LOVE my 2230...hate tipping it over...

[KeithInSpace]

First post...

Talked the wife into 2230 with FEL, 60" mower, PTO Bagger, and 4' BB when we moved onto 2 wooded acres. Got it in January and in 5 months and 4 grass mowings I have somehow put over 40 hours on it...unbelievable just how many more jobs you can get done with the right equipment. This has GOT to be the most useful, robust, wonderful piece of equipment a man-person can possibly own and not just look silly mowing his lawn. Didn't cross-shop much since I knew Kubota was THE standard in this type of thing. And I just LOVE the orange.

Been wondering if I was a jerk for not letting folks borrow it for FEL or BoxBlade work...always made an excuse to do it myself. Honestly, I just don't think others will care for it the way I do.

Cutting a tree in the back yard with Dad working the tractor cleaning things I had blocked. Pretty smart guy...two engineering Masters degrees, one forestry bachelors, built a 2,500 sf addition on his house himself...I'm standing right there...no worries, right? I had the Stihl running in my hand when I saw it...Pop standing there with the tractor on its side. Turns out it was a "nice slow roll"...result of him having 400 lbs of lumber in the bucket 6 feet in the air and going through the not-yet-filled stump hole. I had told him 28 times previous to keep his load down. Fortunately I had also told him 14 times to keep the seat belt on (though it can be darn uncomfortable).

He was able to kill the engine on the ride over and we actually righted it by heaving the (still raised) bucket and the ROPS. Not a hard fall.

Good experience...now I have a REALLY good excuse to not let others use it. It is a VERY dangerous machine unless you have a FULL AND COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT of what it is capable of doing and not doing.

The bad side: No damage except now it seems the Hydrostatic Transmission is making more "whine" than it used to. When running, certainly, and also makes a funny sound when in neutral and idling. Is it possible for fluid and stuff to get where it shouldn't be when the tractor goes through and episode like this? No real symptoms except the extra noise.

Any thoughts? Could just wait for the 100 hour service and figure new fluids would cure all. Just don't want to chew anything up.

I figure if I could fix that and all the leaks in the FEL fittings (again, thoughts?), I'd be just about perfect. Oh yea. And figure a way to rig up the new seat-mounted seat belt. MAN ALIVE that thing can dig into your lap on a bouncy lawn...but I guess it's better than dying.

Love the forum. Reading for about a year and am proud to now post!

 

[KeithInSpace]

First post...

Talked the wife into 2230 with FEL, 60" mower, PTO Bagger, and 4' BB when we moved onto 2 wooded acres. Got it in January and in 5 months and 4 grass mowings I have somehow put over 40 hours on it...unbelievable just how many more jobs you can get done with the right equipment. This has GOT to be the most useful, robust, wonderful piece of equipment a man-person can possibly own and not just look silly mowing his lawn. Didn't cross-shop much since I knew Kubota was THE standard in this type of thing. And I just LOVE the orange.

Been wondering if I was a jerk for not letting folks borrow it for FEL or BoxBlade work...always made an excuse to do it myself. Honestly, I just don't think others will care for it the way I do.

Cutting a tree in the back yard with Dad working the tractor cleaning things I had blocked. Pretty smart guy...two engineering Masters degrees, one forestry bachelors, built a 2,500 sf addition on his house himself...I'm standing right there...no worries, right? I had the Stihl running in my hand when I saw it...Pop standing there with the tractor on its side. Turns out it was a "nice slow roll"...result of him having 400 lbs of lumber in the bucket 6 feet in the air and going through the not-yet-filled stump hole. I had told him 28 times previous to keep his load down. Fortunately I had also told him 14 times to keep the seat belt on (though it can be darn uncomfortable).

He was able to kill the engine on the ride over and we actually righted it by heaving the (still raised) bucket and the ROPS. Not a hard fall.

Good experience...now I have a REALLY good excuse to not let others use it. It is a VERY dangerous machine unless you have a FULL AND COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING AND RESPECT of what it is capable of doing and not doing.

The bad side: No damage except now it seems the Hydrostatic Transmission is making more "whine" than it used to. When running, certainly, and also makes a funny sound when in neutral and idling. Is it possible for fluid and stuff to get where it shouldn't be when the tractor goes through and episode like this? No real symptoms except the extra noise.

Any thoughts? Could just wait for the 100 hour service and figure new fluids would cure all. Just don't want to chew anything up.

I figure if I could fix that and all the leaks in the FEL fittings (again, thoughts?), I'd be just about perfect. Oh yea. And figure a way to rig up the new seat-mounted seat belt. MAN ALIVE that thing can dig into your lap on a bouncy lawn...but I guess it's better than dying.

