To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer?

   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #1  

zipp669

Bronze Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2004
Messages
62
Location
IOWA
Tractor
4100 jd, 4500 jd, 4720jd, tc48nh, all fwa, all have a loader
Read my bio first please, you will then no a little about what I have and my dilema. YOu will all think I am NUTS!
I got a new 5205 (60 hrs on it now) in Sept. Nice tractor but just too big for what I do (tires especially needs 24's & has 28's on it, will cost a min of $2000 to go down to 24's) and am going to sell it and if that dont work trade it. Will be in the DSM register this wkend along with my Kubota(1200 hrs).
Anyway, I have debated on the 4320 or 4720, today I had to give the go ahead to the salesman or lose rebates & good financing(as we dont no yet what they will offer for NOV).
I am sitting here tonight now debating on whether I need the 4720 hydro or do I want the 4320 ro 4520 for less & not get hydro or get either 4520 or 4320 with Hydro.
By now you are all going what the heck???
Well I seed & grade & aerate and spray & bushhog & install silt fence and blow straw and move big bales & go on really steep ground. I do have duals on the kubota. I do not move much snow with them.
My bigger tractors are not hydro. also now that we have EHYDRO, how much BETTER is that than the old time hydro?
My powr rvrsr's are nice, stick them in F or R & go. I still clutch even though you do not have to as they through you & are jerky if you do not clutch(imo).
I no you cannot all answer & make my decision for me. Just any input would help.
My actual plans would call for me to get rid of my current big tractors and get a 4720 JD, a TC45DA and a D45 Case. The case will have bar tires.
Why different tractors? Well, I do not think that any tractors are bad, really.
People ask me which I prefer, my 4500 or my 3710. My reply is neither. Each has its pros & cons. I prefer the 4500 for this job & the 3710 for this job, but neither is the ideal tractor. The Kubota has broke down WAY more than the JD. And dont ever say that the foreign tractors take too long for parts. The KUBOTA fits this bill also.
Would I buy another Kubota, No way.
I love the 30 series Deere & the NH with supersteer. I drove the Case today & it was nice & basic as it was a d series.
But does that Cruise control ehydrro work that well if you were mowing 5 acres and you just flipped the switch or if you were putting an 8 foot field cultivator on the 3 point and flip the switch. or any other things that you could FLIP the SWITCH and the cruise control was there so you dont have to hold your foot on the pedal.
I worked on seeding about 2 acres this past July with my 4100, oh boy, was my foot tired after holding down that pedal all day. granted the 4100 is a 1999 model & the hydro is probably a little tighter to push. But I dont want to run into that again.
It is not like I can take the Hydro tractor home & use it for a month and decide I want a power reverser back.
We did get to use a 4320 hydro when my 5205 had a hydralic problem and was nice and alot quicker in the smaller areas going F & R.
I think I may end this now. Thanks for reading & listening.
I may have even put this in the wrong forum as it discussed other tractors also.
Tell me if I am wrong.
Thanks for the help!!
ZIPP
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #2  
Sounds like you know all about powerreverser. I would carefully analyze what you'll be doing with the machine. You can use the cruise control to keep from having to keep your foot on the pedal. You would appreciate the hydro for bush hogging, spraying and loader work especially in smaller areas. The powerreverser would be good for everything else.

I love my ehydro...Kyle
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks Kyle, but does your cruise or whatever you want to call it work like it is suppose to. does it come undone?
Does it stay at the speed you set it at like a car or truck/
Lets say you set it at 8mph mowing, does it stay there, pop out or go up & down alot?
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #4  
Zipp, I had never owned a hydro until I bought my 4320. I had used a couple on rentals, so I learned to like the ease of use, but questioned the durability. After talking to other owners with hydros, they will convince you they would never go back to gear. I have just 20 hours on my tractor now, but already I am sold. The loader work is precise and instantaneous, either direction. I use the cruise control if I plan on more than 50 feet travel. It is as sophisticated as any cruise on a passenger vehicle. You can bump the speed up or down in 1/10 mph increments in low range and it will hold right there, up or downhill. In the other ranges it is larger (1mph) increments. As far as durability, the dealer I bought it from claims to have never had a hydro back. No one I know has had problems either, whether their tractor is green, orange, blue or red.
Powr-reverser was my only other option, and I may have been satisfied with that, but I don't have qualms about another $1000 after using mine at this point. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #5  
The cruise works great although I don't use it as much as the fella above.
Here's another feature that is hard to realize how useful it is until you get your tractor out in the REAL WORLD. Imagine if you put say, a ten foot cutter behind your 4720, and your cutting along happily in your beautiful meadow. Well, all of a sudden you hit the deepest, thickest, meanest patch of buffalo grass in the county. Ha-ha, you had already switched on the Load match feature for the ehydro. Instead of bogging down that 58 HP(gobs of turbo torque too) machine, it will AUTOMATICALLY slow down your forward speed thus keeping your RPM up with absolutely not one finger's worth of effort required by you the operator (except having switched it on originally). Next, when you are thru that bad patch of grass, your forward speed picks back up to whatever you had the cruise set to. No gear tractor will do this.
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #7  
After that long post, I would go Hydro. You can never go wrong with hydro especially mowing. Can't beat it on hills also. I have always hated clutches and always will. Go Hydro


murph
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #8  
There is no comparison go with the hydro. It is so smooth and effortless. I woulnd't go with the NH tc45d. My dad has one and I hate running that gutless peice of crap. The loader has nothing compared to deere and the hydro is weak it cannot hardly spin the tires. I do like the supersteer but that is IT. I owned numerous blue paints but never again.
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #9  
Go Hydro! And Yes, the cruise works wonderfully. I finish mow 5 acres once a week and have never had a problem with it holding it's speed or quiting.
 
   / To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer? #10  
Another vote for Hydro. I had the automotive style cruise option added at delievery and it works great. LoadMatch is pretty slick also.
I looked for a used 4310 eHydro before I bought mine new. There weren't any even though they outsell the others. There were used 4310's for sale but they had the lesser transmissions, were priced cheap (owner took a huge loss), and were glued to the ground (wouldn't sell quickly).
In addition, if there ever is a problem with the eHydro the transmission can go a long way towards telling you what is wrong with the blinking light on the right fender. Not quite as good as OBDII on cars and trucks, but it's a start.
 
 
Top