New JD 2038r!!!!
- Thread starter SI2305
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Some of the 2-series came with plastic covers for the mid and rear PTO (#26 below). The dealers normally throw them away (Duh!). Since I only use my mid-PTO during the winter for a snow blower I always keep the protective cover in place during the summer. It keeps the PTO shaft nice and clean when not in use.
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FortClatsop
Silver Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2006
- Messages
- 110
- Tractor
- 2006 JD 2305, X540, X324, 314, 316/33 tiller
Sl2305, Good info on the MMM PTO on the 2305. No immediate plans to replace mine soon, always looking ahead. I hadn't bought anything in a long time so I'm on a spending bender of sorts (thanks Tractor Time With Tim). I recently landed a 2014 X324 with a 48 inch deck, AWS, and power bagger system. I had been toying with locating an MMM deck for the 2305 to work some close in stuff. At $2000 with 224 hours the X324 was a good find. I had used a 1992 30 inch rear engine XRS75 inside the postage stamp for 14 years. The X324 will fill a big role around here. I just put a spring suspension TracSeat on the 2305 for under a hundred bucks. It has answered some geometry questions and I suspect I will upgrade the seat again to a Michigan and probably do something seat wise on the 324 also. Pretty bumpy around here. Shoulder problems from eight years ago have migrated to neck and upper back. In sticking with the 2305 I have justified to myself ordering a bunch of stuff from Heavy Hitch and Artillian. Also mounting a tool box and some other small trinkets. In the coming years I am looking at smoothing out the rougher parts of the pasture which should help the ride. I dream of a 7' RFM some day, not sure that a 2032r would handle it. I will keep my eye on the 2038r as well. I'll bet your neighbor will be pretty happy too. Best Wishes, Bob
Jgayman,
I was dangerously close to getting my tractor with a belly mower. I had the erroneous assumption that a belly mower was cheaper than a dedicated mower, especially a zero turn. I got lucky and saved enough on the mid pto to more than pay for the zero turn. I am not certain how long the zero turn will last, it is a gas engine after all, but that will be a decision for another day and in the meantime I am more than happy to have the nice clearance I have on the machine now. I have not actually measured the ground clearance, but it is certainly in a tremendous improvement over the old 2305.
SI2305 (old handle, new tractor)
I was dangerously close to getting my tractor with a belly mower. I had the erroneous assumption that a belly mower was cheaper than a dedicated mower, especially a zero turn. I got lucky and saved enough on the mid pto to more than pay for the zero turn. I am not certain how long the zero turn will last, it is a gas engine after all, but that will be a decision for another day and in the meantime I am more than happy to have the nice clearance I have on the machine now. I have not actually measured the ground clearance, but it is certainly in a tremendous improvement over the old 2305.
SI2305 (old handle, new tractor)
Last edited:
Tractor update,
Yesterday I had hoped to get some more seat time, but some land maintenance took precedent. I have about 650 feet worth of living fence that desperately needed trimming so my neighbor (new 2305 owner) and I went in and had to trim some pretty big brush by hand--not the sort of stuff that is tractor conducive. In fact, in some places the brush was overhanging the path I have directly adjacent to the hedge so I had to trim that up to about 8' height to get the new tractor under.
I did, however, get a little bit of seat time moving a few of the branches. At the beginning of my trimming chore I was working by myself, cutting up some of the autumn olive that is so invasive around here. I used a pole saw to cut into the brush (easier than reaching through thorns with a regular chainsaw) and I threw my cut brush onto the bucket of the new tractor. I could definitely carry more brush and it held in better than in the 2305. I made certain to get the 2038r with a 61" wide high capacity bucket. This is 10" wider than the 2305 bucket and that extra width just cradled large, over sized material better. Additionally, I did not have to raise the bucket to near its max to keep trailing twigs and branches from dragging on the ground and getting caught. Just lifting the arms to about level with the hood was perfectly fine. During this time I used the auto-hydro function that links the hydro pedal to the engine throttle. I did not think much of this function at first, but it is nice. While still, the engine idles at a nice, low rumble and then automatically picks up as the hydro pedal (either forward or reverse) gets pressed. The result was that I moved plenty quickly to and from the brush pile and the tractor was running as slow and softly as possible. Presumably the fuel consumption was also low, though I can't really measure that right now.
