Rubber, meet road... (which attachments to buy??)

[Garrik]

Putting in my order tomorrow morning for an MX6000. Having waited two months since they stopped making MX5800's, I am very eager

I think I am clear on the attachments that I need, but not at all clear on whose version of each to buy. So I would love any thoughts or feedback or pointers to reviews, which I have not found many of...

I need:

Grapple
Pallet forks
Box blade
Bucket for FEL
Chipper
Mower / shredder / mulcher

Grapple seems like a no brainer - the EA 60" Wicked.

Pallet forks also seem like a no brainer unless someone has an argument - I will just go with the Kubota 48" forks.

Box blade - dealer suggests the Gearmore 2G2. I live in California, so Gearmore is local. He feels that their box is heavier duty and more robust than the Landpride. Given everyone's positive impressions of EA, my leaning is to go with the EA XTRreme - but here I may defer to my dealer and his local experience.

Bucket options seem to come down to the Kubota heavy duty round back bucket or a 4:1 bucket presumably from EA (maybe the W.R. Long Ultra Jaw 1 or similar). Wondering if a 4:1 is worth the incremental $2k given that I will have a grapple too... Would love thoughts here. Everyone that I have ever read says that they would never go back once they had a 4:1. You?

Chipper - I need the biggest, strongest chipper that I can drive with my PTO. I am leaning towards the WoodMaxx (made in the USA) or the Woodland Mills. Anyone have any strong feelings about a particular brand or model of chipper?

Mower I am lost. I would really like to have a flail mower/shredder/mulcher that can handle maybe 2-3" brush - I have lots of brush and small trees to clear and keep clear. That is my primary need here, not grass. My dealer is pointing me towards the Gearmore, which is made in Italy (by Seppi, I am pretty sure). But man they are crazy expensive!

Final question is about rear remote hydraulics. Dealer is suggesting the Gearmore aux hydraulics instead of the factory setup - he feels that the placement of the factory controls (down by your right knee) is clunky and hard to reach. The Gearmore aftermarket top and tilt kit puts the controls up higher, mounted on the ROPS bar. Price is about the same - anyone have any strong feelings?

I do get the sense that maybe my dealer makes good margins on the Gearmore stuff - or perhaps I am paranoid. They are local to us, which makes everything much easier, while EA is a long ways away...

Appreciate your thoughts very much!

 

[Redlands]

Seems that anything that EA makes is a good product.

Forks, I think they need a back to them so that when your moving items they are less likely to fall back wards and risk being driven over.

Box blade, get the heaviest by weight you can afford generally speaking. No idea on the Gearmore brand but EA’s seems to be Really good. Personally I almost always use a blade with full set of hydraulics and has the bolt on removable wings on the ends. Works as a box blade or grader blade. I rigged mine with a bar for rippers. It does have a higher learning curve compared to a box blade.

Ideal front end bucket for me for a do all is the 4-1 bucket. Preferably with a tooth bar bolted on to it. Easy to remove if needed. With the teeth it digs ok. Works as a rake for spreading soil or gravel,when back dragging if needed. Also rakes out limbs, rocks or other trash. You can open it and get a smooth blade for back dragging or what ever if needed. The ability to pick up items or to scoop up the last of a pile is really nice. Mine works great for picking up chunks of concrete slabs and loading them. As you mentioned I am one of the never go back crowd. As a side note a flat bottom bucket such as my 4-1 bucket seems to be easier for me to get a better and flatter grade when needed than a round bucket. Also nice to have when brush hogging for moving items if needed when finding them in the tall weeds.

The grapple on your list will handle larger logs and bundles of limbs. I prefer a double lid since I seem to pick up a wide variety shapes and sizes of items. Single lid works fine on large items and reduces the weight allowing larger items to be picked up. Some prefer a narrow grapple to reduce weight and to reach into tighter spaces. Personally I want mine to be the width of the tractor. Not sure that the weight is really a issue on the tractor your buying. EA has a very good reputation on grapples also.

The hydraulic controls, for me having them located at a location allowing for easy use is a no brainer. If your doing much grade work or other work with a 3 point attachment keep in mind your probably going to be looking over your shoulder most of the time and the controls should be easy to access when doing so. Personally I like at least one to have a float feature if not all of them.

Will another dealer work on and warranty the gearmore products in case something goes wrong with the dealer your buying from ?

No experience with chippers.

Mower, once again get the heaviest built you can afford if your planning on doing much more than weeds and very small saplings. A SLIP CLUTCH I think is a requirement. It saves replacing shear pins and protects the gears. You do need to make sure they are not rusted up if they set for a long time outdoors. Easy to check and take care of. Google it.

You did not mention a quick connect for the 3 point. It’s worth every penny and personally I think is a requirement Most attachments it seems work with a quick connect but you might make sure all of your attachments will even if you do not get one now.

One last comment. Every Thing attachments might have a waiting list. If you can stand to wait for their products I think they are worth the wait. Very worth it.

Congratulations on the new setup

 

[chuck99z28]

On the front I use forks the most, then the bucket, then a hydraulic grabber for brush. I have also have a plow, with hydraulic tilt, which I haven't used.

On the back, other than the back hoe I use a ballast box and land plane the most. (I have 1/2 mile of gravel roads.) I have a tiller, aerator, cultipacker, sprayer, which I use at least once a year. And a post hole digger which earned its purchase with one dog fence.

For the backhoe I found the 4" bucket and ripper to be a good purchase.

I use an attachment on the forks to move my trash bins to the road, 1/4 mile of gravel road away. I'm considering building an hydraulic bin grabber like on the trash trucks.

I have a 60" mower deck and Cyclone Rake which I only use for leaves. I normally mow with a lawn tractor because my BX23S has AG tires.

The forks are great not only for moving things around, and to the walkout basement door out back. But they make a nice work bench when out in the property. I don't like bending over or lifting heavy things. I ordered some shop equipment for Grizzly and the forks were great for unloading the semi and moving them into the garage.

My next purchase will probably be a stump grinder.

I just maintain my own 25 acre property.

 

[Loka]

Have you gotten pricing for the new mx6000 yet? I’m looking at trading up my MX5800 for a mx6000 with a cab