Gravely Tractors and/or Stationary 3pt hitches

[daugen]

I have the original brochure from the mid 80's, when my 8199G was made, and it showed the "new" hydrostatic model, very interesting, had all the ptos provided, and looked pretty beefy.
But not the traditional rear engine Gravely, but likely a seriously good garden tractor. I would not be afraid of it, unless someone has other experience. Gravely also made a much cheaper lawn tractor, now that
I would stay away from, built for price to compete I'm sure. But the hydro unit looked like the best Ariens/Gravely alternative had to offer, not a stripper. Whether the frame and other components hold up as well is just unknown to me; I think
that's a pretty rare model to find.

 

[RichardTX]

The hydrostatic that was used on the Ariens/Gravely was no different than any other HS transmission used on other makes of tractors of that class. The transmissions were purchased usually from Peerless or another maker (the name escapes me).

I view the hydrostatic transmissions like this:

The good news is it is a hydrostatic.
The bad news is it is a hydrostatic.

Personally I would rather not have one. When a hydrostatic fails, it can be expensive to repair.

To get an idea of the robustness of the Gravely 800/8000/G tractor, just look at the size of the transmission and the material it is made of. Cast iron beats cast aluminum in my book. I suppose to be fair about it, the 800/8000/G series is really in a different class than that hydrostatic equipped tractor.

The down side to the Gravely tractors is that only one had the capability of a full sized 3 point hitch and that was the 9000/GMT. The GMT is a relatively rare beast. Featuring a 4 cylinder liquid cooled engine, it was very expensive new. Some parts are hard to get since that particular tractor never sold well.

The lack of a 3 point hitch never bothered me. The other attributes of the Gravely 800/8000/G more than make up for the lack of a 3 point hitch and in over 30 years of owning Gravely, have never actually wanted a 3 point hitch.