Lots of Questions

Dalhan · Dec 17, 2005

Hi all. I have been lurking here at TBN for quit some time now and have learned a wealth of info from you Gentlemen. After the first of the year I intend to purchase a new tractor with FEL. After reading endless posts, and anything else I can find on the subject, I've narrowed my chocies to these brands. In order of preference New Holland/Case IH, Massey Ferguson/Agco, and Kioti. I have 25k in cash to spend but since I have the new tractor bug in a bad way I want to make sure that I don't purchase more tractor than I really need. I want a keeper though and don't intend to upgrade.

I own 25 acres in middle TN. 10 acres of field and 15 of woods. None of it is perfectly flat, rolling hills I would say. I have a 1/4 mile gravel driveway that I need to keep graded, the field needs to be rough cut and some earth moving from time to time. Oh, and moving logs around from fallen trees or ones I've cut. I've been getting by with a Shibaura SD 2203 for several yrs now, no FEL, but it's not really up to the tasks.

So how much Tractor do you all think I need? I've been drooling over a TC40DA Hydro Trans on the NH web page, <Mops up the keyboard>, but perhaps that's more than my budget and situation warrant.
It would also be nice to be able to trailer it behind my 1/2 ton Ford truck <GVW 6250 lbs>. Any help with this problem will be appreciated and thank you in advance.

Chuck

Soundguy · Dec 17, 2005

Most of us worry about not getting enought tractor.. vs too much. Just get something that will let you manauver int he woods, but still powerfull enough to dao all you want with it.. since you don't want to upgrade later. i'd say that puts you into a high 30's / any 40's / small fram 50's hp unit.. depending specifically what you want to do in the future.

Big things like mowing.. how often do you want to? and how long do you want to mow.. etc.

30's pto hp machines are 5' and 6' mowers. mid 40's hp 7'.. and 8-10' as you hit 50.

If you plan on doing a super amount of loader work.. consider hydro trans. If you ar ein the hills / snow, or do alot of loader work.. consider 4wd.

Soundguy

Dalhan · Dec 17, 2005

I definitely want 4wd. A hydro transmission would be real nice. When you depress the pedal, say in forward, does it increase the engines rpm like having your auto trans in your car in gear? Or is it like slipping the clutch to a geared tractor and just increase the amount of engagement? I have an old Howse 60" light duty that I've been using with the Shibaura. But a larger 72" one would be nice. I would say that's really going to be the main use for this piece of equipment. Takes me a few days to finish now but I'd like to be able to wrap it up in one.

Bob_Skurka · Dec 17, 2005

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I definitely want 4wd. A hydro transmission would be real nice. When you depress the pedal, say in forward, does it increase the engines rpm like having your auto trans in your car in gear? Or is it like slipping the clutch to a geared tractor and just increase the amount of engagement? )</font>

With a hydro transmission you set the engine RPMs with a hand throttle and where you set them they will stay. The pedal is independant of the RPMs. As you press down on the pedal, the speed of the tractor increases but the RPMs basically stay constant, what really happens is the torque drops off as the pedal is depressed and the speed goes up.

Hydro is especially nice on rolling property and for loader work. For mowing lawns around the landscaping it is faster than using gears. For open field mowing you will not find a lot of advantage to a HST transmission over gear.

NHeuro · Dec 17, 2005

a hydro isn't like a auto transmission of a car. You put the rpm with the hand lever and than push the pedal. But the new manual transmissions are very easy to use and much cheaper so before you make your decision:
please drive both and not for 1 min but do a real test at different rpm because the hydro is very sensitive at high rpm in 2nd
so please test both of them and maybe can you think at a tc 48 da i think it is +- the same price as a tc 40 da
at the larger places i love the manual transmission
i use mine in larger and even very small places

NH TCE 50 + A/C cab

wallace · Dec 17, 2005

Dalhan, What all do you plan on purchasing with you new tractor to try to keep in your price range.
Tractor
Loader
??

Dalhan · Dec 17, 2005

I've never driven a Hydro Trans tractor perhaps I should stick with gears. I have experience with a Farmall Super A, Farmall 100, a 100 hp IH I forget the Model, and this Shibaura. All I really intend to buy now are, the tractor, FEL, perhaps a new brush cutter, have the tires filled for weight, and possibly a trailer. If I can pull it behind my 1/2 to truck. Perhaps this yr at some point a tiller. I'd like a larger garden. I have a box blade and a few other odds and ends.

Glenn9643 · Dec 17, 2005

I've never operated the Massey HST's, but according to their website the large-framed CUT HST's can increase engine speed as the hydro pedal is depressed, or engine speed can be set by hand throttle if required for your operation at the time.
A quote from MF website:

"Easy to operate and unmatched performance are what you will get with the new hydrostatic transmission available in the 1533, 1540 and 1547. With separate forward and reverse pedals placed so there is plenty of room to rest your foot you have precise control of speed and travel direction. And the new engine acceleration feature makes this tractor even easier to operate since the HST pedal will also control engine speed.

As you push on the forward/reverse pedal the engine will speed up and then slow down when you begin to let up making this transmission operate like car with an automatic transmission. You can also use the hand throttle to set the speed when you need it to stay constant for operations using the PTO or other operations requiring a constant engine speed.

Easy to operate and long lasting this transmission is a great choice for lawn care, landscaping work or any job where you need to change the direction of travel and travel speed"

SWB · Dec 17, 2005

Don't stick with gears just because you haven't had a Hydro before. Definitely drive a hydro version before deciding. I had only driven gear tractors until my present one, a Case DX35 with Hydro. I had three previous gear tractors and now I am sold on the Hydro transmission. For your purposes I would recommend the Hydro. A TC40DA with FEL and mower should be within your budget.

NHeuro · Dec 17, 2005

i don't agree with the ones who prefer the hydro transmission, i drive for a few years hydro's +-10 years, and all of them where NH's the last one a tc 45 da and now i have a tce 50 with the 16*16 syncho and i love it, after a few hours its like a automatism, and i love this tractor it is great only when i lived in the usa i would buy me a tc 45 da, but i think i would prefer the tc 48 da in that case.
The hydro is nice but a good transmission a as good as a hydro.