Anything but a hydro...why?

TripleR · Feb 25, 2012

We must be unique around here, but we seem to have an abundance of "toy gentlemans tractors" in use by active farmers here. Our renters run 7000 and 8000 Series John Deeres and use a 4610 eHydro for FEL, dirt, trenching, moving material, tanks etc.

Geared units have their place and so do HST's, we run some of each. I have ball peen hammers as well as claw hammers; different jobs/tasks different tools.

ruffdog · Feb 25, 2012

k0ua said:
So I am guessing that is why all them bulldozers, earthmovers, and excavators that use some form of hydrostatic drive are all piloted by them thar gentleman toy driving suburbanite tuxedo wearing types then huh?:laughing::laughing:

James K0UA

That's funny! My neighbor is one of those excavator people that has a loader big enough to put my tractor in his bucket. Funny I never hear his shifting gears with his equipment.

k0ua · Feb 25, 2012

TripleR said:
We must be unique around here, but we seem to have an abundance of "toy gentlemans tractors" in use by active farmers here. Our renters run 7000 and 8000 Series John Deeres and use a 4610 eHydro for FEL, dirt, trenching, moving material, tanks etc.

Geared units have their place and so do HST's, we run some of each. I have ball peen hammers as well as claw hammers; different jobs/tasks different tools.

That's pretty funny TripleR. Yes I bet them toy gentleman farmers might take offense if you took their hydro toys away from them:laughing:.

Oh geez.. this hydro vs gear thing always seems to go on and on and on. Over 50 years now and the hydro is still a toy in some peoples mind... There is no end... Just get the one you want. It doesn't really matter.

James K0UA

jenkinsph · Feb 25, 2012

k0ua said:
So I am guessing that is why all them bulldozers, earthmovers, and excavators that use some form of hydrostatic drive are all piloted by them thar gentleman toy driving suburbanite tuxedo wearing types then huh?:laughing::laughing:

James K0UA

Yep, I been doin it wrong guess I need to change costumes to switch between my gear and hydro tractors.:laughing:

I should mention that the OP did mention the difference between selecting the tranny with heavy agricultural field use not being an issue. I think it is well accepted that for field work in open areas that a gear tractor is a more efficient drivetrain. This difference in efficientcy will help keep the operating costs /acre lower and is a good reason to utilize gear tractors for field work. Most people buying a compact tractor are not farming large acreages professionally either and may need to change speed and direction fifty times in the same expanse of time it takes a real farmer to get to the end of a row. It should be obvious that their needs and uses are very different and what works for one ideally may not be the best choice for the others needs.

k0ua · Feb 25, 2012

jenkinsph said:
Yep, I been doin it wrong guess I need to change costumes to switch between my gear and hydro tractors.:laughing:

I should mention that the OP did mention the difference between selecting the tranny with heavy agricultural field use not being an issue. I think it is well accepted that for field work in open areas that a gear tractor is a more efficient drivetrain. This difference in efficientcy will help keep the operating costs /acre lower and is a good reason to utilize gear tractors for field work. Most people buying a compact tractor are not farming large acreages professionally either and may need to change speed and direction fifty times in the same expanse of time it takes a real farmer to get to the end of a row. It should be obvious that their needs and uses are very different and what works for one ideally may not be the best choice for the others needs.

Agreed, If plowing the field was my primary task I would probably have a gear tractor too. I just couldn't resist the "toy gentleman" thing.. too funny!

James K0UA

TripleR · Feb 25, 2012

k0ua said:
That's pretty funny TripleR. Yes I bet them toy gentleman farmers might take offense if you took their hydro toys away from them:laughing:.

Oh geez.. this hydro vs gear thing always seems to go on and on and on. Over 50 years now and the hydro is still a toy in some peoples mind... There is no end... Just get the one you want. It doesn't really matter.

James K0UA

I am old enough to remember when "real men" drove stick shift trucks" while "windshield farmers" etc. drove automatics. Go out on a farm or construction site and compare gear v automatic.

Reg · Feb 25, 2012

Again, many/most of us aren't stacking pallets or loading sand into trucks in a 50 by 60ft area "All day long" either, which is where hydros (supposedly) really SHINE !
A lot of us just don't like the idea of being able to walk alongside a driverless vehicle and putting a hand on the fwd pedal every few feet either, JUST for convenience.
It isn't a "safety police" thing, it is just plain DUMB (IMO, etc.)
Not the sort of work habit I would want to see adopted by family members HERE !!!
(Monkey see, monkey do)

I do "a little bit of this", "a little bit of that", then not much of anything at all for quite a while (-:
I haven't built up a huge left leg calf muscle as a result of using gear tractors, though I don't suppose it would atrophy if I had all hydros.

In the Cat 1 and Cat 2 range that "Most of us" seem to run and the uses that "most of us" seem to put them to - hydro may be a "nice to have",
but there is a cost and for ME(first person, but the most important person, IMO) there are better opportunities for that expenditure.

The body can "take it" for a few more years of "Oh, so HARD" work with the left foot.

This topic is almost a popular as the R4s vs R1s rants & raves (-:

jenkinsph · Feb 25, 2012

I think it is common knowledge that alot of the younger people today have little experience with manual transmissions in road vehicles and I am sure that this carries over to their new small tractor purchases being hydro as a result. At the same time alot of the old timers remember how crappy the early automatic transmissions in road vehicles were and shops such as AAMCO(spelling?) were everywhere you looked. While the hydrostatic transmission is a completely different animal than an automatic transmission in your personal vehicle the memories are easily clouded by this.

What is more important to me is the opinions of those who have alot of time operating BOTH hydro and gear machines. For instance there is a huge difference in the shifting ease and effort between a sliding gear tranny and a newer mechanical reverser such as some of the gear tractor owners have. There is also differences between the hydrostatic transmissions too, I wouldn't lump them all together either. IMO it helps to be a member of both camps to sort out the differences.

k0ua · Feb 25, 2012

jenkinsph said:
I think it is common knowledge that alot of the younger people today have little experience with manual transmissions in road vehicles and I am sure that this carries over to their new small tractor purchases being hydro as a result. At the same time alot of the old timers remember how crappy the early automatic transmissions in road vehicles were and shops such as AAMCO(spelling?) were everywhere you looked. While the hydrostatic transmission is a completely different animal than an automatic transmission in your personal vehicle the memories are easily clouded by this.

What is more important to me is the opinions of those who have alot of time operating BOTH hydro and gear machines. For instance there is a huge difference in the shifting ease and effort between a sliding gear tranny and a newer mechanical reverser such as some of the gear tractor owners have. There is also differences between the hydrostatic transmissions too, I wouldn't lump them all together either. IMO it helps to be a member of both camps to sort out the differences.

Agreed again, My dad never owned another automatic transmission vehicle after his vision was clouded by poor results from the late 40's and early 50's versions of them.. He always thought they were junk and prone to breakage. I have lots of both types. and have spent more hours on gear tractors than hydro, but I am still a proponent of hydro for loader work for the precision and control, and the safety and ease of use by untrained untested personel.

James K0UA