Buying for Work around the Shop and Home

[AJ197816134]

Hello All,
I am looking to purchase a tractor been gearing towards a Tractor, Loader, and Hoe

Here is what I am looking to accomplish, (main tasks at need, with room to grow)

I need to clear a 20' deep by 200 Long parking lot of snow, Usually ends up with back dragging, and loader work, making and moving piles (currently hired out)
Must be 4x4
Moving Fire Wood
Ability to carry 1 or 2 55 Gallon Drums to the front shop (waste oil heat)
Moving, light scrap, 1 or 2 car engines, brake rotors etc
Moving Trailers,
Pulling cars and small pick-ups
Would like the unit to fit in my lowest garage door of 9'6

Light digging, for water Lines, ditches etc


I have been looking at Kubota, Kioti, Mahindra, and have Massey on the back burner

I have been looking at the 30-39 hp range.

For the work I am doing, I have conflicting input on HST, Shuttle, or Gear

Can anyone add suggestions, on Brand, size, and reliability, I don't want a brand bashing but this is a purchase that has to last a LONG LONG time..

I have been turned on to the Mahindra 3616 4wd with HST and Cab

 

[texasjohn]

:welcome:
You are on your way....lots of info in threads here on TBN....Many of the threads already address your questions...your time will be well spent if you spend quite a lot of time reading what people say about the very questions you are asking.

 

[AJ197816134]

Working on that been doing that on and off all evening.

Big Decision, and only 1 time to do it. Going out in AM to a few LOCAL dealers to get some literature and hands on evaluations

 

[747driver]

I have been looking and researching myself...this is a great website and great people with alot of knowledge ! I have looked at the Kioti,Mahindra and Branson but in the 27 to 30 hp range. I am leaning to the Kioti, nice heavy machine, well crafted and finish. The CK 27,30 and 35 are the same size frame just different hp. The Mahindra 3016 is being discontinued and renamed due to the Tier IV engine mandate on the new models. John Deere compact tractors don't measure up in the spec's compared to lesser priced brands ( IMOP ). Have fun searching, and make sure you get some seat time and see if you like where the controls are and what makes you comfortable.

 

[texasjohn]

FYI...something few mention...HST is, IMHO, a safety feature because you can operate the vehicle at full power RPM while moving it EXTREMELY SLOWLY....thus you can be very precise with maneuvering your vehicle...jerks, jumps, slips which might occur with other transmissions simply do not happen with HST. Also, when working with a person on the ground the extreme slow speed allows safety for the person on the ground as long as the tractor operator is watchful and mindful of the need for slow speed operation for safety reasons. I am a believer in HST. Extremely reliable. A small learning curve simply because it is different from your prior experience.... easily learned, most HST owners favor them greatly over other transmissions. Nevertheless, as many will tell you, it is possible to operate other transmission types with reasonable safety.

On steep slopes I really appreciate being able to creep along and feel my way to avoid tip over.

 

[GManBart]

Any of the brands you mentioned will be just fine...all make a quality product. You will likely get a bit more tractor for your money with a Kioti than the others without sacrificing quality. In the end, which brand, and which model, will come down to how you feel about the dealer, and how the machine feels when you run it. Something that I don't notice might drive you nuts, so getting actual seat time is the #1 most important thing you can do. Generally speaking, tractors aren't that complicated, and you can tell a lot just by looking at them and comparing them...what you see is pretty much what you get.

It doesn't sound like any of your tasks are overly taxing, so you should be able to handle them with the size tractors you're talking about, but there are two things to consider in that regard. One, many times people get a tractor and find out how incredibly useful they are, and suddenly they use them for more and more things, and then run out of capability (I did that). Using a military sort of term, I call it mission creep...you wind up doing stuff you didn't plan for. In that case, moving up just slightly in size and power to the traditional 40hp CUT might avoid that down the road. Second, if you go up that little bit in size, you get a stronger machine that won't be taxed as hard in routine use, which should help make it last longer. If you plan to buy once and hold on to it for a long time, it's probably better to give yourself room to grow into it, rather than being maxed out at the start.

As far as transmissions go, none of the tasks you mentioned favor any kind of geared transmission (that includes shuttle setups). For loader work, moving snow, etc, an HST setup will be very handy, and likely save you time. It's when you run ground-engaging implements that a geared machine really has an advantage because the have less power loss...takes power to run an HST tranny. I don't have anything with an HST setup right now, but i have in the past, and really liked it for loader use, mowing/brush cutting, and even things like skidding logs through the woods.

 

[AJ197816134]

Lots of good feedback. I went to the LOCAL Mahindra dealer, nice guy lots of sales in the area. I was looking at the 3616 Shuttle. I was leaning towards HST but he has some nice pricing, and the machines look well built. Has a nice unit with FEL and HOE. 84 month financing, and a good price on a rear snow blower, not sure if I need this yet or not.

I like the idea of HST for snow and loader work, less leg movement but debating this.

 

[paulfun9]

Tuff choices when you get into it. What is the price difference between the HST and shuttle? Have you test driven anything?

A test drive in a HST back to back with a test in a gear will tell you a lot. Snow on the ground so getting into a little snow to test out how you like them both while using the loader might not be out of the question for some dealers. When I purchased my old JD many years ago a test run in the snow using the loader really was the deciding factor and netted the JD the winner over the other machines I was looking at.

 

[aczlan]

Go HST. I have used geared (shuttle with un-syncronised gears), Kubota's GST (powershift shuttle) and HST. Unless you will be pulling a plow through the ground all day, you will not regret getting HST.

Aaron Z

 

[Parkanzky]

I spent some time on the Kubota B3350 when I was shopping. If you like the pedal arrangement, it's an awesome tractor and sounds perfect for your needs. I was looking at it with their 63" front-mount snowblower. It's a very nice unit and you could clear your lot without having to deal with any piles.