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Starting my search for a SCUT

4206 Views 79 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  MARK (LI)
Just beginning my search into subcompact tractors. I've wanted one for a few years, but struggled to justify the price, as I've been getting by with my old Wheel Horse garden tractor and my Cub Cadet lawn tractor on my property that's a little over an acre. Really, the tractor would have been useful for a couple years now as we've been hit with EAB and have been working on removing the dead ash trees from my property. We started with 86, and have about 20 left to go. We also have added a greenhouse, expanded the garden, and gotten a small flock of chickens.
In the future, we are looking into possibly getting a PTO stump grinder as opposed to paying someone to come grind stumps for us.
We are planning on extending the garden once more, adding more chickens, doing landscaping (redo the paver patio, add a gazebo, fire pit, and maybe a small koi pond), and planting a bunch more fruit trees. Right now, we have pear, apple, and peach.

Things I would like to be able to do:
Move mulch, stone,sand, etc around my property so a loader is important. I'd also like to be able to use the loader to unload or load heavier objects in the back of my truck so I don't always have to ask a neighbor for help.
Add and maintain an in ground garden
Post hole digger for fence posts and probably to use to plant trees. (We will plant probably 30-40 trees)
Move logs/help with firewood processing
Use PTO to grind stumps, 4’ tiller, and maybe a chipper in the future
I will probably use for snow removal as well. I have a 38" walk behind snow blower, soI would probably start with just a bucket.
I'll also pull my utility trailer and splitter around my property.
I probably won't use it to mow as I have a nice lawn tractor and would just assume to put the $3k for a deck towards a zero turn when I'm ready to replace the cub.

I would love a grapple and a backhoe, butI probably won't get those due to expense. I will likely rent a mini excavator when it comes time to dig the koi pond, then use the tractor for everything else. I’m thinking about starting with tractor, loader and ballast (load tires and/or ballast box). I’ll use a post hole digger soon so would probably go with that and forks right away, possibly a tiller, but I may wait until after the stumps are ground before making a larger garden.


I stopped and looked at a 1025R and then went to the Massey dealer and looked at a GC1725M. Both were nice. I felt the JD was more comfortable, but I liked how quickly the MF could move the hydraulics. I haven't really looked closely at specs, but I felt both would probably do what I want. Surprisingly the MF was only $500 less than the JD and the JD dealer is way closer.
I have primarily been looking at the 25HP models to maximize PTO power for implements like stump grinding that I imagine would benefit from as much power as I had.
I was thinking about looking at Kubota and maybe LS or TYM, but those dealers are all farther away. Is there anything I should be looking at or asking about when I'm looking? I just want to make sure I cover my bases.
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In my opinion ... I choose to use a heavy implement instead of a ballast box(BB), or weights ... Only advantage I could see to a BB is if you have really tight maneuvers ... Otherwise spend you money on an implement ... Loaded tires alone aren't enough weight, but does help, for full disclosure I used windshield washer fluid, not the heavier beet juice ...

Do you have a gravel driveway? If yes, I'd buy a land plane, it is heavy enough to act as a BB, and serves another purpose ... I'm not sure if a rototiller would be heavy enough alone ... Mine has the advantage of being pushed out farther (better leverage) because I also have a Quick Hitch on the CAT1 3pt ... If you plan on swapping 3pt implements often, I recommend one of those too!

My Massey Ferguson dealer reminded me that the loader lift specs are "at the pins" which means literally hook that weight directly to the pin ... I have the optional Skid Steer Quick Attach (SSQA) on mine, so I can quickly change from bucket to forks ... But ... That bracket/adapter puts the weight farther out from the "pins" so you can't pick up as much weight as the specs say, PLUS you need to add in the weight of the bucket/forks ... And the SSQA adapter ...

If you skip down to post #160 you will see that I was able to gain 40 pounds, by stacking the weight closer to the "pins" ... Meet "Baby Fergie"! In post #161 you can see the bucket full of rocks, with the Bush Hog brand 4' rototiller acting as my ballast, so it works with my loaded tires and Quick Hitch!
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Just need a good head start😂 are you backed in, or pulled in?

That's something I don't understand ... Lots of these tractor dealers are closed on the weekend, and keep bankers hours! My MF dealer is open on Saturday 8-12, sorta ... Only parts and sales, mechanics have the day off ...

On my MF GC 1725 MB it has the foldable ROPS ... Quite a pain to drop, and put up, won't fold all the way down with the BH on either ... it won't fit in the garage up ... So it only went in once, I park it out in the barn now ...
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My Massey Ferguson dealer explained it to me that it is rated "at the pins" ... Which means than anything added past the pins is included in the weight rating ... So, that includes the SSQA adapter, the bucket/forks, PLUS the load.

My loader is rated at 922 lbs.

Here is my real life example ... A 40"X48" hardwood pallet (50 lbs) plus 40 lb bags of hardwood heating pellets ... These are heavy duty forks rated for 4,000 lbs, which weigh 300 lbs! (All my dealer could source at the time!) This is actually the highest I could lift them!

Vehicle Wheel Tire Plant Sky


By moving the load back closer to the pins, I was able to add a extra bag!

Tire Plant Sky Wheel Vehicle


This is about the best picture I can scrounge up to show the difference of the pin, and back of fork ...

Vehicle Motor vehicle Plant Automotive tire Agricultural machinery
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I don't have position control ... I just eyeball it, and then lock it in ... The MF have a knob to control how fast the 3pt drops, and this also will lock/hold it where you set it ... If you move it, you may not set it back exactly like before, but for me, it's close enough, position control has a numbered position, kinda like a mmm deck height control, if I remember it right!

