Soon to be new 1026R owner

7379 Views 27 Replies 10 Participants Last post by dieselshadow, Aug 12, 2012

NukeThemTillTheyGlow

Discussion Starter · Dec 8, 2011

I've been lurking here for the past few months as I made a decision on a new tractor. Currently have a JD LT 180, 42" mulch deck, plow, 10P cart, tractor trunk and snow chains. Very long story short, I narrowed my choices down to an x748, 1023E/1026R. Just placed the order for the 1026R today with 54" front blade, H120 FEL, iMatch, ballast box and 60D 7 Iron mid mount mower with auto connect. Dealer projecting Facotry Delivery Dates week of 12/19 except for front blade which is week of 1/7, might be sooner.

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NukeThemTillTheyGlow

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 19, 2011

Gizmo2 said:
I/we don't believe it. Pictures??????, Rules are rules:lol:

I'm not sure I believe yet either! I'm calling the dealer today for an update, this is the week everything was to be in except for the front blade. still trying to decide if I want to give the yard one final cut with the mower or just leave it slightly long and mess with that in the spring. I do want to run the aerator around the yard once if it seems like the ground is not frozen yet.

My aerator is a Ryan town behind Lawnaire with a clevis and pin hitch. http://www.ryanturf.com/products/lawn_aerators/lawnaire_towbehind/

Whats the best way to attach this to the 1026R? I ordered it with the iMatch mainly so I can attach/detach the ballast box easily.

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NukeThemTillTheyGlow

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 19, 2011

Just called Dealer. Good news is the 1026R, Ballast Box/iMatch and 60D MMM are in!. Not as good news is that the H120 FEL is being shipped (from TX, but made in Mexico.... got to love NAFTA), has been invoiced, but might not make it here this week, hard to tell. Bad news is that the front blade is still showing Jan 5-7. He said its not really the blade as they are available, but the Quick Hitch parts to mate to the 1026R. So no delivery for Christmas, but prob end of first week in Jan. He told me they have "visiting hours" all week if I want to stop in and see the 1026R. I might just do that.

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NukeThemTillTheyGlow

Discussion Starter · #12 · Dec 24, 2011

Stopped by the dealer yesterday for a "visit". Everything is in except for the 54" front blade and the QH for it. The QH mounting bracket is on though. H120 FEL, iMatch, Ballast Box and 60D MMM w/AutoConnect mounted and ready to go. Took her for a quick spin around the parking lot. So much fun. Love the 26R seat, lights and tilt wheel. Factory Delivery Date on the blade and QH still 1/6 so might get delivery to me on 1/7. Its a beast of a tractor, can't wait.

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NukeThemTillTheyGlow

Discussion Starter · #17 · Dec 30, 2011

Dealer just confirmed blade arrives early next week. Delivery set for 1/7. Can't wait. Hope for massive snow storm shortly afterward!

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NukeThemTillTheyGlow

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jan 12, 2012

Delivery took place on 1/7 as planned. Everything went very well, but took a few hours of time with the driver and then the service manager stopped by to answer a question on the front blade quick hitch alignment and he spendt a few hours of his Saturday with a very happy new customer. Local service makes a huge difference.

I video tapped the entire delivery so that wife and I could refer back to it if needed. I'll pull some pics off of the video in the next few days.

A few observations:

Its just noisy enough that I feel I should wear hearing protection if I'm going to be on it for any length of time.

The 60D Auto Connect deck worked great the couple of times I tried it, but you need to make sure the knob that controls the speed of the raise/lowering of the 3 pt hitch (under the front seat) isn't set to be real slow. Driver messed with it while showing me what it does and when we first tried to connect to the deck the arms had not lowered all the way.

with the H120 loader and the ballast box on (with iMatch), its quite the long piece of equipment. Still have to move things around in our garage and put some serious thought to a shed/barn. uugghhhh, will the money ever stop flowing outbound?

Wanted to have weight for the ballast box for now and decided to use bags of gravel from home depot. Filled it with 350 lb for now and I think that will be fine. I bought an additional 3 50 lb bags if needed. Used the loader to unload, carry and dump them out of the back of my truck. first offical task with the 1026. lots of fun.

Need to arrange garage so that loader, front blade and QH, ballast box are drive up acccessable. not easy in a 3 bay garage when two bays are full of a Suburban and Avalanche, plus lots of toys for kids. We thought we had it all figured out until I was ready to close the door sat night and realized we still needed to get the front blade in the garage. Not like the old LT180 where you could just pick up the blade and move it where you want. the 54" plus harness nees another person or the tractor to carry.

The 60D deck is a beast and needs a lot of room! Tried to fix it under the loader when it was dismounted, but no go, the big bracket on the front is too long. I remembered the mower deck axles and just ordered some. they shoudl be standard issue with that thing. its not as hard to lift and move as I thought it would be, but its not easy. I can see hooks and chain on loader as a way to move it around better as well as the axles.

Tried to quickly hook my JD 10P poly cart to the rear hitch plate and it won't reach past the bottom of the iMatch. The top of the cart hits the bottom of the iMatch and it won't reach. Need to work on this. I know I need a receive hitch/heavy hitch for the iMatch at some point, but I was hoping to avoid the costs right now.

I'll get osme pics soon. thanks for all of the great advice.

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