Do you ever remove your loader?

[Tractors4u]

I bought my 4310 the week before Thanksgiving and until yesterday had not completely removed the loader. I dismounted it once the week I got it to see how it compared the the old 855 I had once and then back in January I was showing a buddy of mine how easy it was to remove. In both those cases though I never disconnected the hydraulic lines or even shut the tractor off. Then yesterday I was going to do some box blading and didn't want the loader sticking off the front so I removed it. I use the loader most of the time anyway, but it surpised me that it took me 4 months to actually take it off. It really felt weird driving it around like that. It felt kinda sporty though /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[fgross335_2210]

I usually experience the opposite effect with my 2210 in the summer. Usually just setup with the 62MMM. Occasionally drop the mower and mount the loader and ballast and suddenly I feel like I'm driving a tractor again instead of a lawnmower on steriods. I mowed once with the loader on (basically in a big hurry) and was amazed at how the extra weight and loss of manuverability worked against me. Didn't try that again!

 

[EastTexFrank]

I usually have the FEL off for mowing the lawn and on for about everything else. It does stick out front a little bit far for manouvering around the lawn. I found that out when mowing and looking back at the rear mounted mower. I heard a awful crunch and splintering sound and look round to see the FEL take out a whole section of fence. I do keep in on when mowing the pasture because the extra weight makes my little tractor feel a lot safer when running up and down the hills.

 

[bebster]

I was surprised the first time how easy it is to take on and off. I do it from time to time to put on the pallet forks to move a pallet being delivered.

 

[keeney]

I take my 410 loader on and off of my 4100 fairly often, mostly to use the forks to move something - usually some other attachment that is in the way.

With the mower still on and the 250 lbs of wheel weights, its ballasted OK for light lifting. However, when I am serious about using it for dirt moving or lifting something up near its max capacity, putting the ballast on the 3-point is the largest hassle.

- Rick

 

[_RaT_]

I take my loader on and off as many as 2 or 3 times a day. It takes about 37 seconds to remove and a minute and a half to install. I love using my mower or sometimes boxblade without the appendage hanging off the front.

 

[RoyJackson]

I take mine off after the winter and leave it off most of the time.
Supposably, leaving the loader off lessens the stress on the front axle when operating the tractor. That's not why I remove it though.
Most of the usage during spring, summer and fall is mowing. When I use the rotary cutter, I re-install the loader (might not need to this year though) and if I have a definite use for it, I'll install it.
But when mowing, it gets in the way and makes the tractor a bit more top heavy on the slopes I mow.

 

[WCarlson]

From April to late Nov., I keep the FEL on unless mowing or getting ready to mow. I remove the loader and ballast box before installing the 60" MMM then reinstall the FEL after removing the MMM and use the FEL to carry the MMM to its storage area. From November to April, I replace the FEL with the 59" front mounted snow blower and basically forget about doing anything other than blowing, using the 3pt, or towing.
Bill

 

[bigpete]

75-80% of my annual work is non-loader:

--Mowing
--Spreading ferts, lime, herbicides, etc.
--Spraying trees and lawn
--Plowing snow
--Aerating

The other 20% occurs mostly over the mowing off-season. Once I'm done with most of my spring landscaping, the loader will only be used once or twice each month. I do a lot of switching out this time of years due to earth-moving, mulch, garden, fertilizer/pre-emergent spreading. Once the mowing season rolls aroung here in DE, I will be cutting grass every four days until next October, barring a drought.

 

[OkieG]

Implements fly on and off my tractor (JD855) all the time (although they "fly" pretty slow most of the time). Even easy implement changes are kind of a pain, but the more you change 'em, the more comfortable and proficient you get doing it. I try not to let the chore of changing implements keep me from doing a job with the "right" configuration. Though, at the end of the day, the loader is usually on the tractor.

OkieG