the exhaust vent in the hood will be used during the engine regeneration. exhaust temps
will be high to burn off soot in the exhaust filter, so they redirect the exhaust up thru the vent
in the hood instead of down towards the ground, in case the tractor is indoors or out in dry conditions.
while in national training in florida, i questioned them on the front hitch, as they mentioned it was going
to be part of the new design. after questioning a couple different people, one guy finally mentioned
that they were "working on a design" and it would be something they are trying to do down the road.
he indicated an aftermarket company was working on the design, and they said they were looking at
an engine driven front PTO, not coming from a mid pto like the 3000's. no date was given by him as
they had not finalized anything yet. let's hope it's not an other 270 backhoe! (but we do have a 270A)