New Loader and a trip to Branson

mattellis2 · Jul 3, 2010

I picked up my new loader yesterday...a BL25S. I understand that this is going to be the standard loader on all small and medium frame tractors now. I put it on my 2910, but saw another on a 3820 while at Branson yesterday. It comes standard with a 66" QD skidsteer bucket. Specs are pretty similar to the BL10S, except it has a few inches less lift height. I don't have the cut sheet on it, but the guys at Branson said it was good for a lift capacity of around 2000 lbs. It is also a curved boom loader.

The install wasn't bad... lots of grunt work to get everything into position and bolted up. The biggest difficult was hooking up the hydraulics. It turns out you have to break an existing line, and screw one of the supply hoses into each side of the existing fitting. One of the guys at Branson was kind enough to point me in the right direction, or I would never have figured that one out.

Anyway, here is a picture installed.

If you happen to want one, Branson has a few more in stock:

if you happen to be needing a new 4720, they have those too:

the guy that was showing me around says the build 120 tractors/month.

Finally, here is there newest, largest tractor. I don't have specs I am afraid, but it is very nice. I don't know if the rear remotes are standard or not.

FF117 · Jul 3, 2010

Glad to hear your loader install went well. I thought the BL25S was going to be the new loader that I was getting on my 4720, but I must have been mistaken because mine isn't the same. The new 6640 looks really sharp, can't wait to see one in person. Not that I will be buying one, but did they say when those will start shipping?

It's cool to see the inside of the Branson facility. I'll have to check it out next time I head south. Do they let you call ahead and schedule a tour? Thanks for sharing the photos :thumbsup:

MarkV · Jul 4, 2010

Is that the Branson facility in Rome, Ga.?

MarkV

mattellis2 · Jul 4, 2010

Yes, that is the Rome location. I am not aware of another one if there is one.

I picked up the loader, because I was quoted $400 to ship it 140 miles. I took Friday off from work, hooked up the trailer, and headed to north GA. Rome is in the foothills of the Appalachians; it is a very nice drive once outside the perimeter of north Atlanta.

I didn't have an appointment. The dealer just told me to be there before 2:00 since they were shutting down early on Friday. They put the loader on my trailer, then let me talk to one of the guys that assembles the tractors when the come off the truck from Korea. He was very helpful, and they let me take pictures of an installed loader, which was pretty helpful too.

After i got done quizzing the guy, they let me poke around and look at all the neat things they had. The whole thing was very informal, and they were very nice. I wish the same thing could be said about my local dealer.

-matt

MarkV · Jul 4, 2010

Thanks Matt. I don't live far from Rome so I go there for the Doctor and other things. I drive past the Branson facility and just wondered if that was the same place. To be honest I thought it was a regional hub and didn't know it was their assembly facility.

MarkV

polo1665 · Jul 5, 2010

Hey Matt, that loader really looks stout. Quite a difference for the Ansung loader that came with my 3510.
Glad you got her installed O.K. and thanks for the pics from Rome. I'd like to visit there sometime myself.

Mark

MicroPilot · Jul 6, 2010

Can you post detail pictures of how the loader attaches to the frame and of the valve setup?

mattellis2 · Jul 6, 2010

i will when i get home. mounting the frame was the somewhat easy part. the only difficulty i had was some of the bolts they sent were about 1/2" too long, so i ended up stacking a few washers to compensate. i will replace them with the correct length fasteners when i get by a specialty fastener place that has 14mm shank bolts. impact wrenches will save a ton of work. the four fasteners on the right side behind the fuel tank were a pain though.

the most confusing part for me was attaching the supply hydraulics. you have to break the hydraulic line coming from the pump, and screw one hose into each side of the fitting you just broke. i had to call one of the guys I met at the branson shop to get that worked out.

-matt

mattellis2 · Jul 6, 2010

Here are pictures of the mounts/valve.

This is the main mount on the left side of the tractor. The other side is identical, just a mirror image.

You can see the bolts at the front of the mount that were too long, so I added some washers for shims. You can also see the bushings between the mount and the frame (there are two on each side, you can see the top one here). You have to remove two existing bolts, and reuse their holes with the bushings and longer bolts provided.

This is a side view of the same mount.

The two small bolts in the upper left are the same bolts using the bushings described above. The two large bolts at the bottom bolt the rear bracket and cross bar to the main mount. I didn't think to get a picture of the cross bar, but it is about 2" in diameter, threaded on each end and ties the two main mounts together under the tractor. It is located just below the front drive shaft. The rear bracket is the rectangular piece passing under the fuel tank. It runs to the back axle, and is bolted to it using the existing U-bolts.

The four medium sized bolts are more frame bolts. They were easy on this side...more difficult on the other because they are actually behind the off side fuel tank. The coppery goop is some anti-seize that squeezed out as I was tightening the bolts down. Since my tractor is 5 years old, the threads had a little corrosion, even though the tapped holes were capped for protection. The anti-seize helped grease the tracks a little bit as I was putting in the bolts. All fasteners have lock washers but I will check them periodically to make sure nothing has worked its way loose.

Here is the back end of the rear bracket. You can see that it gets installed under the two inside U-bolts.

This is the hydraulic fitting that has to be taken apart, and the two supply side hoses are connected to. The existing hard line is dark colored, and about 1" in diameter. It comes from the top of the pump and runs towards the front of the tractor. The brass colored 90 degree elbow is one of the new hoses connected to the existing fitting. The other hose connects to the other half.

Finally, this a picture of the control valve.

The two 90 degree elbows on the inside and outside of the valve are the other ends of the supply lines that connect to the existing fitting in the picture above. I forget which is which, but if you reverse them, the loader will not work. It is a simple matter to flip them around at the valve.

The non-QD connection 2nd to the left is the return, and it gets connected at the plug above and to the right of the PTO shaft if you were looking at the rear of the tractor.

The loader has 4 hoses, one for each of the cylinders. The are anchored on the inside of the boom arm and stacked top to bottom. I will refer to them as 1-4, starting at the top.

#1 gets connected to the upper right QD connection in the picture.
#2 gets connected to the lower right QD connection in the picture.
#3 gets connected to the lower left QD connection in the picture.
#4 gets connected to upper left QD connection in the picture.

It seems like it would have been easier to have 4 unique colors, but whatever. I just labeled all mine A/A, B/B etc. and will match them up if I remove the loader.

Hope it helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

-matt