Hydrostatic drive on a tractor ?'s

[GManBart]

Since you like 1911's I thought you might appreciate this. It's my 1914 colt 1911 army modelView attachment 332004

Awesome!

 

[Sysop]

My first post here, Hello to all.

I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a Mahindra 4035 or a 5035 with hst. The 4035 is big enough for the work I have to do right now, just don't want to wish I had a little more tractor down the road. I don't have a bailer right now, but I hope to get a smaller round bailer or square baler at a later date.
My problem is this I have 13 acres of hills and I'm constantly needing to change direction, so hydrostatic drive is something I have been looking at. My wife also could use the tractor on the 5 or so easy use (not flat, but nearly flat) acres. I would like to use the box blade and loader to do some light to medium shaping of the hills to make them more bush hog-tractor useable.

My questions are is the hydrostatic drive the way to go? Is it durable enough to get long service out of it without high repair cost?
Do you think this would be the way to go for use on hills? I have a gear tractor right now 2 wheel drive it has been an ok tractor it only gives me fits on days that end in y. looking for a serious upgrade.

I just got a 4035HST and love it. I'm like you, I needed allot of directional changes so powershuttle was out. I considered running hay as something that might be done about 10 years or so in the future once many other projects are completed and the 4035HST will provide what was in my mind ample overhead on the PTO for the smallest of the small balers (square balers don't have as high of PTO requirements as a round baler). I honestly hope to be able to afford a 60HP tractor in ten or so years once I start doing hay, as others have stated you can't have too much power for hay work. Having my current tractor able to run the smallest of the balers means if something happens and I can't get the 60 later on I do have something I can fall back on even though working with smaller equipment is more work for the operator. If my plans were to definitely use my current tractor, I would have gotten a 5035HST just to have a bit more overhead.

Don't let the HST naysayers change your mind. Read how each is to be operated, make your choice according to how YOU will operate it.


LOVE me them 1911s!

 

[Fan of the 1911]

I just got a 4035HST and love it. I'm like you, I needed allot of directional changes so powershuttle was out. I considered running hay as something that might be done about 10 years or so in the future once many other projects are completed and the 4035HST will provide what was in my mind ample overhead on the PTO for the smallest of the small balers (square balers don't have as high of PTO requirements as a round baler). I honestly hope to be able to afford a 60HP tractor in ten or so years once I start doing hay, as others have stated you can't have too much power for hay work. Having my current tractor able to run the smallest of the balers means if something happens and I can't get the 60 later on I do have something I can fall back on even though working with smaller equipment is more work for the operator. If my plans were to definitely use my current tractor, I would have gotten a 5035HST just to have a bit more overhead.

Don't let the HST naysayers change your mind. Read how each is to be operated, make your choice according to how YOU will operate it.

LOVE me them 1911s!

Do you have hills?

 

[Sysop]

I'm in WV and most of my property has an extreme pucker factor going one direction or another. Some I'm not nearly brave enough to test yet, some I may never. In short: a very emphatic YES.

I know my machine will do much more than I am comfortable with as my father in law (old time mountain farmer from a long line of mountain farmers) wanted to try out my HST and I let him run the brush hog/rotary cutter along the tree line and he was all over the place and ended up cutting for over two hours he commented how great the HST was at being able to crawl on the extreme angles smoothly and how easy it made cleaning the treelines around a pasture up due to the simple direction changes backing the cutter in under the trees. He was at some angles I consider rather insane, but the machine handled it with ease, I was impressed. It does have liquid filled rears and the centers of the rear wheels were set to the wider offset, but the rims were not switched side to side (so it is at the middle setting of width on the rear).

 

[Fan of the 1911]

That's my problem the hills. The 4035 is a sexy looking tractor, it's most likely what I will end up with. I want to be able to bush hog almost all of my land first and foremost. Then I want to be able to move dirt, I want to be able to smooth and clean it all up. Not that I want to use it as a dozer, but to smooth things up to make it easier to cut and faster, and less dangerous to mow.

I talked to a boss out here at work that used to do a lot of bush hogging part time. We work 3 on 4 off 4 on 3 off. I asked him his opinion of shuttle, or hydrostatic and he said he had used them both and they were both good, and reliable. He stated to talk about the hydrostatic, the smile that was on his face sold it. They used to use 2 70 or more hp. Hydrostatic tractors to bush hog what he called goat hills and he said the hydrostatics were nice( big smile). So I'm dialed into the hydrostatic most likely do the 4035 so I can put a big chunk down and trade in my tractor. I think I'll only have to finance 10-12000. May even buy a tiller, but I'm not sure yet.
William.

 

[Sysop]

The 4035 is surely a hill capable machine with a FEL, loaded rears, and the width set out a notch. I'm 100% sure you'll be 100% pleased on that aspect of things. Only question I'd have for your needs are the same as my own when it would come down to running a baler.

Best wishes and good luck!

 

[Fan of the 1911]

How much bailing do you do? Square or round? I don't have a need to bail as of yet, but was trying to get enough tractor to maybe run a larger square bailer, or a small round one. But that would be down the road more than another year. Then again it may be better to cut it, and take it and pay to have it rolled. I just was never one to try to make my work schedule, and 3 or 4 days with no rain and someone else's schedule work out.

 

[Stubbyie]

Hydrostatic is the only way to go.

You won't lose enough hp compared to shuttle-shift to ever notice the difference.

Your spouse will love you for making it easier for her to use---think automatic transmission compared to clutch-shift.

First time you change gears or forward-to-backward on incline and you feel machine slip into neutral and roll you'll pucker up stomping brake. Hydrostatic is just a foot-tap. Ours operates just like a skid steer.

If you can, also get quick-connect loader and 3-point: my spouse can move our big K and change implements both ends by herself with no problems: pick up, change, and gone in minutes.

 

[Sysop]

How much bailing do you do? Square or round? I don't have a need to bail as of yet, but was trying to get enough tractor to maybe run a larger square bailer, or a small round one. But that would be down the road more than another year.

Same as you, I haven't baled with it as that will be a future project. I have baled with other people's equipment and can say for certain a 4035 is the smallest thing that I would personally attempt to bale with especially on my hills. Small to mid sized square baler, or small rounds. As I said before, if going into it I was 100% certain this would be what I'd use to bale, I'd have stepped on up to the 5035 to allow me some extra overhead to run a better baler.

 

[Sysop]

Hydrostatic is the only way to go.

You won't lose enough hp compared to shuttle-shift to ever notice the difference.

First time you change gears or forward-to-backward on incline and you feel machine slip into neutral and roll you'll pucker up stomping brake. Hydrostatic is just a foot-tap. Ours operates just like a skid steer..

I agree. If you have hills to work on, lots of tight spaces, or need to change direction allot; HST all the way. Power is to be bought, not achieved through sacrificing features that are needed or can make things more safe. Nothing "crawls" better than HST.