Removing Implements?

RhallVA · Feb 7, 2002

I have a Kubota B2410 with MMM, FEL, and rear blade.

Most sales folks tell me that it is not a good idea to use the Front Loader while the Mower deck is on. However, taking the implements off and putting them back on job after job seems a bit daunting. The MMM cannot be lowered for use while the rear blade is attached.... so it looks like a lot of implement juggling in my future!

How difficult is it to remove the Kubota 60" Mid-Mounted Mower deck? Time consuming?
Any hints or tips to make doing so easier?
How about putting it back on?

How about the Front Loader?

Thanks for any info, hints or tips!
Roy

Wheeldog · Feb 7, 2002

The loader is a breeze to remove. You will wish that 3ph attachments were as easy. The rear blade won't be too bad to take on and off, though, and even easier if you build yourself a little stand.

I have a 3ph finish mower, not a mid-mount, so I can't comment on that.

Westbilly · Feb 7, 2002

What about removing the FEL?

MikePA · Feb 7, 2002

<font color=blue>Most sales folks tell me that it is not a good idea to use the Front Loader while the Mower deck is on.</font color=blue>

Did you ask them why? When it's lawn mowing time, a typical Saturday is cutting grass in the morning, using the FEL for loading manure into the manure spreader and spreading it on a pasture in the afternoon. I do not remove the mmm. There may be situations where you want to remove the mmm when using the FEL, e.g., you're in a muddy area the mmm might cause you to get high centered, but there's nothing wrong with using the FEL when the mmm is mounted.

Jeff396 · Feb 7, 2002

I have mowed my lawn many times with the FEL attached and without. It is really no big deal to remove it if you like. I just look at it as having some extra weight up in front while climbing my ever so steep hills.

Removing the MMM is not a big deal at all. The hardest part is wrestling it out once you have it all disconnested. It's very heavy even when rolling it on the mmm wheels. Here's how I did it;

1. Raise the mower and lower the two front swivel wheels to their full down position.
2. Lower the rear left mmm wheel and rotate it 90 degrees to aid in rolling the mmm.
3. Raise the mower rear center roller so it won't drag on the ground.
4. Lower the mmm.
5. Pull the pin and lower the front lever and remove the bracket which is attached to the front of the mower.
6. Pull the pins on the rear mmm brackets and pin them up out of the way.
7. Disconnect the mmm drive shaft by sliding the slip collar.
8. You're gonna want the front tires turned fully one way of the other to add some clearance to slide the mower out. You can also lift the front of the tractor with the FEL which will also help in clearance.
9. Slide the mower out. I slid mine out from the right side of the tractor so I didn't have to take my grass catcher drive off.

It sounds complicated, but it really isn't.

Jeff

frank_f15 · Feb 7, 2002

ROY: i have a b2400 and i never take the fel off, i don't want to be without it, always have something to do with it. i don't have a mmm, use a rear finish mower, which is very easy to attach and detach, the rear blade comes off easily, but can be difficult to install till i put it on a movable dolly.

Turfman · Feb 7, 2002

Dropping the rear blade is a snap with a hydraulic alligator floor jack.

ronjhall · Feb 8, 2002

Roy
Here are a couple of links that have information on removing a MMM.
click
I can remove and install my MMM in 10 minutes each way. I do have an area in the barn cleared to give me room to do this. The 72" has wheels on four coroners, which allow it to roll around on a cement floor easily.
I also can remove the FEL very easily.
There are many threads that explain how to remove and install <font color=orange>Kubota</font color=orange> FEL and MMM easily.
Do a search on these 2 subjects.
Removing and installing 3PH attachments can be very trying at times. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif Some of the TBN members have purchased quick hitches to help. There are some great threads on quick hitches and removing and installing 3PH attachments also.

TresCrows · Feb 8, 2002

During mowing season I generally remove the FEL and install the MMM. In the winter I remove the MMM and install the loader.
Of course, whenever I need to I put on or take off as to suit me my FEL, MMM or boxblade etc. I find mowing with the FEL cumbersome on my BX and probably near impossible in areas of my lawn with my new 2410 if I leave the FEL installed--it is also destructive to my fences, trees and compacts/kills/destroys/tears/ruts my lawn with the extra 500 or so lbs on the front wheels--no--I do not mow in 4WD except where traction is needed and then I generally only step on the diff lock.
The first day I got the 2410 I removed the MMM and loader--I think nothing of it though the BX is easier, especially the MMM than the 2410 both are simple. It is a snap, I cannot believe you guys that never remove them, I never do dirt work with the MMM installed and never mow with the FEL installed.
Yes, you can use the 3-point with the MMM installed, on the 2410 you insert the lock pins, on the BX you turn the height dial to lock. Yes you can use the MMM with the implement on the 3-point, you install some check chains on the implement off the ROP on the BX and I am working on it for the 2410. You simply chain it so it cannot drop.
J

