Bleeding Green: New JD 1025R

[cptbarkey]

I have been hunting for a tractor for a few months and finally landed on a slightly used John Deer 1025R after watching several YT videos showcasing its versatility. This will be the 3rd machine in the family fleet, alongside a 2007 Gator TS 2x4, and a X354 riding mower.

My mom has her 20 acres in the Texas Hill Country which has rocks, cactus, a very spoiled horse and lots of cedar trees. I needed something small that can go inside trails, but also move, push, pull, dig, and generally reform the land. The property sits on the gentle slope of a mountainside, but when it rains, it creates small rivers everywhere that creates some amount of alarm for the house and various outbuildings. I look forward to diverting the rain with creating a swale network system and perhaps even a small pond. The in law in East Dallas also has a driveway which is in much needed repairs from erosion. It will be a great time inventing things to do in the future.

I should pick it up sometime in the next week or so, very excited. I'll update this thread over time with activities as things go along. I already have Delvac Extreme oil and a MP supertech filter lined up, and an amount of accessories to install once they flow in.

 

[fantastic]

Very cool! Did it come with a mower deck?

 

[cptbarkey]

No mower deck, the X354 riding mower does that job for the ranch. I only mow about 6-8 times a year, and about 3 acres of the 20. The rest of the land is mostly wild, she has a state wildlife exemption and has to follow certain rules to maintain a property tax discount, however its not technically required because she is also a vet widow.

This is one of the horse trails that is also a river when it rains. We got 5 inches in two days, and the water flows were apparent.

The water essentially follows these trails, a lot hits the main house on the left, and the rest flows further downhill to the right (picture below this one)

This is the bottom/edge of the property, and the "hay barn" outbuilding that gets flooded as the entrance faces uphill. My dad made it from scratch from recycled materials, its very well built but he didn't think about physics. In the past there was a berm or levee built in front of it, but it has since washed out.

 

[jhellwig]

I don't see any erosion or hills. Mom and Dads farm has wash outs that would eat that little fella right up.

I want to get one but I think the water lines are deeper than those can dig around here.

 

[cptbarkey]

I don't see any erosion or hills. Mom and Dads farm has wash outs that would eat that little fella right up.

I want to get one but I think the water lines are deeper than those can dig around here.

Nah nothing severe like a gullies or "arroyos" like you would see in even more desert regions. I believe part of the flooding is because she has had a few neighbors move in, and they themselves did land clearance and .. well, she is downhill from them.

 

[cptbarkey]

Tractor ETA is 29th or 2nd. It only has 14 hours on it, but is a 2016 model, and after further research I will be putting JD break in oil back in.

Further, will be keeping an eye as to what intake it has due to others seeing the bracket failures causing valve cover breaks. Wow.

Driving 200 miles round trip today to pickup an original JD box blade. It needs restoration and will tackle that this weekend.

The most important OEM accessory came in today, a cheapo would not feel right.

 

[cptbarkey]

Box blade was picked up this past Friday. Repainted over the weekend and put the finishing stickers on today. Taking it to the ranch tomorrow to swap vehicles, I need the truck to get the Tractor Friday/Mondayish.

 

[fantastic]

Nice! Did you use a primer/paint combo or primer separately?

 

[cptbarkey]

Ace hardware primer, then Ace hardware "john deere green". I think it came out good enough. I did sand it down some beforehand but.. its a box blade and will look pretty ugly after it gets used after the first 15 seconds

I still managed to save about $500 over a new box blade, prices as with everything is nuts.

 

[fantastic]

Ace hardware primer, then Ace hardware "john deere green". I think it came out good enough. I did sand it down some beforehand but.. its a box blade and will look pretty ugly after it gets used after the first 15 seconds

I still managed to save about $500 over a new box blade, prices as with everything is nuts.

Very good, I have some Ace paint too & they're one of the cheapest places for their house brand spray cans. Anytime we can keep metal protected is good & you have the right idea. Good job!

 

[cptbarkey]

The tractor arrived at the closeby dealership. They gave it a onceover and the backhoe has a hose leak. They ordered a new hose. I appreciate they did a once over before delivery.

