think i am ready to pull the trigger

jmt1271 · May 20, 2006

it turns out it is the heavy duty bucket,(think thats all you can get in a 61") so that is good. it has a big sticker on it that says HD(duh). i put about three hours on it today clearing an acre sized area on the back of my property. i am impressed with the capablity of this setup. it is my first tractor, and i was surprised what they can do. i thought i was catching on pretty well and was feeling like a natural, until my buddy came over that has been doing this stuff his whole life, then i saw what it was really capable of. hope it holds up, deere has alot of hype to live up to. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

jmt1271 · May 20, 2006

it turns out it is the heavy duty bucket,(think thats all you can get in a 61") so that is good. it has a big sticker on it that says HD(duh). i put about three hours on it today clearing an acre sized area on the back of my property. i am impressed with the capablity of this setup. it is my first tractor, and i was surprised what they can do. i thought i was catching on pretty well and was feeling like a natural, until my buddy came over that has been doing this stuff his whole life, then i saw what it was really capable of. hope it holds up, deere has alot of hype to live up to. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

tglass · May 21, 2006

Looks like a honey, and I've found mine is capable of doing alot of things the other brands won't. Sure it cost a little more, and when I hear this do what I do. Lean back in the seat, snobishly look down your nose and say yes but I can afford it. Just playing but gets another conversation going pretty quick. Have a good time with yours and be safe.

tglass · May 21, 2006

Looks like a honey, and I've found mine is capable of doing alot of things the other brands won't. Sure it cost a little more, and when I hear this do what I do. Lean back in the seat, snobishly look down your nose and say yes but I can afford it. Just playing but gets another conversation going pretty quick. Have a good time with yours and be safe.

BloomingtonMike · May 21, 2006

You have a great tractor and a great price. Be proud of that research. You will love it. Good job.

BloomingtonMike · May 21, 2006

You have a great tractor and a great price. Be proud of that research. You will love it. Good job.

jmt1271 · Jun 6, 2006

well i have put about 15 hrs on the tractor. first off, i was glad to find out that my price DID include the HD bucket. i have traded the lx5 bushhog back to the dealer, he gave me full price back for it. also gave gave me full price back for the cheapo boxblade. i traded up to the following; frontier bb2060 BB, iMatch, bushings, toothbar for my bucket, forward lighting kit and brushguards for the lights. so i got a much better boxblade plus all the other stuff for my cheap boxblade and the LX5. we are trading even.

as to the tractor, i am very impressed with its abilities. have basically cleared the whole acre plus lot that i needed to, am going to be grading leveling now.

fuel consumption is quite a bit better than expected, i figured up GPH but have misplaced my numbers, it was better than average. do turbos generally do better? power of the tractor is superb, and traction is very good. i realize these are subjective ratings but i dont have equipment to properly do it.

my biggest concern is learning to properly utilize the BB. any tips?

i cant think of any negatives, will keep looking. i will try to be more critical.

great tractor, but it feels funny to have a 22k tractor on 3 acres. must move soon.
__________________

jmt1271 · Jun 6, 2006

well i have put about 15 hrs on the tractor. first off, i was glad to find out that my price DID include the HD bucket. i have traded the lx5 bushhog back to the dealer, he gave me full price back for it. also gave gave me full price back for the cheapo boxblade. i traded up to the following; frontier bb2060 BB, iMatch, bushings, toothbar for my bucket, forward lighting kit and brushguards for the lights. so i got a much better boxblade plus all the other stuff for my cheap boxblade and the LX5. we are trading even.

as to the tractor, i am very impressed with its abilities. have basically cleared the whole acre plus lot that i needed to, am going to be grading leveling now.

fuel consumption is quite a bit better than expected, i figured up GPH but have misplaced my numbers, it was better than average. do turbos generally do better? power of the tractor is superb, and traction is very good. i realize these are subjective ratings but i dont have equipment to properly do it.

my biggest concern is learning to properly utilize the BB. any tips?

i cant think of any negatives, will keep looking. i will try to be more critical.

great tractor, but it feels funny to have a 22k tractor on 3 acres. must move soon.
__________________

jeepinator · Jun 6, 2006

( my biggest concern is learning to properly utilize the BB. any tips? )
Replacing the toplink with a hydraulic cylinder will make box blading worlds more fun... err, productive.
The JD way of accomplishing this is quite expensive at ~$2k. Search for "top and tilt" or "TNT".
And read this recent thread .
Another, cheaper way, of doing this is with the CCM toplink cylinder and the JD 3rd SCV kit. Searches on these things should get quite a few hits.

One of the tricks I have learned with the BB is to avoid finesse. For the first pass or two of smoothing, levelling, etc, just drop that sucker down and motor. Let the box fill up and just drag it all over, using a fairly level blade angle.
But if you have grass to tear up first, tilt the back way up and let them scarifiers dig in for a few passes. Like a crosshatch pattern. Try to avoid collecting stuff in the box during this phase. You just want to rip the grass to shreds.
I do this before tilling or leveling.
Only on the final few passes do you need to get a sore neck looking back and trying to keep the blade digging how you want.
I am pretty new to this stuff, but the above method seems to work for me on the kind of dirt I have.

jeepinator · Jun 6, 2006

( my biggest concern is learning to properly utilize the BB. any tips? )
Replacing the toplink with a hydraulic cylinder will make box blading worlds more fun... err, productive.
The JD way of accomplishing this is quite expensive at ~$2k. Search for "top and tilt" or "TNT".
And read this recent thread .
Another, cheaper way, of doing this is with the CCM toplink cylinder and the JD 3rd SCV kit. Searches on these things should get quite a few hits.

One of the tricks I have learned with the BB is to avoid finesse. For the first pass or two of smoothing, levelling, etc, just drop that sucker down and motor. Let the box fill up and just drag it all over, using a fairly level blade angle.
But if you have grass to tear up first, tilt the back way up and let them scarifiers dig in for a few passes. Like a crosshatch pattern. Try to avoid collecting stuff in the box during this phase. You just want to rip the grass to shreds.
I do this before tilling or leveling.
Only on the final few passes do you need to get a sore neck looking back and trying to keep the blade digging how you want.
I am pretty new to this stuff, but the above method seems to work for me on the kind of dirt I have.