M62 TLB for Maintaining Hilly Land ?

[2manyrocks]

Losing time and money trying to use a tractor for jobs for which it isn't suited.

 

[sd455dan]

I believe that. I recently used an excavator for the first, and likely last time.... 3rd project would have been much easier with a thumb.

Totally agree, I added a fixed thumb to my 550 Ford but knew how nice articulating it would be so added some hydraulics. Works great to pick up logs or large rocks off of trailers or for loading them

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Just a few experiences that may have already been covered.

My M62 has 6" spacers on each side of the rear wheels.

I use a 6' long piece of 2x2 steel square tubing and an electronic angle meter to measure steepness. My hillside ranges up to 25°.

I also have a meter that measures fore/aft and sideways tilt mounted to the dash of the tractor. I don't know what the numbers mean, but anything past 15 on the sideways brings out a pretty good pucker factor, and I've managed to lift an uphill rear wheel at 10.

The tractor does slide on a side hill. Some think that's a good thing, but in my mind it's even more dangerous because at that point you're not just out of control, but the tractor has sideways momentum. If you hit a stump or rock while you're sliding, the momentum will work to flip the tractor.

The surface you're working on also factors in. Green or wet grass is pretty darn slick. Dry grass less so, but still slippery. Dry dirt can be pretty good if compacted, slick if it's loose. Gravel is pretty slippery, too. Forget about doing anything productive, let alone safe, on mud.

The stabilizer arms on the M62 are, IMHO, too short. Even if the tractor is aligned straight up the hill or on flat ground, it's still possible to lift the wheels on the opposite side from where the backhoe is swinging if there's enough weight in the bucket or the hoe is extended far enough. If the tractor is aligned across a hill, a tip can initiate as you swing the hoe toward the back and around to the down hill side.

Rather than try to move around on hills with something clamped in the thumb on the backhoe, I'll throw a chain around it and drag it.

4WD will allow the front wheels to provide some braking. But I've experienced what happens when the splines in the propeller shaft to the front diff strip, and standing on the brake with both feet will only get you two brown streaks heading out behind you, and another one in your shorts. Carefully lowering the bucket until it drags on the ground might slow you, but it could also cause the back end to swing around and roll the tractor over if done too quickly or aggressively.

On steep ground think hard before you attempt any work and plan your moves carefully. Move and work slowly enough that if the tractor starts to tip, you can reverse whatever you were doing and recover. That's true not just when using the backhoe, but also when doing FEL or 3PH work, too.

 

[Drstrangeglove]

The m62 I have blows a lot of heat back towards the operator. When backhoeing, that's rough. Also, to do anything backhoe related you have to run wot to get two functions to work right. It has no cruise control so mowing will be a pain.

Unlike a deere, it will pick it self up out of a bog.

I now have a kx080 with rut tree slayer for trail maintenance.

 

[AuCivil]

I like the M62 for it's versatility but, with no OEM cab, I think the new ones are priced 20k too high. Good used ones are hard to come by as well.
The KX040 would be better at trail building on the hills and with a cutter, be a beast at cutting trails back and ditches. Controlled environment of the cab would be nice.
CTL has a lot of grunt and would be better on slopes than a tractor. Not as comfortable riding around but the cab would keep out the yellow jackets. No 3-point is a big drawback.

Ideally I'd have a new M62 with a mini-ex. I could by a new mini-ex and used CTL fort the cost of the new M62.

Yes, I know I'm beating the same dead horse.

 

[rScotty]

I like the M62 for it's versatility but, with no OEM cab, I think the new ones are priced 20k too high. Good used ones are hard to come by as well.
The KX040 would be better at trail building on the hills and with a cutter, be a beast at cutting trails back and ditches. Controlled environment of the cab would be nice.
CTL has a lot of grunt and would be better on slopes than a tractor. Not as comfortable riding around but the cab would keep out the yellow jackets. No 3-point is a big drawback.

Ideally I'd have a new M62 with a mini-ex. I could by a new mini-ex and used CTL fort the cost of the new M62.

Yes, I know I'm beating the same dead horse.

And the answer is the same too. With 200 acres you have to be careful not to get headed in the wrong direction. If you want to do it yourself look at more size: at JD310 backhoes and a 90 hp Ag tractor for the 3pt. Both can have cabs, 4wd, thumbs, grapples, and huge capability.

With some searching you might just find older examples of both with low hours in very good condition and priced no higher than when new. I passed on a JD310E with 600 hrs. a few years back. The retired owner kept it in his garage next to the RV.

If you just want to pick at it, hire earthmovers fo do the rough work and then a M62 with or without an aftermarket cab will be just the ticket - though I prefer the M59.
rScotty

 

[AuCivil]

And the answer is the same too. With 200 acres you have to be careful not to get headed in the wrong direction. If you want to do it yourself look at more size: at JD310 backhoes and a 90 hp Ag tractor for the 3pt. Both can have cabs, 4wd, thumbs, grapples, and huge capability.

With some searching you might just find older examples of both with low hours in very good condition and priced no higher than when new. I passed on a JD310E with 600 hrs. a few years back. The retired owner kept it in his garage next to the RV.

If you just want to pick at it, hire earthmovers fo do the rough work and then a M62 with or without an aftermarket cab will be just the ticket - though I prefer the M59.
rScotty

I can't tow a JD310 and, ideally, I want to use whatever I get at my home 17 acres too. I've got a guy that's is suppose to be cutting in some fire breaks at the larger place which should get a lion's share of my rough road work done. Most of the rest should be closer to the pick-at-it class. I do have 3 or so acres of overgrown privet to deal with.

 

[AuCivil]

Found a low hour 2016 model. Any known issues for that year model?

 

[mikester]

2016 is the first model year with the new pollution controls

 

[rScotty]

Found a low hour 2016 model. Any known issues for that year model?

None of the TLBs have issues that I'm aware of. The 2015/16 was the model change year for M59 to M62 -a 2016 could be either.

The small difference on the M62 was an extra two feet of BH reach; the big difference was the addition of a more complex type of emission controls on the M62 with regeneration and particulate control.

On either model, the same things were optional: the heavy loader bucket, the BH thumb & extra buckets, front and rear accessory hydraulics, extra lights, the 3pt kit, wheel weights, turf tires.