brasco426
Gold Member
I believe a mid pto on the Max 24 is standard equipment where it's an option on the 26xl.
Thanks for the input Navasot. I have considered that a 1526 with a 72 inch mower deck would be a little big for mowing in tighter quarters (which I do have to deal with). The Max 26XL would probably be a very good choice for just mowing, but I am concerned a bit about stability - almost the entire yard is slightly sloped and the top edge of the church yard forms a small hill (close to 30 degrees in some places).
I, my dad, and several others have used the church's John Deere 430 diesel Lawn and Garden tractor for the last 23 years to mow the yard. It has a 60 inch deck and cuts well, but it has been having issues the past three or four years. HST is jerky, it creeps (it did creep with the brakes on but that is fixed), the muffler broke off and had to be replaced, a hydraulic line busted, front left wheel spindle broke off last summer, etc. All signs of use and wear I suppose. I think the 430 has a 1,300 hours so on it. I don't know for sure because the hour meter was broken for about ten years. It shows around 860 hours now, but I don't even think it is recording accurately. But anyway . . . . . The JD 430 can pretty much handle all of the major slopes in the yard. It has a very low center of gravity, filled R1 style rear tires, plus a differential lock. I have mowed up the hills, down the hills, and with great caution I can mow them at an angle. I would not try that with any other mower or tractor out there (I don't think).
adpqmi,
I'm glad that you are happy with your tractor. To me it is encouraging that your 1526 has performed better than expected with a five foot brush hog.
Time will tell what happens: whether my dad and I get a Max 26XL, a 1526, or stick with his eMax 25 HST. My dad helped me out mowing a few times last year with his eMax 25. The JD 430 was out of commission for two weeks getting the hydraulic line replaced. The church has the John Deere 430, but we have a ours which can be a backup when the 430 is down. Also (my dad and I) would have a front loader on a tractor for moving snow - from a couple of short driveways worth to clearing about a one acre parking lot. I am sure a 1526 would excel in that department.
Enjoy your Machines Gentlemen. And again thanks for the input: :thumbsup:
As much as I love the 3016/1526 (same basic machines), I think they are a little large for mmm, unless you're mowing a golf course and even then other lighter machines would be a better choice.
the 1526 is a great machine but it is made to be a real tractor and not a large lawn mower.
I have an emax 25 that I purchased with a mmm and I also have an older toro time cutter 44". I ended up selling the 60" mmm for the emax back to the dealer for half what I paid for it. Bottom line is that compared to to even a cheap zero turn I feel these tractor are really not suited to mowing. They are heavy, cumbersome(unless you remove the loader every time) and sit higher (tree branches to the face or rops if you manage to duck in time). I think for the price of price of the mmm on the 1526 you could find a used 60" zero turn which would likely cut faster than a 72" mmm, just my opinion though, purchasing the mmm has thus far been my only regret with regard to the emax.
+1 hopefully you can actually get your leaks fixed.Congrats on your new machine ... leaks seems to be a recurring theme on Mahindra machines.
To heavy to mow, your tractor is light compare to the one I run. Alis 170 is near 6000lbs an works fine.As much as I love the 3016/1526 (same basic machines), I think they are a little large for mmm, unless you're mowing a golf course and even then other lighter machines would be a better choice.
the 1526 is a great machine but it is made to be a real tractor and not a large lawn mower.
Had my new 1526 for two weeks now. It's pretty much perfect for my 10 acres. Just noticed a couple of oil leaks, looks like one engine oil leak and one hydro oil leak, very small but will definitely be getting those fixed asap. Living in Arkansas with pretty tough soil(haha), I'm glad I went with the slightly heavier machine over the max series. I've only put 8 or so hours on it but I've lifted the rear end off the ground pulling shrubs out of the ground on more than one occasion. 5' brush hog eats saplings like cheerios. So far I'm very pleased with the tractor.