Neil Messick: Neil from Messick's here today to show you the Swift-Tach accessory kit for the LA-535 and LA-545 loaders. This is a kit that adds Kubota Swift-Tach functionality onto this tractor. It's a kit that you normally won't ever see sitting on your dealer's lot. Today we're going to take the time, we're going to show it to you on this tractor, and show you the added functionality that Swift-Tach gives you on this tractor.
Neil: What is Swift-Tach? Swift-Tach is a kit to put onto your tractor that makes loader removal easier. This is standard equipment down on the BX and the B-series tractor, but when we get up here to the LX, it becomes an option. Swift-Tach is going to add two main functions onto your loader. The first is this hose manifold right here. To unhook all four of your hydraulic hoses, you very simply lift this lever, this manifold will unhook, and all four of your hydraulic hoses come off just like that in one shot. It makes loader removal a lot easier.
Then when you go to reconnect this again, you have this lever that if you have a little bit of pressure in those hydraulic hoses, pushing down that lever will connect those couplers a lot easier than dealing with the four independent hydraulic couplers. This is one side of the equation, and the other side, the other improvement, is down here at the loader bucket in the parking stands.
The other component of Swift-Tach is related to your parking stands. Normally when you're going to remove your loader, that first step is to raise the loader up in the air, pull the pins underneath the parking stands, and lower them down. Although in this case, Swift-Tach improves upon that a little bit. I can simply reach out to the side of my loader here, push the arm forward that releases the parking stands, and now when I curl my bucket forward, the parking stands automatically swing down. Now at this point, I can lower this down to the ground and set my loader down on my blade or bucket in the parking stands, and that's now going to allow that to stand independently. Rather than having to get off of the tractor and pull those pins, I can simply release the parking stand while I'm still in the operator's seat.
The third and final equation of the Swift-Tach solution here is the lever that releases the pawls that lock the loader onto the tractor. Using the Swift-Tach levers, you can simply reach up to the backside of your loader and lift the lever up here that releases that locking pawl. Now, this is an important distinction here between the cab tractor and the open station model. In the open station tractor, you can reach forward from the operator's seat in order to release these pawls. On a cab tractor like this, you have to get off of the machine because you're not going to be able to reach to the glass here to get up to where the levers are.
Now with all these things done, with the parking stands lowered, the pawls released, the hydraulics unhooked, I can simply back my tractor now right out of my loader. Now, this system is going to make putting the loader back on easier as well, mostly in regards to hooking up those hydraulic hoses. Most of the rest of the process is fairly similar compared to doing the traditional pin-on version, but I can pull here between the loader, turn off the tractor, equalize the pressure of my hydraulic system, and then popping out of the machine here in order to attach these hydraulic hoses, which usually is the typical frustration when people are taking attachments on and off. Now it becomes much easier. We line that up, pull that lever down, and all four of those hoses are connected just like that.
With that locked on, the hydraulics connected, we can now curl the bucket, or the blade in this case, the whole way around, and you'll see how it collapses parking stands as it did it. Once that's done, you simply reach out here and grab the locking lever that will lock those parking stands in place. Now when you curl your bucket back out, they're going to stay locked there and out of the way.
In conclusion, three parts to this system, right? The pawls that lock the loader on, the locking and release of the parking stands, and the single lever coupler for the hydraulic hoses. My personal opinion on all of this, this portion of this system is worth its weight in gold. You'll see this used on all manner of larger ag tractors and construction equipment. The cost of these assemblies can be quite a lot, and the rather affordable, relatively affordable price of this kit nearly can be justified in itself in just this portion.
Me personally, I don't mind the pins to pull in and out of here most of the time, and I don't mind getting on and off of my tractor a lot to release my parking stands, although I find I bust my knuckles up a lot when I do it. These are improvements. In the perfect scenario, there is a case where you have an open station tractor and can lean forward to grab all of these components and release the loader from the seat of the tractor without getting off. That's a little tricky in this bigger LX series tractor, as you have to reach further to get to these individual components. I think that's a large part of the reason why you see this being standard equipment in the BX and the B, and optional up here in the L.
If you're somebody that removes your loader a lot or you struggle with hydraulic hoses, there's value in adding this kit onto your tractor. If you like this accessory kit or other parts or equipment needs, give us a call at Messick's. We're available at 800-222-3373 or online at messicks.com.
