Bucket work with clutch /shuttle Vs hydro.

[Comancheria]

Any clutch guys doing bucket work wish they had a hydro instead?

 

[ptsg]

Never wished I had an hydro and I do a lot of loader work with my Branson F36Rn (equivalent to the 3515R) with the 12x12 transmission.

Have no issues whatsoever using it for loader work and I sure appreciate being able to use the high range, since I tend to drive on the road quite a bit. A lot of it while pulling a loader trailer. Or even being able to pull my 2 shank ripper. I'm also taking care of a couple orchards which require a lot of back and forth movements and a lot of it in tight spaces.

Contrary to popular belief on the forum, it's so nice, simple and easy to use and I can easily find the right gear/speed for the tasks in hand.

 

[K5lwq]

I agree. I have driven gear tractors for the past 40 years. Outside of an 8N ford, never desired a HST. I do not have an issue finding the right gear and I do a lot of open mowing as well as some loader work. Never liked the whine of a HST or using my feet much when running the tractor. I don’t even like the foot throttle. I just use hand throttle but do pull power back to clutch.

 

[big bubba]

​

hello Comancheria: You might want to refine your question. "hydro" can also refer to a hydro shuttle on a gear tractor such as mine that is clutch gear driven. I feel i have the best of 2 worlds, benefits of gears and also hydro shuttle from reverse to forward w/o shifting.

"shuttle shift" usually refers to a clutch driven lever from F to R requiring depressing clutch.
just a detail, maybe "HST could replace "hydro" in your question, best regards

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I did years of loader work with a geared IH574… and I can tell you I much prefer a hydro with pedals. If I had the choice for loader work, I’d personally choose a hydro

 

[4570Man]

I barely use my tractor loader at all anymore. My skid steer is much better but I despise using a gear tractor for loader work. I would bet most of the anti HST group hasn’t worked one for more than a few minutes. I’ve had straight shift trucks for nearly as long as I’ve had a driver’s license but I hate a geared tractor.

 

[3gunr]

4570 is spot on , I have both an HST and a shuttle , for yrs i thought the shuttle was the best thing going and i do lots of loader brush hogging and mowing, I have bad knees and since i got the hydro i rarely use the shuttle,I wear ear muffs and dont even notice the whine,

 

[4570Man]

4570 is spot on , I have both an HST and a shuttle , for yrs i thought the shuttle was the best thing going and i do lots of loader brush hogging and mowing, I have bad knees and since i got the hydro i rarely use the shuttle,I wear ear muffs and dont even notice the whine,

I had a customer that wanted me to use their geared tractor to spread some rock on a job to save from bringing my skid steer. It was a Kubota M series with the basic gear dry clutch 1-4/hi/low transmission. My knees are fine but I thought they were going to be bad before I got done with that. I could’ve done the job twice as fast and graded it better with my smaller HST tractor.

 

[3gunr]

exaxtly, HST is way faster.

 

[paulsharvey]

The power shuttles used in true construction equipment, like a front-end loader is really the best of both worlds, but its a really confusing world of shuttles. The older John Deere 310 Back hoes, had a power shuttle on the steering column, but a stick shift on the floor to select gear, and that really could only be selected at a dead stop. However, yiu could throw from F to R freely, even when in motion. Lull/Grad-All forklifts, had shuttle on column, with a rotating knob to scroll through 1-3 or 1-5 or however many gears, and could be scrolled though at will, while in motion, as well as F to R while in slow-motion. Then yiu have 'hydralic reversers', sycro shuttle, non-syncro, partially syncro, ect; and the manufacturers don't see to really explain on the website what Their shuttle really is.

Add to that, the stuff we did on construction equipment, very well might not be ideal for the long life of the machine... I'm sure it's 'best' to come to a stop or near stop, before F to R.

Edit: also, a 12 or 24x24 speed shuttle, is generally only shiftable within a given range; or in some cases not at all between gears (other then F/R), others can, and I believe some can shift gears within a range, but only with a clutch