A little later (after I had finished one major piece of brush and before my neighbor arrived for help) I decided to test out the 6' mower. I have about a thousand feet of rough acreage from the edge of my property to my driveway that parallels the road and I usually keep this area nice and low even when my field is tall. I have to keep the first 15' of roadside grass short or the county mows it for me--something that just sticks in my craw! At any rate, I drove the tractor down to the edge of the property and set up the mower. I had played around with the mower deck height after it arrived so I had to re-adjust to get the deck level, but retain enough lift that I could really get the mower wheel off the ground. After adjustment, I raised the deck, set the RPM's to about 1500 and engaged the PTO--almost. The PTO control is one of the switches on the right side fender and looks like a little rocker switch. I thought that pushing it forward would engage the PTO. What you actually need to do is first rock the switch forward and then press down firmly again and the little switch light comes on and the PTO starts up. I am used to a 4' rough cutter so I was not certain what to expect from the 6' rough cutter, but the engagement was remarkably gentle, almost more so than the 2305. I then lowered the deck to the surface and started to mow. Mowing was generally smooth and uneventful--a good thing.
As I have said before, my field area of tall grass is a rough, bumpy area to mow with on the 2305. The 2038r, however, seemed to just glide over the surface. I could still tell when I hit bumps, but the bumps were not at all jarring, simply a minor nudge up or down. I thank the much larger rear wheels for the majority of the smoothing action I experienced, but the longer wheel base and the seat suspension played an important roll as well. As far as mowing performance, it cut just fine, though this was hardly much of a test of its mowing ability as I only cut maybe 2 inches off. I think my main plan will be to let my grass grow to about 12-18", tall enough to make my walking paths clear, but not tall enough that the grass turns amber. I will then mow down to about 4-6 inches or so and let it grow back up again. I may have to increase my mowing in the later summer in order to get the weeds that shoot up to 7'. I am sure my wife will let me know what is too tall and I will update this thread as my mowing continues. However, that single 1000' strip did mow nicely, the tractor was very smooth on rough ground and the 6' mower cut a nice wide path. I am thinking that my mow time will be drastically reduced from here on out.
One other note about mowing. My 2305, being much closer to the ground, was perpetually bathed in a nice, steady stream of fluffy seeds, dust, chaff and other mowing debris. I always had my bucket edge out trying to push the material down before it reached the tractor grill, but without fail, whenever I mowed my tall grass, I would overheat the engine. I am curious as to how well this tractor will stand up to mowing dust/debris. I may have very little of mowing debris if I keep up with the mowing and keep it down far enough that it basically always stays green and never dries out. If that is so, then that eliminates another, substantial chunk of time I always experienced while bush hogging--stopping regularly to clean the grill and filter and stopping (mowing, not the engine) when the temp light came on.
That is about all I have for now, but I can't wait to get on the machine and update some more.
SI2305 (old handle, new tractor)
Yesterday I had hoped to get some more seat time, but some land maintenance took precedent. I have about 650 feet worth of living fence that desperately needed trimming so my neighbor (new 2305 owner) and I went in and had to trim some pretty big brush by hand--not the sort of stuff that is tractor conducive. In fact, in some places the brush was overhanging the path I have directly adjacent to the hedge so I had to trim that up to about 8' height to get the new tractor under.
I did, however, get a little bit of seat time moving a few of the branches. At the beginning of my trimming chore I was working by myself, cutting up some of the autumn olive that is so invasive around here. I used a pole saw to cut into the brush (easier than reaching through thorns with a regular chainsaw) and I threw my cut brush onto the bucket of the new tractor. I could definitely carry more brush and it held in better than in the 2305. I made certain to get the 2038r with a 61" wide high capacity bucket. This is 10" wider than the 2305 bucket and that extra width just cradled large, over sized material better. Additionally, I did not have to raise the bucket to near its max to keep trailing twigs and branches from dragging on the ground and getting caught. Just lifting the arms to about level with the hood was perfectly fine. During this time I used the auto-hydro function that links the hydro pedal to the engine throttle. I did not think much of this function at first, but it is nice. While still, the engine idles at a nice, low rumble and then automatically picks up as the hydro pedal (either forward or reverse) gets pressed. The result was that I moved plenty quickly to and from the brush pile and the tractor was running as slow and softly as possible. Presumably the fuel consumption was also low, though I can't really measure that right now.
