In preparation for hauling the Pioneer 520 side by side, and the John Deere garden tractor, I have acquired an aluminum landscape trailer.
I took the proceeds from the sale of one ATV, and then sold the aluminum double ATV side load trailer, then bought this 6' by 10' unit.
The Pioneer 520 is still months from being delivered.
I will be mowing grass at the cabin before the Pioneer 520 arrives, so I picked up the new trailer now.

IMG_20210310_163019276_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210310_163052541_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210310_163002597_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

In case you wondered why the trailer is chained to the truck...
We know a guy that left his home to go to a party in the evening.
When he returned home, his trailer had vanished.
Never recovered to the best of my knowledge.
Fucking druggies...

The snow has finally melted at the cabin.
We went there recently and had a change in plans in reference to the mowing in the field surrounding the cabin.
We have a four foot Bush Hog for the Kubota, but it just doesn't give the lawn quality cut that a finish mower provides.
We decided to finish mow the entire field going forward this year. It keeps the ground bees minimized.
The new-to-us John Deere GT245 is only a 48" deck.
The GT245 is replacing a John Deere LX with a 38" deck.
We will use the GT245 at the house which will decrease mowing time. Lots of trees and slopes at the house, so wider than 48" width deck isn't practical.
I found a used/consignment Kubota 60" mid mount mower deck locally and picked it up yesterday. (deck is a 2018 model year so it's still in excellent condition)
I have it installed now but it isn't properly adjusted yet.

IMG_20210327_191735557 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cee_Kamp,

I do something similar with the Cabota. My "pastures" started out getting cut with a rotary mower (bush hog) and eventually got conditioned to the point that the ruggedness of the 'hog wasn't needed and the resulting cut was pretty ragged.

I bought a 60" three point hitch finish mower and set it just a touch higher than you would for an actual lawn. As long as I don't let things get too far ahead of me, it does a very nice job, creating something about 3/4ths of the way up the pasture----lawn spectrum.

I've never run a mid-mount so can't speak to the quality of the cut. I do know a lot of people really like them. Not practical for me due to all the things I use the tractor for. I'd be putting it on and taking it off once a week in the peak of grass season and that's just too much to ask for me.

I'll be interested in knowing how it works out for you.

PHPaul,
I know what you mean about crawling under the Kubota for removing/installing the mid mount deck. It's fairly physical.
It's always good to have options!

I picked this up yesterday. I saw it pop up on a semi local equipment website.
Only a couple hours from home. A one owner machine and on consignment so no sales tax.
I drove over with the new aluminum trailer for a look and ended up bringing it home.

John Deere X 700 Ultimate Garden Tractor. 23hp liquid cooled Kawasaki V-twin gas engine. (horizontal crankshaft, with shaft drive between engine and hydrostatic transaxle)
Carburetor, not the electronic digital fuel injection model that requires Dealer only service with a JD proprietary scan tool when the engine is not running correctly.
62" shaft drive deck with 2000 rpm mid mount PTO shaft.
Tuff Torque K92 hydrostatic transaxle with replaceable spin on hydraulic oil filter and hydraulic oil cooler.
Power steering and hydraulic deck lift.
Tilt wheel steering column.
Cruise control.
Differential lock.
Optional rear 540 PTO shaft and Cat. 0 / light class 1 three point hitch. (this machine not equipped but could always be installed)
It's almost in the weight class of the BX.
It's good to have options, time will tell as to which method I prefer. (BX or JD)

The X 700 has 1001 hours on the hour meter in the electronic dashboard. These Kawasaki liquid cooled V-twins will run 2k to 3k hours before they need internal engine repairs.

I will say one thing I noticed, the JD X 700 on the aluminum trailer certainly tows easier than the Kubota BX with loader and backhoe (and now the deck) on the double axle steel trailer.

IMG_20210330_193754195 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210330_193810534 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210330_193849917 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210330_193901517 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cee_Kamp,

Nice! That Kawi watercooled V-twin is a hoss. I have the 15 horse vertical shaft version in my LX178.

If you don't mind my asking (and I certainly understand if you do...) what'd you have to give for the Deere?

Email is in my profile if you'd rather keep it private.

PHPaul
Email sent.

I was wondering why you didn't use your BX for mowing because they're great at that? I guess the newer X700 allows you to leave the hoe and loader on the BX and mow with the X700.

