CLOSE TO BUYING

   / CLOSE TO BUYING #1  

ritchieb

Bronze Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
71
Location
near Parkersburg, WV
Tractor
Yanmar 1610D/Kubota B2620
Looking to purchase a Max 28 next month. I would like advice and input on shuttle shift vs hydrostatic drive on the max 28. I have never owned a hydrostat drive tractor. 90% of my time is spent mowing which I think hydrostat would be great for. Maybe 5% brush-hogging with a four foot deck and then 5% loader use. My current tractor has 16 HP at the PTO and it does ok brush-hogging which leads me to believe the hydrostat max will do ok for me. Is their a durability issue between the two in your all's opinion? Does the hydrostat require more maintenance? Which do you all prefer? I am at work and only looked back six pages or so in this forum so if this has been covered before I apologize. Thanks.
 
   / CLOSE TO BUYING #3  
personally after a few hours on a tractor, my feet gets tired, arms get tired. if i can set a gear, set the throttle. and just drive. i am happier. (cruise control otherwise)
 
   / CLOSE TO BUYING #5  
Looking to purchase a Max 28 next month. I would like advice and input on shuttle shift vs hydrostatic drive on the max 28. I have never owned a hydrostat drive tractor. 90% of my time is spent mowing which I think hydrostat would be great for. Maybe 5% brush-hogging with a four foot deck and then 5% loader use. My current tractor has 16 HP at the PTO and it does ok brush-hogging which leads me to believe the hydrostat max will do ok for me. Is their a durability issue between the two in your all's opinion? Does the hydrostat require more maintenance? Which do you all prefer? I am at work and only looked back six pages or so in this forum so if this has been covered before I apologize. Thanks.

I personally would recommend going with the HST, due to the fact of what tasks you listed. I promise you will enjoy it significantly more. With that said the Max 28xl offers a live pto, so everytime you wanted to back up or change directions AKA engage the clutch, you would turn off the pto. The Max 28 will handle a 4ft rotary cutter with no problem.
 
   / CLOSE TO BUYING
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Thanks for all the input so far and looking forward to more, points well taken and appreciated.
 
   / CLOSE TO BUYING #7  
I have an eMax 22 with hydro and I like it much more than the gear tractors I'm used to. With cruise control easily set I don't see much advantage to gear or shuttle shift. You don't say if you now have a FEL but you might find more use of it than you think you will. In that case you will wish you had a hydro. If you have the choice, why settle for less than the best.
 
   / CLOSE TO BUYING #8  
RitchieB, I own both a Kubota B2410HST that I bought new in 2002. I recently bought a Mahindra 5035PST which is a bigger tractor because I now have more acreage to maintain than when I bought the Kubota. Since I have driven both doing the same tasks that you anticipate, I will share my thoughts.

Frankly, it has a lot to do with what you are used to. I tried to find a HST Mahindra because I am used to the Kubota, but I could not. A HST by definition is a heavier machine than the gear version, and it will have a horsepower or two less power at the PTO. The HST will cost a little more to maintain because the fluid and filter has to be changed more ofter. Not a deal breaker in my mind.

My kubota just turned 13 years old and besides regular maintenance the HST has never given me any problems. Not to say that all will be like that. Here is the part that I like. My wife does not know how to manage a power shuttle machine what with the multiple ranges, gears, clutch etc. I can put her on the Kubota and go drink a beer and watch "the game". She loves that machine. This is why I wanted another HST. If you have a wife or significant other who is uncomfortable with shifting, clutching and finding the best range, the HST will probably be a better fit.

I told her I was going to sell the Kubota so we could offest some of the cost of the Mahindra. I got recalibrated very quickly. Now I have two tractors, and I only really need only one, Personally I like the HST better but that, as I said earlier, is my opinion. I wonder who is playing this weekend?.........
 
   / CLOSE TO BUYING
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for all the help. I think since most of my time will be mowing, hydro-stat will be the best for me as stated. Yes, I will have a loader on it, I am getting into the 50 year old group shortly and I just don't see lifting what I used to in the picture at this age! I have never operated a hydro-stat ever, if I use a brush hog does the rear pto stay at the same speed regardless of engine speed or will it change as I increase the throttle and decrease as I decrease the throttle? How can I make sure it stays at or close to the 540 rpm range? Thanks again for the advice.
 
   / CLOSE TO BUYING #10  
W
Thanks for all the help. I think since most of my time will be mowing, hydro-stat will be the best for me as stated. Yes, I will have a loader on it, I am getting into the 50 year old group shortly and I just don't see lifting what I used to in the picture at this age! I have never operated a hydro-stat ever, if I use a brush hog does the rear pto stay at the same speed regardless of engine speed or will it change as I increase the throttle and decrease as I decrease the throttle? How can I make sure it stays at or close to the 540 rpm range? Thanks again for the advice.
When using the PTO, the implement speed is controlled by the throttle and there is an tachometer on the instrument panel.
 
 
Top