About to buy: GST vs. HST

[Mikey007]

Okay, I think I'm about to finally upgrade from my John Deere 870 and am looking at Kubota L4240 or L4740. I thought I was going HST but I visited my brother last week he he's trying to talk me into going with the GST transmission (he owns an L5030 GST).

My current tractor uses:

Mow about 15 acres with a Caroni TM1900 flail mower. I might be switching to a bush hog as I think it fits my "rough" property better. Hopefully most of this land will be converted to pasture soon so I will have much less mowing to do!

Rototill/cultivate about 5 acres for market gardens (various veggies). I also use a single bottom plow and 6 ft. disc harrow some but mostly use rototiller for soil prep.

Once I get more animals I will have more manure to "move around". (i.e. loader work) I also have several large compost piles that I turn with the loader.

I guess my biggest concern with the HST is with the ground engaging equipment - tilling. Yes, I've read all the threads and most people say the HST can handle this no problem.

However, I have been told that when tilling with an HST and going slow the tiller can actually "push" the tractor forward. This was also confirmed by my Kubota salesman. Has anybody actually experienced this when tilling?

I've driven my brother's GST tractor and like it ok but really was looking forward to the features of Kubota's HST+ transmission. Will I be happy with HST given my tractor uses?

 

[PoorPlowboy]

Dont worry too much. Even the HST tractors come with a brake pedal. You will always be able to find certain tasks where your transmission isn't ideal, no matter which one you choose. Just take your primary tasks into account and decide which is best for those.

 

[horsinaround]

I till with my 5740 and it does not get pushed by the tiller.
HST for me, every time.

 

[NC4AB]

I have a B21 with HST, the HST is great for FEL work and inching around to reposition when doing back hoe work.

I have a L4240 on order (hopefully to be delivered this week) and went with the GST transmission. The L4240 will be mainly doing field work along with quite a bit of spraying so we went with the GST so we could accurately set up the sprayer.

It comes down to what you are comfortable with, either transmission will do fine. If you are doing alot of FEL work I would probably steer towards the HST to save wear and tear on the clutch.

Good Luck !!

 

[TripleR]

I really can't see any advantage to an GST for the uses you mentioned.

 

[kubotadriver4life]

I agree with TripleR. Tilling and plowing are no problem with HST. I personally feel like i am in more control with a HST tranny, espically on rough terrian. If you are doing loader alot of loader work i would go with the HST also. For the mowing, set your cruise control, and just sit back and relax.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I've bought 13 Kubotas from Barlows. 12 have/had HST. My 13th is a B2320 gear drive that I bought for tilling, plowing, bush hogging and pulling an overseeder. Did not get a FEL for it since I have BX25 with FEL and BH. I have used the B2320 so far for tilling, plowing and bush hogging.
If I had it to do over I'd get a HST and pay the extra. This is my first and last gear drive tractor, unless someone wants to give me or almost give me a gear drive. For FEL I'd never consider anything but HST.
Well, that's my opinion from my personal experience.
Strange that one has to push in the clutch to get a tractor to stop going forward or reverse for that matter. Used to just letting off foot throttle to get them to stop.
Almost turned my BX25 over last week. If it had been gear drive, I would have. When it started tipping I let off and tettered on the tip over till I got my BH leg down to hold the tractor from tipping then swung my BH around and pulled the back of the tractor around. If I'd had to remember to puch the clutch in to stop it, I'd not done it in time. One front wheel was two feet off the ground and I was leaning to the up hill side while holding my breath.
Yes, I believe in Guardian Angels, also..

 

[bilrus61]

You don't need to clutch with a GST. Has a hand power reverser. But then you already know that. Not sure about longevity with a HST doing plowing/discing and heavy ground work. Tilling really isn't that taxing on a transmission. The tiller, like you stated, helps push you along. Tugging on a plow or disc for hours on end IS taxing on a transmission.

On the loader with a GST, I'm a artist with my loader . The GST has VERY slow gears. You can just creep along on 1st and low RPM. You can do very precise work with a GST and a loader. I can see how a HST would be faster with lots of back and forth with a loader but the GST is a excellent loader tractor transmission also, manure and mulch wouldn't be a issue with a GST. Loading pallets all day might. Since I'm in a bomb throwing mood today I'll toss out another one. hehehhe. I think of the HST as a big lawnmower transmissioned tractor and the Glide shift as a small "row crop" transmissioned tractor. *BOOM!*

But seriously and all kidding aside, for what you describe, the HST would be best for you and your needs. I also think that HST might have better resale/trade in value down the road.

Oh one other thing I do not like about the HST. When going down steep grades it will get faster as the HST isn't as good at holding the tractor back. On my 5040 GST you make the turn with the bushhog running full RPMs and head downhill and you can feel the gears hold the tractor back and maintain a more constant speed. Much more secure feeling for me than my mom's B3030HST. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Either one will do fine for you. Save the coins till you can get the L4740. I love horsepower.

 

[Grandad4]

All good replies so far, Mikey. I'd only add one more perspective. The GST is a good system, but your hands get kind of busy doing loader work. One hand for the steering wheel, one hand for the FEL and another hand to run the forward/neutral/reverse lever. Meanwhile your feet don't do anything.

The HST puts your feet to work running the forward/reverse work so you have an equal number of jobs and hands, and the whole process gets very smooth and efficient as your skill improves.

If FEL work is a lesser part of what you'll be doing, it's not a big deal, and there are plenty of GST owners who are maestro's on the controls, but, having tried both setups when shopping, I found loader work with an HST was quite a bit easier and faster.

We've been using a tiller with our HST for about 8 years now with no problems. There's no issue with it "pushing" the tractor around although hitting a big rock will bounce everything... wouldn't matter what kind of drivetrain.

You'd have to be doing a lot of tillage before an HST drivetrain became a negative. Gardens and food plots aren't going to be an issue, but if you plan on working 300 acres with the plow and the disc, that's another story. Just my opinon.

Get whichever drivetrain suits your tastes and enjoy. You couldn't go wrong with either one.

 

[Branchchipper]

I was in a similar quandary several years ago, but ultimately went with an L5030 HST to replace an old geared tractor.
No regrets! It has performed very well in all conditions on our hilly, rocky ground. With it, we do loader work, tilling, field mowing, some harrowing and dragging, a lot of chipping (Valby CH150), and many odd tasks (its the only loader-equipped machine in the neighborhood). It has "beet juice" filled R1 ag tires, and we set the rear wheels out to full width for stability (I highly recommend this!)
This is my first hydrostatic tractor, but I am a convert. I would only buy a geared tractor again for baling hay or doing other heavy farm work.
Interestingly, when I was debating what to buy, I spoke to some Kubota service guys who said that they had torn down several GST transmissions in recent years, but had never had to open up an HST in this size range. I thought that was a pretty good testimonial.