Quote:
Originally Posted by Poor Richard
The wood splitter and small open trailer aren't taxing your machine at all, IMO. The belt drives can take quite a bit of weight and if they slip then you know you're at the limits.
I recently picked up a new riding mower however this is my first one with a hydrostatic trans. The convenience of the HST is nice for mowing and such however I found out immediately that the tow capacity is not great at all compared to the belt driven riders I've owned.
To put what I mean into perspective, I went from being able to move a 4x6 open trailer with ease to barely being able to move a garden trailer full of soil. The limitation is in the HST driven machine.
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Gear drive tractors will always put more power to the ground for sure, hydro tractors are nice that you can whip them around easy.
I have both - my old JD 214 which is a belt driven gear box will sit there and spin the wheels until it runs out of gas
My JD X748 4x4 Diesel Hydro has great power but will pop the pressure relief before the tires spin if the traction is good.
Small tractors are not designed to pull heavy loads. Be carful doing so, if the braking system is through the transmission (gear drive) and your towing on a grade and blow it up your freewheeling until you either crash or level off.
Most hydro tractors have a separate braking system (wet disc in some) but the hydro itself will brake the tractor also.
I hear the rule of thumb is to not tow more than the tractor weighs