Ditto. I have had both. I have a mild preference for the treadle pedal, but my Mahindra has a dual pedal design, and I have no problem with it.
My FEL is a 4-way and is quite heavy. The bucket weighs about 1000#. But I usually fill it up with firewood for additional front end weight.
It is not about stopping. It is about keeping the tractor from flipping. It takes very little time for a tractor to go 90 degrees, or to flip over if you hit an unseen stump. I am talking times of less than 0.5 seconds. Meanwhile, you are being tossed around in a way that makes it unlikely you could even find the clutch with your foot. And don't forget the branches and other debris. It is not like stopping a car.
All manufacturers make tractors of different frame size and weight. All full line manufacturers anyway.
That only happens because people that do that have no clue on how to drive a gear tractor.. Instead of choosing the lowest gear and start at idle, they choose some of highest gears, slam that throttle level to the moon and dump the clutch... Obviously bad things will happen.
I have used gear drives tractors in the field. No problem. I am specifically cautioning against their use in the woods, for small logging use. It is true that for PTO efficiency, gear is better. But I can run an 8' dual spindle brush cutter with my 5035, which has a bare engine rating of 49 hp, no problem. Anything bigger won't maneuver easily on my woodland trails. Its PTO Hp rating is 41.5 Hp. The gear drive PTO rating is 43 Hp. I don't really notice the loss of 1.5 Hp.
Bad assumption on your part. I have used a gear drive tractor for over 30 years. I have never operated it the way you describe. Perhaps that is why I am still alive. But what I am talking about is physics, not operator error.
I have used 1/2" cable chokers. I prefer chain chokers, as they are not springy and are easier to rig with grab hooks. They are rather heavy though. I have not broken any designated chain chokers, even though I have exceeded their load rating. I guess they use pretty good chain stock.Get one of these. I have found it to be enormously useful and makes picking long trees up an ease.
3/8" LIGHT DUTY Cat Choker w/ Eye
3/8" LIGHT DUTY Cat Choker w/ Eye | Buy Logging Supplies Online | Lifting.comwww.westechrigging.com
Attach it to your quick hitch, best if via a nice chunky D ring so the cable doesn't get sharp edges on it.
What you're talking about has nothing do with what transmission the tractor has but rather how the load you're pulling is attached to the tractor. If it's attached above the center line of the axle, bad things will happen.
It depends on the use. If the main use is mowing/brush cutting, extra weight just wases fuel moving the tractor around. But for heavy pulling and FEL work, weight is quite important. That is why I chose the Mahindra over the Kubota, though I have had a Kubota in the past. But the Mahindra weighs in about 1500# more than the comparable power Kubota model. It also has larger tires, more 3-point lift capacity, more FEL capacity and larger axles. If I were doing lighter work, I may have preferred the Kubota.
Actually it does have to do with the transmission. If you have a gear drive, it will not stop unless you push in the clutch. This requires fast action and coordination. With an HST, if your foot goes off the HST pedal, which it will do when you start to flip or rollover, it will stop. So it requires less operator skill. Also, a tractor can flip to the side when it hits a hidden obkject. I have had this happen when underbrush hid an old stump. As far as drawbar location, what you say is true. But when logging, you want to get the log off the ground to avoid plowing a trough all the way back to the landing and getting the log all muddy. The act of lifting the log will put more of the load on the top link. Have you ever seen how high up the winch point is with a log skidder? Some are 8 feet off the ground. But most of the weight is up front. I mimic that weight distribution by having a heavy FEL.
I used a 1974 Ford 4010, I think. It was about 53 Hp, as I recall, and dry weight a bit over 5000#. It had a 3-speed trans and a high and low range. Low range was pretty slow in 1st gear. We added wheel weights to the front, so it was pretty stable. But it was a 2WD tractor, so it was not that great in the woods anyway. In though areas, I used a Kubota B7100HST. But it was smaller than what I really needed. Good little tractor, though. I managed to completely wear it out after about 20 years and 2600 hours. I ran a 4' Bushhog, an FEL, a 60" finishing mower, a 50" rototiller and a 4' scraper blade with it. Those implements were pretty much all it could handle.
If I'm doing any heavy pulling, the foot will be close to the clutch, ready to press in case something goes bad. Plus, I'm running on the slowest gear I have and the throttle won't go above 1500RPM because it really doesn't need more than that on such a low gear. Plenty of time to react if anything go bad.
You are missing the point. Kubota is historically known for lighter machines in a given “class” if you look at dimensions of the machines. Thats what I am saying.
I guarantee, if you hit an unseen obstacle in the woods, even at low speed, your foot would jerk away from the clutch pedal. And if the tractor really did start to do a wheelie, at 1 mph with a 50" tire, it would take about 2s to reach 90 degrees, the point of no return. My bet is you would have trouble keeping your foot on the clutch then, too. Of course, you could put anti-rollback legs on the tractor, as they do in tractor pull events. You could also pull with a scraper blade. Any large implement would stop a wheelie rollover, but not a side rollover. And I still had a close call with a sapling that popped up when it hit the front axle and ran into my chest. It nearly broke my ribs, which hurt for a week. And this was with an HST, where all I had to do was stop pressing the pedal. I am not trying to say which transmission is "better". I am trying to point out situations where there is an actual safety difference. And any system which requires more operator skill to avoid an accident is intrinsically more dangerous. I think that should be obvious. And the original poster indicated a variety os uses for the tractor. Woods use was one of them. That is probably the most dangerous activity a tractor can be used for,
