Mahindra Max 26XL HST - A New Owner's Journal

[radios1]

you have to remember, it can kill you quick if you are not careful!.. also, this kind of work WILL make you look like a mechanic at the end of the day!. it's dirty, and heavy work..

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

you have to remember, it can kill you quick if you are not careful!.. also, this kind of work WILL make you look like a mechanic at the end of the day!. it's dirty, and heavy work..

Yes I get that; I am very intimidated by this beast, even though it's smaller than many of yours, sometimes I think I should have gone smaller.....?

As for getting dirty, that makes me happy.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Day 16. Mastering the tilt-n-angle blade.

Having finally figured out how to give the tilt-blade enough clearance when raised to be able to travel, plus leg feeling better, plus finally managing to get the side-link broken loose and greased so I could adjust it, today I was ready for some blading on the driveway. Using the built-in tilt with only three positions, tilted is very tilted. Really only useful for ditches. Had a few areas where the ditches needed to be deepened or smoothed or just weeds scraped out. Blade was also angled of course.

I don't want deep ditches; instead, I slant the driveway to the side I want it to drain, then there's just either a small channel, or if it abuts higher ground, it just ends there. That way once it's shaped right I can maintain it with a box blade easy. Was able to finally get there. Tractor makes it easy-peasy. Continue to be surprised by the power of this thing. Cut through heavy clay full of rocks with no problema (a perfect soil moisture level helps).

Continue to find it's usually best to take things in stages. Drop the blade so that the tip of the lower end is digging in just a couple inches, then another pass deeper, and another if needed. Not for lack of power, just I can sculpt it just the way I want. In one part where I was making a new drainage ditch off to the side, dug in deep and tore through, including big roots, easily.

Once I was done digging the heavier bits, wanted to smooth out the transitions. So set the blade level, no tilt, and used the side link to drop the right side until I had a much subtler tilt. Did a very nice job and also threw a lot of gravel back onto the driveway from the edges.

For me, the blade is a much longer learning curve than a box-blade. I think almost anyone can drive a box-blade up and down and get a pretty good result. I love them. But for seriously changing the grade, the blade is great. Think I'll go all the way and finally get the driveway graded perfect. Then a couple passes with the BB to re-spread the gravel and I'll be ready to call it done. Pics will ensue at that point if anyone's interested.

(Non-pro tip for driveways: decide exactly where you want the outer edge of the blade to hit, then spend the time to get your tractor lined up straight and exact, adjust the blade depth with a delicate touch, and note where your tire lines up to the edge, so you can watch that instead of the blade to keep it straight. Then once you're committed keep going. Turns and sudden adjustments to blade height will create sloppy edges that will need to be fixed.) Yes I'm fussy about neat edges on my driveway.

No accidents today, just a sore neck. Any recommendations on a big mirror?

 

[Wagtail]

Any recommendations on a big mirror?

Many TBN members, with an open station tractor, have had success mounting a 'van' type mirror(s) to the top of the FEL arm(s). Mine is mounted on the right arm because we drive on the left side of the road; for the odd occasion that I'm on a public road/highway.

There are threads about this... aren't there always! :thumbsup:

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Many TBN members, with an open station tractor, have had success mounting a 'van' type mirror(s) to the top of the FEL arm(s). Mine is mounted on the right arm because we drive on the left side of the road; for the odd occasion that I'm on a public road/highway.

There are threads about this... aren't there always! :thumbsup:

That's nice! I did look for threads. Will look for van mirrors on google. Thanks!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Day 15. More driveway action, and a small accident.

Got a good rain yesterday, so the driveway was moist enough to finish up. So. First, unhook the landscape rake. Then hook up the box blade. Box blade the driveway a few times to re-loosen things up (the fun part; I would almost pay people to let me box blade). Then unhook the box blade. Then I needed to use the tilt-blade to adjust some ditches. Previously, I discovered I couldn't raise it high enough when tilted to get more than an inch of clearance when traveling. Turns out the arms that come down to support the lower links have two holes, and it was set in the lower ones. So pulled the pins out and used the higher holes, gaining me almost 2" in height. Also, finally worked the adjustable side-link loose, greased it up, and now it works like a charm.

So, getting a little tired at this point (here comes the "I love Lucy" moment), I get one of the sidelinks hooked up to the tilt-blade and turn to run around to the other side....and somehow the blade catches me in the shin, flips me over into the ditch, and I land on my chest knocking the wind clean out of me and the blade has apparently nicked the large vein in the front of my shin. Kinda cool, as I haven't had the wind knocked out of me in a couple decades, so made me feel like a kid again, after a few minutes on all fours catching my breath. A little pressure bandage on the shin and all was good. But luckily by this time it was happy hour again.

