For those wise enough to get the hydrostatic transmissions, anybody not happy with theirs?
My deere hydro makes a little noise once in a while if I try to overload the system. I assume it’s the pressure relief valve. Under light load with a hydro, pressing on the go pedal increases your speed. Under heavy load it does not.
If your doing a lot of loader work, or anything requireing lots of stop and go, a hydro or shuttle shift is the way to go.
GaryM
My choice would be in part based on what dealers are around me; sooner or later I am going to want some kind of service or repair/upgrade and how far am I going to have to go. All things being equal my choices would be
- JCB
- Kubota
- Deere
So, why is that?
I have a New Holland … would have preferred a John Deere but the price was much higher for the same engine size and didn’t seem to show any extra worth for that price. Mine has been going along for a couple of years now, doesn’t get used much. Love the flippy bucket (I’m not good on technical words!)!
This completely. I plow snow with my truck, but about 2-3 times a year I use the loader to push/move the piles of plowed snow. Spend as much time going backwards as forward.
Mowing grass wouldn’t be much of an issue as it’s mostly driving forward in a circle.
JCB for ease of operation and maintenance, Kubota for reliability, Deere for ease of getting parts.
Plus I have visited Diggerland several times ---- consider me indoctrinated. 
I should add that when I bought my tractor I was afraid that I was buying more tractor than I really needed. Not at all. Happy that I got what I did and almost wish I would have gone up a notch.
You have all been vey helpful, and I’m sure I will continue to enjoy the tractor fora after I buy one.
Now, would any of you happen to know a good site to learn about solar panels? Because it seems silly to spend all the money to drop a line just for a camp, but I will not hand pump my water. The thing is, I have no idea how to evaluated electrical needs, because I’ve always just flipped a switch and paid the bill.
Okay, I’ll see if there are any NH around here. And loader will henceforth be referred to as the flippy bucket.
My Kubota 2620 Almost got a little bigger used New Holland. But it would have been too big to get under cover next to my shed. I also like that the Kubota was NEW.
And I’ve got a 2 axle trailer that I can haul it with. That’s something to consider. And I don’t want something so big that I can’t winch it out with my truck. Works both ways though.
About every 2-3 years, I get a tandem load of road base and crushed rock to spread on the driveway. About 10 tons of rock. The box scraper helps with that. Last year I got 7 yards of top soil to level out spots in a back yard so we could get a fence installed for dogs. Hauled it around to the rear of the house in the bucket. Easy peasy. It does it all with aplomb.
Bucket is I think a 1/3 yard. 1000lbs.
I have chains on the rear tires now, and yes it has been stuck in snow. I can usually self recover by pushing it out with the bucket though.
Are you going off grid? Start here. The Solar Living Source Book LOTS of information and great to just thumb through
As a guy that learned on 1940-50 era Massey Ferguson tractors with a ‘loader’. That’s a good description.
That’s longer than the Deere, isn’t it? Do you ever remove the bucket?
Not sure what Deere you are referring to… And I think you are talking about my Kubota 2620. I have NOT removed the Loader/bucket. But think It’s easy to do. A few pins, quick connect hydraulic lines and back out of it Don’t think it takes any tools. I’d have to look at it closer, but am still ass deep in snow here.
The 2620 has two PTO’s. One on the back, and one underneath. What are you going to use this for? That would be a good question to answer.
Oh, and as long as I’m looking at my Photobucket stuff, for tractor pictures, I must share a picture of ourfriendly moose. He likes to eat the ‘grass’ around our house. He’s right in front of our fire pit. Not 30 feet from our deck. That’s Fredrick.
I’ve found no real problem with the Kuboto 2626 except those safeties - it gives no indication which one has locked out so you have to jiggle all the controls until you happen across the specific combination of lever positions that is preventing it from starting, and when you have lots of others sharing it this can be a pain in the backside, they just park it up and switch of instead of shutting down correctly. It’s also pretty noisy even when just in basic towing and moving. I also find that you always seem to be in the wrong gear ratios - too slow or too fast - so its chugging away or revving but never in the sweet spot.
Isekis the three point gear seems fragile to me, it bends or breaks too easily, but they are cheap, just don’t use them for heavy stuff.
I’ve never tried the smaller New Holland stuff, the mid size hydros are fine but the clutch system has no feel at all - really numb, and when you are ripping it is not ideal.
The smaller Masseys are great - can’t break or bend them, loads of spares - albeit costly if you buy parts new. The range of attachments is huge resale values are always good, there is a reason for that, stick with Massey.
I heard a colleague of mine got sent a letter from his tractor driving girlfriend - It only had two words
It was a John Deere letter.
Huh. My shutting down procedure is to lower engine RPM, lower the bucket and scraper and turn it off.
The only safety that flummoxed me was the PTO. That it won’t start when the PTO is engaged. It has a seat safety, but once running, I can leave it running and get on or off. Got to let the diesel warm up. Or just do things. No hydraulic control or brake safety, I never have to fiddle with anything. I can leave it in ‘gear’ (Hydrostatic trany) and get off or on.
My old Allis Chalmers was a 3 speed that could be set at 3 different levels (low, medium, high). So 9 speeds forward and reverse. It was an absolute pain in the ass. The Kubotas HST does have low, medium and high. Never have a problem with power to speed.
I donno, I haul around a box scraper with the three point hitch, dragging gravel. No problems there.
I live at 11,200 feet in elevation. It of course also gets very cold. It has never failed to start. I jump started my plow truck with it this winter.
Oh, your post talked about the Kubota 2626. Mine is a 2620. We may be talking about different machines. Not seeing either on Kubotas web site.
My bad - should have been 2620, its not a front loader but it does have hydraulics that are used for a scraper. The 3 point gear is fine on it, same with the hydraulic outlet for tippers etc.
I am aware that the Kuboto engines are used in all sorts of other things made by other manufacturers such as dumpers, triple gang mowers etc so on that basis I would say they are reliable.
No going off so much as not going on, really. We will need water there, and that means a well, and that means we need power. And once we get water, one of us will want to camp there, and so. Dropping a line is not cheap, so a solar set up might make bet sense.
I’ve looked the JD3025E and the Kubota L2501; I like them both, but the Deere smells like it has lower emissions. Both meet Tier 4 requirements according the specs I found, but the Deere just smells less.
Other than that, it’s probably going to come down to whether we like green or orange better.
And kayaker, do you have this url? www.kubotabooks.com / AutoIndex / I found it on one of the tractor site
Sites like that pop up from time to time and IME Kubota shuts them down the minute they become aware of their existence.
So, we decided on the Deere, finally, and I have another question - should I get a green or diamond metal sun shade?`