about to pull the trigger, lots of Qs on B7610

bsmith · Feb 27, 2005

Hey, everyone, thanks for all of the info. Another dealer called with a price on a 7800 and now I think I'm going with the 7800 on monday.

He's selling it with loader, folding rops, turfs, 60 inch deck for $8,500 difference. I'd be saving $500 in sales tax by trading, so I'm getting the equivalent of $8,800 on mine and paying $16,800 for the new 7800.

Once again everyone, thanks for all the info!

Bill

bsmith · Feb 27, 2005

By the way, how do I edit my profile?
Can't seem to find the way.
Bill

Bird · Feb 27, 2005

( how do I edit my profile? )

Click on "My Home" at the top of the page, scroll down to "Personal information, email, password, etc." and click on "ediit" on the right side of the page, modify whatever you want, and click on "Submit" at the bottom of the page.

v8dave · Feb 28, 2005

Digging in a pile of dirt or gravel wasn't as straight forward as I thought it would be. Here are a few techniques that expand on Bob Skurka's explaination that I've learned after lots of reading and a little experimenting.

At first you drive up to a pile, "floor it" and plow right in with the bucket low. You drive in about a bucket's worth and then start to roll back the bucket back to fill the bucket to its capacity. At the same time you start lifting the bucket so you can clear the pile--all the while continuing to drive forward to keep the bucket filled.

Well, you can't do all this at the same time. What happens is the hydraulics will stall and you can't lift the bucket out of the pile. This means you don't get a full bucket load and you have to back up and attack it again.

You have to ease up on the forward motion because the tractor push on the pile will exceed the loader capacity. After a while you get the feel of how much to ease up on the power pedal as you penetrate the pile and you roll back and lift a bit sooner to scrape a load off the front of the pile instead of digging it out of the pile.

Easier said than done, but you get the idea. Scrape it off the front of the pile don't try to dig it out.

DanR67 · Feb 28, 2005

Bill -

I also can't comment on comparing my B7610 to anything - she's my first CUT.

Couple of extra things to chew on:

- Your profile says you have 1 acre - in my opinion, the B7610 (or B7800 for that matter) is pretty big for that sized lot. If we're talking mowing time - then it's less than 1/2 an hour with a 54" MMM. I mow my 2- 2.5 acres in @ 1 hour.

I guess I'm wondering what your BX2200 CAN'T do - that you're expecting to do / do faster with a larger CUT? (well - besides EVERYTHING going faster - what do you feel is your biggest need?)

- How tightly do you have to turn when mowing? I was really surprised how easily my B7610 maneuvers around with its' power steering. The HST makes 3-point turns quick & easy. I have R4 tires - without which I surely would have become stuck many times over in mud / snow / muck etc. - and as long as you don't have to make really sharp turns - they don't seem to bother the lawn too much. Since you plan on pulling the boxblade - I'd think the R4s would be preferrable to the turfs....

Since I wanted my wife to also feel comfortable mowing (she hasn't achieved this yet - I'm hogging all the seat time! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ) - I felt the B7610 was *just right* in terms of "smallness" for mowing purposes - and "bigness" in terms of FEL power - I am very satisfied with the power of the LA 352 FEL .... you can check my signature for links to some pics of mostly "non-mowing" activities.

Hope that helps with your selection process!

Dan

Henro · Feb 28, 2005

- Your profile says you have 1 acre - 

Dan...that is something I did not pick up when I read the first post... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

For only 1 acre...I would probably be looking at adding one of those Woods backhoes to the back of the BX2200 if it were me.

No doubt in my mind that I would not want a B7800/B3030 size machine on one acre. Even on my 3.7 acres the larger tractor is almost getting too big now that the heavy work is mostly done here (It never will get THAT big, because I already have it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ). I might settle on a B7510, if I HAD to have something larger than a BX. But probably nothing larger than a B7510.

Some menbers here do have larger B series tractors on an acre or less, so it is not out of the question. All depends on what one wants.

Bob Skurka often recomends renting something to do the occasional big jobs and matching tractor size to one's long term needs. I think this is good advice and myself, if I lost the tractors and place I have now, and ended up on an acre somewhere, I would probably settle for a BX23 ( unlike Bob, I personally NEED a backhoe /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Bill, when I replied in that post above, from your description I just imagined that you had a fair amount of property to deal with.

More is less sometimes...I can't believe I am saying this, but bigger is not always better...(ouch, that hurt! ) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Dan has made some very good points.

frank_f15 · Feb 28, 2005

IF YOUR profile is correct and u have i acre, not sure you need to jump to a 7800, your problem with the fel might just be a technique problem. u don't just drive into the pile and then try to lift, that way u are trying to lift what is in the loader and everthing on top of it. go into the pile, slowly ,lifting and curling at the same time. This way you will have a full load or at least 90% load. just practice!

Killer_B · Mar 1, 2005

bsmith,

I also traded a BX2200 for a B7610. Some of your questions are answered in this thread.

Good luck.

Killer B7610

bsmith · Mar 7, 2005

Sorry I've been busy for a while..

I'll be using the 7800 for work aroung my jobsites and some finish work. Also have some lots in inventory that need to be mowed.

Actually the 2200 did a pretty good job for me, I just want to do it faster.

The 7800, loader, mower and a pulverizer is supposed to be here tomorrow. Just hope it's warm enough to move some dirt!

Thanks for all the info, guys.

Bill