Sheesh, everything on a tractor is so darn heavy (not to mention greasy). In between muscle spasms, my back, shoulder, and arm muscles are getting stronger. My nails are broken and my favorite work shirt and jeans are grimy. All in all a good day, because of figuring out the tilt-blade thing.

If you decide that you would like to have the rear blade lift even higher, (really more for transport) put the top link in a lower pin location on the tractor.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

If you decide that you would like to have the rear blade lift even higher, (really more for transport) put the top link in a lower pin location on the tractor.

Did not see that the top link had this type of adjustment (will look tomorrow). Was able to raise the two lower lift arms though. The red arrow shows the two holes for adjusting the height of the lower lift arms. Probably all tractors have this:

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Did not see that the top link had this type of adjustment (will look tomorrow). Was able to raise the two lower lift arms though. The red arrow shows the two holes for adjusting the height of the lower lift arms. Probably all tractors have this:
View attachment 561821

I'm pretty sure that there are 3 separate pin locations. :thumbsup:

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Week 5.

Driveway done, which looks beautiful, and I'm fussy about the driveway. I like neat edges too. So onto the next job.....

...which is reworking the steep "road" down to the bottom of the ravine where the ponds are (40% grade with steep drop-offs). Unfortunately, for the last year I hadn't been keeping up with even the minimal maintenance of clearing the small ditches of leaves (my bad; was busy with the business; good excuse, right?) and a lot of the road (the parts where the grass didn't take) has simply washed away. This means I need more dirt. On steep property you always need more dirt--mostly for leveling--and in the rural mountains dirt can be hard to come by, not always available to buy, and our soil is often very thin. If you live here you understand this. Decided the 5-foot-high banks that were left when the excavator dug in to create a level parking area could be carved back another foot or so, yielding lots of precious dirt.

So this was some real FEL work. The FEL has been a much steeper learning curve for me. Jerky, and if I make the wrong move I panic a bit and overcompensate. But practice makes perfect, or at least *better.* (Note, I have a Piranha bar installed) So FEL at ground level, approach the bank slowly, let it dig in a couple inches, move the FEL up a few inches, inch forward again, lift FEL again, basically following the slant of the bank, then at the top, curl, and I've got a decent bucket full. Dump it on the road, back-drag, and go back for another load.

I can't help but think of the labor involved to do this with a shovel, which is the way I have ALWAYS done it until now. This was a pure pleasure, believe me. And as the day went on there were times when I seemed to have the "touch" to do it smoothly. It came and went, but progress for sure.

This will sound dumb to many, but today I also drove the tractor all the way down to the ravine and back for the first time. This is a scary road; it's kind of a wild ride on the riding mowers and I wasn't sure how I would feel on this *to me* enormous machine. Amazingly it was much easier, much more stable. Even made it around the hairpin turn at the bottom, no problem. Going up is always worse but there is NO WAY this thing is getting stuck. Slow but sure. Stable. Powerful. I'm very happy. This means I can do everything I want to do on this ridiculously steep property.

Today was the first day I felt like I bought the correct size tractor (was worried I bought too big). Now it seems just perfect.:thumbsup:

 

[mike69440]

Re: Mahindra Max 26XL HST - A New Owner's Journal FEL work

The Joystick on the MAX series, if the same one as on my Max28 is not so joyous, but jerky. One's reflexes adapt, but these are not as nice as a loader valve put in premium tractors. If you really want to hate you Max, try a construction class machine with pilot controls.

The good news is the loader is powerful for the tractors size. Just don't pry with it, so as not to rack the loader arms.
I do a lot of loader work with my little tractor as it is maneuverable and good on soft ground.

I did install the bucket cylinders from a 1526, so my Max28 now has excellent breakout force for its size, at the expense of slower curl and dump. A good trade, IMHO. Digs better than it has any right to. I bet with a Piranha cutting edge, it would dig even better.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Re: Mahindra Max 26XL HST - A New Owner's Journal FEL work

The Joystick on the MAX series, if the same one as on my Max28 is not so joyous, but jerky. One's reflexes adapt, but these are not as nice as a loader valve put in premium tractors. If you really want to hate you Max, try a construction class machine with pilot controls.

The good news is the loader is powerful for the tractors size. Just don't pry with it, so as not to rack the loader arms.
I do a lot of loader work with my little tractor as it is maneuverable and good on soft ground.

I did install the bucket cylinders from a 1526, so my Max28 now has excellent breakout force for its size, at the expense of slower curl and dump. A good trade, IMHO. Digs better than it has any right to. I bet with a Piranha cutting edge, it would dig even better.

Yes I knew about the jerkiness. But I'm finding with practice it's getting smoother so take it as a challenge. And I do like the extra power. Yes have briefly driven a construction-class machine.....it's like a ballet dancer vs a rhinoceros.

