John Deere X758 & MCS-20 Bagger

[@TN_David_Vols]

Thanks for the video Bob. Your place looks straight out of a storybook. Very beautiful.

[@GrassMan-un3ep]

Great video, thank you for taking the time to document the installation. My experience with the exact same configuration is a lot different. The screen clogs 70 percent after 5 minutes of mowing, scraping the grass off both sides of the screen will take 10 minutes unless you spray the screen with Mo-Deck which significantly reduces cleaning time. Grass blows out the left side between the clam shell and the hopper and covers the operator with grass clippings until the hopper starts to fill up. The lift motor does not have a limit switch so it just keeps trying to open or close the lid as long as you hold down the button. The switch is on the top where any low hanging limbs will press the button and open the hopper. The fill gauge on the chute is hard to see and doesn't work if grass clogs the vacuum hose. JD will sell you a $200 electronic version (Terraking FS2). Don't bother calling Agri-Fab (the manufacturer) or JD because they will tell you "working as designed". Needless to say, I am less than satisfied with this $4000 grass catcher. I have videos that I can share if anyone is interested. Definitely spray the screen on both sides with Mo-Deck every day.

[@BobWilson84]

I echo all of your comments. I stopped caring about the screen getting clogged, I just let it clog itself and keep mowing. The seal around the bottom of the clam shell needs baffles to stop the clippings from blowing out before it fills. I don’t mind the switch location. I’d say as far as baggers go, it’s among the best out there but far far from perfect. I use mine weekly.

[@jimbernard71]

Great informative video- Just purchased identical tractor and bagger!!! Can't wait... Thanks for the time spent making the vid...👍👍

[@bigdaddy3927]

That whole setup is sublime 👉🏼👈🏼

[@mikebracht9261]

I remember your name, you're the guy who did the fantastic rebuild on a 318 a while back. Really enjoyed it.

[@karlfelland3555]

Great review Bob, thank you. Seems far better than the 3-Bag system. Hope you got good use out of it. I checked with my local JD Dealer and they're showing no inventory. Hope I can latch on to one.

[@mikebracht9261]

I see that you have the factory deck mounted striper. Very cool 😎. Looks like it works very well too!

[@jackieblevins5547]

What company makes it. It should say on the instruction manual and the model number.

[@BobWilson84]

Everything was rebadged as John Deere.

[@ColinQuinnuniverse]

Mine is parked on gravel and it's miserable to connect and disconnect the main unit from the machine. Adjustable feet would be nice.

[@johnelliott6738]

I'm trying to purchase the TKV20 PTO driven model for my JD2720 but Terra King does not have a universal boot for my 60' deck. I also own a JD X-738. Would you recommend this unit? think it's the same performance as the PTO driven unit?

[@BobWilson84]

All I can say is my x758 dominates even in tall grass. Your 738 would do well as long as the grass isn’t crazy. I have the 54” deck and it does well… if you have a 62” it might bog down a bit?

[@johnelliott6738]

@@BobWilson84 I would use it in the fall for leaf collection when the leaves are dry.

[@duaneboyd1502]

Any idea of weight of bagger as it comes on pallet from factory? Thx for any help.

[@BobWilson84]

I’m guessing around 225 - 275lbs

[@aprilgeneric8027]

thanks for the vid. deere says to have 4 weights on to counter the weight in the material in the MCS but that is wrong. if you buy the large weights you are close to being equal balance. i notice you have the smaller 40#'s and it takes 6 of those to balance out the 200# material load in the MCS but also the weight of the MCS itself with is another 70#. it takes 6 of the 40#s. i noticed the bouncing while you were using this on your front end is the only reason i bring this up...that's what causes the waves in the cut grass when you hit those bare or clumped and unleve/pohper holed spots. that part about you saying " be mindful of the MCS or you might take out a tree" made me laugh because most people have to be mindful of the material collector on the rear or the trees will destroy it! my trees which number in the hundred in the yard are 30+ to 150 years old. when a branch breaks off and hits my truck, it's thousands of dollars to repair in smashed body parts as happened to my 2019 silverado 3 months after i bought it. having run deeres since i was a kid with the 1970 140h3, yes to lifting all deere attachments, you park as close to the attachment as possible, set the bottom set of hook pins on, lift up the attachment to the spring loaded lockpins, and if you do it hard and fast enough, the pins snap in, on their own. hitching the implements takes about 30 seconds. another minute to slip on any belts or drive shafts when you do it right, getting everything down to a systematic pattern of correct order. the 140 i was able to go from mower deck to snow blower or rototiller in 5 minutes. a key i figured out as a child not having more than chicken muscles was to use blocks. look at how the implement sits on the machine when connected raised and lowered. the old 140 i was able to slide a 4x4 under the tiller mount bracket and pull forward after unhitching, and back right back up and into the tiller with the bottom hooks right on top of the pins, and just set the lock pins to receive, flip up the back of the tiller shield and pick up the back of the tiller until it tilted forward and the mount plate brushes the pin tips causing them to rotate slightly and unlock themselves from receive to engaged into the pinhole locks, then all i had to do was pin the lift arm to the tiller and slide the 2 belts up over the pto shaft pulley. the 300 series was about the same. now the 1990+ series 3X5/4X5/5XX with the 70's cub cadet styled underbelly track framed implements........ that was a major step backward to the early 1900's belt drive pto implements. such a nightmare to get the track frame lined up, and then a PITA to slip the belts on and the 4X5 series with their stupid 5' long hydro hoses and 5' pto shaft extenders with that stupid inverted to be impossible for an american adults hand to fit and hold the bolts in to mount, and dismount every time you wanted to use a mid mount implement or a front mount implement, such as my 445....i just want to break the face of whom ever decided that 'deere proprietary system' was 'superior' to the older systems which were superior as far as mounting and interchangeability were, but the direct shaft drive i kind of like, but am up in the air about because if the 3XXh series had been upgraded to 20-22-24hp motors with upgraded hyrdo's would have been far superior. the X4XX & X7XX series haven't gotten better except for the tire traction being that of atvs and a better seat and some other creature comforts such as the plastic cupholder RIGHT WHERE ALL THE DEBRIS LAUNCHES TOWARDS IT YUMMY FIBER GRASS SOIL CHOKA LATTE' (deere hates people who drink and drive?!) i like the '90s post slide bracket stands better. wish deere would incorporate them into the MCS's for the zero turns such as the 930Ms i also wish deere would bring the new high lift MCS bagger to america. it's used in europe, i've seen the videos of people using it there. it's a lighter less complicated unit than the old plastic high lift bagger i have and i'd really like to have that as my debris piles are taller than my machine and span 50' yards in 4 rows

[@GrassMan-un3ep]

I have this same configuration without the weights. Even with the MCS full of wet grass, the X758 does not need the extra weight in the front. I drive mine up steep hills and there are no issues. I weigh 190 lbs but even without me on the tractor, the front wheels are glued to the ground.