Those gear levelers making hooking up implements much easier.
I like pallet forks too, but as said, its scary sometimes as you lift stuff it'll tip forward, majorass panic until you learn to just set it down, quick. Its a real problem though if you're moving...

I won't use pallet forks again. I moved a 6x8 ft. shed with some, and the leveraged weight in front mostly unweighted my rear tires. That was with a 400 lb. box scraper on the back of the tractor. The shed wasn't very heavy. I suppose they are OK with really light weight things. I have an older L frame Kubota, and I can't see using anything smaller. I don't need to mow any grass though.

THIS ^^^ describes most of the use I put my 1987 John Deere 955 through. I have done some amazing things with this small capacity tractor, mowing with a 72" belly mower is one of the easier projects my tractor accomplishes.

-Rototilled a 1 acre lot twice.
-Spread 3 triple axle dump truck loads of ground up road pavement for driveways.
-100s of loads of split firewood to the house over the years.
-plowed multiple driveways of snow for many years.
-pulled 1200# roller over 7 acres every year.
-loaded stripped down junk cars onto a trailer.
-pushed/pulled stuck vehicles out of snow, and mud.
-tugged down/pushed down dead standing trees.
-hoisted 36 6x6 posts into holes for horse arena barn construction.
-Used box scraper/loader to level multiple new yards.
-hoisted multiple loader fulls of hay bales into our barn loft (3 at a time).
-cleaned multiple horse stalls, and made large piles of manure.
-actually dug 2 graves for expired horses with only the FEL.
-pulled countless large limbs/dead trees out of our creek ravine.
-started every day of the year for bringing hay to the horse barn.
-multiple loads of burnable trash to our burn barrel/ burn pile.
-Dug 150' long French Drain on sides of our new barn.
-built my own quik attach frame with pallet forks for the FEL.

They're great for things that are more than you want to lift but less than the capacity of the tractor. No reason not to use them, within reason. :D

That 955 is pretty much my fave compact. Yanmar quality, Deere parts availability and pretty easy diy repair.

Now if only we could find those people capable of reasoning! I don't care what machine pallet forks are on, a guy will lift more than the machine should lift or he'll use them as a pry bar and bend the hell out of A) The Forks or B) The boom OR C) Both.

I had a customer call me complaining that he had bent his forks. His claim was that he was cleaning "loose dirt" out of a trench to clean it up after running a trencher. He didn't bend the forks, he bent the backing plate the forks mount to! And somehow miraculously by digging loose dirt out of a trench!

Vote for the Kubota

2004 B7800 Bulletproof nothing except oil changes and filter cleaning. Pasture mowing and loader work and snow stacking. Best tool I own.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521758632.JPG
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521758632.JPG

[QUOTE=cabmando;9970948]Now if only we could find those people capable of reasoning! I don't care what machine pallet forks are on, a guy will lift more than the machine should lift or he'll use them as a pry bar and bend the hell out of A) The Forks or B) The boom OR C) Both

I was standing next to a forklift once that the operator didn't have the forks fully under the weight. One broke in half and it sounded like a gunshot. Didn't bend it at all...he said that they would prob weld it back up.:eek:

I'm going today to check some stuff out. I talked to a dealer in Alabama that sells Kubota package deals with very good pricing (about 3 hrs from here and 45 minutes from my in-laws). Going to see if local dealers can do something similar.

It's amazing how much one can learn watching youtube videos. :)

Question - treadle pedal versus two pedals? My 54" riding mower has a treadle pedal and I don't mind it. The Kubotas have the treadle and the Deeres the two pedals. I've heard that the two pedal arrangement is much better for loader work. Opinions?

And...the Deere has better position control for the 3-point hitch than the Kubotas. Is that a big deal? I will be doing some tilling and bush hogging (and maybe some box blade work) and wonder if the position control thing is actually a big deal or not.

I really like my JD 1025r. Sub compact models are really competitive so prices don't differ that much, buy on the features and dealer support you want. I shopped Kubota, Mahindra, New Holland, and Deere. I liked the autoconnect feature of the Deere mower deck the best and prices were all very close.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4174/...32482c9c_c.jpgImplement by willtel, on Flickr

Well, it's comforting to get your feedback as most of my "internet shopping" was pointing me towards the 1025R. I am open to other options, but kept coming back to that.

