Economy Pto & Creeper

deserteagle71 · Aug 10, 2018

jk96 said:
Looking at upgrading my tractor from a compact Case 55cvt to a Case 75C utility tractor. Dealer has a machine on the lot without the Epto option. Since I will be spending a lot of time mowing with this tractor I'm wondering how you guys with the epto like it and would it be worth the wait for a new build in order to add this option?
Also wondering about the creeper gear option? I really can't think of any use for it but wondering if there is something I'm missing?

Don't believe I've ever used the standard PTO. EPTO only. Even mowing 3' tall stuff with the 6' rotary mower the tractor just loafs along so I don't know why I'd ever use the standard PTO engine speed, given that would accomplish nothing but added fuel consumption. My tractor does have a DPF filter (which I believe the tractor you are looking at does not) and running at the lower engine rpm for the EPTO still gets me 30-40 hours between regenerations.

jk96 · Aug 14, 2018

Well after looking at options and really evaluating my needs I think I am going a little different route. Probably going to keep my Case 55C and look to purchase a skid steer. I'll use my 55C as a mowing unit and look for something in the range of an FM3012 - 12ft batwing finish mower. Its putting out 43 hp at the pto so I think a 12 ft mower will be doable as long as I'm keeping up on the mowing. A skidsteer just make a lot more sense for the amount of fork, loader, grapple work I'm currently doing with the tractor.

majorwager · Aug 17, 2018

Jk96

Befco offers a 110 inch finish mower, little narrower but very maneuverable because of 3 point attachment . Blades are also free swinging. Very HD and rugged tool, I mow headlads and paddocks w/ mine.

Bobcat offers a 770 model that is all wheel steer. Very turf friendly as the wheels turn. It can be operated in skid mode as well.

jk96 · Aug 17, 2018

majorwager said:
Jk96

Befco offers a 110 inch finish mower, little narrower but very maneuverable because of 3 point attachment . Blades are also free swinging. Very HD and rugged tool, I mow headlads and paddocks w/ mine.

Bobcat offers a 770 model that is all wheel steer. Very turf friendly as the wheels turn. It can be operated in skid mode as well.

Thanks for the info. Will look into both. Right now I'm in the process of figuring out what size machine I need. I have a lot of timber I want to clean up and a lot of dirt to move for some projects coming up at both my house and business. Most timber is hilly with some decent slopes in parts which makes me think a track unit is going to be best for my needs. I won't be operating on hard surfaces. Right now I'm considering a Case TR340 or TR270. Also looking at the kobota 75 and 95. I have both a case, NH, and Kubota dealer close to us. The bobcat dealer is about an hour away so I'm leaning toward case or kubota. I'm afraid the mid-size 270 may not have the weight I need for operating a decent size cutter, especially on slopes. I have a neighbor who had a kubota 75 and just recently upgraded to a 95 who is running a brush cutter on his so I need to talk to him about his experience.

jk96 · Aug 27, 2018

After a lot of surfing I've finally found a loader that might be worth a trip to take a look at. Going Thursday to look at a 2016 Case TR340. Loader has 1,100 hours on it and looks to be very clean but pics can be deceiving. Factory warranty until December of next year. Finding a used high flow unit has been tough. Plenty of availability on standard flow but a good clean high flow machine has been hard to find. Will post pics if I come home with it.

jk96 · Aug 29, 2018

Re: Economy Pto & Creeper......Update - Looking for a track loader now

Was able to get the loader history today. One owner and was an asphalt paving company. It was traded in for another track loader. Looks like 4 warranty claims all this year within 200 hours. First three were for a low def fault when def tank was actually full. Looks like the first 2 claims the dealer reflashed the computer and sent back to customer as fixed. 3rd claim for the same thing they replaced the sending unit. 4th claim was for an injector which was replaced. The notes on the 4th claim showed that the customer was demanding a loaner unit from the dealer. I'm assuming the customer was probably fed up with the down time and traded it in.

MickeyDBC · Aug 29, 2018

I have a 73HP Kioti with the ePTO and I use it 95% of the time. I have a 10 foot Shulte mower that gets used in a lot in high stuff and the ePTO makes it much more pleasant (and cheaper) than running at full PTO speed. Well worth it and all utility tractors should have it.