Great comments above. I agree wholeheartedly and also studied both machines heavily before opting to go with the 2538 for various reasons. I have copied a post below, but encourage you to review the whole thread here for way more info.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/.../348064-info-mahindra-2538-a.html#post4362631 2538 info with lots of comparisons to 1538 (Lots of great pictures here too.)
Good luck! You can't go wrong with either machine.
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If you look at the specs side by side you'll find the machines to be very similarly capable in my opinion. (Links to spec sheets at bottom.) The main difference that you have already pointed out is that the 1538 HST is a Mitsubishi based machine and the 2538 HST is a TYM based product. Everything flows from there. I picked up from the guys that the 2538 is slightly more basic in terms of features, but fully capable for what I needed, and in fact I preferred the beefier front end and tires on the 2538 for the loader work I do. Having the mCRD engine in both caused it to be essentially a choice to save money and get a slightly more basic fit and finish. The 2538 is still a very nice product and excels in some areas over the 1538 in my opinion.
Any dealers or other owners on here please augment or correct my notes. Pictures side by side would be cool too if anyone has them. These are both fine machines.
Some notes:
Clutch - The 1538 HST has a manual clutch that you depress to start engine and engage the manual PTO lever, etc... The 2538 does not have that. My prior machine was a Max 25 which was essentially a smaller version of the 1538. I thought I would miss the manual clutch for engaging the PTO, or for quickly releasing cutter engagement in heavy stuff. In reality, the electrically actuated PTO on the 2538 works great too and having a manual and automatic switch gives you some flexibility that the 1538 does not have. I did like feathering on the PTO with my Max's clutch setup, but throttling down the 2538 still allows for a relatively smooth engagement. (I did opt for a Medium Duty 6' cutter which has a slip clutch, so that might help too...)
Loader control on the 1538 is by your right knee, whereas the 2538 is a traditional reach out front design. Some like the lower right set up, but I often stand up to get on material I am grappling and the front lever is better for me. Also, the bucket visibility in a tiny bit better on the 1538 than on my machine, but no biggie.
Front tires are a bit larger on the 2538. For all the loader work I have, I wanted the wider R4s. (This item was a big factor for me. Maybe silly and certainly not the most important thing, but I am glad the 2538 has beefy front tires.)
The 1538 front steering hydraulics are better shielded than the 2538 which has cylinders in front of the axle. This helps with turning radius, but if you were in heavy rough woods with skinny stumps in your way you may want to weld on some skid protectors there.
Turning radius is tighter on the 2538. It almost feels as good as my little Max 25. The specs show 2538 at 7.87 ft vs 9.2 ft for the 1538. (May help in your situation where space is tight.) Please check the overall lengths with loader though to make sure they are similar. Also, the brakes on the 2538 are on the left, so you can use true independent skid steering while running the hydro pedal. On the 1538 and also my Max the brakes are on the right which require you to be in cruise mode in order to make those super tight turns by slowing or stopping one of the rear tires while turning.
The 1538 uses a heel toe rocker HST pedal and the 2538 has forward/reverse pedals next to one another. Lots of controversy on that topic as to which is better, but I find both are very workable setups.
The 2538 fuel fill location is at the rear while the 1538 is in front of steering wheel. I prefer the rear location for easier access.
The 1538 has a suspension seat and cruise whereas the 2538 did not have either. I remedied that by swapping a suspension seat from a 2540 and also adding a cruise control upgrade for a total of +/- $500 negotiated during purchase.
The 2538 with loader is about 155 pounds heavier than the 1538 with loader so that is close to a wash. (2538 = 4,110# 1538 = 3,955#)
Both machines have quick detach loaders, but the 1538 stores the support leg inside the front loader cross rail, whereas the 2538 legs just fold back along the loader arms. Not quite as smooth looking, but did not bother me. Also the hydraulic lines on the 1538 run inside the loader arm for a bit whereas the 2538 has hard lines along the inside of the right frame. (Another minor detail, but worth pointing out.)
At the end of the day I would say the 1538 had a few nicer finishing touches. Perhaps a bit more "refined" in places, but I am quite pleased with the TYM/Mahindra workmanship of the 2538 and it is very close to what I was used to with the Mitsubishi based Max that I had. Also - the benefits I have noted above pushed me towards the less expensive machine that met more of my needs. I think you'll be pleased with either one and hope that the comments above help out. I really encourage you to try and get both of them side by side so you can touch, feel and put them through their paces.
Here are the spec sheets showing them to be almost identical on paper:
2538 http://mahindrausa.com/sites/default...20010716_5.pdf
1538 http://mahindrausa.com/sites/default...20010716_0.pdf
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If anything looks to be wrong above, please correct it. I think Dickfoster has a 1538 and can perhaps give you the perspective of that machine's owner.
I owned a Max 25 for four years prior to the 2538 and it was essentially a baby brother to the 1538. That Mitsubishi based machine was very good, but I have been as impressed with the TYM/Mahindra product as well - and now that I have had the 2538 for a while since this last post, I am still happy if not even more pleased with the 2538.
Good Luck!
EXCELLENT write up! Thanks for pointing all of that out. Many things I would have never noticed for myself.
I am in the market for a compact utility tractor. I'm actually looking at the Mahindra Max 26, 1526, 1533 and the Kubota
B2650. I know that's a wide range of capabilities and features, but I'm still trying to figure out exactly how much tractor I need for my 2.5 acres.
I presently have a borrowed Mahindra 2538 on my property to do a big job; removing a 100' x 4' cinder block wall, scraping out the garden that the wall holds up and grading it down into the ditch next to it. I'm removing a couple of dead shrubby trees while I have the tractor on hand. Jobs this big are very rare to say the least. But so far I am quite impressed with this 2538 as far as power to the ground and overall nimbleness of what appears to be such a big machine. It fits in my 40' shop with a box blade and loader set down about 3 feet from my truck bumper. But most impressive is the turning radius. The 2538 turns around in tighter quarters than my 4 wheeler. I have noticed that the brake turning really only works in low gear and it works better in 2wd. It turns pretty tight without braking though, and I'm still pleased.
Not gonna lie folks, having some seat time on it has put the 2538 on the table.
Size wise it is heads above the others on my list and it really is more tractor than I need having only 2 acres of flat grass land, a half acre row of unkept brush and viney trees for seclusion/privacy and I'm guessing a few thousand square feet of flower beds. A 26 hp tractor is all I should ever need again after this wall is down and trees are removed. But who ever said "I wish had smaller tractor"?
The biggest wants on my list are HST, No DPF, and I wish the loader control was near the arm rest. Not so much for ergonomics in the seat but for being able to get on and off the tractor on either side. In just the day I've been operating I've found myself going to get on the right side of the tractor numerous times and not because I need to gain the experience, but because I had the left side up against a fence, gate post, tree etc. I think only the 1533 and
B2650 have the loader control near the arm rest.
The 1538 is not on the list due to Snowback's comparison and price points between two similarly capable machines. Thanks again for that. If I go with a 38 hp machine I'll go straight to the 2538. No need to pay thousands for a few bells and whistles, it is a tractor after all and all I really need it to do is work and last me a long time. (Isn't it usually those neat bells and whistles that are the first things to break?)
If I go with the 33 or 26 hp machine then I think the price point comes down enough by going with the smaller engine that some bells and whistles will be bought after all mostly just because that's part of the 1500 series or Kubota's B series.
