Buying for Work around the Shop and Home

[paulfun9]

I read that all the time (need 3 hands to forward/reverse/ run loader with a shuttle) and still don't get it.
If your at or near a dead stop before changing direction where are you trying to steer to ??? Takes less than a second to flip that lever..
I have never needed an extra hand for loader work, forward/reversing with shuttle.

Ditto! These folks just don't seem to be able to plan their next move in advance and have no feel for their machines! I also like the excuse about how tight they can maneuver their machines I can move my gear in and hook up to the attachments just as easy as I do with the HST and have not to this day once ever overran and hit anything with the gear but with the HST and its slight lag time when working it hard it has touched a few things that I never hit with the gear/shuttle. As for snow blowing with a properly sized blower I really have no reason to slow the machine down for 99% of the drives I do but on my own with deep drifting the HST is a + but not really needed as I can easily slow down and change gears before hitting the deep drifts yes its a little more work but the finished product is not better than with the HST neither is the finished product of the loader work with the gear.

I will continue to use the word easy to compare tasks as it is easy to operate the HST but to use the word better is totally misleading as its all in the perspective of the user. In fact I find it more satisfying to run the gear/shuttle than the HST but that dosnt make it better for others, if your satisfied with doing work with the HST does that make it better for me?

 

[AJ197816134]

I think you can learn to adapt to anything. I am also not in a huge hurry to buy but ok I AM . HAHA.. I Have a TON of work to do in the spring that does not involve snow but I am sure that will come again all too soon.

I am just now down to cab model with smaller back hoe or No cab, and bigger back hoe. I guess I am being selfish, but in the winter with at least an hour at a time in the elements a warm cab would be a lot nicer.

Going to ponder the rest of this.

I am happy with the Mahindra Dealer, from my initial meeting, smaller well established place, good customer base, and lots of turn over of new units, they have almost 20 on site..

 

[dpb800]

Unless the smaller backhoe will not do the job the cab is the way to go. I can be moving snow in the cold for hours in comfort. It's nice in the summer too, I do allot of mowing with it. Keeps dust off and is nice and cool.

 

[GManBart]

I read that all the time (need 3 hands to forward/reverse/ run loader with a shuttle) and still don't get it.
If your at or near a dead stop before changing direction where are you trying to steer to ??? Takes less than a second to flip that lever..
I have never needed an extra hand for loader work, forward/reversing with shuttle.

Sounds like you've done lots of simple loader work.

The whole "less than a second" comment is silly for a number of reasons. You've timed yourself...seriously? If not, it means you're guessing. Just taking your hand off the wheel and getting it to the shuttle lever takes a second. Add another second to flip the lever. Add another second to flip it back when you're done, then another second to get your hand back on the wheel. Sure, it's only seconds, but they add up at the end of the day.

I spent several hours doing loader work with a power shuttle today, and it simply doesn't work as well, or as easily, as an HST system for doing precise loader work. I've run it enough that I don't have to think about it, and I'm smooth with it, but it has limitations....and it's better than anything they put in a CUT right now.

 

[GManBart]

Ditto! These folks just don't seem to be able to plan their next move in advance and have no feel for their machines!

This is silly and pretty arrogant, really. There are plenty of times when it isn't a planning thing at all. When I worked in a quarry it was common for wheel loaders to be backing up, turning, and lifting the loader all at the same time as they backed out of the pile, then moving forward, turning the wheels, and starting to uncurl/lower the bucket all at the same time. There was no lack of planning, and they needed to be doing three things at the same time, with only two hands. As such, they were slowed down....and why lots of wheel loaders now have HST....it's simply more efficient for loader work.

As for snow blowing with a properly sized blower I really have no reason to slow the machine down for 99% of the drives I do but on my own with deep drifting the HST is a + but not really needed as I can easily slow down and change gears before hitting the deep drifts yes its a little more work but the finished product is not better than with the HST neither is the finished product of the loader work with the gear.

