Sold the 2014 Brutus / was and still is an awesome machine / my comments

Sold the 2014 Brutus / was and still is an awesome machine. I'm putting this thread in for people that are considering a used unit. I have no associations with any dealer or manufacturer, just an honest review of the product. I had it for over six years and had only one relatively minor issue, shift cable broke and it was not a big deal to replace (I did have a dealer do it). My final thoughts on the machine are that it was one of the most productive products I've ever owned. It has some drawbacks (bucket lift height is why I need to buy a tractor) and the Yanmar is a little noisy, but is was reliable, powerful and if purchased for the right purposes, an excellent machine. Two pieces of info, if it's your first diesel, remember to periodically drain the water separator and in cold climates install a block heater. I used mine to blow snow and pull my Ice Castle onto a frozen lake for ice fishing; as well as general chores like putting my boat in the lake, hauling stuff, moving dirt etc. I only put 400 hours on it, all residential (not commercial) activities. I never had the problems some folks outlined in this forum. My overall cost for running the product was extremely low. The Hydrostatic drives never needed tuning; never lacked power and operated exactly the same at 400 hours as it did when I brought it home. Since I didn't operate it commercially, I can't speak for how it would run after 2,000 hours. I operated it in the winter with chains on the rear tires; it was an excellent combo (with the snow blower in front) for moving the Ice Castle on the lake in the middle of the winder; sometimes in extreme conditions (hard cab with heater and A/C). Excellent machine for scouting for fish plus I could put my generator in the back of it. Net, net, for my applications, the machine was perfect and it only went down the road to make room for a new tractor I'm purchasing to have more flexibility for grading, blading and moving dirt. I'll need to purchase two machines now, so, I'm planning on purchasing a new Ranger to tow the Ice Castle. But as this thread implies, I'll need to drive the tractor on the lake to plow my way when I move the fish house.