Advantage to 3 extra HP?

[otlski]

A lot of interesting points made. I think the guy who equated weight with work ability had it directionally right. I believe that specifically he was thinking that more tractor weight meant that backbone, drive train, steering, etc were all scaled appropriately for the motive force the tractor could put to the ground. Perhaps to a small point he meant that adding implement weight would also help. And another guy said that he would not consider implement weight. I would agree with both gents.

Adding further, I would not rely on the added mass of the backhoe as part of that assessment because it is added mass that is in the wrong place (CG is too high), and is marginally constrained (unintentionally moves around), and is intentionally moved around where it often is detrimental.

The guy who posted that they are essentially the same tractor clarifies it, and it seems like the ability to work reliably is the same between the two models.

As far as HP, the 10% difference would not be noticed by me. In fact my tractor outworks me on any given day so slowing down is not a factor. My 20 HP Jinma is a heavy beastie, the gearing supplies all the torque I need. I run a PTO chipper, concrete mixer, box blade, york rake, snow plow, and have tested my backhoe with no issues. The OP and I are neighbors and maybe it is shortsighted of me but I cannot envision how more HP could be that usable in our circumstances. Steep terrain, wetlands, twisty trails with glacial erratics kind of limit the harnessing of extra HP.

And last but not least; speaking as your neighbor... get the backhoe.

 

[dragoneggs]

Adding further, I would not rely on the added mass of the backhoe as part of that assessment because it is added mass that is in the wrong place (CG is too high), and is marginally constrained (unintentionally moves around), and is intentionally moved around where it often is detrimental.

And last but not least; speaking as your neighbor... get the backhoe.

On my BX, I can pin the BH so it doesn't drop or swing and it makes a huge difference in fore/aft CG resulting in much better balance with a fully loaded FEL bucket. If you are working hills then yes the higher CG is not as desirable as a low CG implement or a decent ballast box arrangement but it has rarely been an issue for me and I am taming steep hills (terracing). Hard to get a level surface on a side hill without one unless you have some fancy tilting ability. I have always loathed ballast boxes though because in themselves, they are useless. I love my BH and it seems that when it is off and on its dolly, I can't wait to put it on. I guess I am done tired of the manual labor of shovels and picks!

 

[100 td]

If you are currently using your max HP of your machine, and working it for a living, then time is money, keep the cycle times up and stay with bigger hp. If you are using it now and then around the block on the weekend for a few hours here and there, and a backhoe can assist you, get the backhoe.
I just tweaked my toro zero turn to get another hp out of it and I think I will enjoy the benefits of this measly 4% power increase as I am at max power in long grass bogging down most of the time. If I was mowing short grass and the throttle wasn't being pushed wide open by the governor, then the extra hp wouldn't be of great benefit.

 

[jodebg]

Hi Dan-
Found out yesterday that the tractor sold before the owner replied to my email.
Nice tractor, low hours, and good price. I'll have to keep looking.

 

[N80]

You need to look at torque specs at a given RPM. You need to look at hydraulic pump output. You need to look at PTO output horsepower. If these are comparable you will notice very little difference. HP alone does not tell you much but it does, usually, roughly, correlate with torque. And torque is what tractors are all about.