New Terramite Owner (and a couple questions)

[Terramite Paul]

Hi all.

I just got myself a barely used (<200 hrs), 10 year old Terramite T5C - so far very happy with my purchase. I had been considering a sub-compact farm tractor and was won over by the rugged build, simplicity and comparably strong front end loader and deeper backhoe than most sub-compacts offer. I decided I could live without a PTO and 4WD, at least for now.

I picked up forks and a backhoe thumb (need to find a welder) from Titan and I think they'll help me be more productive. Also thinking about getting a set of chains for snow and have a couple questions:
- What size chains do people use on high-float tires? Where do you get them?
- Would putting chains on the front tires (R4) help with steering at all? When I try to plow with the front bucket floating I have no control.

Also instead of changing hydraulic oil twice per year I'd like to use 10W-30 as my year-round hydraulic fluid. Am I right that:
- I can't use synthetic oil?
- It needs to be detergent-type oil?
Any downsides to using 10W-30?
Any good sources of bulk (5gal+) 10W-30 oil?

Thanks!
Paul

 

[roadhunter]

Congrats on the Terramite. I really like them for the reasons you mentioned. Someday I'd like to own a t-9.

TireChain.com is Where to Buy Tire Chains | Best Tire Chains is where I bought my last pair. Enter your tire size and pick your poison, lots of choices.

I am not familiar with substituting 10-30 oil for hydraulic oil or needing to do 2 hydraulic oil changes per year. I'd buy good synthetic hydraulic oil and change it out every 1,000 hours. I switched to Amsoil hydraulic oil in my machines and it stopped all the pump whine at sub zero temps and also works great in weather over 100.

 

[Terramite Paul]

Congrats on the Terramite. I really like them for the reasons you mentioned. Someday I'd like to own a t-9.

is Where to Buy Tire Chains | Best Tire Chains is where I bought my last pair. Enter your tire size and pick your poison, lots of choices.

I am not familiar with substituting 10-30 oil for hydraulic oil or needing to do 2 hydraulic oil changes per year. I'd buy good synthetic hydraulic oil and change it out every 1,000 hours. I switched to Amsoil hydraulic oil in my machines and it stopped all the pump whine at sub zero temps and also works great in weather over 100.

Thanks for the quick reply. Not sure if you're a Terramite owner (don't want to assume) but they say pretty much everywhere that you can't use standard hydraulic fluid without damaging the pump. The manual recommends using different weight motor oils for above and below 40 F. Was just curious what other people do, if they're too lazy to change oil twice per year (like me).

Paul

 

[roadhunter]

Thanks for the quick reply. Not sure if you're a Terramite owner (don't want to assume) but they say pretty much everywhere that you can't use standard hydraulic fluid without damaging the pump. The manual recommends using different weight motor oils for above and below 40 F. Was just curious what other people do, if they're too lazy to change oil twice per year (like me).

Paul

I am not. I am a JCB, Vermeer, and Farmall owner, but a terramite admirer.
Interesting. I suspect going to a synthetic motor oil would work best at low temperatures as well as summer temps. I am too lazy to change hydro oil twice a year as well. Heck most of the year temperatures cross the 40f threshold twice a day so that is really a tough one to try and keep up with. I guess if it is in a rental yard getting lots of hours it might be worth it but for the average homeowner that is like changing oil with 10-20 hours which seems a little ridiculous.

 

[CarlL]

NO HYDRAULIC OIL SHOULD EVER BE USED IN YOUR TERRAMITE!!!!! Hope I was clear on that. Just use what your owner's manual states. I just get Walmart's own brand. Keep it topped up. Make sure you note that the loader should be down and the backhoe fully extended, when you check the hydraulic level. If you are using the Terramite to push snow in the cold NH weather, I would go for something like Walmart's SuperTech 10W40.

I push snow with the standard bucket on my T9 with no chains at all. The standard bucket will never act the same way a dedicated snow plow blade does. To maintain direction, you will need to keep the bucket above the surface you are plowing. Pushing into a large snow pack will always cause some loss of direction. Just back up and hit it again. Remember, you can always pick the snow up in your bucket and dump it.

If you have any problems, call Terramite directly. They are really friendly and will talk you through any problems you have.

Enjoy you little guy.

 

[the old grind]

^^^ This, 'word for word'. :thumbsup:

And :welcome:

 

[notmeu]

I often do not use my Terramite when it gets cold out because I also do not want to change my fluids to a lighter weight oil. If I have to I'll put the torpedo heater pointed towards the oil reservoir to get the oil warmed up enough to get my T7 started. I want to install a electric heating element in the reservoir when I'm due for my next fluid change, I would think that would do the trick.

 

[pontiac58]

car & truck Oil pan heater engine / block heater best kit gas & diesel 5W | eBay

Check those out, you don't have to put it in the oil, just glue it to the bottom of the tank. We use something like that on our race car to heat the oil up before it gets started.