HST over Geared tractor

[JoeinTX]

"It's simple:
If you're MANLY, you get a gear tractor
If you're a Metrosexual or effeminate, you buy a hydro!!

See, not so tough, was it?

Actually, I'm a gear tranny guy and much prefer very simple, robust tractors (such as my 790, a design that goes back at least 20 years) I'm also the only operator of my 790.
If I used the loader more extensively then I do, or had more then one operator, a hydro might be a good choice (although I'd probably go for a reverser transmission instead).

Bottomline is, if you're not experienced with manual transmission either be prepared to learn or go for the hydro...."


Now that's what I'm talkin' about.


But, DPadge nailed it above. Been talked to death.

Safety? It has nothing to do with the machine or the tool..............all about the operator behind it. If you know what you're doing with a tool, then you are safe. If you dont', then you aren't. Pure and simple. A machine will not do anything to you that you do not allow it to do. You know it and it's abilities then you're good. You wank around and get out there and don't know what the **** is going on.............you're gonna hurt something.


I'm a gear tranny guy but I was raised on gears and I know them extremely well. I do also know HST's since my ol' pappy went and got a Kubota HST a few years ago and I've spent time on it. The HST? Great for general stuff and loader work. A true multi-purpose unit. Working in the field (which I did do with it) and actual "HP to the ground" applications? Mooshy. Very "mooshy" even with the tranny lock and a lot of dead feel in the process.


HST's seperate you from the "real" stresses of the tractor. Stick me back on my 8n and I can qoute phrase and verse what we're pulling/using and how much it'll cost. I know the sounds/feels/vibes. On the little 'bota it is truly like driving a modern car with an auto tranny. Take the trip but have no idea what's going on underneath or what it's costing.....

 

[ovrszd]

Not sure what part of Missouri you are

I'm from the God's Country part, Northwest.

My current L4400 is gear drive. Previously I had HST. In my steep timber brush cutting, logging or doing FEL work I prefer HST. It's safer for me in the respect that the combination of steps involved in direction change or start/stop is simplified. Less chance for error. Simple mathematics for me.

I respect everyone's opinions about this and will refrain from blanket statements if I can.

 

[ovrszd]

I think TexasJohn made some very good points. Soundguy sounded like the current political machine in his contradictions.

I think we all need to consider that our uses differ. An example is Soundguys comments about not clutching for hours when running a brush cutter. Here in God's Country I don't have a pasture that can be cut without clutching, regardless of size. After changing direction half a dozen times just to cut a small slice between the trees HST wins every time.

Again I appreciate everyone's input in this discussion. It certainly fires people up!!! We should all expect that other's uses are different than ours which creates the difference in opinion. No right. No wrong.

 

[Soundguy]

Soundguy sounded like the current political machine in his contradictions.

eh? that's slightly offensive.. I'm not preaching change, then practicing something else.

I think we all need to consider that our uses differ. An example is Soundguys comments about not clutching for hours when running a brush cutter. Here in God's Country I don't have a pasture that can be cut without clutching, regardless of size. After changing direction half a dozen times just to cut a small slice between the trees HST wins every time.

That was my exact point.. blanket statements are hard to make fit.. since everybody has a different application. Mowing in pancake flat open areas is MUCH different than dodging trees in a dozen small paddocks. There is no 1 best machine or machine type for all occasions.

. It certainly fires people up!!! We should all expect that other's uses are different than ours which creates the difference in opinion. No right. No wrong.

except that you felt the need to compair my opinion with that of a politician??? Good doubletalk there.....

safety is a mental state, not a transmission type.

soundguy

 

[TripleR]

I'm from the God's Country part, Northwest.

My current L4400 is gear drive. Previously I had HST. In my steep timber brush cutting, logging or doing FEL work I prefer HST. It's safer for me in the respect that the combination of steps involved in direction change or start/stop is simplified. Less chance for error. Simple mathematics for me.

