Hydro vs standard tranny's

[BigBill]

I'm having a tough time tring to get the hang of using a hydro cadet. Either i don't have enough throttle or i didn't push the lever far enough forward. I'm either going too fast or way to slow. I just can't seem to get the hang of it. And I feel like i need 3 arms/hands with the FEL(danco). Shift lever, throttle, steering, up valve/ bucket valve just try to run them all at the sametime. Maybe i'm just too old? Any thoughts?

I was going to put a front end loader on a hydro but i was told to use a standard tranny for that purpose because there too hard to handle. I can understand that because your foot on the clutch pedal comes into play now too.

[klejeune]

I don't care for a loader on a manual tranny. Of course that's all I've used so far. I've been looking for a 149 to build a loader for, but none in my price range.

A foot treadle for tractor direction may be the way to go. I've seen it done on another forum. Then you have both hands free for steering wheel and loader operation.

With a hydro, you should always have the throttle in full power when moving tractor or using the loader hydraulics.

[Merk]

I would want a hydro trans on my loader tractor. When I build a loader tractor it will be a wide frame Cub (109-129). A 149-169 has a hydraulic lift that will not be used. The front spindles will be modified so they have 4 or 5 bolt hubs with good bearings in them. The bucket will be self leveling like the Kwick-Way loader are. I'm like Keith....It will have a foot treadle to control tractor's direction.

[Eugene]

Hydro. Operate the engine at full throttle and adjust the ground speed with the hydrostat.

Used to have a Johnson Loader on a manual transmission Cadet. Didn't have a problem controlling the Cub Cadet except for brakes.

[gitractorman]

Bill,
I second what Eugene said. When using a hydrostatic drive, you keep the engine at a constant speed, typically 3/4 throttle or more, and just use the hydro lever to adjust the ground speed. The hydro levers on the older cadets are very sensitive, and if the lever is working too easily you can tighten the linkage to make the lever work more stiff, which really helps out a lot. It definitely takes some getting used to, but once you are, you will be amazed how much more efficiently the tractor operates without having to clutch and shift gears all of the time. Imagine if you were running your loader on a manual tranny. You would have to clutch, shift, raise the bucket, steer, etc., all at once.

Once you get used to the hydros, you will never go back to a gear drive. Then, when you get on a new tractor, with foot controlled hydro, you will not be able to imagine why you ever used anything else. Just this weekend I moved 130 cubic yards of topsoil with my new Simplicity Legacy, 27hp diesel with foot controlled hydro. Loaded 25 dump trailer loads from my "borrow area", hauled them up into the yard with my pickup and dumped them in the new area. It took me nearly 8-hours on the tractor, but I got it all moved on Saturday.

Bill

[lonnyb]

I would have to agree that useing a hydro cub gives you better control of ground speed, however a gear drive does free up your hands for better control of direction of tractor travel.
I have had a FEL on both a cub 123(hydro) and now on a cub 729gear) and perfer the gear drive tractor.

[junkman1946]

I had a 1450 with a Johnson loader. The location of the hydro lever made it miserable to work with. I found a Bolens Husky with foot reverser, and that makes all the diference in the world.

[red56turbo]

I have both hydro's and gear drives. On the bigger tractors, IH 1026, etc. the hydro is the way to go with loaders. Don't have to fuss with going through gears for forward and reverse. Of course, the shifting of a cub cadet is alot easier than a bigger tractor. So I would probably use a gear drive. The only positive of a hydro is you wouldn't have to clutch and shift all the time. Push for forward, pull for backwards. No clutching needed. All boils down to personal preference. Just build two loaders and put one on each!!!

[klejeune]

Just build two loaders and put one on each!!!

That's my plan