You go through a lot of wood. What size structure are you heating?
Very large and very old. Roughly 8000 sq.ft. and roughly 250 years old. That amount of wood only makes up half of my total fuel consumption, by BTU value.
Sounds likes forks and or a rock bucket and grapple are in order. Make sure you get a 3rd function on your loader.
Yeah, this is another factor favoring the 3R, as the addition of a mid-PTO requires the addition of a third hydraulic function and the associated control on the SCV grip. There is a kit from Deere that easily routes that third function, which comes out behind the seat, back toward the front for use with a grapple.
Maybe the 2R has this option as well, I need to look into that. But that would also push the price of the 2R closer to what I was quoted on the 3R, as that third hydraulic channel is typically +$1k on the price of a new machine.
For now, I do well with tongs dangling from the bucket, or a choker chain to a hook welded atop my 855 bucket. This is why I will almost certainly go for the HD bucket on either machine, I would twist and destroy Deere’s current “standard” buckets in no time flat, they’re thin and weak!
I’ve never owned a 3 series but I can comment on lawn damage. I own a 2025R with loaded rear tires and mow with it using a 60” mid mount. I’m coming from a Kubota BX, similar to a 1 series JD. The 2025 doesn’t tear up the yard any more, but it does tend to rut the yard more. Part of that is mowing in the same place over and over. You can vary the mowing pattern in some places but not every where. I’d say if you are worried about lawn damage smaller might be better. On the other hand if you don’t mow with it, can stay off the lawn when it’s soft, the 3 series would be nice. I know I’ve drooled over them.
Excellent, thank you. This is exactly the type of feedback I’m hoping to get. I’m not mowing with it, but I’m traversing the yard to get from the barn to my wood lot, and from the wood lot to the house. See the aforementioned volume of wood I’m moving around. I’m also using it 6x per year to spread fertilizer across the entire lawn, 1x per year to over-seed the entire lawn, and 1x or 2x per year to aerate the lawn, and in the spring to move a lot of mulch to all of my various gardens. About 70% of my usage is on the lawn, 20% moving snow on asphalt, and 10% in the woods.
One question for you, since you own the 2R... what do you think about the location of the diff lock pedal and the MFWD lever? I can’t see how I won’t kick, mash, or break off that stupid MFWD lever, given the way it’s almost on top of the diff lock pedal. If I buy a 2R with turf tires, I’ll likely be using that diff lock quite a bit, it’s the only way I can haul my heavy wood trailer thru snow with the 855.
Two things that have me favoring the 3R for lawn use are:
1. Stability. I’m often sideways on reasonably steep grades. The 3R has more weight in the frame, and is wider in standard configuration (although I believe 2R can be spaced to almost the same width). Does Deere list their grade / rollover specs?
2. Weight. Yes, heavier can be better when I’m pushing my wagon loaded with oak under my porch, I do more lawn damage in wet slushy conditions, than any other single task. I use a 1-cord wagon load every third week, during the heating season, and my 855 has all sorts of traction problems getting this wagon pushed up a slight grade and into it’s storage location.
