New b2910 Implements and Question?

[cbburrows]

I will be getting my b2910 in the next week. I will be using it mainly for mowing 4-5 Acres with a meadow and area around house with trees. There is also 10 areas of woods. (It will be replacing an old Ford 660 with Woods Belly Mower). The unit will also be used for snow removal on a 1200 foot gravel driveway. I will also be putting in some fencing and doing some light excavating / landscaping.
What do you think of the following set up.

b2910
Turf Tires
60" LA 402 Loader
72" Kubota Mid Mount Mower
72" Woods Rear Blade
Wood 9" Post hole Digger
Woods 3pt hitch (not frame mounted) 6500 Backhoe

I appreciate your opinions and am really looking forward to this set-up. Are there any changes you would make???

Thanks.

 

[dmftoy1]

Sounds like a really nice setup. I love my 2910. I had the turf tires while I waited for the dealer to deliver my R4's. They worked really well unless I was working hard with the loader or trying to skid a big log on wet ground and then they would spin pretty easily. I think if I did it all over again I'd go with the turfs instead of the R4's but I can't complain about the R4's.

I've got the 60" bucket on my LA402 and love it. If you think you'll be using it alot, a nice toothbar from Carver will make it even more useful. I want bucket hooks on mine but I don't have them yet. After you take it on and off a few times it seems to loosen up and become VERY easy to install/remove. If you've got a concrete surface to put it on when you take it off it makes it easier.

I've also got the 72" MMM and it works great on this tractor. The non-discharge side sticks out just far enough to allow you to work it into some pretty tight areas. I'd make sure to pump some grease into the zerks though after reading the 60"mmm thread that's going on.

I picked up a used Woods 3pt rear blade last year and used it for snow and I've got no complaints. Everything else I own (other than my brush hog) is cheap TSC or KK stuff and it works fine. From what I've seen on the quality of my brushhog going with Woods brand stuff will never be a mistake.

Have a good one,
Dave

 

[Henro]

I originally ordered the 60" bucket for my B2910, but I changed to the 54" and I am glad I did. I have many times maxed out the lift capability of the loader when digging into a pile of dirt and trying to scoop in the up direction. This would normally be damp/wet eath, but not mud... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif For lighter stuff, the more the bucket can hold the better.

Also the 54 inch bucket is only about an inch wider than my R4 tires, but your turfs may be wider, so maybe the 60" would be a better fit with turfs. I am pretty sure you would not want a bucket narrower than your rear tires. I like the bucket/tire width match on mine as it lets me get between trees easier when I need to.

You might want to consider a box blade. Many find them very useful and the BB is one of my favorite implements.

What size bucket are you getting for your backhoe? I have 10 and 16 inch buckets, but if I only had one it would be 12" minimum, and myself I would probably choose 16".

If you need traction in the snow chains will work on the turf tires, probably better than they do on my R4s.

Is there a reason for the choice of the Woods 3PH backhoe over the Kubota backhoe? I know some pick the Woods sub-frame backhoe due to its having the subframe. Is the Woods a little cheaper or does it offer some advantage over the Kubota? I choose the Kubota backhoe as I wanted to be sure I would avoid finger pointing if something broke...I have used it a lot without any issues though... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif And I would expect you to have the same experience with the Woods BH.

I'm am sure the dealer won't forget, but to use the 3PH backhoe you need to install a heavy duty top link bracket on the B2910. I would ask the dealer about it to be sure he did remember to install it. I assume since the Kubota hoe requires it the Woods would too, since they are both 3PH hoes.

You are going to love that tractor I bet. Mine has been a real work horse for me.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

For snow removal I would skip the rear blade and switch to a rear mounted blower. A 60" 3pt blower will cover your rear tracks, if you are in one of the heavy snowbelts, you might want to pony up the big bucks for a front mount blower. I use a rear mount and am fine with it. I did find that using a blade is pretty tough to move snow, it is much more effective to spin the blade backwards and push in reverse, if you try to pull the snow with a blade angled about 30 to 45 degrees to one side, you might find that your tractor will slide in the opposite directions at a similar angle.

