advice on a 38-42 hp 4x4

[nybirdman]

In this case, since pulling does not seem to be an issue, is there any situation where a geared tractor would be better?

Not for my money.I used to run geared tractors when we had beef.As far as I am concerned HST is god-send.Infinate control of speed,what ever you are doing.My bottom plows don't have trips,I can instantly stop if I have to.I run a 8ft.snow-plow in winter,have a roto-tiller box blade,spring tooth-harrow.If I was plowing hundreds of acres;I would have a gear tractor or needed one over 70 HP.

 

[aczlan]

In this case, since pulling does not seem to be an issue, is there any situation where a geared tractor would be better?

Field work where 90% of the time is spent going in one direction. Working around things, changing directions, etc a hydro will be much faster and easier to use.
Yes, I have run all three: Gear (MF Industrial 35, had a shuttle which was nice, Bolens 1050), GST (has a hydraulic clutch so you dont have to clutch when shifting, Kubota L3830 and 3650) and Hydro (Kubota B7500, BX2660, various lawn tractors)
I would take Hydro over any of them for anythign we do on our 30 acres here. Yes, a gear is going to be slightly more efficient when pulling (ie: plowing a field), but a hydro is much more efficient when mowing, raking, blading, baling, etc.

Aaron Z

 

[Singalo]

To the last two posters.

Thanks for the input. Now that I think about it, I guess I am not certain why I thought this, but I guess I just assumed that doing field work, like plowing, would be hard on the Hydro. And if this is not the case,,,, yea I kind of wonder why you would want a geared tractor at all? Money considerations I suppose. But the difference in cash when you are spending 15+k on a tractor to start with is,,, sort of negligible. Well, it would be to me. Thanks again.

 

[Rmart30]

Ahh more information. Makes a big difference if you alread have the heavy lifting covered. Are the two you already have parked on the lease or do you bring them in when needed?

We leave them on the leased land... Its 10 minutes from my house and we are there year round at least 3 or 4 days a week doing something. The 4230 has the big bush hog, a 14' cultivator we use to cut up the fields and pull out all the grass clumps, and we have a 3 pt side mount bush hog for cutting the sides of the roads with.
The long has a FEL and we run with it a 8' woods cutter and a 8' scrap blade to keep the roads serviced.

I also bring in dozers, track hoes or a back hoe 4 or 5 times a year for the big projects. The most a FEL would do on this small tractor would be grabbing up a scoop of gravel and smoothing over a mud hole here or there.
Would come in handy but not sure worth $4k for what wed be using it for.

 

[crazyal]

Seams to me that the light weight and smaller size of the Kubota would benefit to you more than a larger tractor would.

 

[murphy1244]

Check out Kioti CS series

 

[KYDan]

HST is great, but it does not put as much effective power to the ground as geared tractor of the same horsepower. That said, HST it great and much easier on the operator, particularly with back and forth work and in tight places as the other posters have said. The best advice on brand is how good are the closest dealers, what reputation do they and the brand they are selling offer. A good dealer with an inferior machine can be a better value than a bad dealer with a better machine. Service and parts after the sale are a big deal. Also, looked at used tractors and check the resale value. That says a lot about a brand. I am a Kubota fan for value for money, but there are other quality brands as well.

 

[creekbend]

I am not attempting to change your mind or influence you in regards to your decision, but it would probably be cheaper to equip your tractor with a FEL in the beginning than later on. Most TBN members will testify that once you have a FEL, you will wonder how you ever got along without one before. There are so many uses for a FEL. Just a thought.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Well being completely JD biased I'd trade in the long on a 5055E with loader and just drive it out to the ends when needed. You end your parts problem with the Long ,have all it's abilities ,and the 553 loader is fully capable. You have more work for the new tractor to do to justify it's cost as it takes on the Longs brush hogging chores and you food plot tilling will be a snap.
If you go the smaller HST route be sure it has a cruse control so you don't have to hold the go pedal down all day while disking a flat food plot and steering split breaks on the opposite side from the go pedal. I'm not sure which Kubota's have that arrangement but others will advise I'm sure.

 

[jenkinsph]

We leave them on the leased land... Its 10 minutes from my house and we are there year round at least 3 or 4 days a week doing something. The 4230 has the big bush hog, a 14' cultivator we use to cut up the fields and pull out all the grass clumps, and we have a 3 pt side mount bush hog for cutting the sides of the roads with.
The long has a FEL and we run with it a 8' woods cutter and a 8' scrap blade to keep the roads serviced.

I also bring in dozers, track hoes or a back hoe 4 or 5 times a year for the big projects. The most a FEL would do on this small tractor would be grabbing up a scoop of gravel and smoothing over a mud hole here or there.
Would come in handy but not sure worth $4k for what wed be using it for.

It seems everyone on here thinks you should always include a fel with the purchase. I seem to be the oddball in that I don't wan't one on every tractor I own. I bought the 4520 cab without the fel and have been well pleased with it's compact footprint.

For the Kubota's I think the L3800 might be a little light but look at an L4240 and up these are good tractors imo. I think the Deere 4520 while more costly is a good hp to weight package and is very capable. I should also say that hydraulics for most brands are available as an inplace option with mid mounted couplers for adding a fel later on.

You might also want to consider a tlb if you have much backhoe work too. I find my Deere 110tlb gets lots of use for small to medium jobs and has been a very flexible arrangement. A Kubota L45 would be another good choice too. I find these smaller backhoes with 10ft hoes can do the vast majority of my tasks, rarely do I have to call in a larger machine.