Price Check Opinions requested on price and performance
- Thread starter hipilot
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Libertine
Gold Member
hipilot:
Have fun.
JEH
Have fun.
JEH
Libertine
Gold Member
SethO:
<font color="blue">It is quite hard to imagine that a tool that requires two limbs to operate is safer than one that requires only one. </font>
Gee, sorry to hear of your condition. Most of us have two arms and two legs.
I note without comment a recent news piece where two legally BLIND women went to a riding stable and demanded to be allowed to rent horses. When the owner refused for safety reasons, these, I can only call them things, SUED the owner for discrimination. Life in an insane asylum.
JEH
<font color="blue">It is quite hard to imagine that a tool that requires two limbs to operate is safer than one that requires only one. </font>
Gee, sorry to hear of your condition. Most of us have two arms and two legs.
I note without comment a recent news piece where two legally BLIND women went to a riding stable and demanded to be allowed to rent horses. When the owner refused for safety reasons, these, I can only call them things, SUED the owner for discrimination. Life in an insane asylum.
JEH
MossRoad
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I've been watching this thread for a while...
Congratulations on your purchase! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
As for the gear vs. HST... get use to your tractor and enjoy it. But by all means, if you ever have the chance to operate a tractor with HST, do it. It is a real hoot. Never hurts to look. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Congratulations on your purchase! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
As for the gear vs. HST... get use to your tractor and enjoy it. But by all means, if you ever have the chance to operate a tractor with HST, do it. It is a real hoot. Never hurts to look. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
In the first three days of using my newly purchased Kubota L2900D, I've used the Kubota LA480 FEL, the JD 506 brush hog and the JD 272 grooming mower. Everything seems to work properly and effectively. The only defect found so far is that the left side hazard light is out. I am very pleased so far. In using the FEL, the huge blind spot in front of the FEL bucket makes any precision work difficult. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Joe1
Platinum Member
Did you ever find out what year the tractor was manufactured? You said the seller had all the original paperwork, so it should have been listed. You'll probably need that eventually for parts, etc. After a few hours, are you satisfied that you can do what you need to with the manual shift? Like someone said, you can get your money back and probably then some if you choose to upgrade. As far as the sun damage, a lot of tractors live outside anyway. Good luck.
Joe
Joe
jinman
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( In using the FEL, the huge blind spot in front of the FEL bucket makes any precision work difficult. )</font>
Hipilot, congratulations on your new tractor and implements. You got a very good deal and it seems you are more happy with your purchase every time you do something with it. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif It can be addicting, but it's one of the best addictions you could ever have. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
About using the bucket when what you are working on is not visible.... Well, you most likely have some type of level indicator on the FEL. Someone who knows your tractor better can tell you where it is. Mine is a rod on the right loader arm. It's a combination of using that indicator, watching what the bucket is doing, and the experience you get over time listening to your tractor and "feeling" things in the seat of your pants. Let's take these things one at a time.
Level Indicator: This indicator is normally set so it has a mark where your bucket is completely level when the bucket is lowered to a flat surface. If you are on a concrete slab, the tractor is level, and you lower your loader arms, you can curl the bucket to this point and the bottom of the bucket will set level on the slab. For what it's worth, that's the only time this indicator is accurate. As soon as you lift the bucket or the front and rear wheels are not in a flat plane, this indicator is not accurate. For example: On rough terrain, you will have to roll the bucket below or above the level point to be able to load the bucket. When you lift a load up high, you need to roll the bucket down as you lift, or everything you have in the bucket will spill out onto the hood of your tractor or on you. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif More expensive loaders have an auto leveling mechanism to reduce this problem.
Watch the bucket: Detecting the ground in front of your bucket is fairly simple. You lower the bucket down until it touches the ground and then lift it slightly. If you start to dig and the bucket digs in too much, your tractor will start to bog down and you'll need to roll the bucket up slightly or lift the arms slightly. Practice, practice, practice is the best suggestion I can make.