Looks like I am trading in my 2013 Kubota M7060 on a M5-111. Its still compact but its 111 HP instead of 71.

I'm not looking forward to dealing with DEF but my boy is sure excited about the buddy seat. The new machine has a bigger loader, 24 speeds and powershift (instead of 12), and only a 4" longer wheelbase than the M7060.

Going from this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521822726.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521822488.jpg

To this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521822988.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521822607.jpg

I had a good afternoon with the New Holland tractor. Used it to pull old tires out of the woods on the edge of the place. A whole bunch of big tractor tries were left here some years ago and got grown into the scrub. They were full of water and would have been great mosquitos breeding spots as summer comes on.
Had to do some clearing go get to them. And there would have been no way for me to get them out on my own without the FEL , what a tool!

The bucket tends to sag in time. Has new hoses. Seller said it may need bleeding.
I did some bleeding yesterday with little effect. I'm hoping is not the cylinder seals.

Is there a particular method to get the cylinders and hoses properly bled?

Those forks mentioned earlier look useful. There is a hitch ball, and a receiver for a boom on the top of the bucket.



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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1521937528.jpg

Cheers Richard

That’s a big plus if you have trailers to move around.
Great that you are finding the NH useful. I’m sure you are going to be glad you bought it.
How fast does the loader leak down? Does it only do it when the engine is off? I’m used to older tractors and not expecting the hydraulics to hold long. Not a big deal to me. I was actually kind of amazed that the loader on my New Kubota stayed up over night. I’d never experienced that before.

The arms hold pretty well, but the bucket sags fairly quickly. I'm wondering if there may be air in the cylinders, and how to get it out?
It had not worked since the new hoses were installed.

Next job is going to be moving solid wood fence panels into position. Some 6' x 8'. Others are 8'x 8'. About 500' of it will be arriving on Monday.

Will probably use a short boom for that job, so I can pivot the panels and have some ability to move them to the spot by hand once they are close and hanging from the boom.

It will take some time to get the posts in place, I'm hoping to get the sag worked out by the time to move the panels.

Oh let me add that y'all were spot on about the need for power steering, very useful in the close in work. I also plan on getting some weight to hang off the back to ballance the weight in the bucket when moving dirt and gravel.

Cheers Richard

Air in the cylinders usually make it jumpy and unpredictable. A slow sag is leaking seals.

Dang, That was my thought after seeing very little air come out when bleeding.
and the sag didn't change. How hard is it to Put in new seals?

Is it something to have a pro do?

The seals are basically O rings. I've never done it, but it doesn't seem like it should be a big deal. How much of a hassle is it to just live with it?

Thanks WD. I'll look into seal kits tomorrow.
It does sag at a rate that will be a hassle when getting the fence panels in place by myself. Need it to stay where I put it while I get to them and get some fasteners in place.

Otherwise this seems to be a pretty sweet machine, nice running engine , good brakes, good trans, etc.
Definitely worth putting some effort into getting sorted.

Cheers Richard

Seals are easy to do. Buy one seal kit to figure out what o-rings you need and the. Return the seal kit and pay restocking fees.

I did my old John Deere JD400 backhoe years ago.

Very few loaders will stay in place with the engine off...
Seals are no big deal though. Just keep your area CLEAN when doing them.

Does it look like the hydraulic cylinder was designed to be rebuilt ? What I mean by that are both ends or one end have some type of screw cap ? Many are built at the factory and then both ends are welded on . That type of cylinder can still be rebuilt but not as easily . One end has to be cut off , pull out the guts . Install new guts then reweld the end back on . Generally more of a pro job than a DIYer but if you can get a clean cut and can weld you can do it .

These can be rebuilt for sure.

Loaders will stay up unless the seals leak (most common issue), the valve leaks (this happens on the boom of my JD400), or you have a leak at a fitting.

I had a friends John Deere 4240 while my M7060 was at the dealer and the front loader arms stayed up for 2 months while my bale buster was connected to the rear remotes.

I get a catalog from Surplus Center. I love looking through it. I refurbished my home made log splitter (made with an inverted railroad rail and a 13 hp. HF engine) a couple of years ago by ordering a new cylinder and valve from them. Prices were decent, and they have a huge selection of different sized cylinders & valves, along with tons of other stuff.

