M135X with front suspension??

[GinNB]

Anybody have one of these yet? How do you like the front axle suspension? How about front loader suspension?

I'm looking at a new tractor with suspension but I'm not stuck on Kubota (have three already but I'm not color-blind). A New Holland 6030 or maybe a hair bigger is also a consideration.

 

[slowzuki]

Not looked at them but I have a MF5455 with loader suspension. It wears out the loader pivots quickly from all the extra movement but its sure nice to drive down the road. Its a bit annoying too when trying to dig and pry because it makes the boom very slopy/springy.

Knowing the rough ground you travel on, I can't imagine you go fast enough to notice the suspension effect?

 

[GinNB]

I go fast enough to toss me around the cab a lot. Same thing with the equipment on the 3pt. I put 440/65/24 Michelin Multibibs on the front of the 105S and the extra cushion is nice. Anything is welcome because bumps are relative- 2.5mph on ground where you should be traveling 2.0 or maybe 1.6 is really rough, even though someone else might think that 2.5 is realllllly slow and the operator must be comfy.

Action shot...

 

[art]

My own opinion was that nobody would notice when they were first introduced. Think about it, the front axle is free to mve any way.Well the custoemers do like them and they are vocal as to how well they will work.

 

[slowzuki]

You might want to look at something with cab suspension and active transport on the 3 point too. The loader suspension you can add to any loader and it does make a big difference. I find just the less shuddering and slamming to be nice. I too have big michellins at low pressure on both ends.

There is quite a range of front suspensions, some are simple, others are quite complicated. Not all let you adjust for the weight, most are biased to high speed road use, big hits, not small stutters. You might find a tractor with planetary type front axle has larger front tires, that you can further air down. Thats my biggest complaint about the big kubotas.

 

[GinNB]

I run my tires as soft as I can but it's a bit of a sidehill hazard when things get too soft- the downhill tire flexes uphill and further drops the downhill side of the tractor. I changed my rear PSI up by one to make things safer and it dropped my max groundspeed by 20% due to increased sprayer slamming on the 3pt. I hate having to back off. I know what you mean about things being geared to road speed and bigger hits. Shame that most tractor dealers don't have a nice rough piece of blueberry ground next door to try their equipment out on.

I hear you on the small front tires, too, but it's not only Kubotas with that problem. Some other makers seem to have slightly bigger front tire options in the same class. 16.9x28 or 18.4x24 would be nice to have and then throw some Multibibs on for more floatation and cush.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

The front suspension does work well, it is an expensive option though. Loader acumulators are alot cheaper and will help in some senerios.

 

[GinNB]

I haven't asked yet. How much is it?

 

[rjkobbeman]

I haven't asked yet. How much is it?

Absolute base price with no options, MSRP is $78k.

 

[slowzuki]

can you explain sprayer slamming? Do you mean rocking side to side with the boom tips hitting or just up and down motion on the hitch?

My MF5455 has an active transport mode that gives the 3 point suspension so heavy implements can move up and down. It is nice when I've got my 5000 lb mower on the back going down the road.

I run my tires as soft as I can but it's a bit of a sidehill hazard when things get too soft- the downhill tire flexes uphill and further drops the downhill side of the tractor. I changed my rear PSI up by one to make things safer and it dropped my max groundspeed by 20% due to increased sprayer slamming on the 3pt.

 

[GinNB]

rjkobbeman, I meant the option, not the whole tractor. thx though.

slowzuki, I mean the sprayer slamming sideways on the 3pt as the tractor rocks back and forth quickly. It's hard to get all of the slack out of the sway links and lift pins, although I put washers on the pins to remove some of it. That is mostly caused by rear axle movement, although hits on the front end can rock the tractor as well. When the rear axle rocks quickly, the sprayer swings, bangs, and causes the booms to fold. It'd be nice to replace the lift arm adjusters with something threaded, like I've seen on New Hollands. That way they could be drawn tight and eliminate the play.

 

[slowzuki]

My MF has threaded adjusters too, you can jam it tight to get rid of a lot of movement and has hammer tabs to slack it off when unmounting the equipment. I do that with my mounted mower conditioner so it cuts straight. My 50 hp kubota you can get some slack out like you say but its still loose. I hate it wandering when snowblowing, hard to steer straight when the chute in in your field of view. I also hate when I'm logging as the winch slams back and forth driving down skid trails.

I'm sure you could fab up something quickly with some rachet type chain binders to take the slack out. I don't think the front suspension is going to help you much. I wonder if you could attach a shock between your drawbar and one of the arms and let it soak up the sway?

 

[GinNB]

Ooooh, trust me- the front end sees its share of banging too, but until they offer rear suspension it's the closest I can get!

I've thought of rigging up something with, say, two toplinks instead of the telescoping swaybars with pins for slack removal.

 

[slowzuki]

The problem you'll find is the tractor is actually tossed side to side pretty roughly on bumps. When I have my big mower swung to the rear, with the stops tight, it either tosses the front end sideways or if I have enough weight on the front end, it quite roughly swings the mower side to side with the rear tires squirming like crazy. I would think it would fold your booms up even worse if its fixed rigid. I'd suggest some kind of damper in place of the stabilizers with a bumpstop at the end of the travel so it doesn't slam.

 

[GinNB]

Best tractor I've ever had for spraying quickly relative to size was an old Ford 3000 that used chains to restrain the lift arms. The Ford design tightened the chains as the 3pt was raised, so with the exact right length chains I could raise the sprayer and have it tighten up solid. Marshmallow 11L15 tires on the front and 14.9x28s soft on the back and it'd fly over rough stuff. The only thing holding it back was tractor weight. 100gallons was a big sprayer for it even with a loader on. Went to an M9000 Kubota with 200gal sprayer at the same time and I was surprised at how much slower I had to travel. Part of that is boom design, and another part is the additional slamming. Oh, plus a change to sitting down. I can't stand in a cab and the old Ford would rock and roll quite nicely underneath me when standing. I don't miss spray drift on an open tractor though. A hard hit like you get when a short swing gets stopped suddenly will fold the new booms because the jolt overwhelms the hockeypuck and spring on the boom pivots. Added lots of spring preload and even added washers to tighten it up and it helps but still not perfect.

I think something like a threaded sway preventer with, say, a shock or maybe a superstiff rubber dampener inserted somehow would be ideal. As I raise groundspeed again with sprayer and linkage improvements it'll make tractor suspension and tire cushiness improvements even more important.
I'll be widening the rear track over the winter to reduce rocking and allow lower tire pressures. Didn't want to do that before because my float was 96" wide, but I've widened it to 102" so I can widen the rears a little more without worrying about falling off or wide loads.

I hear you on your mower problem. They're a LOT of weight way out from the lift pins.

 

[slowzuki]

Hmm, I know my MF has an optional set of holes on the hitch that does the tighten when raised, its normally used for big 3 point hitch plows to stop sway when raised. I'm sure others have this.

I wonder if a rubber bump stop or timbren might insert in somewhere to help.

 

[GinNB]

I'm going to run it by my dealer this winter and maybe take one of the telescoping sway-stoppers off the tractor and spy on the New Hollands to see if their parts are interchangeable.