3488 hydro - pros, cons, overall rating good, bad?

Thinking about an open station 3488 hydro. TractorData website shows they consume 8 gallons fuel per hour at max drawbar or max pto. Seems like high fuel use for an 80 horsepower? Could you guys clue me on if that is normaldecent fuel use? What else can you offer per your knowledge of 3488 or that series in general. I posted yesterday if it would make a good loader tractor. Consensus was yes, but noted that hard to operate it with only two hands as there are three things to manage, hydro, steering wheel, joystick. Outside of that quirk, is it a good tractor for hobby farm? Might eventually use it for up to 40 acres. But I heard that hydros are not intended for primary tillage as that demanding load would damage the transmission. People commented they are super for haying, loader work. I want something strong and reliable and big enough to be the biggest tractor on perhaps a 40 acre farm. Have enough old farmalls already, M"s H"s F20"s to play with. Wanting to graduate to a true workhorse.

The 3488 is really 115hp. The 80hp is drawbar due to transmission loss. There are things I really like. Starts great; a couple times this winter I had to start mine at 10 degrees (not plugged in). Turning radius is very tight. Brakes are good. Visibility is good. Cab is loud and A/C nothing special. You just as well figure the hydro will need replaced sometime at about $7500. Like any International tractor, all the control levers are an arms reach away. That is probably the biggest aggravation to me.

to remark to your comment about operating 3 things at once it not as bad as it sounds hydro control with one hand loader valves with the other and steer with which ever one is free at the moment like i said yesterday we have been doing loader work with a hydro since the late 70's and wont go to anything else. you are right the trans is not designed for heavy pulling it will use more fuel due to power loss and generate lots of heat but if not overheated or abused shouldnt cause damage good maintaince changing the filters every year and oil every couple depending on hours and always using case ih hytran oil is what kept ours going so long, it had 15000 hrs on it last winter when the trans guts got the first major overhaul, some relief valves a few years back. I did the labor myself and had about 2500-3000 in parts and gaskets. One down fall of the 3488 or all 88 series is the full covering on the engine when you put a loader on you cant get the hood open to check the oil without taking the loader off or cutting the side panel or removing the panel but that makes the cooing system not work like intended. the 3488 has a little more power than a 186 or 966 hydro or hydro 100 but probably the same as a 1066 hydro since its turboed. the 3488 and 186 have basically the same cab and operators platform with a few controls located different places. i would think a 3488 would be fairly hard to find since there is less than 500 made. someone mentioned air conditioning not that great and it true but u said open station so it should be fine. maybe a little louder to operate than a gear drive as the trans does have more of a howl to it but very worth it for the feature.

I've seen several Hydros that were big tractors/main workhorses.The thing is you have to know how to run them.When working,open the throttle;Put the thing in LOW range.dont 'push' it,let it 'breath'.It will last a long time,especially on a small farm.Dont let 'hearsay' discourage you!Yes,they do use a bit more fuel than a gear drive,but not a dramitic amount.The fuel consumption on my 826H is not much different than my turbocharged 706(310).Shoot,40 acres of farm isnt enough to worry about.I just got done with water'marking'/corrugateing/listing 90 acres of hay ground with my 826.Had a freind that farmed over 320 acres irrigated ground with a 1026 and hydro 100.other friends/neighbors had/used 1026,H100/H186/1066H tractors.Pulled 4 bottom plows,big disks.....No one ever had a problem with any of them.

If the hydro tractors arw so "bad",then why are they in so much demand? Why do they command good prices?

Try not to overanalyze things.

Fuel consumption on a hobby farm... First off you're likely NEVER going to use the tractor at 100% capacity, and even if you do, only rarely. Under normal conditions the tractor will use much much less fuel. Second off for a 115 PTO HP tractor you're not going to do much better.

A 3488 is a bit of a collector's item because they are somewhat rare and the last hydros that IH built. They will command a pretty price premium.

Like others have said, hydros are EXTREMELY popular and get snapped up quickly any time they come up for sale. Bidding is generally hot and heavy at auctions. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about them.