Hello, care to toss an opinion in here?

[Richard]

What are you going to be doing with it?

We've got an industrial backhoe here.... has the electro-mechanical forward reverse. A VERY simple "click" of (what might be called) the turn signal and you're reversed.

We've got a JD here with the two pedal forward/reverse. I use it but it belongs to my wife's cousin next door. I've got YEARS on the backhoe and only hours on the JD. Still.... duck to water thing, works fine and I have no issues (size 9 foot lol)

Then we've got the gear tractor that I use to cut the fields.

Point being, maybe keep what you have for its purpose, buy a second machine that you can use for your other purposes.

My wife's cousin next door is always fighting to put the backhoe on.....take it off....back on when he needs it again, back off when he's box blading or something.

Easy to see why farmers might have a couple machines, makes life easier having some restricted purposes rather than the swiss knife approach where it does everything but you have to reconfigure it all the time.

 

[alexpops]

Since you want opinions, here's my 2 cents. Been very happy with my LS XR4150. Not sure if the frame sizes are the same in the new models, but in my year (2016), the 4140-4155 were all the same tractor with different tunes. Decent ground clearance/slightly weak loader/minimal HP loss at pto due to shuttle shift. Granted, left leg is a bit stiff after a day of loader work, but I get a stiff right leg from long distance driving automatic pickup due to lack of trust in cruise control on busy roads.

 

[k0ua]

I borrowed my neighbor's small Kubota to spread a load of lime rock on my driveway. It took about 2 hours and I my leg was worn out. I am 70 years old and 6' tall, keeping my foot up on the treadle was very tiring. I just bought a JD 1023E, I can keep my heel propped on the platform and just twist my ankle to press the reverse pedal. Why try the get used to something when you can buy a better machine?

You don't normally keep your foot on the treadle pedal. you keep your foot on the floor and rest your toe on the L extension of the pedal to go forward, and lift the L portion with your toe to go in reverse. OR you can raise your heel and stomp the back portion of the pedal if you are adverse to lifting with your toe. (top of your shoe)

But if you don't like it you don't like it. That is why they make the other kind. I have one of the "other kind". I like it just fine. But I was fine with the Kubota concept too.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Massey are not the gold standard for ground clearing especially with the gas tank underneath ...I own one and other then that i have no complaints but don't have anything to compare since its my first tractor

 

[Mart5130]

I have a Kioti CK3510SE HST and very satisfied with the tractor

 

[Jstpssng]

I have a Kioti CK3510SE HST and very satisfied with the tractor

That seems to be a very popular tractor... could there be a reason?

 

[DieselBound]

OP, as couple of other folks have suggested, land first then tractor. In general it's best to see in your mind/know what needs to be done and then try to figure out how much work that is, as in functions. Loader work means understanding what type of loads: will the loader capabilities be enough? Weight as Jeff notes, can be very important: I can find points in which it is not, but this is a bit of an exception- nonetheless it should provide a point that general rules of thumb are just that, general rules of thumb and that in order to match up with one's specific needs one has to understand those needs. Terrain is/can be more important: flat ground for me, so HST is great (lots of slopes would have me biased toward geared).

Regarding travel pedals... I like to have the heel area clear: I do tend to have crap in the cab that gets into such pockets. On my Kubota B7800 I have gotten several leg cramps from hefting my leg weight back and forth (keep in mind that I can get to working it in near break-neck speed, so there is a LOT of leg moving around happening). The side-by-side pedals, even for those that don't have giant feet (mine are average sized, but when you get boots on things get kind of sloppy), can present with unwanted directional travel: with about 720 hrs on my Kioti I STILL will hit the wrong pedal from time to time- word of wisdom: never be in a hurry around objects lest you cram down on the wrong pedal and destroy something!

 

[oosik]

I've owned two tractors - both gear drive. But the overall operation was somewhat different. My humble opinion - the only "feature" on any type tractor that would cause you to REJECT that tractor - one that simply failed to work.

 

[OzarkChris]

... it also means taking your left hand off the steering to do it. ...

Hmmm, and this is a problem, why? You don't have both feet down either, does that make it bad too? I guess you could put a spinner on your steering wheel if your right hand slips..

 

[OzarkChris]

Tacticalturnip, is the Kioti model you're considering the CK3510SE or the CK3510SE HST? Both are "deluxe" models, but as Jeff notes, the former is shuttle shift. Suggest you test drive both before deciding. If you'll be doing a fair amount of loader work, you may be happier with the HST. There's a trade-off in power due to the HSTThere's a trade-off in power due to the HST, but with the shuttle shift, you must come to a dead stop each time before shifting from forward to reverse, then from reverse back to forward. Unless something's changed since I bought my CK in 2018, it also means taking your left hand off the steering to do it. If you're trying to work quickly and steer at the same time, that can get old, IMO.

"If you'll be doing a fair amount of loader work, you may be happier with the HST."

Many folk find this true !

"There's a trade-off in power due to the HST."

Yes, but most folks find this to be very minimal in the day to day operations of the tractor. If it is a big concern, your probably looking at an under powered rig anyway. Go up in HP.

"with the shuttle shift, you must come to a dead stop each time before shifting from forward to reverse"

True, but in reality you don't want to be traveling forward at any real speed and stomp on the reverse in a hyrdo. Two things come to mind 1) excessive wear on the transmission/hoses/fittings etc or 2) getting thrown through the windshield or over the front end loader if it engages right when you stomp down

Just a couple more cents thrown around.