Thanks to advice here and persistence, I now own an M413XT and have already run a mile or so of crowning with it. As luck would have it, rain fell shortly thereafter and now my crown is sticky muck. But that's life. I'll tailgate some base on it once the rain stops. And crown it again. Muck on base works OK in Central Texas because our muck is mostly limestone. I noted voltage today barely above 12v so wanted to check the battery. It turns out that the heater causes the battery drain (and gives no heat anyway) so I turned it off and volts came back strong to about 14. But I was worried that I couldn't find the battery. I did locate the positive jump pole and put a trickle charger on there, which quickly went to float, showing that the battery is fully charged. The manual was kindly sent to me in PDF by Calder Bros, and it says ""The Battery is located inside the lower left side of the Engine compartment." but I sure don't see it. I know @cuttin edge has a Mauldin or two, but are there others of us out here? Do you suppose the battery isn't in the same place for every year model? Mine is a 2002 with a Cummins. The PDF Operation, Service and Parts manual that Calder sent me is dated 01/04. I also got a paper copy with the machine but it is for the operator to keep in the machine, and has much less tech info.
Both of our Mauldin have the battery beside the engine. Sits on the frame on the right side. Might be under the cab
That could be, but last night I only saw the hydraulic valves under there. Today we're pouring a slab in 39F drizzly rain so I'm just gonna leave the maintainer parked till things dry up.
Well, something is definitely odd here. I found my battery. It's under the engine cover, on the frame cross member right in the middle at the back of the machine. Not where yours is, or where the manual I was sent says it should be. In fact, that manual shows the controls up next to the steering wheel. Mine are to the sides of the seat. Where are your control levers? I think Calder sent me the wrong manual. My serial number is 120762 and the Cummins serial number plate calls my machine an M413XT-01 Here's what the manual that Calder sent me shows: But here's what mine looks like: I like my levers back by the seat. Otherwise I'd have to lean forward all the time and that would hurt my back.
Your cab is set up more like our Alitec. Our Mauldins are 2012 and 2014. Both have liquid cooled Deutz engines. The batteries are on the exhaust side of the motor. all the gauges and switches are over the windshield. You can get either configuration for controls. Our 2012 has the dash levers, but they are about 2 feet long, and up around the steering wheel. I hate it as I feel like I am riding a Harley with those ape hanger handle bars, plus you have to move them so far that I feel I'm running a steam shovel. The one I call mine is the 2014 and it has the seatside controls. right hand from the seat out are Boom then bucket, ripper then aux. left hand from seat out are right blade lift, left lift ' MB tilt, sideshift then swing or angle. If you go on their website, and watch the video, you can see they tapered the cab like a Cat dozer. What I really hate, is that they tinted all the windows from the factory. who does that on a grader. Can't close the doors because I can't see what I'm doing. If I can get some pics I will post them. I only have a flip phone as I refuse to become one of those people that can't put their phone down
My windows are not tinted. They must have started that after 2002. Agreed, it's dumb except perhaps on bright sun directly overhead. I just found a broken high-side AC line, right on the compressor. Gotta get that fixed before Texas summer hits. I was exactly as you are regarding phones until one day I drove an hour to a job site and nobody was there. And this was in France with diesel at about $8/gallon. "Oh, you didn't get that email I sent an hour ago?" But I had been out of the office all day. So I got an android just so I could get email on the go. Now they say Zuckerburg and Tim Cook track your every move with your phone. So we all turn off location and take other unspecified measures to guard our privacy, as possible.
My favorite is how you happen to look up tires, or toilets on the laptop, suddenly you get adds for that on fb or hef
Once you install FB or Messenger on your phone, it leaves staybehind spyware that listens thru the mic. We wiped our phones once we learned about that and reinstalled android. We also run some non-google androids, because dollars to donuts goolag is also spying non-stop. You simply never login to google on your new android, and instead of the play store you find APKs to install apps. Works fine. There was also a payload with Whatsapp or Instagay, I forget which, sending data to mossad (!). My mil friends all know to never install those apps. https://tinyurl.com/ycwqu5yt Hey, back to the Mauldin, where is your serial number located? On mine, I've only found the Cummins plate.
I don’t think I would like levers down to the sides of the seat. I usually stand up while grading anyway. I’m short.
there is a plate on the side of the cab on the left side. See it below her feet
Not much room to stand. I'm only 5 foot 9 and I can't fully stand in it. Plus it is hydrostatic drive, one pedal for forward and reverse
Here is the grandfather of the maulden, the puckett
I talked to Mauldin today. The manual they sent me is the only one they have. They bought the business from PSI in North Dakota in 2007. iirc. So few of the current employees were even there, if any, back when my machine was made by another company in another state. Yours were made by Mauldin. @cuttin edge They were real helpful on the phone and said just call if I have questions. Turns out they only make about 30 a year of these critters. They told me that Kenway Engineering does their HVAC and gave me their number. I talked to them too and while they were helpful, some of the info was possibly wrong. Mauldin told me that there's a valve that can be used to turn off the heater all winter explaining why my heater only puts out air. I found that valve. Kenway told me it's in another spot. I guess 2002 was a long time ago. I had more hair. I was able to locate parts to fix my broken high-side AC hose at NAPA and an AC distributor near Dallas. Kenway advised that the system has probably absorbed humidity because that line was broken. My compressor might be toast. AC is real important in Texas. Once I put in the new parts and a new receiver/dryer, I'll tow it to a garage and have the AC drawn down then recharged. Kenway has all the parts needed to fix the AC in case yours ever fails.