I tried a 72" deck under a B2650 for my mowing but it was just too slow going over my rough lawn field so I changed to a Ferris ZTR for almost all mowing including my woods trails. I have a few meadows I mow down once a year in late Summer, after ground nesting birds are through, which by that time is too high for the ZTR so I use a flail mower for that. The flail does a nice job cutting and mulching the meadow's waist high weeds.

Honda P520 is a nice piece, as you mentioned it's small enough to get into tight places. Similar to what you're doing I sold my 2004 Rancher 400 in November and ordered a P520 which I picked up in February. I generally use the heavier duty Mule Pro MX with it's larger bed for firewood cutting but last week I had two helpers so we put both machines to work.

ridewv,
Yes, the BX should be good for mowing. And you can do some light loader and backhoe work with the mid mower deck installed.
But If I want to take the BX into the woods and do work, the mid mount deck will get smashed up if it isn't removed first.
The Kubota BX deck is 60" and the JD X700 deck is 62" so no real difference.
I will see how both of them work for mowing the field as the mowing season slowly arrives. (2" to 5" of the white stuff forecast over the next day)
But I guess I just like machinery and tractors.
As PHPaul mentioned, taking the deck on and off with the shaft driven decks just isn't something you want to do frequently.

My Pioneer 520 still hasn't arrived. The dealer says end of June at the earliest. I'm so tired of the COVID excuses.
Can you provide any details on the wheels/tires on your 520?
Tire brand and front and rear sizes? Wheel brand, width, and the offset?
Your machine looks sweet!
I've been researching endlessly and have analysis paralysis...
I was told that each Honda Dealer that wanted a P520, got one. (January/February)
Everyone else is on the damn waiting list.
I hope that they reduce the price on my P520, as by the time I get mine, the 2022 models will be just about here.

Yeah I ended up having to pay msrp thanks to the damn covid shortage.
I bought ITP SS 312 5/2 wheels with 26” Maxxis Bighorn 3 tires and a Tusk half shield from Rocky Mt. ATV. I like the Pioneer’s size, it’s probably 52” wide with these tires, so it’s nice in the woods.

ridewv,
Thank You for the Pioneer 520 wheels & tires info!

I tinkered on the John Deere X 700 yesterday.
Removed the deck, sharpened the blades, and checked the lubricant level in the deck drive gearbox.
Then I greased all the tractor grease fitting points.
I was advised to grease the universal joint at the rear of the driveshaft. (between the engine and hydrostatic transmission)
I was also advised doing so would be difficult.
This is only practical when the mowing deck is removed.
So I crawled under the machine and had a look while the mowing deck was removed.
The grease fitting still had black paint on it and it appeared to have never been touched.
What about that famed John Deere Dealer Service? They skipped greasing that fitting because it was impossible.
It was installed (indexed) incorrectly at the factory. The fitting pointed at a solid piece of steel.
There was no way in hell a grease gun coupler would ever snap onto that fitting.
After several hours of cursing, I did eventually rotate that grease fitting enough to get it pointed in a more favorable direction.
I took a air grinder with a tungsten carbide burr and relieved enough steel so the grease gun coupler had just enough clearance to do it's thing.

quote:

There was no way in hell a grease gun coupler would ever snap onto that fitting.

I have a few cool little attachments to grease impossible zerks.

This one might help you out next time.

Push on Zerk adapter

Rev. A. J. Forsyth,
Thank You for the link, I will check them out.

That John Deere X700 lawn & garden tractor is a beast!
Last week I hauled it up to the cabin site and mowed the entire 1.5 acre field surrounding the cabin.
Some of that field had never been mowed with a finish mower. It was bush hogged several years ago.
I had mowed some paths in the field with a small JD riding lawnmower last year, but by percentage maybe 35% max of the total field area.
The previously mowed ground is "green" while the freshly cut ground is "brown" but soon will look almost like lawn.

Rocks... I think I got all of them out of the field. I won't install the set of new Oregon Gator blades until I mow a couple more times and don't get a rock/blade strike.

Still NO good news on the Pioneer 520. More than a month remaining until the earliest possible projected delivery date.

Firewood remaining from last year. I may not even bother cutting any this year.

