Discharge and Weight

[cedarman]

What is the basic weight of the TC 24Da and TC 33Da? Also, does the 24Da 60"mmm discharge the grass from the rear or to the side? For those operating the 24Da model w/12LA, how much rear ballast is needed for loader operation? Keep wanting that 33 but can get the 24 w/fel and mmm for less than 33 and fel only. Fighting the what I need vs. what I want.

 

[jwstewar]

I only have a 24D, but I would assume the weight hasn't changed that much to the 24DA. My tractor w/ R4s weighs just over 1700 lbs. I believe the Rear Discharge MMM is around 400 and the side discharge MMM is around 460. The 12LA is around 750 lbs. Of course these numbers all could be off, but this is what I remember from a year ago when I was doing my research. Has far as the MMM, you have your choice of Side-discharge or as I like to call mine Lack-Of-Rear-Discharge. It does a great job your grass isn't wet and isn't real tall, either of those and you have to take it real slow.

As far as rear ballast goes - it depends. I've done some work (usually pretty light) w/o anything on the rear - just be very careful and keep the bucket low and don't heap it completely full. I usually through my 4' KK cutter on the back when I do want weight. However, when I set the trusses and the shingles for my pole barn I put 8 4X8X16 solid cement blocks on the KK for extra weight as with the weight so far out in front of the tractor the back was pretty light.

Hope this helps - BTW, I love my 24.

 

[SacandagaBrad]

I have the same tractor as Jim mentioned above, with turf tires and a side discharge mower and rear snow blower. I can't comment on the performance of the mower yet as I bought the tractor in October and haven't had a chance to mow yet.

Weights he referenced are in line with what I remember from my manuals. As far as rear ballast, I wouldn't be without it. I started out without any, other than putting on a rear blade if I thought I needed some extra weight. It wasn't long before I had a couple of incidents where the rear wheels came off the ground, with little effort of the loader. To make matters worse, the bucket on the 12LA is 54" wide, where I've noticed other brands of comparable size tractors have 48" as the standard bucket. That little bit of extra width gets things unstable in a fast hurry if you have a one-sided load, such as trying to load only one side to dump stone into a small area. Now not only do you have the potential to tip forward, but over to the side quickly /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

So I had my rear tires loaded with washer fluid, adds about 160 pounds per tire, what a difference! I originally feared the extra weight would be a problem on my soft lawn, but it acutally balanced out the tractor better, especially with the loader on. Before they were loaded, the fronts were the tires that left the marks due to the weight of the loader, even empty.

The agility of the TC24D has impressed me so far. I have some pretty tight quarters to work in and have found it as easy, if not easier, to use than my old rider Gravley.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Brad

 

[pekabu]

I have a TC24 with 12LA, 756C bachhoe, and Corriher 48 Box blade. It has filled tires. One day I was moving leaves, and dumping them on the other side of my property. I was in 2wd because I was running on the road, and it was dry. I found that after I dropped the leaves off, I couldn't back up without putting it in 4wd. It was a very slight incline with a bump or two. I didn't have my box or bh on. The next day I was doing the same thing with the BH on and I did it in 2wd with no problems.

I think with filled tires, and the boxblade the machine is just pretty well balanced out. With the BH on I have to lift something really heavy to lighten the backend.