Comparison Got my new 3016 today

[AchingBack]

Well, I have a question about your feelings on the (loaded tire thing). I am contemplating doing the same with mine, but am worried that the added weight will damage the lawn. Stability on grades, and other oddities that are encountered. Guess I am just looking for your opinion on the matter. I am kinda leaning towards doing the same thing, however this is not a 20 dollar option to "try".

The operators manual for my Mahindra 106 loader, specifically states the rear tires must be filled. My 2615 has never damaged the lawn, is more stable on grades, and has presented absolutely no problems. I would not own a tractor with a front loader, without having a rear ballast of some kind.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Well, I have a question about your feelings on the (loaded tire thing). I am contemplating doing the same with mine, but am worried that the added weight will damage the lawn. Stability on grades, and other oddities that are encountered. Guess I am just looking for your opinion on the matter. I am kinda leaning towards doing the same thing, however this is not a 20 dollar option to "try".

I've had the tractor a few weeks now so I can compare the before/after situation.

I decided to get them loaded as I want to be able to remove the loader this winter for snow removal and figured I'd need the weight/traction and I just hated having the BH sticking out all the time on my old tractor.

Traction is immediately and immensely increased. It just plain feels like it's anchored to the ground.

My brush pile is across my property from where I've been working in the woods and the shortest distance between the 2 points is across my lawn which has one pretty good hill.

I can see NO marks on my lawn, either torn up areas or dents from the 'cleats' on my R4 tires. I can't tell that a tractor was on the lawn at all. It might not hurt that the area is VERY dry so the ground is a little harder than usual, but I don't think it's making much difference. In the woods, where the ground is damper, the R4's are hardly making a dent in it either.

When lifting heavy stuff, it is much more stable than it was before. I've driven it in areas where one wheel drops into a low depression and the other side didn't.....didn't feel the least bit unstable. I haven't tried running it along the side of a hill, because the only hill I have is too steep for me to try it anyway.

The BH is coming off soon to test the lifting ability and see how that is affected.

I suspect that it will have plenty of traction without the BH for the winter.

I'm very glad I loaded them up, and I think you will be as well.

 

[drajj5]

Thank you both for your replies, It seems that I have no real reason to not do it..... I live in some hilly country and purchased my tractor for 4x4 alone. I have a loader on the 8n and had some close calls with it on hill(s). IE- Loss of braking ability on a steep hill with bucket full of dirt. The 8 has loaded tires, didn't know that until I went down the road in 4th gear- scary having the tires bounce like that.

I was going to load the tires based on the fact that I would have more "braking action" with hills

 

[TheIglu]

Just to be clear, is this the shuttle or HST model 3016?


I made my spreadsheet of ratings/models/etc for Kioti, Mahindra, LS, etc yesterday. Waiting on quotes from my local south western NH Mahindra dealer for the Max28XL and the 3016 HST. I'm in the same boat as you, my current rig is a 1962 IH B414 Diesel with FEL and cab. Huge, powerful, but 2wd and just too bulky for my measly rocky rooty 3 acres. Backhoe is a necessity, almost more useful than the FEL.

 

[TheIglu]

Just saw your other thread, it is a HST.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I've been using a Feguson TO30 for the past 20+ years with a loader and BH. I think it felt tippier simply because it was much higher with the huge wheels. Neither it nor your similar 8N were really designed to have FEL and BH. Those type of attachments were really an after thought. One of the reasons for the bumping going down the road is the loader sticking out so far. I had the same thing with my TO30.

Hydraulics were either not invented, practical or affordable when the first of that kind of tractor came out. They were meant to pull things and that was it, hence the name 'tractor', short for traction machine.

Whether you load the tires or not, remember to always carry your FEL loader as low as you can. That gives you a lower center of gravity for more stability and allows you to drop the bucket to the ground more quickly if you run into trouble.

With 4wd and modern brakes, you'll see a world of 'braking' difference. The brakes typically sucked on those units because they were mechanical and they get dirty with dust, dirt and mostly leaked oil from the rearend after 50-60 years or more.

I made my spreadsheet of ratings/models/etc for Kioti, Mahindra, LS, etc yesterday

mine is the HST.

I did the same thing. When all is said and done you'll see that the Mahindra is the way to go, better specs all around.. The Kioti is a nice machine,but the FEL sticks out considerably further than the Mahindra. I looks like an afterthought. Same with the BH. The Kioti 27 is overall much longer than the 3016. And check out the LS, it's even longer...another apparent afterthought.

The 3016 looks as if the whole package was designed as one whole package. Also check out the lift capacity of each.

No contest in my mind.

Good luck with whatever you chose.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Thank you, Pilgrim, for such an informative thread.

May I ask you a favor?

Would you give us a side by side comparison on the amount of time it takes to do the same chores with the old tractor vs. the new?

For example:

Brush hogged along the pasture and what took 3 hours with the Fergie took 2 hours with the new machine.
Used the loader to clean pens and what took 4 hours with the Fergie took 2 hours with the new machine.

Things like that.

Thanks, Pilgrim. Very interesting thread!

 

[oldpilgrim]

Thank you, Pilgrim, for such an informative thread.

May I ask you a favor?

Would you give us a side by side comparison on the amount of time it takes to do the same chores with the old tractor vs. the new?

For example:

Brush hogged along the pasture and what took 3 hours with the Fergie took 2 hours with the new machine.
Used the loader to clean pens and what took 4 hours with the Fergie took 2 hours with the new machine.

Things like that.

Thanks, Pilgrim. Very interesting thread!

I can't really help you that way as I never do the same thing exactly the same, twice. I don't have fields, or animals.

I can say that I can do different stuff that I couldn't do at all with the Fergie. I've been clearing out a path thru the woods, that I would never even consider doing with the Fergie. The Fergie was no where near as maneuverable. No power steering, the loader made it much longer, the turning radius of the Fergie was horrendous and this thing turns nearly in it's own length. With no down power on the Fergie FEL it was very difficult to push into anything but snow or a pile of something. Trying to scrape something would always either dig into the ground or skip over the top of it.

The real test will be snow. I pretty sure I can take the BH off and still use it where I couldn't with the Fergie. I needed the weight for it. The bucket on the 3016 is considerably smaller than the Fergie's bucket, so that will impact things I'm sure. But I hope that the 4WD, the HST and the short turning radius will make up for the bucket size in terms of speed.

Wish I could give you an apples to apples comparison, sorry.

 

[deerseeker001]

congrats on new tractor.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Thank you, Pilgrim. That is helpful.

The reason for the questions is that I'm in a very similar situation to you. Own an old 9n and an old International Harvester. Don't NEED a more modern tractor but the benefits of doing more and saving time make a compelling argument. It sounds as if you are happy with your decision to upgrade.

You mentioned a grown son and grandkids. I'm wondering if this applies to your situation:

Our kids are old enough that they want to help out, and they enjoy running tractors. The problem with the old tractors is that I can't just put them on the old 9n and send them out mowing brush. They will eventually come WALKING back to the house because of one breakdown or another.

It seems as if the newer tractors are much more user friendly, not to mention the increased safety features.

Did this play into your decision at all?