connecting AutoConnect on concrete

bob said:

Although I got my 1026r last October, now is the first time for me to use the AutoConnect deck. It seems to connect very well on asphalt----but in my garage that has sealed concrete floors it is very tempermental. Does the slipperiness(is that a word?) of the sealed floor make the difference. Are any of you out there with sealed concrete floors having problems?

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Had mine delivered yesterday. Everything went well except the auto connect deck demonstration. Sending someone out in the next week try and get it working right for me. Would not click into place. And yes as I had suspicion beforehand... the deck wants to slide on the concrete floor.

The first time I tried mine was in a rock driveway. Bad idea. The front of the deck dug into the rocks and the only way I could get the deck back far enough to latch was with a prybar under the front of the deck. I have attached/detached several times after that by taking it off on rougher concrete in front of my garage (not smooth). I think it needs some friction to work properly - at least with mine.

bob said:

Although I got my 1026r last October, now is the first time for me to use the AutoConnect deck. It seems to connect very well on asphalt----but in my garage that has sealed concrete floors it is very tempermental. Does the slipperiness(is that a word?) of the sealed floor make the difference. Are any of you out there with sealed concrete floors having problems?

Click to expand...

Got my 1026R last August, so have used the Autoconnect deck a number of times... on a smooth concrete floor in my shed. Seems if I keep everything lubed (shoot some of that JD lubricant for the 3 pt on the various parts), and, "gun it" a bit (speed up a bit) right before it is to latch, seems to work just fine. Also, have learned the hard way that it is best to put the PTO lever into the position for rear PTO, so the PTO shaft free wheels when hooking the mid-mount PTO to the mower... makes a substantive difference. Also, all four scalp wheels need to be raised, so the deck sits directly on the concrete.

We had some issues with the latch at the very first... the heavier duty spring we put on the latch fixed it! (Posts about this last fall).

So, overall, have "missed it" it a couple of times, which needed a slight tug on the deck on both sides, but mainly it hooks without issue, even on the smooth concrete.

Hoosier said:

The first time I tried mine was in a rock driveway. Bad idea. The front of the deck dug into the rocks and the only way I could get the deck back far enough to latch was with a prybar under the front of the deck. I have attached/detached several times after that by taking it off on rougher concrete in front of my garage (not smooth). I think it needs some friction to work properly - at least with mine.

Click to expand...

I do not have any concrete or balcktop on my property, so all of my installs and unhooks are on dirt. I read in one of the manuels I have(I looked tonight but could not find the statement) that when unhooking the mower on dirt or gravel to place a small piece of plywood or board under the front skid/edge of the mower. I do this and the only thing I see that it stops is the front of the mower digging in to the ground.
I did read something in the mower manuel I had not seen before(shows how good I read) on page 10 of the mower manuel undr installing mower, is a NOTE to remove front weights if equiped before installing mower. Replace weights after mower is installed. But it dose not say anything about removing the FEL if installed. I hardly ever remove my FEL but remove and install the mower after and before ever use.:unknown: The deck seems to be holding up good so far.:thumbup1gif::drinks:

Auto connect on concrete

I have an X734 w/60" deck and auto-connect ....didn't get any literature on the auto-connect unit....trying to find it if anyone can help???? At the same time, I bought a piece of carpet padding at a carpet store, which I have small pieces of to set wood on, when I want to use a router, and not have the wood move. I used the padding last fall to disconnect, and drive over my deck, and it didn't move (on concrete), and the deck doesn't get scratched up either. Think this will work great!!! And it was cheap!!!!

I bought a large rubber mat (5' x 7' x 1/2" thick) at a farm store and do all of my connects and disconnects
on the mat on the concrete floor. The thickness of the mat prevents it from wrinkling and it does not move during the
process. Always has worked perfectly! $70.00 well spent in my opinion. Plus your deck doesn't get
all scratched up from the cement!

I second the stall mat from Tractor Supply. It will let it grip the floor and keep it from sliding as you drive forward to latch in, but also raises it just that little bit to make it easier to latch in as well If you floor is not perfectly smooth and level, it will be a pain in the butt if your tires sit higher then the low spot you put your deck in.

