Stackwood
Bronze Member
Well we've had our MX5000 for three months now. After much haranging we finally got the FEL bale spear that fits our LA853 loader. The biggest question we had about the tractor was its ability to pick up large round bales and deliver them to our farmstead at the top of a steep hill, up 20%+ grades. Hay is pretty scarce around here right now but I finally located some 5x5 grass bales, stored under cover. I brought a couple of bales home and gave it a go.
The tractor didn't even grunt. I reckon the bales weigh somewhere around a thousand pounds; bigger wet ones would be a lot heavier of course. The FEL picked these up with no apparent effort. I had a 1000# bush hog on the back and have the rear tires filled. We rolled up the hill at walking pace without drama. Stability was very good. Beats square bales by a mile if you ask me. Next year we'll feed round bales exclusively.
The bale spear is an Adolmi model, rated at 3000#. Nice workmanship, and the three spears come off in minutes by removing pins. The carrier doubles as a platform for pallet forks. Now all I need to do is scare up a pair of forks and a bar to mount them on.
The quick hitch on the LA853 is a bit odd. It uses pins instead of the bobcat style universal plate. This makes it lighter and cheaper, however if you're bushogging in any sort of brush the limbs have a tendency to drag out the quick pins. The main pins are soon to follow, are metric, and cost $29 apiece special ordered. Ouch. Solutions include using bolts instead of quick pins, taking the bucket off first, or removing the entire FEL first. The hogging we're doing is very tight with lots of manuevoring around trees and rocks. Taking the bucket off helps a lot, but taking the entire FEL off turns the tractor into a different machine agilitywise.
The Markham toothbar on the loader continues to shine. It makes all the difference digging in our clay soil. I strongly recommend them.
I've been digging a lot of old cedar stumps out of our fields. They don't have taproots and I've found that the best way to get them out is by pushing in 4wd rather than digging, which inevitably lightens the front end and reduces traction just when you need it. Hardwood trees have taproots and are much, much harder to remove. I think a stump grinder makes more sense for them.
The MX5000 is very nimble for its horsepower, but it has nothing on my dad's L3400, which can get just about anywhere. Then again, the MX5000 is a whole lot more tractor.
The heavy bushogging ended up ripping one of the boots on the front tie rods. The boot appears to be integral with the knuckle. Anyone ever replace one of these boots?
That's all for now. Be safe.
The tractor didn't even grunt. I reckon the bales weigh somewhere around a thousand pounds; bigger wet ones would be a lot heavier of course. The FEL picked these up with no apparent effort. I had a 1000# bush hog on the back and have the rear tires filled. We rolled up the hill at walking pace without drama. Stability was very good. Beats square bales by a mile if you ask me. Next year we'll feed round bales exclusively.
The bale spear is an Adolmi model, rated at 3000#. Nice workmanship, and the three spears come off in minutes by removing pins. The carrier doubles as a platform for pallet forks. Now all I need to do is scare up a pair of forks and a bar to mount them on.
The quick hitch on the LA853 is a bit odd. It uses pins instead of the bobcat style universal plate. This makes it lighter and cheaper, however if you're bushogging in any sort of brush the limbs have a tendency to drag out the quick pins. The main pins are soon to follow, are metric, and cost $29 apiece special ordered. Ouch. Solutions include using bolts instead of quick pins, taking the bucket off first, or removing the entire FEL first. The hogging we're doing is very tight with lots of manuevoring around trees and rocks. Taking the bucket off helps a lot, but taking the entire FEL off turns the tractor into a different machine agilitywise.
The Markham toothbar on the loader continues to shine. It makes all the difference digging in our clay soil. I strongly recommend them.
I've been digging a lot of old cedar stumps out of our fields. They don't have taproots and I've found that the best way to get them out is by pushing in 4wd rather than digging, which inevitably lightens the front end and reduces traction just when you need it. Hardwood trees have taproots and are much, much harder to remove. I think a stump grinder makes more sense for them.
The MX5000 is very nimble for its horsepower, but it has nothing on my dad's L3400, which can get just about anywhere. Then again, the MX5000 is a whole lot more tractor.
The heavy bushogging ended up ripping one of the boots on the front tie rods. The boot appears to be integral with the knuckle. Anyone ever replace one of these boots?
That's all for now. Be safe.