Where does it stop?

[DK35vince]

I started my tractor experience with a sub-compact John Deere 750 gear, no FEL. If I were good size physically I would find shifting gears all day in the tight operator's station of a small tractor uncomfortable.

It makes a big difference in what type of gear transmission IMO.
Sycro shuttles and glideshifts, power reversers are a big improvement for easy to use vs the crash box on that 750.
My previous tractor was a JD 850. Had to stop to shift, shifter on the floor and only 2 reverse gears (low reverse was often to slow, high reverse was often to fast)
My current tractor has the synchronized shuttle and synchronized transmission. 8 speeds forward or reverse, shift on the go, no need to stop to shift. Flip the shuttle lever and your going the other way. Whatever gear you are in going forward, that is the gear you are in when you reverse.
I like it SO much better than the crash box on my previous 850 for speed and ease of use.

 

[jeff9366]

Are there 25-horsepower to 35-horsepower tractors with Synchro Shuttles or Glideshifts?

I do not know. I am seeking enlightenment.

I sometimes operate a 50+horsepower, 2-WD, John Deere (no FEL) with Glideshift, so I realize these convenient transmissions are available on larger machines.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would for sure want an HST transmission for back hoe work. I love the HST 3 range transmission in my Kubota B26. I have a short rod that I use to reach up to the HST pedal and move the tractor forward when I need to while digging ditches or just to relocate it a bit without getting out of the seat to move it. It would for sure be a PIA to have to get off the hoe, spin the seat around, get back on the tractor to move it a bit. For sure, you can use the hoe to push forward, sideways etc sometimes but that means having the transmission in neutral which allows the tractor to roll if the stabilizers are up and you may not want it to roll back into a ditch or something.
As for FEL work, I have used shuttle shift on my first tractor and it was OK but not nearly as good as the HST.

HST is surely worth the extra initial cost that you will recover upon resale.

 

[Oldpath05]

My L3400 DT has the basic prehistoric transmission, ok for wood harvesting and a little FEL work, but if my main job was bucket and backhoe work I'd want a better transmission, what ever that is.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Ok, I'm new to this site, so I keep in mind that I have no history here......yet, and as such it is difficult to make recommendations when you dont know anything about me. But say what's on your mind anyway. It will just take some time for my personality and history to come about.

That said, I have farmed my whole life on smaller, family size farms with some livestock history.I started way too young and without regard for safety. I could barely reach the clutch on the old jd 2020 with a loader that had a home made bucket way too big for it. Then the 4430 with a loader, then an IH 786 fel etc. So gears are my "comfort" type trans.

We have a deere 955 here on the farm I work on. We bought a fel for it, but it sucks. Though the 955 hydro has been bullet proof and in 3k hours never a hickup, it is not very foot friendly, and somewhat jerky on rougher terrain. But gears, either dry clutch or torque converter, with a foot throttle, just work for me. I think the new, more refined hydros are way better and smoother than 25 years ago. I can, and am more than willing to get used to them if I need to. But if I dont need to, then I think I will be happier to spend time on the tractor if it has a foot throttle and a shuttle or "johnson bar" type reverser of some kind.

Here's a link to a machine finder ad for a 4 family deere without a hoe at a dealer near me. Maybe an hour drive and with the rainy windy weather, I'd happily be driving to check things out than cleaning gutters and picking up sticks. It's a low hour used rig, so the price reflects it and I can deal from there a bit. Then buy an aftermarket hoe or something maybe?

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Also just to ad, this purchase is for me personally. We have downsized the farm some and I will have more time to take care of some personal projects. Figured I better ad that as many may wonder why I want to buy this tractor when I have access to so many on the farm. It's just something I want to do. I dont smoke or drink, so I'm not much fun at parties, but I'm not broke.

 

[jeff9366]

tractor data.com: Deere 4520 = TractorData.com John Deere 452 tractor information

Nice tractor.

 

[Baby Grand]

I guess the first thing I'd want to figure out is if you expect your future tractor to cut lawn, by which I mean around the house kind of cutting?

If yes, then I'd stick with a smaller frame size with turf tires. I see you live in the western part of the state, where the weather can be like a cool jungle - not so much heat, but lots of rain. If this is the case, you'll want to keep tractor weight on the lawn as low as practical and have a big tire footprint to keep from rutting the yard.

Or you could get a pretty good used lawn tractor for the price of a larger frame tractors' optional mid mount mower & optional mid PTO kit. This would allow you to get tires optimized for lawn cutting on the mower and tires optimized for FEL/backhoe/construction/land clearing/contouring/growing work on the larger machine.

-jim

 

[bcp]

There are tractors and there are lawn mowers. Too many compromises for one machine to do both well. Like using your circular saw for food preparation. Even something like a BX is probably 1000 pounds heavier than a mower.

:2cents:

Bruce

 

[dickfoster]

Are there 25-horsepower to 35-horsepower tractors with Synchro Shuttles or Glideshifts?

I do not know. I am seeking enlightenment.

I sometimes operate a 50+horsepower, 2-WD, John Deere (no FEL) with Glideshift, so I realize these convenient transmissions are available on larger machines.

Well I just bought one. A Mahindra 1538 with shuttle shift. I started out with HST but I got the gear because much of my property slopes. Many who should know, say hilly terrain can be sometimes be a problem for HST. Even my dealer who was pushing HST before said I'd be better off with the shuttle shift. However I won't be doing a lot of FEL work requiring a lot of back and forth like mucking out horse stalls. It also shaved a thousand bucks off the price. But seeing as how you're in Florida I doubt you have any hills or slopes to contend with.
I also started out shopping lower power but ended up with the 38. I'll probably see more like 35 at my altitude, another problem you don't have.