Bonus!!

BigDave · Dec 8, 2002

I decided to put this under buying/pricing since this post relates to my original purchase.

Wednesday night I put on the FEL, took off the MMM, and put the chains on my tractor in preparation for the snow. Well the MMM sat in my garage until today, when I decided to put in the shed. I was getting tired of parking my car outside. Anyway, I rolled the MMM into the FEL, and hooked a chain to it for transport. It went into the bucket much easier than planned, afterall I have a 60" MMM and a 60" bucket. There actually was a gap of several inches on each side of the MMM. I got a measuring tape, and the MMM measures 63" wide....the bucket measured 68" wide. Bonus!! I knew the tractor had a 68" bucket when I test drove it, but I assumed that they swapped it out for the 60" that I thought I paid for. They had plenty of buckets in stock, I guess it was just an oversight or potentially laziness. I even remember the salesman recommending against the larger bucket for a first time tractor owner...I would be less likely to get into trouble. Well, I've got 50 hours on my tractor, and so far so good. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

PVHunter · Dec 8, 2002

Quick question for Big Dave or others... are chains really necessary with 4wd tractors? We've had a Ferguson 30 for over 25 years and are in the process of upgrading to a TC35, Kioti DX35, or other 4wd tractor. Since we have 1/2 mile of roads to back blade, I was hoping that chains wouldn't be a necessity anymore (we'll probably get a Woods 72" snowblower and use a blade or frontend loader some too). Our snow cover is sometime up to 18" due to drifting or accumulation (it is vacation property). Anyways.... are the chains really necessary? Also thinking about R1's instead of getting R4's.

Robert_in_NY · Dec 8, 2002

If your tractor has enough weight you don't need them. However, most compacts are light and you don't get the heavy traction. Try the tractor without chains and if it doesn't work like you hoped then get them. I prefer R-1's over R-4's but I also don't mow my lawn with my tractors. Also, my setup is 4.5 tons so I have plenty of weight.

spencer200 · Dec 8, 2002

Now I assume you feel quilty over getting this extra wide bucket and will be reporting and paying the difference to the dealer! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

BigDave · Dec 8, 2002

Oh, Spencer200...you read that..well uh, well. /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif I'll let my salesman know anyway, since I'm sending the tractor in for the 50hr maintence this week. I'm pretty sure, if I tell them I wanted the 60" bucket put on, there would be some tap dancing at the dealership. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif Anyway, it evens the score for me, since my rear blade shrunk a foot without a price change when we finalized the numbers. /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif I bought it anyway, in hindsight, I should of said no and went to TSC for the blade. No offense, I hope. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

BigDave · Dec 8, 2002

PVHunter,

Chains aren't a necessity in many cases, and some folks will tell that they have no business on 4wd tractor. I wouldn't of bought chains so quickly if my land was relatively flat, but flat spots are few and far between on my property. A short slide down a 10 degree slope can quickly turn into a 45 degree slope for me. I'm also a newbie around here, so I'm not speaking from tons of experience. Just my 2 cents. Here's a shot of my driveway.