Finally pulled the trigger

[fried1765]

Congrats on the new tractor, aquabird! A fellow Ford retiree here 11 years with tractor division filling parts orders and the remaining 21 building F 150's.
I agree that ZTR is the efficient way to mow the lawn, I got a great deal on a used finish mower but maneuvering with it is a real pain compared with ZTR.
I'm right there with you on storing things inside, being continually perplexed by people with nice buildings leaving expensive equipment outside to be destroyed by the weather or stolen by dirtbags.

I am just 3 months short of 80 years old.
My mother taught me to bring my toys inside at night.
I have two buildings.
1 - 36' x 48', the other 40' x 50'.
Everything lives inside, with the doors closed!

 

[Hay Dude]

I am just 3 months short of 80 years old.
My mother taught me to bring my toys inside at night.
I have two buildings.
1 - 36' x 48', the other 40' x 50'.
Everything lives inside, with the doors closed!

Thatll double the trade-in value years down the road....:thumbsup:

 

[SDT]

I almost bought a Massey Ken. It was the same size as the MX5400. It had 125 hours on it, but the interest rate he quoted me was 6.25% and it would have been close to the price of the Kubota after all the payments were made. I would wanted to put a canopy on it and turf tires. The good thing would be that I would have 2 sets of tires.
I liked where you added fuel.

The smaller MF tractors are made by Iseki and are good machines.

That, said, after buying two new MF tractors in 2007 and 2014 I will never darken a MF/AGCO door again considering how I was treated by both AGCO and their dealers.

SDT

 

[Aquabird]

The MF dealer here is about 40 miles south of me. Not sure if there is a closer one? That would have been a factor.

 

[Hay Dude]

The smaller MF tractors are made by Iseki and are good machines.

That, said, after buying two new MF tractors in 2007 and 2014 I will never darken a MF/AGCO door again considering how I was treated by both AGCO and their dealers.

SDT

I had an Iseki rebranded to a Challenger tractor. It was an excellent tractor and I would own one again in a heartbeat. An MT295B. 52HP with a little powershift transmission. Loved it.

 

[Aquabird]

Woodduck, I loved my Ford tractor. The quality and toughness was everything I hoped for and more. It just seemed under powered when I added the FEL. I was also using a 72' mower deck with it. Perhaps the combo was too much for it. It would mow good with it, but labored. I also plowed and scooped my snow with it, worked great for that, even with turf tires.

ShovelMike, I checked the air pressure in the tires. The fronts were at almost 30psi. The rears were around 24psi. The book says the fronts should be at 20psi. The rears are correct.
Maybe they added air to the fronts because the FEL is on??
Would it hurt to lower the fronts? Should I also lower the rear pressure a little?
I do not premature "baldness" ha ha, I mean tire wear.
Also I can see that with the bucket on the front, as big as it is, you can see the headlights on the front of the tractor.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Woodduck, I loved my Ford tractor. The quality and toughness was everything I hoped for and more. It just seemed under powered when I added the FEL. I was also using a 72' mower deck with it. Perhaps the combo was too much for it. It would mow good with it, but labored. I also plowed and scooped my snow with it, worked great for that, even with turf tires.

ShovelMike, I checked the air pressure in the tires. The fronts were at almost 30psi. The rears were around 24psi. The book says the fronts should be at 20psi. The rears are correct.
Maybe they added air to the fronts because the FEL is on??
Would it hurt to lower the fronts? Should I also lower the rear pressure a little?
I do not premature "baldness" ha ha, I mean tire wear.
Also I can see that with the bucket on the front, as big as it is, you can see the headlights on the front of the tractor.

On tire pressure, my tractor from the dealer had front tire pressures at about ~38 psi, though the owners manual suggested front tire psi of 22. (The tires are rated for 40 max) . I asked the dealer about it, he said the extra tire pressure was good on the front to avoid tire/rim problems with heavy loader work. My fronts are not loaded (with beet juice), not that it matters.

Whereas my rear tires were about 22 psi (and loaded), and the manual suggests 20 psi, so they were much closer to the what the manual says.

Food for thought about front tires and loads.

 

[Aquabird]

Thanks bw, Maybe I should put at least some of the air back in the front tires. I do not want to cut my sidewalls. Tires are high $. I looked in the book and it just gave one tire pressure, not a range for them. I have used the loader but not for heavy loads yet. A guy dug a stump out for me and I do need to move that.
I hate this no burn period in Ohio. This year it is especially hard. They put a special no open burn period in from April to June. I guess it rained to much? It has been from Aug to Oct for years now anyway and I think that is for always now. I have a bunch of brush to burn and cannot pile it any higher.
I would think, that if I watched it and had a FEL with a huge pile of dirt there, it should not be a problem. But, I have this phobia about paying fines and tickets to the govt.
I think it started when I went to a Pro baseball game. (I think the Reds should be semi pro now) Anyway there were no parking places left at any of the garages, so I parked about a half mile away at a parking meter. I loaded the meter with all it would take. 2.5 hrs. Game lasted 3 hrs and of course a $19 ticket and that was many years ago. Of course I have not gone back and will not...done with pro sports now anyway. Might be done with college sports too.
Thanks for the advise.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Thanks bw, Maybe I should put at least some of the air back in the front tires. I do not want to cut my sidewalls. Tires are high $. I looked in the book and it just gave one tire pressure, not a range for them. I have used the loader but not for heavy loads yet. A guy dug a stump out for me and I do need to move that.
I hate this no burn period in Ohio. This year it is especially hard. They put a special no open burn period in from April to June. I guess it rained to much? It has been from Aug to Oct for years now anyway and I think that is for always now. I have a bunch of brush to burn and cannot pile it any higher.
I would think, that if I watched it and had a FEL with a huge pile of dirt there, it should not be a problem. But, I have this phobia about paying fines and tickets to the govt.
I think it started when I went to a Pro baseball game. (I think the Reds should be semi pro now) Anyway there were no parking places left at any of the garages, so I parked about a half mile away at a parking meter. I loaded the meter with all it would take. 2.5 hrs. Game lasted 3 hrs and of course a $19 ticket and that was many years ago. Of course I have not gone back and will not...done with pro sports now anyway. Might be done with college sports too.
Thanks for the advise.

Re: no burn, perhaps next year we will compare chipper notes. I would dearly love to turn my brush piles to mulch for my plantings.

 

[Aquabird]

I had a small chipper many years ago, when I took trees down as a side job. But when I quit doing the tree and limb work the chipper just sat there and sat there and I ended up giving it to a relative.
I did get good news today. I had a septic system put in at my property where we are building. We bought 300 ton of topsoil. The guy gave me a price for the soil before they started to deliver it. Today, he told me it cost $900 less than expected. I told him great, get me 200 more ton....a ton does not go far.
I do wish now I had gotten the forks for my tractor.