I have the 60" front bucket with a toothbar and it is great for hauling and transporting, but if you are doing a lot of digging then you might want to consider a 54" bucket with toothbar. I think digging is better with a smaller bucket, but I don't do a lot of digging so in my case the 60" works well for me.

The B2910 is a very comfortable tractor to work on, I've had mine for a few years with no complaints. The only problem I can recall is that I popped out the plastic oil plug located behind the seat and drained a bunch of oil before I figured it out. The temporary Duck Tape solution did not work, and the dealer didn't have another plug so the tractor was out of commission for a few days while I waited for a new plug to arrive. But other than that, it has been trouble free and a great workhorse. There are things I like better on other machines, but overall, the B2910 is a very tough tractor to beat.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I second the subframe concern. Either get a subframe for the woods or use the Kubota Hoe. That tractor should not have a 3pt mount backhoe.

 

[MadDog]

I have a B7800 which is essentially the same, but without some of the bells and whistles. It's a surprisingly powerful and versatile machine and I'm sure like me and most everyone else, within a short time you will find yourself using it for things that you haven't even imagined yet.

I second Niel's suggestion about getting the subframe mounted BH; I have a Woods 7500 and subframe.

I do most of my digging in VERY rocky soil; and when I'm not hitting large rocks, its because I hit a large root first. Especially if the BH is not going straight back, this can put major stress on the BH which is best absorbed by the tractor frame and not the 3ph setup.

I have both a boxblade and a rear blade and honestly, if I had it to do over again, I would have skipped the rear blade and gone with the boxblade alone, since I find it much more useful.

As far as snow removal goes, I don't have nearly as long a driveway, and use a separate Honda 928TA for that. However, since I'm at the end of a cul-de-sac where the town plow dumps most of what it plows from the whole street, I do have some pretty high and compressed EOD piles. For those, the FEL is much faster and more effective than my blower and I think the same would be true of a tractor mounted blower as well. For that reason, if I change to a tractor mounted blower, I think I would go with the rear-mounted blower and keep the FEL on (but without the toothbar) in the winter.

I would also definitely get both a toothbar for the FEL and have three bucket hooks welded on top of the FEL. I would also consider getting some FEL mounted pallet forks. The toothbar greatly increases FEL digging effectiveness and the bucket hooks and pallet forks are extremely useful for moving piles of brush. ....also, for using the FEL as a forklift for unloading the heavy crates/pallets that any further attachments you buy in the future ( /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ) are likely to come on. (See my recent post on pallet forks to get some idea of what you can do with these).

Good luck with it.

 

[Mahlon]

I agree... the Woods 6500 weighs almost half a ton. That's a LOT of static weight to carry on that B2910's Cat 1 3ph. And that's not even taking into consideration the bending/twisting loads that normal backhoe use would impart to the hitch. Get the subframe if you possibly can.

regards,

Mahlon

 

[ronjhall]

cbburrows
The B2910 is a great tractor. Mine has served me very well for over 4 years. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The Woods 6500 is a little small for the B2910. You may end up wishing you had the extra foot of backhoe reach. If I'm correct the only difference between the 6500 and the 7500 Woods backhoe is the reach. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Make sure the dealer puts on the heavy duty top link bracket. You will need it for more than the Backhoe.

 

[Rick Jay]

cbburrows,

Hi. First of all, check my profile and you'll see that I have quite a bit of Woods stuff for my B2910. I like their quality, but they don't come cheap. Depending upon your uses, you might be able to get similar implements from other mfg.'s for considerable savings.

I'll preface what I'm going to say with you will be happy with the tractor and implements you've selected. I'm just going to try to make you happier and lighten your wallet just a little more.