Love the forum. Reading for about a year and am proud to now post!

 

[Doc_Bob]

My neighbor lets me use his TC40DA, but only on level ground. I respect his wishes. I could handle it on an incline, but the legal risk is too much. Your story illustrates that no matter how smart you are, a tractor can tip over. Glad no one got hurt.
Bob

 

[Doc_Bob]

My neighbor lets me use his TC40DA, but only on level ground. I respect his wishes. I could handle it on an incline, but the legal risk is too much. Your story illustrates that no matter how smart you are, a tractor can tip over. Glad no one got hurt.
Bob

 

[proudestmonkey]

If you are at 40 hours, you might just want to change fluids now, since you'll need to do it at 50 anyway, and if things seem weird, and you just put it through a fall, better safe than sorry.

 

[proudestmonkey]

If you are at 40 hours, you might just want to change fluids now, since you'll need to do it at 50 anyway, and if things seem weird, and you just put it through a fall, better safe than sorry.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Funny. Dealership said engine oil at first 10 (which I did) then don't worry until 100.

50 hours, huh? Guess I have to figure out how to get that scheduled! They had a 2 to 3 week backlog last I checked.

Of course I just popped my second shear-pin on my bagger a few days ago for no apparent reason. Maybe they could look at that, too...

 

[KeithInSpace]

Funny. Dealership said engine oil at first 10 (which I did) then don't worry until 100.

50 hours, huh? Guess I have to figure out how to get that scheduled! They had a 2 to 3 week backlog last I checked.

Of course I just popped my second shear-pin on my bagger a few days ago for no apparent reason. Maybe they could look at that, too...

 

[RonR]

Glad things worked out well for you!

I would not loan out my tractor, or rent it to anyone. I would let someone with loader experience run it, under my supervision.

Don't care how smart or experienced you are, with a load in the air, things can happen fast. I've taught myself and the fam that if you have anything in the FEL, you keep your right hand on the joystick. The first feel of trouble, you go full down FAST on the FEL.

I've done stuff as simple as backing with my 1000 pound sailboat trailer on a ball bolted in the bucket. Raising the front to lift the trailer jack off the ground, the rear roller bolts dug into the ground. It darned near rolled me! Since I was in 2WD, when the right wheel came off the ground, the tractor stopped moving. Sure got my attention!

It's not a trust issue or anything, but it is a safety issue. If someone needs work done, do it or pass, but don't let someone use your stuff.

ron

 

[RonR]

Glad things worked out well for you!

I would not loan out my tractor, or rent it to anyone. I would let someone with loader experience run it, under my supervision.

Don't care how smart or experienced you are, with a load in the air, things can happen fast. I've taught myself and the fam that if you have anything in the FEL, you keep your right hand on the joystick. The first feel of trouble, you go full down FAST on the FEL.

I've done stuff as simple as backing with my 1000 pound sailboat trailer on a ball bolted in the bucket. Raising the front to lift the trailer jack off the ground, the rear roller bolts dug into the ground. It darned near rolled me! Since I was in 2WD, when the right wheel came off the ground, the tractor stopped moving. Sure got my attention!

It's not a trust issue or anything, but it is a safety issue. If someone needs work done, do it or pass, but don't let someone use your stuff.

ron

 

[proudestmonkey]

Hey, sorry I didn't mention this last night, Keith, but I am very glad your dad is okay. That would scare the crap out of me.

The manual is very inconsistent on the issue of tranny fluid changes. It describes the process in, I think, the 100 or 300 hour service, but then if you look at the chart, it puts a circle in the 50 hour service as well. Others here have changed that at 50 hours, and I guess that's what I am going to do. If you are thinking of doing it yourself, read up on some threads here, I have changed my mind and will be doing it myself (my dealer never called me back when I asked him to check on what they charge to do it so I guess that tells me they don't care, or its alot of money). Anyway, I want to do it to get to know my tractor better, and so I am not afraid to do it myself next time.

 

[proudestmonkey]

Hey, sorry I didn't mention this last night, Keith, but I am very glad your dad is okay. That would scare the crap out of me.

The manual is very inconsistent on the issue of tranny fluid changes. It describes the process in, I think, the 100 or 300 hour service, but then if you look at the chart, it puts a circle in the 50 hour service as well. Others here have changed that at 50 hours, and I guess that's what I am going to do. If you are thinking of doing it yourself, read up on some threads here, I have changed my mind and will be doing it myself (my dealer never called me back when I asked him to check on what they charge to do it so I guess that tells me they don't care, or its alot of money). Anyway, I want to do it to get to know my tractor better, and so I am not afraid to do it myself next time.