IMG_20210512_182809578_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210512_182710712_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210512_182707185_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

I cleaned up the mess the Power Company made at the new pole. Removed what seemed like about 50 front loader buckets of debris with the Kubota. Smoothed out the dirt and put down a bit of grass seed.

IMG_20210512_182615016_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210512_182611577_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

Good graphic example of "fresh" cut (brown) and "last year" cut (green) but in a couple months, it will all look the same.

IMG_20210512_182533365_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

IMG_20210512_182456994_HDR by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

We are having a small gathering at the cabin over the Memorial Day weekend.
Any upstate New York SIG Forum Members that wish to attend, send me an email.
It wouldn't be a long drive if you live in north east or north central Pennsylvania either.
Saturday May 29th in the afternoon. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, and Homemade Hot Italian Sausages are on the menu. Of course, with peppers & onions.

The outhouse has been in service there for several years now.
Several design/construction errors (mine) have appeared since it was built. (photo of said outhouse on page 1 in this thread)

One, when the outhouse porch had snow/ice on it, you couldn't open the door.
Easy enough to fix, add a stacked double 2X4 threshold to the door opening and shorten the door.
I used silicone caulk under the threshold so pooled rainwater on the porch will not run under the door.
Second, when you urinated while taking a dump, the urine would run out on the outhouse floor around your feet.
That's a serious problem when wearing heavy hunting clothing and the clothing is down around your ankles!
We disassembled the plywood "box" the toilet seat sits on, and added a plastic panel attached with stainless steel screws for directing urine flow down into the buried plastic barrel.
All set now, no delicate female sensibilities will be offended now.

Relaxing after a hard day of work, I flew my new drone and got some splendid aerial photos of the place.

DJI_0068 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

DJI_0053 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

How many cigars did you need to mow that with the JD looks like at least 2 churchills...

I gave up smoking a long time ago so I can't say.

That was almost eight hours of mowing since the vegetation was heavy and matted due to several years of growth since the last bush hog job.
I would say between 3 and 4 hours for a complete field mow with the JD X700 now that the entire field has been completed with a finish mower for the first time.
1.5 acres total field area.

The X700 does have a cupholder for a cold beverage. Rough in places, cold beverage needs a top on it.
I have multiple days of music on my iPod (using "in the ear earbuds") which I routinely wear when mowing and riding motorcycles on the interstate highways.

That's a nice looking place you have there Cee.

I hope the P500 makes its way to you in June. Local dealer here (MPS) hasn't received a second one yet, only mine back in February, and they have deposits on two more. Honda's really struggling with production, MPS has 3 deposits on Honda's new CRF300 and Honda can't even say when they'll be shipping the first one to them.

The oddest things... And exasperating...
You can plainly see the new fiber optic internet line in the mowing photo where I show the cabin, my Jeep, the JD X700, and the aluminum trailer. That's the line half way up the power pole.
They installed it last December.
New internet system due to go live in May, 2021.

When I was there doing the outhouse work, I noticed that fiber optic line was gone.
Yup, vanished. So I called the internet company.
They had a high profile vehicle knock down the fiber optic line up at the closest road intersection.
So the system engineers decided to bury the fiber optic line.
The sales division for the internet company has had my contact information since December, 2020.

Now that the internet line is buried, did they install a pedestal or vault for my hookup to the cabin? Nope. They (the system engineers that are 1000 miles away) looked at Google map photos that are over a decade old.
No cabin in the Google map photos.
Only an old rotten camping trailer.
Nope, they won't need internet there.
On to the next job and address...

I had a meeting yesterday with the internet company install troubleshooter.
I told him I'm more than happy to pay the $49.99 overhead install fee. From the new power pole we had installed to the peak of the cabin roof.
But had no interest in paying for their fuckup.
That's on them.
They already had the fiber optic line within 85 feet of the cabin before they took the line down.
And their installers/removers were that close as well and knew there was a dwelling at that physical address.

The install boss is supposed to call me early next week with a solution.
I'm not paying them for their incompetence.
If they give me a hard time or want me to pay them for their screw up...
Hello Star Link!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cee_Kamp,

I spoke with the internet company again today.
They admitted that they had made the error not installing a pedestal or vault at the cabin location.
They will install 2 poles. Then string the fiber optic line overhead. (they have to get town/county permits first for the poles installation)
The site inspection/survey for pole coordinates is scheduled for next week.
So it's still going to be a $49.99 overhead installation.