Well look what the cat dragged in... M7040!

[TripleR]

Right! However it would have been pretty awesome a couple of weeks ago when the wind was blowing at 25mph and the temp was in the low 40's. Tried plowing that day with the L3130 and everytime I turned the tractor into the wind my face about froze. Headed back to the house and cut the top off a wool cap to make a ski mask, added several layers of various clothing (but didn't have anything extra for my legs), and I still about froze my but off. I sure was wishing I had a CAB that day!

BTW - There is something too freaky about driving the M7040 with the radio on! And it's WAY more quiet in the CAB than I thought it would be! The temp outside yesterday was in the low 60's, but the sun was out in full force - as such it was pretty warm in the CAB so I did get to try out the AC.... :thumbsup:

We have run cab tractors for years and with all that glass, we often run the AC in the winter or run with the heater off. My son had to get out in the middle of the night a few weeks ago to knock drifts down so people could make it through and it was COLD and windy; gotta love a cab.

 

[SanDucerro]

I needed a tractor for this weekend and I'm real glad they delivered the M7040 yesterday, because the local shop FINALLY came and picked up the L3130 for FEL Bucket seal replacement and service. This is after being on their waiting list since mid December! Yikes! Glad they finally made it out - and REAL glad the M7040 is already here!

 

[J F]

 

[kcender]

Congratulations,very nice tractor.

 

[NativeSon]

Great looking toy......erhhh tool. You're really going to love it.

Charlie

 

[ovrszd]

Agree on spending time reading the manual, I get mine prior to delivery and read through it, make some notes etc. and then when you start driving, it all comes together; then go back and read it again.

I am an advocate of reading manuals. You always learn something. I've read every page of mine. Several times. But then maybe I'm a little slow...

 

[creekbend]

Congratulations. Here's wishing you many hours of future Seat Time.

 

[SanDucerro]

Congratulations, that is a very nice tractor and agree that while it is going to feel a LOT different and maybe even a bit intimidating initially, it won't be long before you are very comfortable with it. Tractors that size can do a lot of work and are really comfortable in operation.

Truer words were never spoken. The tractor is very intimidating! Learning to control it will take seat time. Luckily I've got a project for it this coming week that should provide a multitude of hours in the saddle. We've got 7 LARGE brush piles that were supposed to be positioned outside the boundries of the vineyard. And they were, until I changed the layout. Now I need to move 3 of the 7. I'll be giving Rioux Farm a call in the morning for a set of QA pallet forks to assist in the project.

I drove the tractor for a couple of hours this weekend. I having a lot of issues with getting it to go slow. Have not learned the correct "feathering" for the clutch yet - so I'm way more jerky than I'd like to be. It seems I have two speeds when I take off - 0 and 5 mph - nothing in between. I though maybe the throttle was set to high, but I had already lowered it as much as it would go. Then I noticed the tractor's idle is set at 975 rpm. Does that seem a bit high - or is that about right?

 

[xring100]

975 seem high to me i think my m8540 idles around 600rpm

Dave

 

[SanDucerro]

975 seem high to me i think my m8540 idles around 600rpm

Dave

If it is too high then that would explain why I was having so much difficulty moving slow from a stop... I need to call the dealer this morning to check on some additional things anyway. I'll have him check with the service guys on the idle speed.