So this one isn’t all that compact... I got my Case 2670 stuck this afternoon trying to relocate some snow piles...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1522025379.jpg

And here’s how it looked a few weeks ago pushing snow when it wasn’t stuck...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1522025445.jpg

The cylinders on the New Holland loader are the rebuild able type. I've found the part numbers and will look for a source today.

I used the tractor again yesterday to remove The last of tires, then parked it in the shop and found a leak in the right front axel, in the steering knuckle. and in looking closely found a couple of oil hoses going to the radiators that need replacement.

So the list grows which is not a surprise in this old of a machine. Still I feel that once these issues are worked thru that this will be a very usefull tool to have around.

I've also come to realize that good old country folks are just as able to lie to you straight faced as any one else. In both tractor deals the sellers clearly mis represented the condition of their rigs. And being so clueless myself about these machines I was ill prepared to clearly evaluate them. So tended to accept their clear statements about the condition of the tractors.
My mistake. But I do feel that this New Holland can be put into good serviceable condition with out too much effort, I hope.
I've got to track down a service and owners manual to guide my efforts. There is a bit to learn about the care and use of tractors for a newbie like me.

I do appreciate the knowledgeable support with you guys here, thanks.

Wow Unclebilly, That is a lot of snow! And clearly not a compact, what a beast!
What do you use to get something like that unstuck?

And I thought buying a set of tires for my motorhome was a chunk of change, wow!

Cheers Richard

A New Holland dealer ought to be able to supply the manuals. A place called Jensales may also have what you need.

After perusing CL off and on for about a year now and never finding exactly what I was looking for, I had started checking out dealers. I actually went to my local JD dealer last Friday and was going to get them to quote a new 1025R. Saturday morning I'm doing my almost daily CL check and something promising pops up. I went and checked it out yesterday and ended up buying it. 2010 John Deere 2305. 237 hours. Lightly used and in like-new condition. Essentially the same - spec-wise - as a 1025R but it comes with a few attachments and I got it for a fraction of what a new one would cost. Not nearly the hardcore stuff you guys have, but for my uses, this will work out great...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1522062797.JPG

Tevake good to hear the cylinders are rebuildable that should keep the cost down . Chasing hydraulic leaks on older equipment is part of the game . But once you get them solved that should be a good machine for you .

To get unclebilly's tractor out I think you need " spring thaw " !!! That is a big boy tractor . IROC nice score on the JD .

IROC - you will like that machine. My friend has one very similar and we use it all the time for light stuff. My son has driven it a few times going back to when he was 6.

Great score.

Mike, That's is one cherry looking J D you found, good hunting!

Cheers Richard

Very nice, IROC.

Since I have four trailers of various types and like to park them in the barn, I use the FEL and attached a hitch ball with one of these:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1522067304.gif

Same principle here (not my pic).

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1522067304.jpg

It makes moving trailers around an absolute breeze - I put them in places I really wouldn't feel comfortable doing otherwise.

You can also get a perforated bar with pins on each end that go into the rear lift arms to which you can bolt a trailer ball for towing various trailers. The lift arms allow the trailer tongue to be raised a bit. I found this method to be useful as you are driving forward and other implements can be towed such as sprayers, rollers, etc.

That is key and why I do it!

The one I bought actually comes with an attachment that does this. I'm not sure if it's an actual JD part, but it's a weldment that interfaces with the 3-point via the JD quick-attach system and has a trailer ball on it. The guy I bought it from used it to move his boat trailer around.

I made something like that for my Yanmar.....http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1522082478.jpg

I bought something similar for $50. Mine also has an upper receiver for moving goose neck trailers. The issue is that you need to watch the clearance on the top link depending on the diameter of the eye on the top link (my factory one binds on my top link).

Mike, that's a beautiful piece of machinery. With only around 250 hrs. on it, you essentially bought a new tractor. Congrats!

I bought a very similar piece of steel as in Steve's pic above from Tractor Supply. The one I bought does not have a receiver but rather a plate with a hole thru which the ball stud goes.

The negative is using more than one size ball means unscrewing and replacing the ball. I said F-it and use the wrong size ball for simply dragging a small trailer around the spread.

That looks nice, it still has paint on the bucket edge.

Now you need some accessories!
Artillian Tractor Attachments - Light-Weight Heavy-Duty Attachments for Subcompact & Compact Tractors
https://heavyhitch.com/shop/
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