Namesway, what do you mean by "the b has a 1/4" 3ph valve=silky smooth, but will very slowly leak "? Also, if I would go with a rear mower, does anyone know if removing the backhoe is as easy as the dealer said when I talked to him over the phone? IS there any other differences with the B3300su cause for $1000 it sounds like a good deal.
I know exactly what you're talking about working on a hillside. I feel I sit up high on my tractor and the slope is old strip mined land that has hidden rocks and holes everywhere. I can only run up and down. Sideways just doesn't feel right although I may not even be close to tipping.
Thanks for everything so far.
the 1/4" valve 3ph as they call it, is a style of control for the 3ph height. i think it is a hydraulic type lift, simular to a loader up/down lift mechanism. any way, say if you were bush hogging with one, you lift the 3ph (3 point hitch) to set your height of cut. it will stay in place pretty good, but the height of the 3ph/bushhog will slowly settle towards the ground, eventually leading to the bushog scalping the ground/hitting. to avoid this you have to keep an eye on how close it is getting to the ground and just remember to move the 1/4" lever up to raise it back up to where you want it=it will slowly leak down. (not leaking hydraulic fluid, but just drift down through the seals or so). not damaging, all 1/4" valve 3ph will do this, even at brand new. i have to remember to bump my lever about every 20 minutes or so while i am bushhogging to keep the cut height consistent. like i said, it doesn't bother me too much, but some people it might. (it might drop 4" in 20 minutes with my bush hog on it, drops quicker with more weight on it. there is a knob below the seat that you can "close" off the gravity down flow speed and helps slow the down drift, an open/close knob like a garden hose on/off).
the L series has "poisition control" 3ph which has a system which "remembers" where it is supposed to be and maintains height. so you could go bushhogging and set the height once and it would stay there all day. costs more too, but is nice. some of the xx00 series 3ph poisition control have been known to be jerky when you try to do fine tune lift adjustments. i have never experienced this, but have heard a lot about it.
the back hoes can be a pain to remove/hook up until you get a procedure down, even then, i wouldn't want to do it all the time. the thing with a mid mount mower is that it can get to be a pain too, to take off and put on. also while it is on, it hinders you when you want to travel over rough terrain with bumps/mounds to go over=can bottom out easily. the mmm can mow closer to obstacles, such as trees/such due to it being in the middle pivot of the mower, as the rear finish mower pull away from the obstacle you want to mow around as you steer around the obstacle. between the 2, it is give and take. you decide how you would like to mow. in my opinion a mmm will out mow a rear finish mower due to manuverability, but is harder to work on and put on off in my opinion.
the b3300su is very much the same tractor as the
b3200. b 3300su has 1 more hp, can put larger tires on it, but does not have mid pto. cruise is also an option and does not come standard on the b3300su. if you don't need the mid pto, i think the b3300su would be the better choice. lots of people get a mid pto with their tractor and never use it. some do. either way a mid pto will cost about $1000 more. do you need it or ever forsee a use for it? (mid mount mower, or front mount snowblower???)
when you operate on hills with any of these tractors, i strongly suggest putting it in 4wd. leaving it in 2wd, the tractor can come out from under itself, or lose grip and just start slidding down hill, especially when driving down hill. having it in 4wd gives you an extra axel with gears gripping the ground and greatly limits how easily it can take off out from under you.