As far as the backhoe, since you're going with a MMM, the Woods subframe will cause interference, hence your choice for a 3 pt. mount. First of all, if you're putting a 3 pt. hoe on this rig, go with the Kubota hoe. If you look in the owner's manual for the tractor, it says a subframe is necessary. I would be concerned about warranty issues with any other 3 pt. hoe. Second, go with the 4690 hoe...i.e. the 7 1/2 foot hoe. (If you do go with Woods, go for the 7500 instead, you'll appreciate the extra reach. Period.)\

For my Woods 7500 subframe backhoe I've got an 8" bucket and a 16" bucket. I wouldn't go much larger than 18" in hard rocky soil like we've got. If you have sandy soil, you probably could, but my 16" looks just about the right size on the hoe. If you can spring for 2, depending upon your soil conditions, I would recommend either 8"-12" for one and 16" or 18" for the other, depending upon your requirements and soil conditions. If you can only afford one, I would suggest the 16".

For the post hole digger...I have the 1160. If you have hard, rocky ground, you want as much weight as possible on the PHD. I would've opted for the 1190 but I knew the 1160 was overkill for my purposes. The gear case a.k.a. "pumpkin" is quite a bit bigger on the 1160 than the 1130 and it holds quite a bit more lubricant, so that's why I opted for the 1160. I got the 12" auger. They have double and single flight. I have a double flight, but probably should've gotten the single flight. The single flight is better if you have a lot of rocks (I do) and the double flight is better for sandy soils (or so I'm told). That said, mine works great in rocky hard clay. The cutting tips on the end need to be in good shape.

If you'll be doing a lot of snow removal, I strongly recommend a 3 pt. snowblower. I have the SS60 and it works very well. I need the loader on during the winter to clear parts of our drive that couldn't be done with a rear or front mount blower. I like having the loader available. You can try using just a loader/rear blade combo and add the snowblower later, if you find the need.

Speaking of rear blades...I have the HBL-72 model. The RB blades are nice, but do not offset easily (you have to remove the blade a manually shift it over, requiring some tools and elbow grease). I've only used mine a couple times, but each time I made use of the offset feature. I wouldn't want a rear blade that did not easily offset. The HBL is heavy and expensive, but I think it's well worth it, especially if you're not going to get that snowblower...put the extra into the blade. There are other mfg's of rear blades that are cheaper than Woods and have an easy offset adjustment.

I also have a Woods boxblade but haven't used it yet. I loaned my tractor to my cousin and he's used it, and made favorable comments about the HB60. I liked the idea of the floating rear gate, although I'm not sure why. I just figured it would be better to have it than not.

I have the 60" loader on my tractor and wouldn't want the smaller loader. When back-grading with the loader having a couple extra inches of width is nice. I'm not sure what you could put in the bucket to exceed the lift capacity. I also like the wider bucket when using it as "wheel barrow" a stuffing branches and brush in it. The extra 6" is nice.

Are you broke yet? Seriously, you'll be thrilled with your tractor on so many levels it isn't funny. If you've had trouble justifying the expense, believe me, you won't have any doubt in your mind once it's proven itself a couple times. And it won't take long.

Good Luck in your decisions.

~Rick

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> I'm not sure what you could put in the bucket to exceed the lift capacity. </font>

Here is an example of something that "almost" can exceed lift capacity...[see attachment]

Nothing exotic...just some road run off top soil with stone chips mixed in. My driveway is about 3 or 4 feet below the B2910...

This stuff was damp and heavy. I doubt I could have delt with it with as easily with the 60" bucket. I don't know though.

I do know that the B2910 loader will exceed the lift capacity it is rated at.

The B2910 is a real worker. I like it a lot, especially since it will not take my offer of a beer at the end of the day, and that forces me to drink one on its behalf...

Without prompting my wife does not fail to tell people how much work that tractor does... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I never seem to get any credit though... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif