Buying Advice Is the Kubota HST+ really a plus?

[Kiotikarl]

I think New Holland had / has and HST similar. I dont know what they call it but my brother in law has one with a high low push button in each range. His is a couple of years old, so I dont know if they still use that feature.

My 2007 TC45DA super suite had that feature, personally i really liked it, better than any 3 range hst. Fun part was snow plowing in high gear on low, then backing up and shifting it in high. But it's the only thing i did like on it though

[jenkinsph]

While I have the ehydro on my Deeres' I can see where the high/low option could be handy to have. Sounds like a + to have to me. I use the auto throttle most of the time and find it useful for grading in particular, so whatever Kubota calls theirs I would recommend it.

[k0ua]

Wow 21 replies so far and not a single HST+ hater.. and high praise from actual owners. I think you have your answer.

James K0UA

[PandDLong]

You're right - that is my answer - 21 For and 0 Against. Tried it on the lot today and although it's not a real test - I thought of these comments when trying it out and I can certainly see where the + is a Plus. Thanks for the great input!

[crazyal]

I'm in the positive camp, most who have read my past posts probably know this. Where you will really understand how nice the high/ low (H-DS) feature can be is when you go to do loader work. You can leave the tractor in M and with just a flick of the lever drop down to low and get the power needed to get a good scoop of dirt then flick the lever and now your in high so you can drive to where you want to go. All of this can be done without stopping and shifting or even letting off the HST pedal. If you need to move a lot of dirt the time/ effort savings is noticeable. I don't think I would go back to a tractor without it. I even find myself using my Kubota over my much larger backhoe because it's that much easier.

[powaw]

We have had our 5740 for about a month now and it is nearing 30 hours. I've been digging out a pond and once I figured out how the stuff works it really takes a lot of work out of just operating the tractor. I set it in auto ds with auto throttle on. I set the motor to about 2k with the throttle lever. When you push into a pile of dirt the tractor will shift to low automatically and if you need more throttle then the lever is set to the auto throttle will automatically add it in. All that is left is for you to steer and operate the loader. My sensitivity is set a little below half and that seems pretty smooth when moving with heavy loads in the loader. Awesome features. Like everyone else I really didn't grasp the benefits until really using it to see how they can help out.

[kiotiken]

Man, I thought I wanted it before, now I'm just down right green with envy, and the one thing Kioti and Kubota owners agree on, it's not good to be green!

[bigbull338]

well i can add this the HST is great.so you can imagine how good the HST+ is.it took me awhile to get used to the HST.so stepping up itll be learning thing for you.

[MHarryE]

I guess I use my L5740 for something most others don't - tillage, plowing, disking, and cultivating in addition to the general homesite work with the loader, rotary cutter, back blade, grading scraper, etc. Plowing is where I find the hydro really shines. The small, odd shaped areas I plow with this tractor have soil that varies from easy plowing peat to almost rock like clay. Mid range, turtle, my ground speed will vary from 4.4 down to as low as 2.3 mph across the field while the engine speed varies between 2500 and 2700 rpm. With my previous 10 series I had to concentrate on my tach and feather the hydro pedal to do the same thing which meant I could not concentrate as much on the job I was doing. I didn't fully understand the anti-stall feature from the literature until I started using the tractor and started plowing without the tractor being in anti-stall mode. I thought that the anti-stall just shifted the motor from low displacement to high displacement so I was pleasantly surprised to find it also destroked the pump when needed.

[IndyIan]

You're right - that is my answer - 21 For and 0 Against. Tried it on the lot today and although it's not a real test - I thought of these comments when trying it out and I can certainly see where the + is a Plus. Thanks for the great input!

I don't think you'll find anyone that says the HST+ isn't better, but if you have a limited budget for the tractor and implements, you'll have to decide what's it worth to you depending on your tasks.
I know I couldn't justify spending the extra cash for it as it would've left my implement budget at zero... A HST+ tractor with just a FEL can do some things very well, but a HST tractor and the price difference in used implements will do alot more things much better. If you are totally new to CUT tractors, start pricing implements too, I was surprised how expensive even used ones can be. Different buckets, mowers, blades, and things like a logging winch, make certain jobs much more fun and productive.
I know I'd rather have a grapple bucket and logging winch than an HST+, but you may have alot of work where the HST+ really shines and its worth it for you, try to figure out what you are going to do and buy features/implements accordingly.