I respect everyone's opinions about this and will refrain from blanket statements if I can.

NW Missouri really is nice; first job was in KC and rode my motorcycle all up through that area.

I have geared and HST, but my preference is for HST. I will keep my geared tractors, but any new acquisitions will be HST. Different strokes...

 

[jenkinsph]

I like both my gear tractor and my hydro tractors it is great having all three. I agree though that in some ways the hydro is safer to manuever with because it is easier to control.

 

[texasjohn]

LMAOROF Told you it was sometimes an EXTREMELY emotional/religious topic and ridiculous manhood aspersions have emerged as well

The OP has posted 4 times total on TBN and he'd just learned that there were two different kinds of transmissions. That makes him a newbie. He asked a legitimate question for him. Great! Almost by definition, this means he is highly likely to be using the tractor, as almost all TBNers do, for chores around the place. NOT plowing/planting/haying 100 acre fields. Given the funding, IMHO, an HST is a perfect match for this task and, as an added bonus (IMHO), is safer/easier for a newbie to operate than a gear box. In the environment where a tractor is not going to be operated all day for days on end, the barely lower HST fuel efficiency when using ground engaging equipment is inconsequential.

IMHO, my post had no blanket statements, it said I considered HST safer for many reasons, then listed some of my reasons.

Soundguy, I put you at the opposite end of the experience spectrum from the OP. That is, you are a professional, extremely experienced driver and perhaps even made a living driving many types of equipment since the '50's. As such, any tight spots you got into in younger days have perhaps faded in your memory. Yet, the OP is facing these on his learning curve to becoming an experienced and safe tractor jockey. His reading here on TBN will surely assist him along the way.

nathansv6, IMHO, this thread has exposed everything there is to consider regarding HST vs gear transmissions and could be closed...... I note you haven't posted anything since your first post... hope you are out there watching. I suggest you go to a dealer and move 10 FEL buckets of gravel with both a gear and HST, noting which you feel more comfortable with. If you do not plan, now or ever, to get a FEL, then HST benefits are lessened because you will almost always be going forward.

BEST WISHES, nathansv6,

texasjohn over and out

 

[ovrszd]

texasjohn over and out

Think I'll join ya.

 

[WH401]

I have to agree to all of the points that Sound Guy made, points that are all dependent on the experience of the operator and not of the variant of transmission on the tractor. The point being, it doesn't matter whether you have an HST or a gear driven tractor, your experience in operation is what will make the difference. An HST tractor is just as dangerous as a gear tractor, and a gear tractor is just as safe as an HST, simply put.

Now, I have to say it's pretty interesting to see how so many folks believe that gear tractors are pretty much "unfit" or "unsafe" in a tractor these days. I mean really, what do you think people did 50 - 60 years ago when gear tractors were the only thing available? I guess they weren't able to operate at insanely slow speeds, they weren't able to maneuver into tight confined areas, they weren't able to stop in time, they always tipped over, and they always ran over there "helper" on the ground.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have to agree to all of the points that Sound Guy made, points that are all dependent on the experience of the operator and not of the variant of transmission on the tractor. The point being, it doesn't matter whether you have an HST or a gear driven tractor, your experience in operation is what will make the difference. An HST tractor is just as dangerous as a gear tractor, and a gear tractor is just as safe as an HST, simply put.

Now, I have to say it's pretty interesting to see how so many folks believe that gear tractors are pretty much "unfit" or "unsafe" in a tractor these days. I mean really, what do you think people did 50 - 60 years ago when gear tractors were the only thing available? I guess they weren't able to operate at insanely slow speeds, they weren't able to maneuver into tight confined areas, they weren't able to stop in time, they always tipped over, and they always ran over there "helper" on the ground.

I disagree. I have owned the tractors from 50 and 60 years ago and still have one from 35 years ago. The new ones are easier to operate, and safer to use. Experience is an important component of safe tractor operation, it is not the only component though.


I remember the good old days, used to kill people,