I've had a compresser put on once already. The other machine had a condenser as well. Both machines run cold, around 125 130 degrees. Mine actually glazes the cylinders and smokes from time to time. Even on really hot days it might get about 150
Better check the thermostat. Mine runs at 180F and gets up there pretty quickly, even in cold weather. I can't imagine why a Deutz would run at 125 -130. The water vapor in the exhaust blowby will condense in the crankcase instead of being vaporized out. Do you have an oil temp gauge?
Both machines run that cold. When mine started smoking, it was taken to a Deutz dealer. They said I needed to run it at lower rpms. Anything less than wide open and the hydraulics get noisy. So wide open it is. It has no blow by at the stink pipe, and it doesn't smoke constantly. Every now and again it gives a puff like someone smoking a cigar.. I've mentioned a thermostat to the guys in the shop and no one seems interested, So I do my daily checks and fill out my book, and if she blows she blows. The oil is clean, and only takes maybe a liter between oil changes
One of the guys went to Conexpo, and said Mauldin had the new maintainer. It has the cummins engine Tier4. 4 wheel steering. They also fit the front end with a full axle. and not sure if I like it, but it has a single joystick. You can't run the bucket and blade at the same time. Too many electronics I think
That's why I looked for 3 months to find an earlier model. The first year of any move to full electronics is going to be buggy. And all that Tier 4 stuff just adds expense and downtime. Not to mention the inevitable large expenses when it's time to put in a new DPF burner. Those heat cycles are killers on the metal. 4 wheel steering would be nice to put the windrow between the back tires. Kinda like articulation can do. But Mauldin is not a big company. The bugs are gonna be bad for at least a year. Did your guy mention the price tag?
No, but I would imagine it would be a killer, the Canadian dollar is not doing so good. I have always wanted 4 wheel steering, would be a lot of times I would use it, especially around manholes or along turns in a curb. There are a lot of times when I use the blade and bucket at the same time, not sure I would like the single joystick
Heck yeah. Every time I have a pile of flex base to spread, I go at it bucket down first then the blade right after it. I do have to swap hands sometimes because my controls are on either side of the street, but the rig will almost always go straight even if I let go of the wheel, unless uneven terrain. So the single stick has a switch between bucket and blade? I guess that could work if you got good at that too. I'd be toggling that switch a lot.
I'm not really struck on joystick tec. I know it's come a long way but. We had a Fiat Alis backhoe. Joysticks were on the seat, out riggers were on a switch on one of the joysticks. If you wanted to move the front bucket, you pressed a switch on your right hand joystick and held it. This joystick was now your loader control, and you could lift your boom so you could drag the machine back or push ahead without swinging around and driving it.Release the button and control went back to backhoe. With the seat in the forward position, the RH joystick ran your loader. If you wanted to lower your rear boom to go under a door or wire, another button pressed and held would return backhoe functions while you faced front. After 5 years, the controls would randomly switch. You would be digging with the backhoe while your front loader would be going up and down.
That's why I like the simple hydraulic controls on my old M413XT. Certain are very touchy, such as lowering the boom. Raising the blade can be touchy too. I'll try to ease it up over and over but only get a 1/4" it seems, then suddenly 2" My tractor backhoe is also pure hydraulic and at times I have to wrap the stick with my lower hand planted on the console in order to get smooth motions. But that's all a human learning curve to master. If electronics go wonky, there's no hope but an expensive service call. My neighbor's John Deere stopped moving. He's as mechanical as me and more country-honed as to tractors etc. He could not get it moving. $300 to the dealer just to come and pick it up. I didn't have the heart to ask him what the overall bill was. I chose LS for my tractor based on low cost, simplicity, plus the dealer being close and competent, only $100 to come out if need be. But it has DPF and regen crapola on it. Give me some time, I'll defeat that. I imagine Turdeau's Canada has strict enforcement of pollution rules. Texas, not.
My neighbor just bought a new Zetor tractor. No emissions, and no electronics. Not sure how they can even sell them. Seems like a nice tractor. 4x4 loader, heated cab
I looked at them because they have a good rep in France where I lived until 2017, but a couple things held me back. 1) They're not really Zetors until 100hp or so, somewhere around there. The maker is asian and not one of the best. 2) Horrible responsiveness when I emailed/called for info. Like a bad parody of poor service. Email replies a month late etc. If it's under a certain HP and built before a certain date, it can go under Tier 4 Interim. But now I think everything over 25 hp needs that crap.
Never had a close look, but it is a good size. He only uses it for snow blowing. Pretty much sits all summer. Said he makes enough in winter to make the payments in summer. He is a retired cop so I think it's just a hobby. Not too strict as long as you don't get caught. We just had a Volvo loader that has been giving us a ton of problems deleted. The parts alone to fix the problem were $15000 alone so they bypassed all that and so far so good. I know a few guys with LS tractors that had wheel bearing issues in the front, but they seem like a good tractor