste time with the MMM at all. I also get as close and with some things closer than I could with the mid mount and can do it faster than the mid mount.

Now I don't know if Kioti changed their back hoe mount or not but I can take mine off and remove it in less than 5 min with no trouble at all and I don't need to remove the lower 3 point arms. Yes it looked to be troublesome at first glance but once you use it you realize its actually one of the easy set ups to use. I have said it before but my other half has started putting it on for me while I am doing other things and she is almost as fats at it as I am.
Might want to actually try using one before you decide one system as being better than the next providing they haven't changed the system since my tractor is the older DK/SE design

 

[DK35vince]

I back up and go straight up steep slopes all the time with my 3 point finish mower with no problems at all. If your property is open I wouldn't waste time with the MMM at all. I also get as close and with some things closer than I could with the mid mount and can do it faster than the mid mount.

Now I don't know if Kioti changed their back hoe mount or not but I can take mine off and remove it in less than 5 min with no trouble at all and I don't need to remove the lower 3 point arms. Yes it looked to be troublesome at first glance but once you use it you realize its actually one of the easy set ups to use. I have said it before but my other half has started putting it on for me while I am doing other things and she is almost as fats at it as I am.
Might want to actually try using one before you decide one system as being better than the next providing they haven't changed the system since my tractor is the older DK/SE design

Personally I like the 3 point mowers.
I can remove/install the rear mount mower in minutes and have a far less debris blowing on me on dry days compared to a belly mower.

I can remove or install the backhoe on my Kioti in 5 minutes. (the subframe coming off with the backhoe does take up more room for storage)

 

[plowhog]

Seems "paralysis by analysis" is in full bloom. Of course, to be fair, shopping is the fun part. Once you purchase, that phase is over and the work calls ...

Maybe I can add another analysis factor? Depending on what you want a backhoe for, you might consider purchasing a trencher instead? A trencher won't pull stumps but does have other advantages at a lower cost. I have a Ditch Witch walk behind trencher I bought for under $2k. It's my "go to" machine if I need to trench for new pipelines or underground wiring. Much faster than a backhoe. At least faster than me and my GC1710 backhoe. :laughing:

 

[dodge man]

I think you will find you want to take the backhoe and FEL off for mowing. This also lowers the center of gravity.