I connect mine on concrete but the space I use is small enough that once the rear tires are on the concrete I only have about ten inches of sliding space before I hit something. It will slide if I go gently. So right before it gets to the connect point I accelerate slightly. It still slides, but that is only because it takes a few inches to slow down after connecting.

Also, when I put together everything I made sure that the latches moved freely. I had to bend the latches (with a sledge hammer) so that they were not angled inwards. As it came there was a lot of friction between the metal of the latches and the frame of the mower.

bluffman said:

I bought a large rubber mat (5' x 7' x 1/2" thick) at a farm store and do all of my connects and disconnects
on the mat on the concrete floor. The thickness of the mat prevents it from wrinkling and it does not move during the
process. Always has worked perfectly! $70.00 well spent in my opinion. Plus your deck doesn't get
all scratched up from the cement!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip; how has the mat held up?

bluffman said:

I bought a large rubber mat (5' x 7' x 1/2" thick) at a farm store and do all of my connects and disconnects
on the mat on the concrete floor. The thickness of the mat prevents it from wrinkling and it does not move during the
process. Always has worked perfectly! $70.00 well spent in my opinion. Plus your deck doesn't get
all scratched up from the cement!

Click to expand...

I have the opposite experience with concrete versus rubber mats. When I drop the mower deck on my barn aisle's concrete floor (brushed for grip for horseshoes) it doesn't slide as much at hookup as when I drop it onto an area in the aisle that has 1/2 inch rubber mats (the grid is made of 3x4 foot mats from TSC). The mats don't move at all, the mower deck just slides on them. Maybe the diffference is the texture or pattern of the mats. Next time I think I'll try flipping the mats and see what happens. I've found on both of these surfaces the hookup key seems to be to "goose" the tractor forward just before contact. The trick is to back off from that before the connected deck gets dragged several feet forward.

I'm the OP on this thread......from 2012. I have found when your asphalt or cement surface is wet.....like right after a rain storm....the deck will slide very easily. To counter that, I took a piece of 2 X 4 that is 24 " long and cut it on a band saw to create two really big "doorstops". I place these big "doorstops" in front of the mower deck in the middle to allow the front tires to come down when attaching. Since then I have not had any movement of the deck and attaching has worked perfectly. Somewhere I posted about this when I originally had this problem.

My 54 has a bump in the front, right in the middle if I remember correctly. The whole front edge isn't in contact with the floor. Like I said if I remember correctly. This probably might make it slide easier.
Mine would move on me a little and I would have to goose it a tad at the moment of hookup until I read what Mr dieselshadow wrote about setting it up. I took everything off my tractor and drove over it and stopped before it hooked up, I then adjusted it to where I could roll the tractor with one hand by grabbing the tire and rolling the tractor forward and it would hookup. Now it hooks up with a breath. It doesn't move the deck at all.

Yep the stall mat is the way to go they should include this with these drive over decks as OEM equipment. I've used my stall mat since the tractor was new on concrete, dirt, grass and every other type of terrain and the deck bites and holds every time. Just have to be sure the guide wheels are released.

bluffman said:

I bought a large rubber mat (5' x 7' x 1/2" thick) at a farm store and do all of my connects and disconnects
on the mat on the concrete floor. The thickness of the mat prevents it from wrinkling and it does not move during the
process. Always has worked perfectly! $70.00 well spent in my opinion. Plus your deck doesn't get
all scratched up from the cement!

Click to expand...

I just called TSc and they only have a 4x6x3/4. I realize it's only 1/4" thicker and can't imagine it making that much of a difference, can you? I think I need one since I'm having issues in the garage as well.
Thanks,
Lou

All of the scuttle over these drive over decks has me nervous as a "you know what" in church. I could make the connect/disconnect on a concrete or asphalt surface but that will mean that I'll have to pick it up and transport it for storage. I have a gravel surface in the building that I'd store this thing in so just how futile will it be if I tried connecting/disconnecting on the crusher run surface? it's level but not concrete level... :dunno:
I wonder if Deere is hearing these complaints and has any plans for improvement in future? Has any changes over the years been made to improve this? This type of difficulty cant be good for sales or maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.