Thank you for the advice, yes, I take things in small bites with the FEL, not just for the tractor but for me, as I'm not very good at it yet. Agree the Max is very maneuverable and has been fantastic on my ridiculously bad ground. It just goes everywhere and does everything I ask so far.

YOU DON'T HAVE A PIRANHA BAR YET????? Dude, order one today.

Seriously, I have rock-hard rocky clay soil and the Piranha bar digs in like a hot knife through butter. I also feel it takes a lot of stress off the loader when digging, right?

 

[2516mo]

Th and wanting a larger one...I am happy wirh my 2516. Nothing better than mowing for a couple hours and looking back over a freshly cut field.

Glad you enjoy yours.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Sorry I didn't post pics of the current project before:

1. The bank I took the dirt from.


2. The top half of the "road" down to the ravine, with about 30 buckets of new dirt added and graded so it won't wash out. 35-40% grade. At the bottom of the pic, the road turns to the left and there's a 50' dropoff. Thinking about putting in a low railing of logs there.


3. Looking up toward the first third of the road. Trying to show the "steep" but it seems pics always flatten things out.


Grass seed planted and scratched in today. Ma nature is promising to water it tonight.

Next project is the bottom third of this road, as the middle third is still in good shape.

 

[radios1]

Sorry I didn't post pics of the current project before:

1. The bank I took the dirt from.
View attachment 564873

2. The top half of the "road" down to the ravine, with about 30 buckets of new dirt added and graded so it won't wash out. 35-40% grade. At the bottom of the pic, the road turns to the left and there's a 50' dropoff. Thinking about putting in a low railing of logs there.
View attachment 564874

3. Looking up toward the first third of the road. Trying to show the "steep" but it seems pics always flatten things out.
View attachment 564875

Grass seed planted and scratched in today. Ma nature is promising to water it tonight.

Next project is the bottom third of this road, as the middle third is still in good shape.

have you thought about paving it with asphalt?..

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

have you thought about paving it with asphalt?..

It's just a path (barely a "road") we cut to have a way to get down to the ravines and ponds without a zipline , so asphalt would be overkill (would also be very slippery in winter.) My actual driveway looks very similar and does fine with just gravel as long as it's graded properly.

This is mainly a walking trail but does need to accommodate a mower or tractor, so it's nicer if it's smooth. And of course on something this steep, the grading is important to prevent erosion.

The sections where the grass "took" are still fine but I decided to regrade most of it anyhow since I have the tractor now. The former grading was done with my riding mower, which did a pretty good job but lacked the power to scrape down some areas that are packed with weathered bedrock. Sure is nice to have more power!

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Week 6. An Incident.

My brother is visiting for a month or so and even though he's never been on a tractor (city boy) it's been great because he's an expert mechanic! He's taught me how to do all kinds of things with all the machinery. And he's taken to tractoring like a duck to water. Can't hardly get him off it. And I've explained all the proper procedures and principles to him--which I learned off TBN and are ingrained in my soul.

Today we had one-by-one moved all the implements to the upper field (more out of the way) and just needed to hook up the last implement, the box blade. He wanted to scoop some more dirt out of the bank and put it on the road (we had a week of rain, and there were some serious runnels that needed to be fixed) and box blade it a little. So I ASSUMED he would hook up the box blade first, 1) because I had explained the need for counter-balance and keeping everything as low as possible on our slopes, and 2) he need the box blade for the job. Didn't happen that way.

I came down from upper field just as he was just going down the ravine road (40% slope) with a full load of damp clay dirt held pretty high, and it took my mind a few seconds to realize something wasn't right...THERE WAS NO IMPLEMENT ON THE REAR! I yelled but of course he couldn't hear me, so I ran closer and screamed DUMP IT! He heard me but was still inching down and already in trouble. I could see the rear end bouncing a bit. Then the left rear lifted around 8 inches off the ground and I just froze and was sure it was going over. He was trying to lower the load but the rear was so light that the jerk of lowering the FEL caused the rear to bounce more. Finally I made it to his side and told him he needed to back up, lower the load, and DUMP it. He did and when we got to the top on the flat again, I re-explained the need for ballast.

Fortunately it was happy hour by this time.

I think the tractor has been so stable and well-planted through all of our work over the last couple weeks, he didn't realize that was completely dependent on proper ballast. He gets it now!

Backing up the hill definitely helped, which I guess is why people recommend backing up a hill when carrying a heavy FEL full.

The very slight slope down to the right (for drainage) was enough to nearly cause it to tip to the right. The tipping point had clearly been reached or nearly so, and it was gonna tip SOME way.

I'm gonna say, without 4WD this might have been tragic, as there's a 60-70 foot drop at the bottom of the section of road he was on.

I'm also pretty confident without filled rears, that tractor would have gone over.

