Gear drive vs hydro

[jake98]

How well would you trust him grading up against some new siding you just installed?
Jake

 

[N80]

How well would you trust him grading up against some new siding you just installed?
Jake

I run my geared tractor right up against my cabin, shed, cars, trucks. And it isn't a lawn mower either, its a good sized CUT. If I hit something it has nothing to do with gearing and everything to do with negligence and an HST isn't going to protect anyone from that.

And you should see my BIL moving hay bales with his geard JD ag tractor. Not only loading and unloading, but you should see him dumping them and then unrolling them by pushing them with the front wheel, never slowing down! That's precision.

 

[Dargo]

Ditto that.. it's an experience issue.

That has a lot to do with it, but obviously in some tasks one type excels over the other. Since I have both there are definitely some tasks for which I prefer gear and some for which I prefer hydro. If the tractor is smaller, I found that I can till with a bigger tiller on a hydro tractor than a gear tractor because the infinite creep speeds. Mowing with a RFM around a lot of obstacles is another task for which I prefer hydro. However, mowing without hundreds of obstacles I greatly prefer gear. Overall, I don't really have a preference for most tasks though. Since I put thousands of hours on gear tractors before I ever even saw a hydro tractor probably tells the story that I'm rather comfortable with gear. I just don't like some of the older non-sync gears I used to have. I absolutely hate to have to stop each time I need a different gear. I guess I do have a preference against those gear tractors.

 

[jake98]

That's what they do with those round bales, they unroll them? Learn something every day. You heard about the cow that starved to death eating them, didn't you? Couldn't get a square meal...

 

[Soundguy]

I run my geared tractor right up against my cabin, shed, cars, trucks. And it isn't a lawn mower either, its a good sized CUT. If I hit something it has nothing to do with gearing and everything to do with negligence and an HST isn't going to protect anyone from that.

And you should see my BIL moving hay bales with his geard JD ag tractor. Not only loading and unloading, but you should see him dumping them and then unrolling them by pushing them with the front wheel, never slowing down! That's precision.

Ditto.. operator.. not transmission.

I mow in 5th gear with my batwing mower on my 95hp tractor and run right along my fence line which is mostly 3 board cresote with 2x4 no climb wire... so far havn't hit it yet.. and i mow on average about 6" away..

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

That has a lot to do with it, but obviously in some tasks one type excels over the other. Since I have both there are definitely some tasks for which I prefer gear and some for which I prefer hydro. If the tractor is smaller, I found that I can till with a bigger tiller on a hydro tractor than a gear tractor because the infinite creep speeds. Mowing with a RFM around a lot of obstacles is another task for which I prefer hydro. However, mowing without hundreds of obstacles I greatly prefer gear. Overall, I don't really have a preference for most tasks though. Since I put thousands of hours on gear tractors before I ever even saw a hydro tractor probably tells the story that I'm rather comfortable with gear. I just don't like some of the older non-sync gears I used to have. I absolutely hate to have to stop each time I need a different gear. I guess I do have a preference against those gear tractors.

I can't think of a job that could not be performed by both tractors.. and in those situations.. superior experience of the operator will IMHO.. make more difference to the job than the tool he is using.. Now.. that said.. apir the 'master' and the tool more suited and you get better synergy.

Constant loader work IMHO is where a hydro trans would peak.. perhaps even mor ethan a syn-shuttle shift, as you can modify your drive in to the pile while scooping with a bit more controll / clutch / throttle adjustment.

soundguy

 

[MossRoad]

I think we should start a drinking game and everyone has to take a shot each time someone posts to a GEAR VS. HYDRO thread on TBN.

 

[Egon]

We could also add the steering wheel spinner to the hydro/gear debate.That gives four different items that could mixed and matched.

Throw in some implements and have a real Brouha ehh!

 

[art]

You guys are great at batting this old debate around and I appreciate it! One thing we have found from frugile new tractor operators that buy gear drive tractors is that we now see that people learning how to grade with gear drives are taking clutches out between 500 and 1000 hours not the normal two thousand plus! Clutch petal wear shows that they leave their feet on them a lot, often wearing through the rubber pad in the lower left or right corner. When this happens they just paid the price difference of the gear to hydro, depending on what they are doing the most with the tractor, the fuel may be less if they had the hydro because they wouldn't be running the tractor as much!

I do like both systems for different jobs, but often the non-farm applications have multiple operators. Some are good operators, some are not so good! For multiple operators you need an easy to learn comfortable system. I often call the hydro's murphy proof!

 

[jake98]

Alright, I'll go first, but I'm substituting beer for the shot. I make too many stupid posts when I drink shots...
Jake cheers