MAX 25/24 questions

[Binford]

I'm back in the tractor market after 5 years. In my past life I had a TC40d and 200 acres to play on. Fast forward to present day: new wife, 11 acre lot and new house, and a tight budget. I am looking for a sub-compact that will do everything for me. Loader work, york rake work, bush hogging, lawn mowing and snow removal. I live in Vermont, and my driveway is 600+ feet, flat, and wind swept.

-Anyone have time bush hogging with these?
-How about snow removal on gravel driveway?
-Mowing the lawn?

The only way I can sell this to my wife would be to have it do everything. I understand it will be 'Jack of all trades, master of none' tractor. My city raised wife thinks it's a toy for me! Once the tractor is on property and improving things, she'll see the light...

 

[Shift4200]

I have the Max25 tractor.

I cannot give you any feedback on brush hogging... never tried, and dont have a hog.

I have a 1600ft driveway that's 3/4 gravel. Last season i used the FEL and a back blade to clear. It was time consuming but did a good job. I found the biggest issue to be the fact that I would struggle with snow deeper than 10in. Anything more than that I would do a pass mid storm to keep the totals down. Eventually the snowbanks took over and the game became more "collect and move" than it was "plow" in the beginning. This year I stepped up the game with a WOODS SB54s blower. This should not only fix my snowbank issue, but should also speed up the project by not requiring me to clear mid storm.

I also have the MMMower for my max. Works well. I find I take the mower off after each cut simply to have more ground clearance when using the FEL. I can do this swap in under 10m now that I've done it a few times.

-J

 

[Binford]

Shift, does your Max have R4's? Good news on the MMM. I will have 2+ acres of lawn to tackle.

 

[BlackOps]

I just received my max 25 with loader and mid mower deck - trying to figure a few things out and also rain around here so cannot really get into stuff but it seems like a rather sweeeet machine.

 

[Pitch1]

They will do a bunch more work than you think. Somethings I do not love. It is stupid to have to raise the hood and remove the side panel just to check the oil. Mine operates just fine with the panel hanging in the shed. I have 150 hours on mine just snow and mowing duty. Yesterday I cleaned a barn. Seven hours of hard bucket work in packed manure and bedding. I am singing the praises, there is a real tractor under this suburban lawn mower.

 

[Shift4200]

Shift, does your Max have R4's? Good news on the MMM. I will have 2+ acres of lawn to tackle.

Binford,

Love the name by the way... surprised it wasn't taken.

I have the r4 industrial tires on mine. I find they have exceptional grip in most every condition. I had one issue when pulling snow up my driveway (7% grade) but down was no problem. Shortly after I put a set of cheap chains on and the difference was amazing... note that putting chains too tight made my traction worse as it caked snow into the valleys of the tire. This season i will skip the chains as i doubt i will have any issues with the new snowblower.

The tires don't eat up the lawn either (be sure to disengage 4wd)... which is a good thing. I"m at about 3/4 of an acre of grass for now. The 60in belly mower is a bit overkill, but better to over kill than under.

I've had really good luck withe every project I've done with mine. Anything too heavy for the loader was easily dragged behind. I've pulled people out of the gully on snowy roads, moved boulders, endless firewood work. I'm out there grading the driveway every other rain storm.... the list goes on.

Seems the longer i have it, the more i find i can do with it. It's like having someone around to help with every chore.

Wife and I rent a house at Killington every year.... Pittsfield to be specific. About an hour south of you according to the maps. Beautiful country up there.

-J

 

[Shift4200]

They will do a bunch more work than you think. Somethings I do not love. It is stupid to have to raise the hood and remove the side panel just to check the oil. Mine operates just fine with the panel hanging in the shed. I have 150 hours on mine just snow and mowing duty. Yesterday I cleaned a barn. Seven hours of hard bucket work in packed manure and bedding. I am singing the praises, there is a real tractor under this suburban lawn mower.

I find the easy remove panels make working on things much much easier than other units I've worked on. I prefer this setup. Only takes a few seconds to take the sides off... and just as easy back on.

Just my opinion.

-J

 

[Pitch1]

I find the easy remove panels make working on things much much easier than other units I've worked on. I prefer this setup. Only takes a few seconds to take the sides off... and just as easy back on.

Just my opinion.

-J

I just figure that for a few cents more per copy Mahindra could have specced a longer dipstick and a port in the panel. Just my opinion.

 

[Shift4200]

I just figure that for a few cents more per copy Mahindra could have specced a longer dipstick and a port in the panel. Just my opinion.

I can't argue that... i guess i missed the original point. It seems it was more distaste toward the dipstick rather than the side panels.... in which, I agree. First time checking the oil took me a while simply because I could not find the dam thing...

-J

 

[DavesTractor]

I just figure that for a few cents more per copy Mahindra could have specced a longer dipstick and a port in the panel. Just my opinion.

I agree. An extension tube that came up top would be a great thing. And since a ton of models over the years used the same basic engine, a retrofit tube and stick would have a big market among the Mahindra owners.