</font><font color="blue" class="small">( One dealer strongly recommended filled tires to deal with my hills, while the first dealer recommended against filled tires. The first dealer said the calcium chloride (hope I'm remembering that right) used to fill tires can be corrosive and shorten tire life. Any thoughts on this?
Also the first dealer recommended the 6' bush hog, while the second said an
L3130 might be overtaxed by that big of a deck on hills. I'd hate to find out that I bought attachments too big for the tractor. Should I downsize the cutter, or upsize the tractor? )</font>
I can comment on some of your post.
First, if you have concerns about tractor stability, you can bank on the fact that filled tires (= a lower center of gravity) will help somewhat, and not increase the risk of a roll-over. That being said, common sense will be needed (and perhaps a fully functioning tilt meter) for safer operation. Tractor tires are being filled with MANY things these days so again, it's a common sense decision that is yours and your alone.
Tire Fills:
1. Calcium - a common choice but can be pricey
2. Foam - totally safe, but not terribly effective from a weight gain perspective
3. Antifreeze/Water - also common but there are complaints of an ecological nature i.e. a spill would result in some soil contamination
4. Windshield Wiper Fluid - same as 3 above perhaps to a lesser degree - I believe the wiper fluid is alcohol based ...
5. Water - bad - can both rust and freeze and may damage your tires from the inside
With regard to the 6 foot brush cutter, the
L3130 will work that device just fine on flat or mildy rolling terrain. Based on the posts of others, it sure sounds like it will also pull it on hilly terrain also.
However, the term "hilly terrain" is subjective. How hilly? What are the slope angles and lengths? This too is a common sense requirment and the best way to answer this question would be to try and have a machine w/ implement brought out to your parcel for some test runs. You may get a lot of testimonials like "my L31010 pulls a 7' hog up and down my grades all day!" ... but it is relelvant/subjective and there can be no substitute for using the machines and cutters on the actual lands it will be used on.
If ya got 1 or 2 big hills that make the thing groan a lil but acres of flat runs, so what. A good CUT is overengineered and should be able to weather some moderate strain to it's components, again, all within good common sense.