If HST is sometimes a "+" and the shuttle requires "a little more work" that makes the HST system "better" from an efficiency standpoint. Your words....nobody else's.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

My little BX is small, nimble and quick with the loader and HST, however bucket capacity is clearly limited. My Ford 3930 has an 8x8 shuttle. The loader cycle time is far slower, but the shuttle itself isn't all that bad even though it has a mechanical linkage. I keep the linkage lubricated and it smooths things out noticeably. The worst part of the whole deal is the slow loader cycling. If we get a lot of snow I use the 3930 and follow it up with the BX, otherwise I just use the BX.

 

[woodchipper]

If going to do loader work all day, yes, by all means have the HST version. You will get less tired as well. Therfore more efficient and safer. You mentioned a bad leg, and your better half. For them both consideration, you are putting additional weight towards HST.:licking:!
Cab or no cab? Being safe from the elements is not a bad thing!:thumbsup:
The horsepower range you are looking at, seems to be perfect for your listed chores. A back hoe takes a lot of space behind your tractor, so it could be a nuisance at times when doing loader work in confined spaces. Backing up could get more tricky.
Have you looked at, and tested other tractor brands, such as Kioti and LS? They are part of today's tractor's "best buys".
I will advise you to do some more reading here on T.B.N. Enter the tractor brand specific forums. Lots to read, to give you heads up on many different topics you probably have not adressed yet, but will eventually.
Good luck with your search, and show off your pics when the new addition arrives home!!

 

[MESSMAKER]

If you are using it for a bunch of different things, hydro is the way to go. 30-35 hp is a good spot, but you could get by with a little less. The more loader work you do, the better you will be with a heavier tractor. LS,Mihindra or Kioti are usually a bit heavier. JD and Kubota seem to be a bit lighter, and more expensive. They do have great reputations and dealers everywhere.

 

[DK35vince]

Sounds like you've done lots of simple loader work.

The whole "less than a second" comment is silly for a number of reasons. You've timed yourself...seriously? If not, it means you're guessing. Just taking your hand off the wheel and getting it to the shuttle lever takes a second. Add another second to flip the lever.

Good grief. Now I need to check my time with a stop watch to have an idea what a around second is to flip a shuttle lever. Seriously ??.
I've run a DK 35 HST and DK 35 shuttle.
I can flip the lever to forward/reverse on my shuttle nearly as fast as I could move my foot from one peddle to the other to forward/reverse on the DK 35 HST.
And No I didn't time the HST either to see if there was a fraction of a second difference. !!!

 

[Gary Fowler]

Good grief. Now I need to check my time with a stop watch to have an idea what a around second is to flip a shuttle lever. Seriously ??.
I've run a DK 35 HST and DK 35 shuttle.
I can flip the lever to forward/reverse on my shuttle nearly as fast as I could move my foot from one peddle to the other to forward/reverse on the DK 35 HST.
And No I didn't time the HST either to see if there was a fraction of a second difference. !!!

I wont argue the timeline difference using a shuttle vs HST but if you don't have a power shuttle and have to clutch each time to shift, your left leg is going to be chatting with you at the end of the day and they wont be nice words either. I have a Utility tractor with shuttle shift and while I don't have a problem with safely moving close to objects any more than I do with my Kubota B26 with HST, my go to tractor for most work is the HST. It works easier and unless I need the extra weight/power and size of my Utility tractor, I will take the Kubota for most work even though it is open station and the utility is a cab with HVAC.

I think you will be ok with either of them as long as you get used to the tractor before attempting to do microscopic adjustments with the FEL or Hoe.
OH, yeah, if getting a backhoe, be sure to get a hydraulic operated thumb for it. While a mechanical fixed position thumb is better than none, a hydraulic thumb is just about like using your hand when picking thinks up. I can pick up a rock as small as a baseball with mine and not crush it plus the infinite adjustment is invaluable when moving scrap or brush.