John Deere 1026r poor mowing results and poor loader dump control.

[just for fun]

The 1026r is back from the dealership. They replaced the damaged parts on the mower, made some adjustments, ordered the proper bracket for the suite case weights, adjusted the mm pto adapter, and basically told me that I did not have the gage wheels set correctly (which is not true) and that I was not using the loader correctly. I guess the years spent using other manufacturers loader tractors is not worth much when operating a John Deere (OK a little sarcasm). The results are the mower did a great job on the flat areas, a little better around the trees, but no gain mowing the ditch. I made sure that the person that delivered the tractor was watching when I mowed the ditch. His response was that the ditch was too steep and I should mow in a different direction. The service manager told me that it must be because the John Deere was heavier than the Simplicity causing a weight shift resulting in an uneven cut. I told them both that the Simplicity had no problem with the hill and neither should the John Deere. I am either going to have to live with the tractor or exercise John Deere's 30 day satisfaction guarantee and buy something else. No decision has been made yet. Neither the Manufacturer or the dealership have answers to these issues thus making it impossible for them to correct them. In all fairness, the dealership seems to be trying but they are handicapped by the manufacturer. I have worked in product engineering for a major automotive manufacturer for more than 30 years and am tired of hearing that something is normal when normal is inadequate. An inadequate normal is the result of a product not being engineered adequately. If everything was perfect with the mower and the loader and the seat (bottoming out on bumps) there would not be so many people on this and other forums trying to find solutions to these concerns. Sorry for the rant I will shut up. I know I sound angry, I'm not. I am disappointed. I have been waiting for several years to purchase a new john Deere only to have it under-perform. So far it is not the same John Deere quality my 318, 420, and 430 were. Thanks for your recommendations I will be trying some of them soon.

 

[yelbike]

If you used so many other loader/tractor brands you'd know that they all act somewhat differently. Remember this is an entry level loader and not a $50 000 skid steer.

Don't be offended if they told you the gauge wheels incorrectly set, if there's an improvement after adjustment, that's a good thing. Remember the john deere decks are floating decks oppose to ground contact decks. Mowing on a slope will tend the to make the deck not float square to the machine, this maybe made worse if the is too much slack in the linkages. It maybe an adjustment issue, but it won't necessarily make it perfect either.

Don't think for a second that if you down the street and buy a Kubota you not have some draw backs as well. These are awesome little machines but they have some give and take as well, this goes for all brands I think.

When looking at forums, don't forget people will do research when they are having difficulty with something and also complain about it. Therefor we see more negative than positive. Don't forget about all the have customers, the unhappy just make more noise.

JMHO,ymmv.

 

[thebigc]

I've had a 4100/410, a 3120/300CX, and currently a 1026r/H120 and the loaders all work in the same manner: you can feather the joystick to raise/curl, lower/dump. Just takes some practice and it helps when the control valve is broken in. My 1026r was a little balky at first but is now broken in and operating smoothly.

And it only makes sense that you wouldn't get full speed when using a raise/curl combo as the pressure is being diverted to two functions simultaneously.

As for the mower, I have the 62d and it has taken some trial and error to get the gauge wheels just right.

 

[swick1]

One issue with open center hydraulics is that the first valve always gets priority so if you open both valves 100% one will go faster no matter what.

 

[Scooby074]

Re: cut. Best cutting deck Ive ever had was on my deere x540.

Its taken ALOT of screwing around to get the deck on my BX to cut 90% as good! I was very frustrated with my tractor as well.

A couple things that have helped was to check tire inflations and level the deck L-R tilt the deck forward about 1/4". To check the deck I got one of the deere gauges (PN AM130907, I highly recommend it for whatever mower you end up keeping:

I also added Gator blades. They are VERY good blades and helped alot over the OEMs.

one last thing was to adjust the anti scalp wheels to a lower position where they are basically on the turf, this helped in the real undulating areas. And I lowered the height of cut.

Good luck

 

[94BULLITT]

In the area close to the ditch can you overlap more than normal for a even cut?

 

[BigMike50]

In the area close to the ditch can you overlap more than normal for a even cut?

cant satisfy everyone

 

[94BULLITT]

Also don't forget it is a tractor with a mid mount mower not a lawn mower. Try leveling the deck like Jason said.

 

[just for fun]

Sounds a little like i am being scolded. I am only asking for advise and venting a little frustration. We pay a lot of money for these tractors and they should not break down the first time you use it. If this was a car (about the same cost) and the seat hit the floor every time you went over a bump you would take it back to the dealer. Or if you found power steering fluid on the ground after your trip to the store you would take it back. Why should we accept less from our John Deere tractors and call it normal. I just expected a new John Deere tractor to perform better than it has considering the amount of money I paid for it.

The tractors that I have spent the most time on are 1. an International 584, full size utility tractor. yes it is much larger and much stronger. 2 a New Holland 35 hp Boomer. A compact tractor the size of a 3520. It took some getting use to to be able to operate the tractor as efficiently as I did the International but that was due to the lack of size and horse power, not the function of the loader control. I do not expect this tractor to perform the same as my other tractors but I did expect it to operate the same and I did expect it to mow with out uneven cuts. I am well aware that the deck is a floating deck and that the simplicity runs on rollers. Maybe it is time for John Deere to implement a stabilizer bar systems to prevent the sagging of one side while mowing on an incline. As I stated earlier the JD did a great job on level ground and the adjustments that the dealer made improved the tight turn cut. I am going to have to use something else for the ditches. The wheel base is too long on this tractor to mow up and down the hill without leaving tall grass at the bottom and the deck shifts too much to mow parallel with the ditch.

Orange was never a real option and New Holland is now made by someone else so I will keep the JD.

 

[94BULLITT]

I was not trying to school you. I was just trying to give you some advice. I was basically trying to say that all tractors with a MMM are going to mow about the same. I would be mad about the seat bottoming out and the loader. I don't like how the deck on the 1 series doesn't have a center antiscalp wheel either.