I won't have to keep reminding him over and over to keep all implements as low as possible on the steep. He gets it now.

When I have had Jay or him on the tractor, I usually am there every second babysitting them. So partly my fault for sure.


Once again, when working on slopes: 4WD, proper ballast, and filled tires. Every time.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

BTW, this is the hill he went down w/ a FEL full of dirt and no implement on the rear :


Also used the pallet forks for the first time to move the giant burn pile. When a burn pile sits for a while I always move it before burning in case any critters have moved in. Dropped one my flagpole poplars around the parking area; 60' tall and 6" wide. Bucked it and moved the pieces to the burn pile. Also used the FEL/PTB to start removing the old rotting woodpile. (Discovered there IS a limit to what this tractor can lift.) Then used my can of bad gas that I drained out of the Husq GT to light 'er up. Love a good bonfire.

Getting better with the FEL. Smoothing out a lot.

 

[shooterdon]

Week 6. An Incident.

My brother is visiting for a month or so and even though he's never been on a tractor (city boy) it's been great because he's an expert mechanic! He's taught me how to do all kinds of things with all the machinery. And he's taken to tractoring like a duck to water. Can't hardly get him off it. And I've explained all the proper procedures and principles to him--which I learned off TBN and are ingrained in my soul.

Today we had one-by-one moved all the implements to the upper field (more out of the way) and just needed to hook up the last implement, the box blade. He wanted to scoop some more dirt out of the bank and put it on the road (we had a week of rain, and there were some serious runnels that needed to be fixed) and box blade it a little. So I ASSUMED he would hook up the box blade first, 1) because I had explained the need for counter-balance and keeping everything as low as possible on our slopes, and 2) he need the box blade for the job. Didn't happen that way.

I came down from upper field just as he was just going down the ravine road (40% slope) with a full load of damp clay dirt held pretty high, and it took my mind a few seconds to realize something wasn't right...THERE WAS NO IMPLEMENT ON THE REAR! I yelled but of course he couldn't hear me, so I ran closer and screamed DUMP IT! He heard me but was still inching down and already in trouble. I could see the rear end bouncing a bit. Then the left rear lifted around 8 inches off the ground and I just froze and was sure it was going over. He was trying to lower the load but the rear was so light that the jerk of lowering the FEL caused the rear to bounce more. Finally I made it to his side and told him he needed to back up, lower the load, and DUMP it. He did and when we got to the top on the flat again, I re-explained the need for ballast.

Fortunately it was happy hour by this time.

I think the tractor has been so stable and well-planted through all of our work over the last couple weeks, he didn't realize that was completely dependent on proper ballast. He gets it now!

Backing up the hill definitely helped, which I guess is why people recommend backing up a hill when carrying a heavy FEL full.

The very slight slope down to the right (for drainage) was enough to nearly cause it to tip to the right. The tipping point had clearly been reached or nearly so, and it was gonna tip SOME way.

I'm gonna say, without 4WD this might have been tragic, as there's a 60-70 foot drop at the bottom of the section of road he was on.

I'm also pretty confident without filled rears, that tractor would have gone over.

I won't have to keep reminding him over and over to keep all implements as low as possible on the steep. He gets it now.

When I have had Jay or him on the tractor, I usually am there every second babysitting them. So partly my fault for sure.


Once again, when working on slopes: 4WD, proper ballast, and filled tires. Every time.

Good lesson learned!

As a new tractor owner I try to be very mindful of how dangerous things can get. And it is easy to get over confident.

Glad that no one got hurt....or worse.

BTW, I enjoy reading your Journal. You are doing great!

 

[LMychajluk]

...

Fortunately it was happy hour by this time.
...

After an incident like that, I would think it would be Happy Hour no matter what time it was.

 

[radios1]

BTW, this is the hill he went down w/ a FEL full of dirt and no implement on the rear :
View attachment 565700

Also used the pallet forks for the first time to move the giant burn pile. When a burn pile sits for a while I always move it before burning in case any critters have moved in. Dropped one my flagpole poplars around the parking area; 60' tall and 6" wide. Bucked it and moved the pieces to the burn pile. Also used the FEL/PTB to start removing the old rotting woodpile. (Discovered there IS a limit to what this tractor can lift.) Then used my can of bad gas that I drained out of the Husq GT to light 'er up. Love a good bonfire.

Getting better with the FEL. Smoothing out a lot.

using gasoline to start or enhance a burning fire is setting yourself up for serious injury, or death.. My Nephew did that, and I yelled at him for a long time.. I, Myself, had My hands on fire from gasoline that leaked out of a gasoline torch on which the adjustment knob came out of the torch.. pain, 3rd degree burns, treatment at a hospital is just not worth it.. btw, gasoline can explode when used on fires..