Dealer BigTex Tractors, Great Dealer Selling Great Tractors!

[K5lwq]

I bought a Stihl poll saw from Bigtex when I picked the tractor. Used it today to trim up some of the trees to clear the cab. That's the tool for that job!

Then I used the Branson with the grapple to gather the limbs up to burn. Used heat this morning and A/C this afternoon. Man what a blessing to keep a comfortable temperature! 8 hours on her now and I could not be more pleased! :cool2:

 

[Takman]

Nice Branson!!! Re tire chains and fender clearance, most Bransons are offered with two different tire groups. Looks like you have the larger. Gives you more ground clearance but it is harder on the front axles. Don't use the grapple to pick up heavy stuff that hangs over the sides, like trees or telephone poles. At least that's my experience with Branson's. Or if you're have to do it, make sure it's still under warranty ��
All that said it's a good tractor and alot of tractor for the money.

 

[Branson Bob]

Don't use the grapple to pick up heavy stuff that hangs over the sides, like trees or telephone poles. At least that's my experience with Branson's. Or if you're have to do it, make sure it's still under warranty ��

Alright, rather than play games, what exactly is your experience with Bransons?

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Alright, rather than play games, what exactly is your experience with Bransons?

I'll second that question.

You have some explaining to do Takman. And be descriptive. Better bring some facts too.

My almost 3 years and almost 300 hrs of personal use of my Branson doesn't reflect ANY of the things you've recently been on here "commenting" about.















I have not broken or damaged one single part on my Branson.

Care to explain?

 

[K5lwq]

Nice Branson!!! Re tire chains and fender clearance, most Bransons are offered with two different tire groups. Looks like you have the larger. Gives you more ground clearance but it is harder on the front axles. Don't use the grapple to pick up heavy stuff that hangs over the sides, like trees or telephone poles. At least that's my experience with Branson's. Or if you're have to do it, make sure it's still under warranty ��
All that said it's a good tractor and alot of tractor for the money.

Thank you! I think it is nice as well!

A few thoughts on your other comments.

1. If the actions I am performing will damage the tractor when it is out of warranty, why in the world would I perform them under Warranty? A warranty doesn't give a person the right to abuse the equipment anymore than having automobile insurance gives a person the right to run over another person.

2. Spending my entire life on and around farm equipment has taught me something. Most of the failures with any equipment can be traced back to operator error. Branson tractors front wheel cut tighter than any other brand I have seen. I can imagine getting into a scenario where damage could be done. But that is not from a flaw in design, it is from the operator not realizing the forces he could be putting on things. I have plenty of stories that prove that.

 

[ruffdog]

Here is a thread on the Branson axle subject:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/century-branson/375056-branson-front-wheel-axle-failures.html

 

[LouNY]

Well I certainly wouldn't recommend a steady diet of doing this;

I did carry and stack 18 of these a while back at about 3600# each.
And I have carried numerous logs in my grapple in excess of 15-20 feet long.

 

[ptsg]

Here is a thread on the Branson axle subject:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/century-branson/375056-branson-front-wheel-axle-failures.html

That was a common issue for the 3510 in particular. Never heard of an axle failure on any model after that one.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

And this post, post #20 from Dave of Dave's Tractors, is a solid gold reply that *anyone* that operates a tractor (any brand) should heed:


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We sell Branson, Mahindra and Deutz, and we work on all brands. There is not a single brand of compact tractor that does not deal with an occasional front axle failure. We have repaired broken front axles on what would be considered the very best most expensive brands. (Trying to not pick on any particular brand...but rest assured, it crosses all brands).

I can brake any compact front tractor axle if you give me a half hour or so. There are several methods. The common one we see is folks driving down a bank, like towards a creek, where they load the front bucket heavily and then aggressively try to back up the bank. Front tires have exceptional traction in this circumstance, rear tires have almost no traction, and a lot of tractive force is needed to get back up the hill. Now the front axle, which is designed to just assist traction, is trying to do much more than it's design spec. If you get a bit aggressive and the tires do not spin and the engine does not bog and the clutch does not slip...then you either are successful in the maneuver or you break a front axle, or side gear or ring and pinion.

There is another carnage method - if you use the front loader as a dozer or digger instead of as a loader, you can load the bucket up heavy and then lift the loader some (but remaining in the pile) and then drive forward and you are again putting huge loads on the front axle and nothing on the rear axle. The rear end is light, front traction is exceptional, all the work is being done by relative tiny front axles. This also happens pushing over trees or using the front bucket to lift a huge boulder out of a hole. Rest assured, there are many ways to break a tractor!

The front axle is tiny compared to the rear axle. It ought to just assist, not do all the work. It is my opinion that this is the cause of most front axle failures. Now if we go to a full size Cat tractor-loader, either a skip loader or a TLB, they use a pretty massive front axle, and you can get away with digging. Same with a skid-steer. But not a compact farm tractor that happens to have a loader installed.

Filling the rear tires to 75% with heavy liquid ballast and hanging a good size implement off the three-point will go a long ways toward saving a front axle, because it keeps the rear axle in the game as far as tractive force. That gives the front axle much less to do. And also, consider how you are using the tractor and if you are asking for more work from the tractor than for which it is designed - then do it seldom and do it gently.

I am sure there are other reasons front axles break, it isn't always due to what I described above. There can be faulty parts, or a leaky seal that drains away lubrication, or a failed bearing. These things happen, but far and away what I described above is the cause of the failure, and frankly an operator needs to understand the physics of it all well enough to be careful in certain situations. Repeat failures on a single tractor are generally more telling that the operator is repeating the same type of carnage inducing usage than is it telling us that the axle has issues. I am sure there are exceptions, I am speaking in general terms here.

Branson uses a good solid front axle, not any more prone to breakage than any of the better known brands. But it is not a $100k commercial skip loader with massive planetary front axles.

Those are my thoughts, and I hope I have not offended anyone.

Dave
Dave's Tractor, Inc.
Red Bluff, California

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Just "for the record", BOTH of those Branson operators in that thread that broke front axles were digging into dirt piles, with no rear ballast on their 3 pt hitches. The second one even stated up front that after he hit the pile, he continued to drive forwards while lifting up the bucket while it was buried in the dirt pile.

That will break about any brand SCUT or CUT axle. And the second guy had his axle replaced under warranty 3 times, because he kept doing the same destructive bad habit. Driving into a dirt pile until the tractor stops, then continuing to drive forward into the pile while raising the bucket at the same time. All without any ballast weight hanging off the 3 pt hitch. That is front axle death. Doesn't matter what color paint is on the outside.