Marty889,
Sorry for not responding sooner. Weather in NC is abnormally cold and wind chill is brutal even for someone who grew up in New England and likes to go skiing when every one else flees from the slopes due to the cold. You can ski faster when the slopes are clear of obstacles.
I can only provide my experience with the machines I own or have spent ample time on my personal property or help a friend in need as I do not do commercial work or farm. The Mahindra Max 24 TLB ( closer to 2123 and 2126 model than the 1126 ) is clearly a machine where cost to consumer was paramount and Mahindra cut some very significant corners when compared to the Kubota B26TLB.
Kubota uses metal tubing in hydraulic runs and hose where flex is needed whereas Mahindra uses long runs of hose everywhere and hose is more prone to damage than tubing. When damaged the time and cost to repair these long runs is expensive.
Mahindra does not protect the hoses underneath the machine. I know this because I ran over a stick, breaking it and the stick penetrated the hydraulic return line and the entire resevoir of hydraulic fluid quickly dumped itself onto the ground.
Kubota's backhoe valves are set up so that multiple actions can occur at the same time ( ie boom sweep and bucket curl) whereas Mahindra's valving only allows ONE action at a time so the motion is very jerky.
The FEL ( Front End Loader) on the
B26 will roll back much further than the Mahindra which allows the
B26 to carry a full volume closer to the ground and thereby the machine is more stable. The Max 24 FEL must be raised substantially higher to carry the same volume without spillage and machine is less stable due to higher weight.
The Max 24 throttle is a lever on the steering column that requires significant effort, even when new, to change the throttle setting whereas the
B26 is smooth and easy even after a decade.
Kubota is very conscientious about ease of machine maintenance so the grease nipples are well positioned for ease of greasing and nipples are protected by steel collars so they are unlikely to be damaged. Mahindra Max 24 grease nipples are not protected and are pain to access Ive got one nipple on Max 24 that requires a very small right angle bend in the grease gun nipple clamp to access the nipple.
Ive broken the hoses off of the Mahindra's outrigger ( stabilizing legs on backhoe) becasue the hose connection to the piston was not protected. Kubota adds protective metal shields where hoses and connections are at risk of damage.
I view equipment in this way. Initial purchase is one cost BUT, in my opinion, the ease of use is a much bigger cost because if the machine is easy to use then you will be much more productive and happy with your machine far into the future. I will not buy another Mahindra product but I will and have bought more Kubota product ( a KX080-5 two months ago). I've had the Kubota
M59 since 2012 and it works as well now with thousands of hours as it did with 230 hours. The
B26 is just a smaller version of the
M59 and it is as smooth and well laid out as the much more expensive and larger
M59.
I've added Max 24 pic to show the hose runs. If you carefully look at the 2123 and 2126 you will see the same type of hose runs.
ps. A tractor used for mowing a 30% incline is going to have much higher center of gravity than a zero turn lawn mower. I personally am not fond of trying to make a tractor do what a lawn mower can do better UNLESS you have lots of nearly flat land and are farming. Cutting and bailing hay is not mowing the lawn
pps. Here is link to % grade and within the article is information about the hosepower to climb various grades. Somewhat applicable to your mowing and similar to another answer about needing lots of horsepower to both climb and power a mower. I'm still of the position a tractor is not a good lawn mower.
How to calculate the gradient hill slope or beach climbing ability of AmphiMax transporter vehicles
www.blue-growth.org
Hope this helps.
