L 245 mid deck mower ?

[guzzis3]

Hi,

I just bought a L 245 F, 2wd. It's in good condition as far as I can tell, but bare.

I would very much prefer to fit a mid deck mower over a rear 3PL mower.

I am in Australia.

From what I can gather there is some sort of kit to fit a PTO for the deck ? Is that right ? Is there an online manual for any of the suitable decks that show how they are installed ? Can anyone suggest what model decks would suit the machine ? and what else I'd need to buy ? Kubota.com suggests a KM60 but they don't seem to come up for sale. Would an RC60 work ? or something else ?

I'd also like a FEL and am wondering what the differences are between the L1700, L1730 and K1717.

Thank you in advance for any advice or comments.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

You're not going to find a mid mower for that old of a tractor. Plus not having a pto shaft under the middle of the tractor to power it is going to be a problem also. A rear mount mower is sooo much faster and easier to take on and off and you can find those new and ued all day every day. You should handle a 5 foot rear mower just fine.

 

[guzzis3]

Thank you for your response.

Finding a 5' deck isn't a problem. What I don't understand is how it gets power off the tractor. They did fit mid decks to them I just don't know how they got around the PTO issue.

I've seen pics of a heath robinson setup with belts running round a pulley on the rear pto and turning 90 degrees on idlers to go forward. Doesn't seem like a good solution.

I had hoped there was some kit that added a mid pto to the tractor.

I know I can just get a rear mower, but I'd very much prefer a mid or front unit.

Mine has a splined shaft at the front also, but I assume it's just a crankshaft extension ?

I had hoped the km60 or rc60 manuals were available online as the workshop/parts/owners books are for my model. Or maybe this had been discussed before...

Anyway thanks for your help.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

2 options that I know of are a front PTO (crank) mounted clutch and a rear PTO reversal unit, Takes the rear PTO drops it to clear the rear Axle and the send it back forward.

Both options are not cheap, the front clutch model is the cheaper of the two.

I don't know where is OZ you can get either.

 

[guzzis3]

Thank you, that's what I was after. I need to find some tractor wreckers here in south east queensland and see if anything is around. And scan ebay etc...

 

[gpreuss]

Ebay item 390576170098 is the manual for the KM60, for US$15. Good shopping!

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Assuming you could get some sorta adaptor for a mid pto you're still going to have a helluva time finding a half way decent used mid mower deck for a 30 year old tractor.

Rear mower is the way to go, faster on and off, and with a rear discharge deck you can't go wrong. The Pros of a rear mower far out way the cons. I can't really think of a down side to owning a rear mower...

 

[slgrafton]

Woods always said they could hang a belly mower on anything.
Here is a link to a L245 with a Woods for sale so you can get an idea

http://www.fastline.com/v100/Kubota...ail-37338444-7fd7-4272-9db4-c4e3d4fd0cb4.aspx

 

[Big Kahuna]

Hello, you're looking for a RC60-27 mid mount mower, driven off the front pto, this is also the same mower used on the B8200 tractor, now that you have this info, you can start looking. 1 more post will follow, it's the front pto on eBay right now for sale.


Big Kahuna

 

[Big Kahuna]

PTO, eBay#161199819347


Big Kahuna

 

[kubseki]

A rear PTO mid mount mower is the best option, you see them come up for sale sometime, Superior made one in Australia I think

 

[guzzis3]

Thank you both for the information.

RC60-27's come up pretty regularly here. I haven't seen one of those front pto kits but if I can find a wrecker. I don't know if that seller would sell to me but I bet the postage would be horrendous to Australia.

Likewise if I can find a superior rear PTO mid deck that would be nice.

If all else fails I'll get a rear mount, but I'd prefer a mid mount.

If anyone happens to have a photo of the front PTO arrangement I would appreciate seeing that. I can't quite see how it works in those previous pics.

Thanks again. Much appreciated.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

guzzis3,
The picture of the mower that kubseki shows is a Mid Mount mower that is driven from the rear PTO shaft of your tractor. It would be the perfect mower for your situation!

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Woods always said they could hang a belly mower on anything.
Here is a link to a L245 with a Woods for sale so you can get an idea

http://www.fastline.com/v100/Kubota...ail-37338444-7fd7-4272-9db4-c4e3d4fd0cb4.aspx

WOW what in sam hell happened to the steering wheel to get bent in like that?!??!

 

[guzzis3]

Heat maybe ?

I'd seen that one before. I can see how that pulley system works but it's a bit messy. I've not seen those type of mowers over here. The superior is a neater solution. I've got the phone number of a wrecker near me so I'm going to call them and see if anything is available.

Another related question if I may. The other thing I might want to fit later is a FEL. Do these normally tap off the existing hydraulics ? or are they powered of the front pto ? Just wondering because if I take the pto for the mower and then can't fit a loader....

I'd thought also of fitting a hydraulic pump to the pto and powering a (modified) mid deck off that. Then I could tap that for a fel also. Probably not practical.

I don't want to get into elaborate fabrication because I'm about to owner build a house and that's going to be an all consuming nightmare for the next year or so...

Again thank you all for the helpful comments.

Edit: couple of things I forgot.

I've been in touch with the gentleman with the KM60 manual, I had already spotted it on ebay. I'd hoped there might be something online I could browse to get an idea of the front pto arrangement.

My tractor shows 480 hours and it may be geniune. Apart from filters and battery everything seems origional. Even the tyres although badly cracked have most of their tread. So it's worth persevering with it even thought it's old.

I wonder if I can date it off the serial number...

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

You can tap off of the hydraulics to run the FEL, but on that model your going to want to add and axuilary pump because the pump that's stock has really low volume, 14.0 L /min and your FEL would be super slow.

Good idea on a pump running a hydraulic motor to power the mower deck. Your just going to need to add extra fluid storage and cooling ability.

No way of running the serial # and finding out year.
Here is some more info on it: http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/001/2/8/1282-kubota-l245.html

 

[85Hokie]

WOW what in sam hell happened to the steering wheel to get bent in like that?!??!

the operator must have thought he was on a horse and pulling back on the reins to slow down........dayum, I would hate to meet that guy.

 

[MagKarl]

My FEL runs just fine off of the tractor hydraulic pump.

That said, I would not advise spending the money to add a loader to a small 2wd tractor. You need 4wd in my opinion to maximize safety and productivity on a small tractor. Keep shopping if FEL use is a priority.

 

[guzzis3]

The only job I have for an FEL is spreading top dressing particularly under trees. The block I'm moving to is flat. The other work for the tractor is mowing and eventually mowing under the trees. Mixed orchard, hobby farm 4 acres..

I also thought about a rear bucket. for the little work it would do...

Does anyone know the difference between the loaders for the L245 ? I probably don't need a 4 way or anything fancy...The L1700, L1730 and K1717 are listed on kubotas site as suitable for the tractor.

again thank you for the replies.

 

[guzzis3]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Kubota-F...5993?pt=AU_HeavyMachinery&hash=item43c4590079

I assume this won't fit my tractor ? The description says TLH275AD 1157.

Just it's the right price and not TOO far from me, about 10 hours drive...

coldwater tractors will ship me a new kit for a reasonable price, fair bit dearer than that second hand loader though, probably $3500 delivered.

Again thank you for your time.