Upgrading tractor for dragging horseback riding arenas

[Snezzy]

Git them young'uns driving manual transmission as soon as feasible. My wife's ex was driving the (manual shift) tractor at age 5. Dairy farm, gotta do stuff, no excuses.His dad put wooden blocks on the pedals for better reach.

 

[jwmorris]

The HST+ is the most drastic difference. It has a lever shifter on the dash that gives you a high/low of each gear which basically gives you a 6 speed transmission. The splitter is able to shift while the tractor is moving. You can typically operate in medium range and flip to the low side for a little more power and effortlessly flip back to the high side for more travel speed.

The one I have also has a mode selection where it will automatically shift between “Rabbit/turtle” and you don’t have to do a thing, encounter more load and it “down shifts” when it goes away, it shifts back up.

That said, I learned to drive an 8N when I was 11. New operators are almost always smoother with gears. Probably because it’s a single clutch release and they are rolling vs doing more “on/off” stuff with hydro in the beginning, there are modes that help with that issue too, to be fair.

I can say this in tight places, going different directions often, say unloading and putting up hay. Hydro is the way to go.

 

[billybonds]

The one I have also has a mode selection where it will automatically shift between “Rabbit/turtle” and you don’t have to do a thing, encounter more load and it “down shifts” when it goes away, it shifts back up.

That said, I learned to drive an 8N when I was 11. New operators are almost always smoother with gears. Probably because it’s a single clutch release and they are rolling vs doing more “on/off” stuff with hydro in the beginning, there are modes that help with that issue too, to be fair.

I can say this in tight places, going different directions often, say unloading and putting up hay. Hydro is the way to go.

This and the feature that you can link the throttle to the pedal to make it more like driving a car will save on gas and possible damage my employees do by constantly running my existing HST in low RPM even while working.

I big part of me is leaning towards the 6060. If I knew I could use the High-Low setting to groom the arenas and get up to 10 mph, this decision would already be made.

The other truth is I will never need more than the 6060. I have a 10 acre boarding facility in suburban Long Island, NY. I will never cut/bale hay, plow fields, etc. Even if I end up with a bigger farm, the most I ever see myself needing to do with it is pull a brush cutter/mower...aside from dragging arenas and pushing some snow.

 

[billybonds]

My local dealer just called and they got surprised with a delivery of 2 new Workmaster 65's with cabs. I know we have been talking about whether a 60 hp hydro machine would have the speed while dragging, but I know a a gear machine like the Workmaster would. Any thoughts about this machine?

 

[jyoutz]

I am in the market to upgrade my tractor. The primary function will be to drag the 3 riding arenas at our boarding stable. What I THINK i need is based on the shortcomings of what I already have. I own a 35 HP hydrostatic which I purchased and a 40hp gear tractor which I inheritted. Pulling the same 6.5' TR3 drag, the hydrostatic cant even think about high range, sometimes struggles in mid rang depending on how much dirt/sand it engages with, and low range is just so slow I could shoot myself. The gear tractor pulls it just fine. So in my head, gear tractor > hydro

Another complication is who might operate it. I have 2 employees, a wife, and 2 small children who may operate it in the future. My wife and employees cant drive a golf cart around the property without crashing, so there is no way I will ever let them operate a gear tractor. If I get a gear machine, I will be the sole operator for many years to come, and I will need to keep the hydro tractor for them to use. If I go with a hydro tractor, i may let other operate it after to new toy excitement wears off, and I can sell the hydro tractor to recoup some of the investment. So in my head, hydro > gear

When I first bought my farm, an older friend told me when purchasing a tractor, go bigger than you think you need, and get the cab.....I didnt listen. I dont intend to make that mistake again. I plan to go as big as a can while staying in the compact/small utility size frame so I can still get in and out of my indoor riding areans. Hydro tractors seem to top out around 60hp. Frustratingly, dealers seem only to be capable of pushing whatever they have in stock on you as opposed to providing confident answers on what exactly would be best for my purposes.

So my main question is, will I be disappointed in the dragging power/speed of a 50-60hp hydrostatic like I am the 35?

What is the best tire for sand, snow, turf?

I think I only have New Holland, Kubota, Massey and Deere on Long Island, so I'm open to specific recommendations from those makes.

