Buying Advice How do I option this thing?

[oldpilgrim]

I have two seats on my tractor. I have a stick that I keep on the bh which I use to reach forward and press the hst pedal, from the bh seat, to move the tractor when I need to back up to continue digging.

 

[murphy1244]

That will work but sure hope they don't get jammed.

 

[dickfoster]

A flip seat will be much better than getting off the tractor using the backhoe then back to the tractor to move up a few feet then back to the BH. It gets old real quick.

That is likely true but I don't think there is but one BH option for the 1538 and you can take that or take nothing. Guess I take what they have. It's not like I didn't want to know. To tell the truth trying to find a clear picture of a 1538 with a BH that shows this detail is somewhat of a futile exercise. I tried that search and got nowhere fast. They all want to sell you something but they want to tell you nothing. LOL The first thing you see is a UTube of some blabber mouth fast talkin salesman back east yanking about this and that and how great Mahindra is compared to the competition but nothing but a distant shot of the unit itself. Try an image search and you get Mahindra everything but what I need, mostly from the Mahindra site. It's really frustrating trying to get your mitts around concrete info. You'd think info like that would be much easier to get from them. **** if nothing else put PDFs of the manuals on line and let folks have a look for themselves. It's not rocket science. Any high school kid could probably build a better site.
BTW For this reason, I'm getting full user and maintenance documentation with the tractor or I ain't gettin it at all.

 

[dickfoster]

I have two seats on my tractor. I have a stick that I keep on the bh which I use to reach forward and press the hst pedal, from the bh seat, to move the tractor when I need to back up to continue digging.

:thumbsup: Truly, a high tech solution indeed. What is the diameter of your stick?:laughing:

 

[oldpilgrim]

basically it's a piece of 1x2 strapping about 3 feet long. Does the job.

 

[dickfoster]

basically it's a piece of 1x2 strapping about 3 feet long. Does the job.

I take it the HST is in neutral when you're running the BH so how do you deal with that? Don't you have to push in the clutch to get from neutral to whatever speed range? Something I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

BTW looking very closely at a pic I managed to find on the web of a 1538 with BH on the web, I don't see a second seat, so it must be a spinner which suits me just fine. Whatever it is, I guess I'll get used to it. I can think of only one trench I need to dig for now so it's not a big deal for me, I won't be making money with the thing anyway.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I take it the HST is in neutral when you're running the BH so how do you deal with that? Don't you have to push in the clutch to get from neutral to whatever speed range? Something I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

BTW looking very closely at a pic I managed to find on the web of a 1538 with BH on the web, I don't see a second seat, so it must be a spinner which suits me just fine. Whatever it is, I guess I'll get used to it. I can think of only one trench I need to dig for now so it's not a big deal for me, I won't be making money with the thing anyway.

The 3 speed axle, L-M-H, is usually in M. I very seldom use L or H. When an HST is running and you're not pushing a pedal, you're in neutral. It just sits there waiting for you to press the rocker pedal either front or rear.

The clutch is only only used when starting the engine or when shifting the 3 speed, engaging the diff lock or engaging 4wd.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I take it the HST is in neutral when you're running the BH so how do you deal with that? Don't you have to push in the clutch to get from neutral to whatever speed range? Something I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

BTW looking very closely at a pic I managed to find on the web of a 1538 with BH on the web, I don't see a second seat, so it must be a spinner which suits me just fine. Whatever it is, I guess I'll get used to it. I can think of only one trench I need to dig for now so it's not a big deal for me, I won't be making money with the thing anyway.

The seat flips over, it does not spin.

 

[dickfoster]

The 3 speed axle, L-M-H, is usually in M. I very seldom use L or H. When an HST is running and you're not pushing a pedal, you're in neutral. It just sits there waiting for you to press the rocker pedal either front or rear.

The clutch is only only used when starting the engine or when shifting the 3 speed, engaging the diff lock or engaging 4wd.

Good to know. So you just leave it in M and do the hoe thing. Thanks.

 

[dickfoster]

The seat flips over, it does not spin.

As long as it gets turned around somehow, I guess it'll work. By flip do you mean you sit on the seat back when using the BH? Told ya I was green
At least I've been learning a lot for this thread and this board. Thanks a lot for your patience guys. :thumbsup:

I still haven't figured out why stump grinders cost like a backhoe. I might even try brewing something up using an old rear axle or something for the gear box. It can't be that hard.

When I get the tractor at least I won't be using my 4X4 to skid logs anymore. They were heavy green 24" oak logs bucked to 16' so they weighed quite a bit. I still managed to get them decked up and half of them cut. I did that the first summer using the front mounted winch and I wound up needing to replace the balljoints, a job I really hate doing. The second summer I just pulled and rolled them around with the truck and a chain hitched to the back, clumsy but effective. The tractor should do a better job of it.