 

[copperhead1967]

Your right on about not letting anyone "Borrow " your machine. I have a nice "wave" in my FEL bucket from a friend using it to remove a stump. Seems the BH didn't strike him as the right way to go.
This year he asked me if he could use it again and I said I needed to do the service on it before I got into any projects. I mentioned that it was expensive to do the service and so was the machine. I was thinking maybe he would help out with the service and the cost. He didn't get the hint and hasn't been around much since. Guess HE'S mad I wouldn't let him use the machine.
I look at it like this would you ask to drive a friends truck on a couple day trip and only put gas in it? Then take it off road four wheeling and not expect them to be ticked?

 

[copperhead1967]

Your right on about not letting anyone "Borrow " your machine. I have a nice "wave" in my FEL bucket from a friend using it to remove a stump. Seems the BH didn't strike him as the right way to go.
This year he asked me if he could use it again and I said I needed to do the service on it before I got into any projects. I mentioned that it was expensive to do the service and so was the machine. I was thinking maybe he would help out with the service and the cost. He didn't get the hint and hasn't been around much since. Guess HE'S mad I wouldn't let him use the machine.
I look at it like this would you ask to drive a friends truck on a couple day trip and only put gas in it? Then take it off road four wheeling and not expect them to be ticked?

 

[KeithInSpace]

Regarding FEL...probably 30 of the 40 hours is FEL work pushing trees, moving cut trees, pulling stumps, moving (heavy) stumps, filling stump holes, wash, rinse, repeat. In those 30 hours, I'm noticing some wear on the joystick where my fingers ALWAYS are EVERY TIME I EVER use the FEL. I've never really used a FEL before owning this machine but my small amount of experience to date has taught me that lesson.

For $170 I got this nifty 2" receiver thing that hooks to the 3PH. Then you can slide whatever hitch, clasp, hook, or otherwise you want in the back then raise and lower it as appropriate. Less stress and strain, I would figure, than a ball in the bucket. If you don't know about it, I can get some info on it for you.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Regarding FEL...probably 30 of the 40 hours is FEL work pushing trees, moving cut trees, pulling stumps, moving (heavy) stumps, filling stump holes, wash, rinse, repeat. In those 30 hours, I'm noticing some wear on the joystick where my fingers ALWAYS are EVERY TIME I EVER use the FEL. I've never really used a FEL before owning this machine but my small amount of experience to date has taught me that lesson.

For $170 I got this nifty 2" receiver thing that hooks to the 3PH. Then you can slide whatever hitch, clasp, hook, or otherwise you want in the back then raise and lower it as appropriate. Less stress and strain, I would figure, than a ball in the bucket. If you don't know about it, I can get some info on it for you.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Funny. I have a 'wave' in my bucket from stump work, but thankfully (?) it was done by me and not by a ying neighbor who doesn't know or care that messing up the bucket is something like this: Borrow a neighbor's Honda Civic and pulling a stump by running into it with the front bumper. Initial cost is certainly similar...consequence is (for discussion) similar. Hand the thing back and say "thanks"? Thanks, indeed. Then ask the next spring. I love folks who live in the dark about such things...

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Funny. I have a 'wave' in my bucket from stump work, but thankfully (?) it was done by me and not by a ying neighbor who doesn't know or care that messing up the bucket is something like this: Borrow a neighbor's Honda Civic and pulling a stump by running into it with the front bumper. Initial cost is certainly similar...consequence is (for discussion) similar. Hand the thing back and say "thanks"? Thanks, indeed. Then ask the next spring. I love folks who live in the dark about such things...

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[_RaT_]

<font color="blue"> I had told him 28 times previous to keep his load down. Fortunately I had also told him 14 times to keep the seat belt on (though it can be darn uncomfortable).
</font>

I tell folks the same thing. Carrying a load high is just asking for it. In a perfect world you would risk tipping it, but as you know, it takes very little in the way of ground variations to make things get uncomfortable fast and things like pot holes in the grass or dirt are everywhere.

 

[_RaT_]

<font color="blue"> I had told him 28 times previous to keep his load down. Fortunately I had also told him 14 times to keep the seat belt on (though it can be darn uncomfortable).
</font>

I tell folks the same thing. Carrying a load high is just asking for it. In a perfect world you would risk tipping it, but as you know, it takes very little in the way of ground variations to make things get uncomfortable fast and things like pot holes in the grass or dirt are everywhere.