RhallVA · Feb 8, 2002

"Did you ask them why? "

MikePA- The reason I have been given (by a JD Dealer and reinterated by one Kubota dealer) was that a very common repair for them (They said!) was damage to the body of the MMM that happens while using the FEL. They said since the MMM is wider than the FEL bucket it is easy to damage the MMM when driving into what you are loading (Bucket cuts a 50 " wide path and then the 60+ " MMM follows, hitting the pile because it is wider than the bucket). Did I explain that correctly? Or maybe I misunderstood the warning I was given. All this is new to me!

Roy

MikePA · Feb 8, 2002

Roy,

Yep, you explained it just fine. They're right, you have to remember that the mmm is there. This can also happen when you are pushing snow with the FEL and get close too an object like a wall, barn, car, etc. It's easy to be concentrating so hard on where the bucket is that you forget where the mmm is. It's for this reason that I will be removing my mmm for next winter. I didn't hit anything, but taking the mmm off means one less thing to watch. My problem is not having a place to store the mmm when it's removed. I'm starting to have to do triage for which implements will sit outside.

MossRoad · Feb 8, 2002

To All,

In all seriousness, this is the main issue that pushed me in the Power Trac direction. After experiencing 3pt hitch implement changes on my big IH machine, I decided that it is no fun trying to switch implements on the 3pt hitch system. Especially on uneven ground. I got good at it, but it still takes time to do it. The power Trac system is just too easy. 15 seconds to drop an unpowered implement and hook up another one sold me on this(add another 30 seconds if the implement is powered). You can be so much more productive when you can change implements at the drop of a hat. With this in mind, why don't more 3pt. hitch people convert to something like the Freedom Hitch and rear mounted finish mowers and leave the FEL on full time? I'd like to hear some thoughts on this from 3pt. owners. The Freedom Hitch seems like a great solution and time saver.

MChalkley · Feb 8, 2002

MossRoad - As an ex-Freedom Hitch owner, and an enthusiastic proponent of them for quite a while now, I'd say there are two basic reasons for not using them (excluding posthole diggers, which they don't work too well on, without extensive modifications): 1) They don't know about them or don't believe they work as well as claimed or 2) they find them expensive enough that they can't justify the expenditure. I certainly can't think of any other good reasons...

MossRoad · Feb 9, 2002

How expensive are they?

MChalkley · Feb 9, 2002

I don't remember exactly. Every time I bought them, I was getting enough of them to get a discount. I think they're about $170 each. So, your minimum investment, assuming one tractor section and two implement sections, would be $510.

MossRoad · Feb 9, 2002

Ouch! Those $120 quick attach plates don't seem so bad now.

nhman · Feb 9, 2002

Taking the loader on and off gets easier after you do it a couple times. You may want to think about making a dolly for your loader.

I keep the tractor and loader parked in the 2 car garage with our two cars. The garage is deep enough that I can park the b7500 w/o the fel in front of one car, and the loader in front of the other car. I build a dolly for the loader so I can wheel it around in the garage easily. Got the wheels from Tractor Supply and used 2x6's as the cross members on the dolly. There are several threads about loader dollys which is where I got the idea and design approach.

I have only taken by 60" mmm off once about 3 months before the winter. I struggled getting it off and have yet to put it back on. I imagine once I do it a couple times, it will get easier. I have only owned my tractor for about 6 months and am a first time tractor owner who grew up in the city, but I'm learning.

If you live near the Texaco, I think I saw you out taking your mmm off the other weekend as I drove to Leesburg to Tractor Supply. I live 2 miles on the other side of Waterford toward Lovettsville

Contratulations on your new tractor, you really got a nice unit.

nhman

nhman

nhman

nhman

frank_f15 · Feb 9, 2002

MR: don't have a freedom hitch, but do have a rear finish mower and always leave the fell on, don't find it to be a problem when mowing the fields or the larger parts of my lawn. rear mower on and off in no time but rear blade can be challenging. may have to look int something like the freedom hitch.