My Kubota MX6000 HST would do that all day in M range.

 

[kayco53]

I am in the market to upgrade my tractor. The primary function will be to drag the 3 riding arenas at our boarding stable. What I THINK i need is based on the shortcomings of what I already have. I own a 35 HP hydrostatic which I purchased and a 40hp gear tractor which I inheritted. Pulling the same 6.5' TR3 drag, the hydrostatic cant even think about high range, sometimes struggles in mid rang depending on how much dirt/sand it engages with, and low range is just so slow I could shoot myself. The gear tractor pulls it just fine. So in my head, gear tractor > hydro

Another complication is who might operate it. I have 2 employees, a wife, and 2 small children who may operate it in the future. My wife and employees cant drive a golf cart around the property without crashing, so there is no way I will ever let them operate a gear tractor. If I get a gear machine, I will be the sole operator for many years to come, and I will need to keep the hydro tractor for them to use. If I go with a hydro tractor, i may let other operate it after to new toy excitement wears off, and I can sell the hydro tractor to recoup some of the investment. So in my head, hydro > gear

When I first bought my farm, an older friend told me when purchasing a tractor, go bigger than you think you need, and get the cab.....I didnt listen. I dont intend to make that mistake again. I plan to go as big as a can while staying in the compact/small utility size frame so I can still get in and out of my indoor riding areans. Hydro tractors seem to top out around 60hp. Frustratingly, dealers seem only to be capable of pushing whatever they have in stock on you as opposed to providing confident answers on what exactly would be best for my purposes.

So my main question is, will I be disappointed in the dragging power/speed of a 50-60hp hydrostatic like I am the 35?

What is the best tire for sand, snow, turf?

I think I only have New Holland, Kubota, Massey and Deere on Long Island, so I'm open to specific recommendations from those makes.

We have two arenas at our stable where I do maintance. They use a JD 3038E but they have a harrow to do it. The people that use the equipment are clueless about equipment and it still works and does a nice job. Wish I could post pic for you big whehave arrow but I'am no where near stable for a couple weeks. Kind of like a big bike wheel laying flat with spikes pointing down. It can spin when they pull it. It spins just by moving and they get it down quickly. Maybe change the drag instead of the tractor. Its about 7'-6" in diameter. Good luck. Found one like it online Arena Harrow - Northstar Attachments Ours is a bit different but close.

 

[BarryHull]

Billy, have you considered trading in your employees and wife for a really nice geared tractor? Might solve your issues.

Joking!

 

[Yander]

Go test drive the 6060. If it will go 10 mile an hour in medium range it will pull it 10 miles an hour.

You can ask your dealer but I don't think you want to be doing that work in high range. It's a travel range.

 

[336Steven]

I might suggest rethinking what your dragging and conditions offered to the riders. Have you considered a heavy weight drag harrow? That’s what I finally settled on and the reason was I didn’t want to be the drag guy. With a drag harrow it can be pulled with our 4010 Mule by wife and kids. I normally pull it with my 35HP hydrostatic in M or H. Is it as nice as a rascal or other high priced drag? Dang close if you ask me. We do a lot of competitive events and I see the dual mega Kubotas with the fancy drags and all. It’s nice but for home, I needed a setup that was wife and kid friendly. Give it a consideration. You might be surprised at how well it works and turn over arena dragging to someone else. I still do it when I can as I tend to enjoy it. Get a heavy duty drag though. Not a Tractor Supply drag. Good luck.

 

[Das Karl]

Have a brand new arena. Kubota L4760 w/cab pulls 6 ft rolling drag just fine in Med w/ high range on the splitter. Also have alcohol in the rear wheels. Always use 4wd. Our arena builder (one of the top arena builders in Loudoun County Va) advised us to drag at a max speed of 4mph, esp with drags that move material like the TR3 (which we used to have) because you can easily move around too much of the footing, lose the crown and then start bringing up the base. That was part of the reason we had to build a new arena - I trashed the old one. I can’t imagine not having the weight in the rear wheels. Running loader work with a full scoop of stone dust makes it light on the rear wheels. And it pulls 6 ft rotary just fine. But more hp is always better!