Feeling your tractor through the seat of your pants may be the most important factor and the one none of us can really describe. It's sounds, feels, and intuition that separate the experienced operator from the beginner. Every tractor is different. It's like driving different vehicles with a standard transmission. Each one has a different feel to the clutch that you have to get used to until it becomes second nature.
Finally, that blind spot in front of the loader has caused lots of incidents. The top of the bucket is almost always pretty far behind the cutting edge and it's easy to bump into trees, rocks, barns, houses, and vehicles when you thought you had lots of room. We've all done it and you will too. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Good luck with the new tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Hipilot, congratulations on your new tractor and implements. You got a very good deal and it seems you are more happy with your purchase every time you do something with it. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif It can be addicting, but it's one of the best addictions you could ever have. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
About using the bucket when what you are working on is not visible.... Well, you most likely have some type of level indicator on the FEL. Someone who knows your tractor better can tell you where it is. Mine is a rod on the right loader arm. It's a combination of using that indicator, watching what the bucket is doing, and the experience you get over time listening to your tractor and "feeling" things in the seat of your pants. Let's take these things one at a time.
Level Indicator: This indicator is normally set so it has a mark where your bucket is completely level when the bucket is lowered to a flat surface. If you are on a concrete slab, the tractor is level, and you lower your loader arms, you can curl the bucket to this point and the bottom of the bucket will set level on the slab. For what it's worth, that's the only time this indicator is accurate. As soon as you lift the bucket or the front and rear wheels are not in a flat plane, this indicator is not accurate. For example: On rough terrain, you will have to roll the bucket below or above the level point to be able to load the bucket. When you lift a load up high, you need to roll the bucket down as you lift, or everything you have in the bucket will spill out onto the hood of your tractor or on you. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif More expensive loaders have an auto leveling mechanism to reduce this problem.
Watch the bucket: Detecting the ground in front of your bucket is fairly simple. You lower the bucket down until it touches the ground and then lift it slightly. If you start to dig and the bucket digs in too much, your tractor will start to bog down and you'll need to roll the bucket up slightly or lift the arms slightly. Practice, practice, practice is the best suggestion I can make.
Feeling your tractor through the seat of your pants may be the most important factor and the one none of us can really describe. It's sounds, feels, and intuition that separate the experienced operator from the beginner. Every tractor is different. It's like driving different vehicles with a standard transmission. Each one has a different feel to the clutch that you have to get used to until it becomes second nature.
Finally, that blind spot in front of the loader has caused lots of incidents. The top of the bucket is almost always pretty far behind the cutting edge and it's easy to bump into trees, rocks, barns, houses, and vehicles when you thought you had lots of room. We've all done it and you will too. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Good luck with the new tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the tips on using the FEL. The only level mark I see is on each side of the bucket top support, there is a fore-and-aft label marked level.
In removing a burn pile left by the former owner of our place, I put the bucket as level as I could judge and used the "float" setting. The result was that the pile was removed plus an unintended 2 inches of dirt from under the pile and about 10 sq ft of perfectly good sod. Then while running to my intended dump area, I accidentally dumped the bucket too soon and ended up with more hand work afterward than if I had hand shoveled the burn pile into a wheelbarrow. Live and learn.
Thanks for the tips on using the FEL. The only level mark I see is on each side of the bucket top support, there is a fore-and-aft label marked level.
In removing a burn pile left by the former owner of our place, I put the bucket as level as I could judge and used the "float" setting. The result was that the pile was removed plus an unintended 2 inches of dirt from under the pile and about 10 sq ft of perfectly good sod. Then while running to my intended dump area, I accidentally dumped the bucket too soon and ended up with more hand work afterward than if I had hand shoveled the burn pile into a wheelbarrow. Live and learn.
Dumping early just gives you another opportunity to learn more!
Every owner needs all kind of excuses to use the FEL more.
After loading 35 tons of sand/topsoil into wheelbarrows for my son and his buddy to wheel to the back yard, I became one with the loader.
Best wishes,
Ron /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Every owner needs all kind of excuses to use the FEL more.
After loading 35 tons of sand/topsoil into wheelbarrows for my son and his buddy to wheel to the back yard, I became one with the loader.
Best wishes,
Ron /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
