My New Toy. It isn't fast nor does it handle like a Fiero but............. (Page 1/2)
blackrams JUL 16, 04:40 PM
Not that I expect anyone here to get all excited about it, it's not that fast, nor does it handle like a Fiero and isn't the most powerful out there but, I plan on having some "fun" with it.




Rams
Max The Chainsaw JUL 16, 06:56 PM
Nice!! Looks just like mine. I don't have a pic of mine though.

You will like it a LOT.
Hank is Here JUL 16, 08:19 PM
Nice...didn't you have a Ford/Shibaura? Why did you get new, larger machine? Does the tractor have emission control on it?


These days, in my opinion you can't go wrong with Orange or Green...local dealers make the selection difference.

blackrams JUL 16, 10:34 PM

quote
Originally posted by Hank is Here:

Nice...didn't you have a Ford/Shibaura? Why did you get new, larger machine? Does the tractor have emission control on it?


These days, in my opinion you can't go wrong with Orange or Green...local dealers make the selection difference.



Yep, I had a Ford 1210, hydrostatic drive transmission. Someone else wanted it more than I did along with a couple pieces of additional equipment I had for that size tractor. What really surprised me was I sold it to a gent in Southern Mississippi, He paid extra to get the 4 way snow blade. Shrug. Figured I'd have that forever and end up selling it for scrap. Turns out, he and his son install yard sprinkler systems and he wanted to use that snow blade to fill ditches back in. Didn't matter to me, I was glad he wanted it.

I have a lot more grass to mow now and some other things I wanted that FEL for. Didn't have an FEL on the Ford. It was a good tractor but was hp limited. This 3301 Hydrostatic drive has over twice the hp. Both JD and Kubota were offering 0% interest. JD was just a tad higher but, where they lost out was to keep your warranty, you are required to have them service the tractor once a year. This year, that service will cost $400+. They would not commit to what next year's might be. Kubota doesn't have any such restrictions. Orange won. I've been looking for a while so I won't say I had a sudden case of sticker shock but, damn they are proud of these things.

I seriously considered just buying a bigger zero turn mower but, after looking at those prices and knowing that after I got one all I'd have is a bigger mower that couldn't do anything else with beside cut grass, the tractor became a viable option. Yeah, it costs more but, it'll do a lot more. Another reason I wanted this tractor is, I use a PTO driven generator as a back up power source for our home. The Ford 1210 was just barely big enough to drive that generator under full load. This tractor will barely notice that generator.

Reference emissions, it has a re-gen system, no def. According to the manual, no long term idling and run it above 1600 rpm and all will be fine. Guess we'll see.

Rams

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 07-16-2021).]

Jake_Dragon JUL 17, 12:07 AM
I dig it
williegoat JUL 17, 09:12 AM

quote
Originally posted by Jake_Dragon:

I dig it


Couldn't wheat to plow right in to the corny jokes, eh?
Raydar JUL 17, 11:37 AM
We need one of those. Maybe not quite that large, but we need one, nonetheless.
You made the right choice, IMHO. We have been looking around for farm stuff. (Bought a zero turn, last winter.)
But we have heard horror stories about JD stuff. They just aren't that reliable, any more. On top of that, apparently all the parts are proprietary, and are frequently out of stock. Peoples' JD stuff has sat in the shop for months. Warranty is useless if you can't get parts.

Edit - How much land are you mowing?

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 07-17-2021).]

blackrams JUL 17, 11:56 AM

quote
Originally posted by Raydar:

We need one of those. Maybe not quite that large, but we need one, nonetheless.
You made the right choice, IMHO. We have been looking around for farm stuff. (Bought a zero turn, last winter.)
But we have heard horror stories about JD stuff. They just aren't that reliable, any more. On top of that, apparently all the parts are proprietary, and are frequently out of stock. Peoples' JD stuff has sat in the shop for months. Warranty is useless if you can't get parts.

Edit - How much land are you mowing?




I can't verify or deny the JD rumors. As I previously said, JD lost me when they told me about the warranty required them to do an annual service to keep the warranty and wouldn't lock in the price.

I mow about 2.5 acres of my own and then mow the elderly neighbor's pond acreage about 3.5 acres just because our second floor deck overlooks that area/pond and don't want it to be overgrown. Been trying to buy that property for almost 2.5 years. He doesn't want to sell it but, won't maintain it. Says that was his deceased wife favorite spot. Maybe someday I'll get it bought. But, until that happens, I guess I'll keep mowing it. We get to watch all kinds of wildlife come into and pass through or stop at the watering hole.

Rams
cliffw JUL 17, 12:05 PM

quote
Originally posted by blackrams:
I have a lot more grass to mow now and some other things I wanted that FEL for.

I seriously considered just buying a bigger zero turn mower but, after looking at those prices and knowing that after I got one all I'd have is a bigger mower that couldn't do anything else with beside cut grass, the tractor became a viable option.



Congrats Ron,

My Green FEL has a 60 inch ride over and load mowing deck. Belly mower. Though the dealer now says is not that good, compared to their pull behind "brush hog" type 'finishing cut' mowing deck.

What else can the front end do ? My Green has an easy detachment and I have fork lift ability and the forks. I use them more than my bucket. Take one fork off and you have a trencher, .

Again, congrats, . I respect Orange. The deal on my Green was too good to pass up. 108 hours, free. Thanks Dad,
blackrams JUL 17, 12:19 PM

quote
Originally posted by cliffw:


Congrats Ron,

My Green FEL has a 60 inch ride over and load mowing deck. Belly mower. Though the dealer now says is not that good, compared to their pull behind "brush hog" type 'finishing cut' mowing deck.

What else can the front end do ? My Green has an easy detachment and I have fork lift ability and the forks. I use them more than my bucket. Take one fork off and you have a trencher, .

Again, congrats, . I respect Orange. The deal on my Green was too good to pass up. 108 hours, free. Thanks Dad,



Cliff,
I tend to agree with your "dealer" about the belly mower versus rear mower. But, that's just my opinion. With a belly mower, you simply can not clean up corners of a fence line. Reference what you can do with the FEL, I'd have to say that is limited to your imagination. Last night, I moved a small trailer (the kind I pull behind my motorcycle) from the back of my wife's Honda Ridgeline into the back of my Ram pickup using the FEL. Due a recent change of plans, I will be taking my Ram instead of the Ridgeline on a trip so, I needed to move it. Regardless of how small that trailer is, it's still a lot of weight and awkward to manhandle by oneself. I simply put a few straps onto the trailer, lifted it up and moved it to where I wanted it.

I'm also modifying the front buckets a bit, gonna have a reinforced bar/angle iron piece fitted to the top of the bucket and mount a gooseneck ball there. That way when I mow, I can move those goose neck trailers to mow in the spot they sit. This will save a huge amount of time and effort. It takes a while to use my Ram truck to move the number of trailers I have with hooking up, moving them and then mowing that spot and them spotting them back where they were. This will allow me to simply move them with the tractor, mow and then move them back.

Rams