Basically if you want to lift something with the loader, you need ballast on the back, behind the rear axles ... Filled tires are more for traction aid, and lowering the center of gravity, so it's not quite as tippy ... The little tractors are fairly tall.
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Hmmm .. learned something new, thanks!

One thing to keep in mind in regards to loader lift ratings ... While they usually are using "at the pins" ... They also state at what height it will lift that to, then check maximum height to compare ... While my Little Baby Fergie may lift 1,000 lbs, it can not lift it to full height!

Font Motor vehicle Wheel Parallel Screenshot


My forks are way over rated for my little tractor, a set of lightweight 36" forks are much more appropriate for this size of tractor, in my opinion, could easily gain another 100 lbs lift capacity, the back rack also adds weight, while it adds a safety factor, depends on what is your moving, on how big and strong (heavy!) it is ...
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I'm not sure if MF calls it "position control" ... But this is what it does ... There is this knob down under the seat ...

Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive tire Hood Automotive design


It controls the 3pt rate of speed it drops ... Rabbit to turtle, then has a "lock" position, which stops it from dropping, even if you hit the lever on the fender! With it "locked" you can still lift it, but it will not go down!

Red Material property Magenta Automotive exterior Motor vehicle


The images are "right side up" if you're sitting on the seat looking down past your leg! (Sorry I'm not home now, so just looked through a few 100 pictures to find this)

If you have lots of time ... This is a thread I started less than a year ago, when I bought my AWESOME little tractor, it shows what I've been able to do with it, so far!

Meet "Baby Fergie"!

Just for more confusion/options ... In case you didn't know Bobcat is a brother/cousin to the Kioti tractors ... They are owned by Doosan ... The Bobcat has a unique feature in regards to the 3pt ... In that it has a additional lever on the back to control the 3pt arms, to assist in hooking up an implement ... A moot point if you are getting a quick attach 3pt ... JD has their own called an "iMatch" ...some Kubota's have a unique sliding lower arms to help line up things, that then lock up, but I don't remember what they are called, or if they are available on the SCUT size, again a moot point "IF" you decide to go with a quick attach 3pt, which I HIGHLY recommended, if you plan on having more than one 3pt implement ... If there is no pto shaft involved, you don't even need to get off the seat to swap out a implement! :)
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This is my Quick Attach (QA) 3pt ... The black painted piece ... The gray arms hook onto it like it was any 3pt implement, which takes a bit of "fiddly work" to get the pins through ...

On the back side of the QA, near the bottom is a stationary hook on both sides, with a spring loaded lever just above it, which is controlled by the handles up on the top ... What is not visible is the upper hook, which I drew in purple ... (Zoom in up near the upper arm)

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Tread Motor vehicle


All you do to hook up to an implement, is back up to the implement, with the top handles down, which has the spring loaded levers out, or in the "trap" mode ... Once you are under the three pins, just raise the 3pt, and the spring loaded levers get pushed in, then snap back over the top of the lower pins, the top is just a big hook.

To release the implement, I raise it up all the way reach around from the seat, and pull each handle up, which release the trapped levers, then lower the 3pt, and drive forward, then slap the handles down, and go hook the next implement!

Here is an unusual pictures, and yes, it shows I'm only human ... I forgot to close the left side lever!

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Motor vehicle Bicycle tire

Purple highlights my mistake, and yellow shows the lever pulled into the "release mode" ... Blue shows the lever out, and the bottom pin captured!

Here is a picture of the upper hook, circled in white ... It hooks to a "floppy link" for the brush hog, as it's so long, it can get hung up going through a ditch ...

Wheel Tire Vehicle Plant Sky
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The knob is a “drop rate” adjustment. It only controls how fast the 3pt lowers, which is very handy for heavy implements. Common on most machines

Most SCUTs I’ve operated employ a momentary hydraulic valve. Push forward to lower, pull back to raise, return to center when the 3pt gets to the desired height.
Yes, this describes how my MF GC 1725 works!

Your description of the "position control" is similar to what I thought it was, I described it as similar to a mower deck weight control ...

The fourway bucket is cool, but ... Adds quite a lot of weight to these little tractors ...

-----------------------

DKvince, thank you for the clarification ...
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I too walked away from a dealership that the salesman could only bad mouth other brands, but ... Never told me how much better his was either!

He also knew more about my trailer than me, and the laws of taking a trailer down the road, than me who has been doing it for 30+ years! He then tried to sell me one of his trailers!

Go with the dealer that treats you right, and has what you want ...
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I went with the MF GC 1725MB, as it has more HP than 1723E, which I wanted for the rear pto...

I find my seat is comfortable, but the M model has a few upgrades over the E, one of which I believe is arm rests (which I never use) and mine might be completely different, as mine has a swivel for the backhoe feature ...

I would have been happy with a much larger tractor, originally when I talked with the Kubota dealer, I was talking about a L2501, which he didn't have... He did have a B2601, but it didn't have the backhoe on it that I wanted, all he had was a BX23 with the backhoe ... So I kept shopping, the Massey Ferguson dealer also didn't have the larger GC 1825 I was interested in ... I wanted to stay in the under 25 HP range to avoid emissions stuff ...

The Little Baby Over Grown Lawn Tractors, as I call them ... Are an Amazing little working tractor, and can get around and in places the larger tractor may have trouble ... But have more limited hydraulic capacity.
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