A little later (after I had finished one major piece of brush and before my neighbor arrived for help) I decided to test out the 6' mower. I have about a thousand feet of rough acreage from the edge of my property to my driveway that parallels the road and I usually keep this area nice and low even when my field is tall. I have to keep the first 15' of roadside grass short or the county mows it for me--something that just sticks in my craw! At any rate, I drove the tractor down to the edge of the property and set up the mower. I had played around with the mower deck height after it arrived so I had to re-adjust to get the deck level, but retain enough lift that I could really get the mower wheel off the ground. After adjustment, I raised the deck, set the RPM's to about 1500 and engaged the PTO--almost. The PTO control is one of the switches on the right side fender and looks like a little rocker switch. I thought that pushing it forward would engage the PTO. What you actually need to do is first rock the switch forward and then press down firmly again and the little switch light comes on and the PTO starts up. I am used to a 4' rough cutter so I was not certain what to expect from the 6' rough cutter, but the engagement was remarkably gentle, almost more so than the 2305. I then lowered the deck to the surface and started to mow. Mowing was generally smooth and uneventful--a good thing.
As I have said before, my field area of tall grass is a rough, bumpy area to mow with on the 2305. The 2038r, however, seemed to just glide over the surface. I could still tell when I hit bumps, but the bumps were not at all jarring, simply a minor nudge up or down. I thank the much larger rear wheels for the majority of the smoothing action I experienced, but the longer wheel base and the seat suspension played an important roll as well. As far as mowing performance, it cut just fine, though this was hardly much of a test of its mowing ability as I only cut maybe 2 inches off. I think my main plan will be to let my grass grow to about 12-18", tall enough to make my walking paths clear, but not tall enough that the grass turns amber. I will then mow down to about 4-6 inches or so and let it grow back up again. I may have to increase my mowing in the later summer in order to get the weeds that shoot up to 7'. I am sure my wife will let me know what is too tall and I will update this thread as my mowing continues. However, that single 1000' strip did mow nicely, the tractor was very smooth on rough ground and the 6' mower cut a nice wide path. I am thinking that my mow time will be drastically reduced from here on out.
One other note about mowing. My 2305, being much closer to the ground, was perpetually bathed in a nice, steady stream of fluffy seeds, dust, chaff and other mowing debris. I always had my bucket edge out trying to push the material down before it reached the tractor grill, but without fail, whenever I mowed my tall grass, I would overheat the engine. I am curious as to how well this tractor will stand up to mowing dust/debris. I may have very little of mowing debris if I keep up with the mowing and keep it down far enough that it basically always stays green and never dries out. If that is so, then that eliminates another, substantial chunk of time I always experienced while bush hogging--stopping regularly to clean the grill and filter and stopping (mowing, not the engine) when the temp light came on.
That is about all I have for now, but I can't wait to get on the machine and update some more.
SI2305 (old handle, new tractor)
Last edited:
Coyote machine
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- 22 SANY SY 50U, '10 Kioti DK 40se/hst KL-401 FEL, loaded tires, KB-2485 bhoe, Tuffline TB160 BB, Woods QA forks, MIE Hydraulic bhoe thumb & ripper tooth, Igland 4001 winch, & GR-20 Log Grapple. Woods BBX72" Brush Mower. Diamondplate aluminum canopy
Nice upgrade and interesting comparison of model features, benefits, etc. One suggestion to make it easier to read for your 'fans': use more paragraphs. Reading a long continuous, no breaks page(s) of info is real hard on the eyes/mind.
beenthere
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- JD_4x2_Gator, JD_4300, JD_425, JD_455 AWS, added JD_455, JD_110, JD_X485(sold)
Maybe organize it by chapters too.. 
bigtiller
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- Feb 1, 2006
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- John Deere 2720 John Deere 3039R John Deere Z545R
The thing I noticed about the bumps was the 2305 bounced me up & down and the 2720 bounces me left & right.
I like how your auto-hydro function works, wish I had it.
I like how your auto-hydro function works, wish I had it.
bigtiller,
Had the auto-hydro been an option I likely would have opted to not include it in order to saver a few bucks. However, now that I have it I find that I like it. Generally when I use it I have the throttle set at idle. However, say you have the throttle set at 1/4, then 1/4 will be the lowest engine output and any time it needs more engine, it ups the throttle automatically. I think it is most practical in the quick loading/unloading loader type of work.
SI2305
Had the auto-hydro been an option I likely would have opted to not include it in order to saver a few bucks. However, now that I have it I find that I like it. Generally when I use it I have the throttle set at idle. However, say you have the throttle set at 1/4, then 1/4 will be the lowest engine output and any time it needs more engine, it ups the throttle automatically. I think it is most practical in the quick loading/unloading loader type of work.
SI2305
