L3750-cab-7642.3 hours

[gordon]

He is no poor man just a smart business man!!! Takes care of his regular customers in a stand up way. Thats the main reason I deal with them, you know it's a two sided street and they have made a ton of money off me in the past and will continue to do so in the future as well. So to give alittle back to me and maybe also sell me the loaner tractor---you tell me who the smart one is.

Well I spoke to soon about getting my tractor back I got home from work about 20 minutes ago and the b20 is still here---wonder what is up there sleeve now. Keep the B20 and then ship in the new L series tractor I priced out Hummmmmmm
Guess I'll find out in the morning until then I'm going to get the B20 muddy all over again!!!
Gordon

 

[gordon]

I didn't want to answer the second part of your reply until I got my tractor back. They dropped it off yesterday and I ran it most of the day and compared speed in loader work also overall ease of use.

Now for loader work the hst wins hands down. Ease of use the hst wins but for brake turning loses unless the hst has cruise and doesn't turn off with just one pedal.

To answer your question on what changed my mind about the hst--100 hours of use on one and actually it worked out for the better because I now know what trans my next tractor will have in it. I'm a hard head when it comes to certian things and you must prove it to me or you could tell me until you were blue in the face so this one I proved to myself.
I was out in the woods yesterday with it and the cell phone rings the wife asks are you glad to have your baby back and I told her NO I want a hst.----Guess that says it all
I'm glad to have the old girl back and the leaks are fixed now. So now I must go work the tar out of her because she has had a long vacation!!!
Gordon

 

[MChalkley]

Gordon - Thanks for relating your experiences. I have to agree with you - for work in the woods, I'd prefer to have a better brake turning setup, too. But, on the other hand, I find I rarely miss it. Certainly not enough to make me trade the Kubota's HST for anybody else's just to get left side brake pedals.

So, even with the logging work you do, you didn't feel the HST wasn't powerful enough?

Congrats on getting the old girl back in your own stable...

Mark
"If I had too much traction, how would I know?"

 

[gordon]

As far as my logging goes I'm going to be dropping it as an add on on my insurance it's killing me. There are 4 fly by nights working the area and they are under bidding everyone so bad it's not even funny. They can't be carrying insurance or something I sure haven't figured it out.

So I will be skidding on a very small basis for the next six months at best. Will be pushing dirt and grade work for the summer anyway and will see what happens come fall. If I can't make a decent wage in the woods I won't and can't justify it (logging). Now as far as clean up thats another story but I'll be playing it by ear.

Now I'm considering a small L series for grade work and brush hogging. I will make as much or more than I would if I lowered my bids to the fly by nights prices and alot less sweat as well.

So its great to have the old girl back but today the oil pressure sending unit sprung a leak and the tach cable broke. It's time to trade her sad but true I can't keep breaking down, can't afford to. I love that tractor it sure has been good to me but now its time for part time use at a home or something./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Comparing the power of the B20 and the L3750 isn't fair. But the B20 had a great amount of power for its size. The main thing I found on the hst is driving style compared to the GST. You must pretty much forget how you drive a GST to be a hot cat on a HST. Even if I wasn't going to stop skidding my next tractor would be a---HST hands down!!!
Thats my two cents for the day--This post is starting to get like Mark's so I will close for now /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Gordon

 

[MChalkley]

Yeah, Gordon, you're starting to sound mushy over HST. Nobody will ever respect you again. Take my word for it. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Mark

 

[W5FL]

Maybe if they ever get HST in the M Series, I will look at it. The sync transmission and dash operated sync shuttle is just so wonderful, I can't visualize anything being any better.

I mowed down the corn and other weeds in the garden and had to back up a couple of times. The sync shuttle worked so well that I didn't even miss the pedal that I don't have. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[richh]

Gorden the HOT CAT. This dosn't sound mushy at all!!!/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif
Rich

 

[gordon]

The key to your post is--backed up a couple of times the thing about the hst is doing forward-reverse many times in short order thats a real advantage over the shuttle lever on the dash. I have the shuttle shift now on my L-series and like it alot but I like the hst better.

I can now say this fairly after some hours on the hst. Its quicker and will make you spoiled as well.
Gordon

 

[gordon]

See Mark just read Riches post nothing mushy about Hot Cat now if it would have been hottie cattie now thats mushy.
Live and learn I guess is the best way I can put it./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Gordon

 

[MChalkley]

Gordon - My reason for wanting all the details of your experience with the HST transmission is that most of us on this board have got a pretty fair idea of how you use your tractor. You make it work, just like I do. Pretty much everybody has always agreed that HST is a lot quicker, but where the difference of opinion comes in is when you get into discussing power. I've sure laid that issue to rest, and I can demonstrate it for anyone who can see my tractor work, but on the forum here, demonstrations aren't possible. I wanted to hear what you had to say to see if your experience wouldn't confirm mine, both for my own benefit and everyone else's.

Mark

 

[gordon]

That is very true I don't and won't baby a tractor if it needs to be treated like that I have no use for it. I have always tested any tractor I was on to it's max and then run it just below that and I feel that way I also get the most work out of it as well.

My friends are very reluctant to lend me their tractors because they know I run and don't baby them like some of them do. But the key is to keep up on the oil changes and such that way she will just keep on running. No sooner than I got mine back didn't even burn a half of a tank of fuel and the oil pressure sending unit started to drip had to shut it down for safty. Just something that happened sure I was mad but its no fault of the dealer or me just something that happened. So a friend of mine comes by the house and starts telling me about my orange lawn centerpeice. My reply With ten times the hours of your green machine it deserves to be the centerpiece.

Now I had the loaner tractor for about six weeks and put just over 100 hours on it. I would say that I ran the heck out of it and she came back for more. I wanted to buy the tractor but the dealer and I couldn't come together on price so it's now on his lot in need of a wash job. The thing about the hst is to drive it completly different than my gst once I got used to it very nice indeed. This is from someone who hated a hst (live and learn) trans before this. So what changed my mind about this important issue---time saved. I could work a dump truck load of dirt with the smaller bucket about as fast as my larger tractor now that is saying something. Also have a overall better control of the tractor for times of gentle movement getting up next to the house for grading and I would think hooking up on the three point would be much easier as well. I left the tractor in mid range for most of the time that I had it seemed low was to slow and high was to jumpy and lower on the powerband but mid was just right. Now lets get down to power loss on the hst--after about two or three hours of steady hard running that it would loose a slight amout of power maybe due to heat build up or maybe it was just me wanting a break can't honestly say but it wasn't enough to make a difference in overall power. I always listen to a tractor (they do talk to you if you listen) while running it's second nature I guess to anybody running a piece of equipment.

With all that said now I'm looking at the L3010 with an hst so for power loss you guys have no case I'm sorry but that is my feeling. Yes I would be down sizing but my mind is not made up yet on what L-series I'm going to get but it will have a hst, 4wd, Tip & Tilt and a loader, but I'm not going to get a cab on this one. So do you guys think that the 3010 has enough guts or should I go bigger? It's a very difficult decision for me to make.

Gordon

 

[raptor]

Gordon. What the heck do you do? Sounds like you're a commercial operator. A sincere question. Is a front end loader of any use on a tractor? Seems too slow and cumbersome (not worth the effort). If I had to do a great deal of loader work - I think I'd get a skid loader. I'm curious if a loader on a tractor isn't just more than a toy implement, for wanna be excavators?

Raptor

 

[gordon]

I do some logging some dirt pushing some grading and some brush hogging and cleanup. Oh yea and tree droppin stump grindin and whatever else people will pay me for. I do this part time. My full time job I'm a r/v tech.

Yes my front end loader is slower than a skidloaders but you see I'm a want a be excavator./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
I've never seen a skid loader skid logs out of the woods have you? So I'd say everything has trade offs. But we will see how fast the loader is on my new Kubota and go from there. AS for being useful best thing since sliced bread. Guess that says it all.

The wife told me to say this: When I go on my two day tractor binges (to much work and not enough time) won't leave the tractor except to use the restroom it comes in handy to pet the dog.

Gordon

 

[MChalkley]

Raptor - I use my tractor for a little bit of everything, and I find the loader to be the most useful implement there is, overall.

Mark

 

[W5FL]

It is definitely the most useful implement you will every have.

When Ferguson invented the 3 point he made it possible to have different implements interchange and be liftable on lots of tractors. If he had only believed in loaders, there would never have been a John Deere or Kubota tractor. We would all be driving Masseys. Unfortunately Massey was very late in the game with tractors with adequate hydraulics for using a loader. They still had several models in 1999 that were not equipped to use a loader or had antiquated hydraulic systems.

The loader allows people who could not handle many of the normal chores requiring extensive lifting to be able to do it as well as a much younger person. Unload 2000 pounds of feed every couple of weeks and put it in the barn. Being able to lift 2 1000# pallets makes it very easy. You can stack round bales with a hay spear attachment. It also lifts many items that would be impossible otherwise for most of us. I loaded and unloaded a 2000# loader a couple of weeks ago and set it on another truck. Easily moved 40 yards of manure and composte for a garden, level it, and then till it in a couple of hours. Roadbuilding becomes a possible task. Many homestead tasks and farming tasks can be accomplished easily with a loader. Works fine on smaller tractors, but the ones capable of handling over 2000# (3/4 yard) make short work of previously difficult or impossible tasks.

Nope, a tractor without a loader is rather limited in the work they can do and are very limited for many tasks. The ideal setup would be a small tracked loader and a small Kubota 4WD tractor for many homesteads, but we just can't afford both. While on that subject, a loader on a 2WD tractor is marginal all the way around, but still better than not having one. On a 4WD tractor it IS better than sliced bread.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I don't know why anyone buys a 2WD anything, I've seen 2WD Case 580's floundering on wet grass on a slight slope, and guys trying to back their RV trailers spinning all over the place and end up "getting a run at it" when a safe slow sure speed would be far safer.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Gordon,

Loved that post!

Only those of us that have worked in the woods have seen with our own eyes those trees that can jump up from nowhere an damage the tractor! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

And why do so many of us get small taps on the front end and do nothing, waiting for something to really bash it in before we put a guard on it? Ting Ting Ting WHAM..Ok, time to put a grill guard on it.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

del

 

[raptor]

Great post Wen.

You presented a logical and straight forward answer to my question. I have never used a loader on a tractor, and assumed (incorrectly it seems) that it was an overrated toy.
I have a strong mind set, and it takes someone with real experience to help me change it.

Have a good one, and happy and SAFE tractoring.

Raptor.

 

[W5FL]

raptor,

Thanks for the kind words. My dad farms 150 acres and only had a pension and his cattle for income to buy his loader. Now he says that he would have had to give up if it were not for his loader. It is on a 2WD John Deere and uses it for everything including digging and filling washes and bringing up wood for the fireplace.

He was as unsure as you were before we talked and he bought his. Now he absolutely could not do his daily work without it. He carried in over 400 bales of hay for a neighbor that had heart surgery and wouldn't take a dime for doing it. He was carrying two bales at a time out of the fields on home made hay forks that he made to fit the loader. He then unloaded his feed with a home made pallet fork that I helped him work out and he built. Sure hope when I am his age, that I can do half as much! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MChalkley]

Del - Back when I had an L2900 and a 2wd MF 40 hp tractor, the smaller Kubota would work the much larger MF into the ground. There were many things the Kubota would do that the MF wouldn't even think about doing. So, as you say, I don't know why anybody buys 2wd tractors, especially in these sizes. I mean, I know the money is important, but the only time a larger 2wd would have an advantage over a smaller 4wd for the same money is when using it exclusively for bushhogging on dry level ground or some other job where traction was unimportant but PTO hp was.

Mark