Buying Advice M9540 On The Way

[red4now]

Thanks Davidsan. I finally got my tractor back yesterday from the dealer and since I have alot of shredding to do I decided to remove the FEL for the first time. It literally took 3 minutes. Simply pulled in the barn, raised the bucket, dropped the kickstands down, lowered the bucket, pulled the pins, dipped the bucket down a hair, backed up about 6 inches, disconnected the hydraulics and that was it. Way cool. It's much nicer mowing without that bucket hanging out there waiting to catch a tree or fence. I will say that the FEL weighs alot more than I thought. I had kinda figured that once it was off I could physically push it out of the way by sliding it on the concrete but it won't budge. Anyway, I highly recommend removing it if you don't need it for awhile. :thumbsup:

Was the dealer able to resolve the issues you had with shifting, loader droop and whining noise?

As others have expressed on their units, we do not have any of those distractions on our M8540 either.

 

[TexasBest]

I don't quite know how to answer that..... apparently they could find nothing wrong after keeping it for 8 days, but they didn't test it under operating conditions (2200 RPM w/ PTO engaged pulling a 10 foot Woods shredder). They said they never could get the bucket to drop although he said allowable tolerance is a drop of 2" in 5 minutes which is about what it was dropping before it went back. That in itself sounds bizarre. If I were told before I bought it that the bucket may drop 2" every 5 minutes and that was within tolerance, I would have had to rethink the deal. Anyhow, the bucket no longer drops, the shifting is fine, there is still a slight noise and feel in the steering like its low on fluid, but overall its outstanding. Methinks there was an issue w/ a hydraulic valve or something that mysteriously fixed itself?!

 

[TripleR]

I don't quite know how to answer that..... apparently they could find nothing wrong after keeping it for 8 days, but they didn't test it under operating conditions (2200 RPM w/ PTO engaged pulling a 10 foot Woods shredder). They said they never could get the bucket to drop although he said allowable tolerance is a drop of 2" in 5 minutes which is about what it was dropping before it went back. That in itself sounds bizarre. If I were told before I bought it that the bucket may drop 2" every 5 minutes and that was within tolerance, I would have had to rethink the deal. Anyhow, the bucket no longer drops, the shifting is fine, there is still a slight noise and feel in the steering like its low on fluid, but overall its outstanding. Methinks there was an issue w/ a hydraulic valve or something that mysteriously fixed itself?!

We are on our third summer with our M8540 which is the same tractor as the M9540 and I would find this unacceptable. Pretty much all of our buckets on all of our tractors regardless of brand have dropped a bit over time, but I have gone hours without ever bumping them back up; same with the M8540. I have gone all day mowing, using a pull type Woods DS1260 without even bothering to bump it up as it was so minimal as to be unnoticeable and it seems they all get to a certain point and stop; have no idea why.

 

[TexasBest]

Yes TripleR I agree that it would be unacceptable, but like I said, mine no longer drops. Obviously, I was amazed when I was told that, according to 'Kubota guidelines', they will not fix, under warranty, a loader that drops 2 inches or less in a 5 minute period. So I guess if it dropped 2.5 inches in 5 minutes they would warranty it? Sounds like bulldung to me, but all I have to go by is what I was told. By the way, I have the same Woods pull type as you, have you had any issues with yours? Really happy with mine so far. :thumbsup:

 

[TripleR]

We are on our third summer with it and use it hard cutting some pretty thick brush with a lot of saplings with no problems yet; we really like it.

 

[jdjdjd]

I hope you have many years of trouble-free service with your new tractor!
I have the M9540 as well and about 700 hours of mowing, baling, plowing, etc..
Never had the FEL off. Just removing the QA bucket makes a big difference for me.
Ran the AC on high a in the Texas heat wave but it always kept me cool.
You are right about the turning radius, very agile for that size tractor.

 

[Bluegill2]

Thanks Davidsan. I finally got my tractor back yesterday from the dealer and since I have alot of shredding to do I decided to remove the FEL for the first time. It literally took 3 minutes. Simply pulled in the barn, raised the bucket, dropped the kickstands down, lowered the bucket, pulled the pins, dipped the bucket down a hair, backed up about 6 inches, disconnected the hydraulics and that was it. Way cool. It's much nicer mowing without that bucket hanging out there waiting to catch a tree or fence. I will say that the FEL weighs alot more than I thought. I had kinda figured that once it was off I could physically push it out of the way by sliding it on the concrete but it won't budge. Anyway, I highly recommend removing it if you don't need it for awhile. :thumbsup:

+1 on removing the FEL when mowing and how easy it is remove/install on these newer Kubotas!

For years I've mowed with the old 3750 and FEL, but this spring been mowing with the new L3800 w/fel off and let me tell ya what a difference! Besides the added maneuverability, the lighter weight up front is a huge bonus, for me anyway.

 

[Davidsan]

I'll 3rd removing the FEL when mowing. I have always removed mine to mow. As you stated, it's so easy and you don't have to deal with the visibility problem nor the weight of that front end loader bouncing up and down as you go. But, if you don't want to remove the whole thing, taking the bucket alone off helps a lot!

TripleR and TexasBest, we have a Woods DS96 that we purchased new about 3 years ago. We love it. In fact, we like the Woods so much, my brother and I just went in together and bought a Woods BW180 (15' Batwing). Just had my local Kubota dealer install an extra remote for me. Can't wait to try out the Batwing and the 9540 together.

 

[TripleR]

I'll 3rd removing the FEL when mowing. I have always removed mine to mow. As you stated, it's so easy and you don't have to deal with the visibility problem nor the weight of that front end loader bouncing up and down as you go. But, if you don't want to remove the whole thing, taking the bucket alone off helps a lot!

TripleR and TexasBest, we have a Woods DS96 that we purchased new about 3 years ago. We love it. In fact, we like the Woods so much, my brother and I just went in together and bought a Woods BW180 (15' Batwing). Just had my local Kubota dealer install an extra remote for me. Can't wait to try out the Batwing and the 9540 together.

The family that rents the farm on which I live owns a couple and they really like them;they pull them with 7000 Series John Deeres. Woods bat wings are all we see around here.

 

[Davidsan]

The family that rents the farm on which I live owns a couple and they really like them;they pull them with 7000 Series John Deeres. Woods bat wings are all we see around here.

TripleR, that's good to hear. Thanks for the pic. The 9540 has been toying with the DS96 even in very thick and tall grasses/weeds. Me thinks the BW180 is going to make it sweat a little.