After thinking about logistics of moving alot of material around on the property, I found a pickup bed trailer that was converted to a dump trailer. It has an 8 bolt solid axle and 10 ply tires. It is setup to use a farm jack for tilting the bed. I know little about farm jacks except they are dangerous. I might rig up a different way of tilting but need to research some redneck solutions. However, it will make moving around material quicker. I have some saddle brown rustoleum sitting around so it might get a new paint job Saturday.

 

[MSCH]

Ace hardware primer, then Ace hardware "john deere green". I think it came out good enough. I did sand it down some beforehand but.. its a box blade and will look pretty ugly after it gets used after the first 15 seconds

I still managed to save about $500 over a new box blade, prices as with everything is nuts.

yeah, nice little tractor.
form my understanding all the smaller JD's are Yanmar which are generally good pieces of equipment.
If memory serves correctly Yanmar and JD have some sort of agreement
where Yanmar doesn't sell in the US except thru JD.

 

[jeepman3071]

yeah, nice little tractor.
form my understanding all the smaller JD's are Yanmar which are generally good pieces of equipment.
If memory serves correctly Yanmar and JD have some sort of agreement
where Yanmar doesn't sell in the US except thru JD.

Yep, Yanmar makes great engines/equipment. They have had a deal with John Deere since the 1980s.

 

[cptbarkey]

Finally got it home today! Tomorrow a warehouse of accessories to install and maintenance to do.

 

[jhellwig]

yeah, nice little tractor.
form my understanding all the smaller JD's are Yanmar which are generally good pieces of equipment.
If memory serves correctly Yanmar and JD have some sort of agreement
where Yanmar doesn't sell in the US except thru JD.

They might have at some point but not any more. The only thing yanmar makes is the engines. Deere makes the rest. Some of the older Deeres were yanmar but that ended in the 90s. Yanmar partnered with cub cadet for a while and now just sells outright in the US.

 

[LDB]

That is a busy looking tractor just sitting still. You may have trouble keeping up with it once it gets going.

 

[jeepman3071]

I'd love a backhoe for my Kubota B2620, but I'm not sure how much I would use it for how difficult it would be to take on and off for attachments I use more, plus they cost $7k+. Easier for me to just rent a mini excavator from the rental place down the street for the few times I need to dig out large tree stumps.

 

[cptbarkey]

I'd love a backhoe for my Kubota B2620, but I'm not sure how much I would use it for how difficult it would be to take on and off for attachments I use more, plus they cost $7k+. Easier for me to just rent a mini excavator from the rental place down the street for the few times I need to dig out large tree stumps.

Agree, its difficult to justify. Today I dug two holes to relocate some apple trees out of whiskey barrels into the ground, and will dig 5 more smaller holes tomorrow for some crepe mertyls and some other plants. The neighbor has two dead trees and agreed to let me push/pull or dig them out.

The main use I will have for the backhoe is to remove stubborn limestone rocks around trails, stumps, and we'll see what else. I seriously considered the recent trend of $6-7k chinese excavators but the JD was at a price I couldn't resist.

 

[jeepman3071]

Agree, its difficult to justify. Today I dug two holes to relocate some apple trees out of whiskey barrels into the ground, and will dig 5 more smaller holes tomorrow for some crepe mertyls and some other plants. The neighbor has two dead trees and agreed to let me push/pull or dig them out.

The main use I will have for the backhoe is to remove stubborn limestone rocks around trails, stumps, and we'll see what else. I seriously considered the recent trend of $6-7k chinese excavators but the JD was at a price I couldn't resist.

View attachment 182340

That definitely looks like fun.

 

[cptbarkey]

Wheel spacers, bxpanded quick change, thumb installed, replaced the OEM small toolbox with a dewalt tstak drawer, and upper general box on top. Fire extinguisher, side mirrors, grab handles, bucket hooks with tow hitch.

Thinking where to mount a chainsaw scabbard, more hook-type things on the ROPS, Ryobi battery fan, and finally a crap homemade canopy from a folding table. My deadline is Sunday morning when I'm bringing it to the ranch.