To Hydro or not to Hydro??..What is the answer?

Dargo · Oct 31, 2004

Okay, my current tractor is not a Deere, but after having the Deere PowerReverser on my previous tractor, I saw no need for a hydo. Well, I'm converted. The learning curve is short. The questions about durability seem to be unfounded. I've never heard of a hydro going down. For the "novice" and experienced alike, there is no comparison. My wife never got used to the gear drive with the PowerReverser. She could drive the hydro in 2 minutes.

frank_f15 · Oct 31, 2004

another vote for HYDRO have not run across a case where i wished i had a geared tractor. but all people have different needs and preferences, But i LOVE MY HYDRO, AND would have no other. and the cruise control(for want of a better term) works quite well, although i have not used it much.

texastomtom · Nov 1, 2004

Love my ehydro with cruise

Sometimes I dont even use the pedals
use the button to slow it down / turn / speed backup
without the pedal

You can also set max speed so that if you are using the pedal you can just push all the way / you do not have to try and hold speed - the cruise just lets you speed up to the previously sex max speed...

4720

tom

JDgreen227 · Nov 1, 2004

Yet ANOTHER vote to go with the hydro....I too was concerned about reliabilty but after reading the multitude of posts on TBN my worries were put to rest. You cannot beat the ease of operation a hydro provides, especially for loader work. What I really appreciate about having the E-hydro on my 4210 is the fact ANYONE can operate it....my brother was visiting last month and he has never driven a tractor in his life, after a minute's instruction he was seated on my JD and moving 1200 pounds of fill dirt for me. Any extra cost paid up front for the hydro will be recovered at resale time, and I personally think it's an option that will enable you to resell the tractor more easily, to a broader range of buyers.

And the cruise control is just more icing on the cake. I didn't think I would use it very often, but I was wrong.

Just my nickle's worth.

stuart · Nov 1, 2004

Another HYDRO vote: 160 hours and I love its ease of use.

HeyNow · Nov 2, 2004

The wife and kid can also use my 4310 eHydro without a problem. That's good in case I fall off and the darn thing runs over me.

dmp437 · Nov 2, 2004

There is a seatbelt on it you know.......

SCDolphin · Nov 5, 2004

I wanted the hydro on a 4120 but jd says they might overheat if I pull a disc harrow. Any truth to that??

Thanks

timb · Nov 5, 2004

Several dealers I spoke to and other sources have expressed the caution that continuous heavy draft loads (as in pulling a plow, disk, or cultivator) will overheat and damage a hydro transmission.

Actually when I first talked to the dealer I ended up buying from - he asked what my intended tractor uses were. As I went down the list - and before I ever expressed a preference in tranny types - as soon as I said 'some plowing' he said "then you don't want a hydro transmission, you'll burn it up".

What nobody has ever been able to articulate is exactly how much heavy draft duty it takes to put you into that kind of category. I have a hunch that most CUT owners - plowing up a garden or even a couple of acres - or pulling a modest disk - would be unlikely to push their tractors to the kind of serious draft workload (in effort or duration) they are talking about.