Buying Advice HST vs Gear Transmission - which would you recommend on this tractor ?

[Oldpath05]

Neil from Messicks put the gear tractor in high 1 not high 4 so it's the same as the hydro.

 

[Oldpath05]

I dont like gear for loader work, hydro is much better, when I do loader work I have to shift 3-6 times to get a bucket full of dirt.

 

[Peter 315]

I dont like gear for loader work, hydro is much better, when I do loader work I have to shift 3-6 times to get a bucket full of dirt.

HAHA faster to shovel it into the bucket..............

 

[Jstpssng]

The way I look at if the front stays down when pulling a log then the tractor is not pulling to much, sometimes I think FEL work is harder on my tractor then hauling firewood, I know it is on my front tires. I fill my bucket up with dirt and it feels like I'm lifting a mountain.

I hauled some horacious twitches with my little L275 when learning to use it... two good sized, tree length maple with a couple of smaller trees was normal. Often I'd pull over a half cord with that little tractor, thrashing and tearing, dragging myself forward with the bucket when I couldn't get traction. I often had over a half cord of tree length hardwood on the winch, while the tractor only weighed about 3300 lbs including the loader and winch. It's really a marvel that I never broke anything. Yet I've never had a load on that the 3 pth couldn't. I would like t osee you come out of the woods with one of the loads on after the 3 pth needs an assist from your winch. :thumbsup:

 

[Oldpath05]

I hauled some horacious twitches with my little L275 when learning to use it... two good sized, tree length maple with a couple of smaller trees was normal. Often I'd pull over a half cord with that little tractor, thrashing and tearing, dragging myself forward with the bucket when I couldn't get traction. I often had over a half cord of tree length hardwood on the winch, while the tractor only weighed about 3300 lbs including the loader and winch. It's really a marvel that I never broke anything. Yet I've never had a load on that the 3 pth couldn't. I would like t osee you come out of the woods with one of the loads on after the 3 pth needs an assist from your winch. :thumbsup:

My 3-point is on the weak side, without DC assist I can only lift 2>8" trees, 3 would be iffy, it takes me 4 trips to get 1 cord of firewood.

 

[crazyal]

What a pointless discussion this turned into. The bottom line is in some applications geared is better while other situations the hydro is better. Since most people are only going to own one tractor they are going to compromise.

 

[4570Man]

I did a push test with my HST M59. With it pushing up hill in medium I couldn’t hardly reach the traction limits and spin out. I dropped to low and with it in 4x4 and the diff locked I was able to spin all 4 wheels. How would a geared machine push harder?

 

[Oldpath05]

Sometimes I like pointless discussions just to have a distraction from todays news. I know for a fact I can haul a HST M59 with back-hoe around in circles, all because gear tractors just have more traction and can push harder.........

 

[4570Man]

Your L3400 weighs maybe 5000 pounds with loaded tires and a loader. The M59 weighs 8400 plus loaded tires and other accessories. You’re at a 2-1 disadvantage in weight and HP. There’s zero chance of you out pulling one even with the traction advantage of r1 tires. If you want to haul firewood I’m going to skip the dragging it a mile through the woods step and put it on my truck. If you want to load dirt I’ll have my yard bucket filled and dumped before you get done selecting a gear.

 

[Jstpssng]

Sometimes I like pointless discussions just to have a distraction from todays news. I know for a fact I can haul a HST M59 with back-hoe around in circles, all because gear tractors just have more traction and can push harder.........

I couldn't find a gif for kicking a hornet's nest so... :stirthepot: