looking at jd 4100

[nick_s]

we are starting to look for jd 4100 but we are haveing a problem decideing on hydro or gear and i was wondering what other peoples experiences where with either we plan to use it for many diffrent things. we want to use it to plow and maintain our auto repair shop parking lot which is dirt our black top half circle driveway at my fathers house which is about a 1000 feet total. also to mow his lawn which is about 4 acres and to maitain our cabin driveway whish is about a mile long and about ten acres of lawn and to possibly drain and clean the 2 acre pound there. a list of attachments that we will eventually being buying or looking for on the tractor is fel 60mmm a backhoe a material collection system a front blade possibly a snow blower a box blade and a rear blade and possibly a curtis cab if i can find any pictures of one to confirm that curtis cab is the one i have been looking. any help from anyone who might be able to help the decision on whether to buy a hydro or gear and any other info anyone might want to share is appreciated thanks in advanced

 

[ducati996]

The 4100 series have been replaced by the 4110 back in 2000-2001. If you can locate a hydro 4100 then go for it and dont look back. Its not to say the gear isnt bad ( I have one) but the hydro is the most desired feature.

Duc

 

[daTeacha]

Since I'm in the market for a tractor of about that size, I wonder if you would mind telling me why you decided on that particular machine. Thanks!

 

[nick_s]

well i deided on this one because of the size power and level of attachments theres often alot of cars in the parking lot so the small tractor with a 54 inch is the perfect size we use four wheelers at the moment with a 40 inch blade but ive bent the plow frame several times and am starting to get scared of bending the frame on the atv actually i just came in from scrapeing the parking lot down and i actually just broke the plow 3 diffrent ways /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif . but i choose the tractor mostly for the size the amount of attachments and features.

 

[DrRod]

There are a lot of discussions in here about gear over HST and the general consensus is that HST is the way to go if using a FEL. Its just easier.

I've have a 4110 for four months (first tractor) and I found the HST invaluable as far as simplifying operation. I have enough stuff to get used to without adding gears to the mix. And its been relatively easy to teach others to use it -- which is great because once they get on they don't want to get off so my field mowing has really gone quickly.

I can also say that the power is amazing. Everyone told me I would need at least 30 HP to mow my rough fields but the 20 HP of the 4110 has been up to the task -- admitedly with only a 4-foot bush hog (I have some tight areas) but it just charges through the worst stuff without effort.

And I must give credit to my dealer who asked a lot of questions about my place and intended use and went way out of his way to get me the right mix of machine, tires etc. (literally swapping tires with a dealer 200 miles away to get me ag tires). And it was worth it. Even with the ag tires I find some slippy spots where the field has old furrows or drainage trenches. Four-wheel drive has made all the difference (I know because I forgot to engage it a few times).

Good luck out there.

 

[Dutch445]

As you are hearing, those tractors had plenty of power for the money. One word of caution, when it comes to transmission choice. The PTO system is different on the gear vs the hydro transmission models. With the Hydro, it's a simple, independant PTO system, while in the gear transmission the PTO is transmission driven. This means that when you are mowing, and you come to an area where you want to stop, and turn, or backup,, when you depress the clutch, you are also disengaging the PTO. your mower will stop every time you do this. If you hadn't mentioned mowing, this isn't as much as issue. Just something to keep in mind while you are looking around.
good luck! and keep us posted
on what you find..

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[smokedtires]

I've been moving a lot of snow lately with my FEL 4100 gear transmission and don't have any problems operating it with the gears. I just bought this tractor about a month ago, so I haven't mowed with it yet, but I'm very pleased with my purchase /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[ducati996]

I would compare the feature to manual crank windows in a car to power windows. Both get the job done, but the power is easier. I use the gear and accomplish everything I need to. I dont normally mow with it but I have used the 3 pt mowers just fine. I use a tiller, a PHD, a spreader and I dont have an issue using the clutch....personal choice and strokes for those folks I guess

 

[nick_s]

well its getting to be a hard decision but im leaning towards a gear model but for a bit of humor i cant say ive ever repaired a hand crank window on a car but ive repaired alot of power windows the reason im thinking more gear is that we have a bolens 16 horse with a hydro and it seems that weve had nothing but problems with the transmission leaking from just about every place you can imagine does anyone know if anyones had any problems with the hydro trany in the 4100

 

[daTeacha]

You also don't have to show people how to run a crank, but not all power windows work the same. My wife is constantly getting mixed up trying to use the one touch up or down system on my VW. She drives a Chrysler, and the buttons do not act the same, much like my Kubota FEL controls are backwards to my FIL, who worked with big Fords (4000, 5000, 9000) for many years.

HSTs can be a bit counterintutive. Most people will instinctively want to push harder on the pedal to go up a hill, but according to the Deere salesman I was talking to Friday, that's like going up to a higher gear when you really want to go down. That's what their loadmatch system does automatically.