Buying Advice HST vs Gear Transmission - which would you recommend on this tractor ?

[Jstpssng]

Hi .. Just need some guidance. I'm soon buying a new Massey Ferguson 34 HP with loader. Trying to decide on Hydrostat or Gear Transmission. I'll be Brush Hogging about 15 Acres a few times a year and using a Tiller for a couple acres of food plots.. Most of the use will be for these two things , but will use the loader at times for different chores , including snow removal.. The tractor does not have a cruise control function for the HST so foot pedal will be used for the few hours of steady brush hogging. Any recommendations from you guys who own either kind of transmissions ?? Thanks for any help you can give me.

Going back to your original post; rather than asking which is best you need to consider the functions available for each. For me the lack of the CC function would be a deal breaker; holding the pedal down for hours while mowing, tilling, or just running from one field to the next will get old fast. My HST does not have it, but will be installed as soon as the heat get fixed in my work space. (When spring hits my driveway. ) For mowing and tilling, you really need a live PTO; if you want to stop in heavy brush, you really don't want the mower to stop. That was the deal breaker when I bought my Kubota, as the geared PTO is not live.
All other things being equal I prefer geared. With shuttle shift, changing directions isn't a problem; throw the clutch, move the lever, and you're going in the opposite direction. That's just my preference though.
Whatever you decide, enjoy. And post some pictures... they really are worth a 1000 words.

 

[newbury]

You guys are hilarious.. Yesterday was my first time on this site..I was the one who originally posted this question about gear vs. hydro and I've gotten a lot of good advice, a lot of things to think about and a whole lot of laughs.. Great site to ask questions..very helpful.. Thanks to all of you..If you still have opinions on the gear vs. hydro I still have one day to make up my mind.. Thanks.!!!

Since it seems you are buying new and first tractor - go HST.
It's a small tractor, when you go to sell it because you want bigger HST will probably sell easier.

I've got both, they both have advantages. So far almost ALL of my FEL work with either involves
get a bucket load
drive it a ways
dump it
repeat

or carry stuff a ways with the FEL.

Or better yet buy BOTH!!

 

[LightningCamaroGuy]

IMO if the tractor has a power shuttle transmission then I would much rather have a geared tranny than the HST. JMO but going forward to reverse and vica versa is easier with a power shuttle than HST but a lot of that is probably due to what I'm use to, but I find flicking a lever by the steering wheel just as easy as using a petal or two to go forward to reverse. Again using a power shuttle is second nature for me while I have to think about what I'm doing on the rare occasions I drive a HST tractor. Besides I prefer to have brakes to help stop and even steer with if I want to.

 

[4570Man]

Power reverser if it’s the same thing as most forklifts have is pretty nice. The clash box non synchronized that requires a clutch to do anything suck.

 

[mike69440]

Power reverser if it’s the same thing as most forklifts have is pretty nice. The crash box non synchronized that requires a clutch to do anything suck.

The 3 x 2 grind then find them box on my beloved sold B7200 D is not missed! For a box you have to use a clutch, the 8 x 8 gear on my Max 28Shuttle is ok. Better yet the Power shuttle, GST, power reverser etc. are good, except on hills and real close quarters. Kubota HST+, Yanmar etc are top class HST's. How you use tractor and your preference makes the decision for you.

 

[k0ua]

I will only speak for myself, as I have owned 5 tractors, and probably have more hours on gear tractors, than hydro tractors, but I will never own another gear tractor. Hydro is just so much more efficient for the tasks I do. I could go into all the reasons but it wouldn't convince anyone anyway nor do I care. Get what ever you want. For me it is hydro. The only time I would consider gear is if I had an 80 acre field to plow. Bush-hogging is best done with a hydro machine as you have infinite control of ground speed, meaning you can speed up and slow down constantly, which is what you need to do when bush-hogging. But again, each to his own.

 

[4570Man]

I’ve never drove a power reverser tractor. The glide shift L2550 was the closest thing. You just push the lever between the 8 gears and move the lever on the dash to go forward or backwards. The clutch was only needed for the pto and for more precise movements. The forklifts I’ve used ( excluding the old geared ones and my HST one ) must have had a single speed automatic transmission. The telhandlers I’ve used had a 6 speed transmission with manual shift. The reason I’m calling them automatic transmissions is they nearly had to have toque converters where the L2550 didn’t.

 

[4570Man]

Can we find some common ground and at least agree that HST is better for loader work and geared is better for ground engagement?

 

[eddie48]

After reading all of this stuff, I'm almost afraid to add another comment to the original thread. However.... I did think of one thing I am concerned about with my HST. The parking brake. When you get off of the tractor and set the brake, if you kick the brake while getting off of the machine and you happen to be on a slope.... away goes the tractor. At least, mine would, particularly when you are leaving the machine running because you have to put the range lever in neutral before you get off.

 

[DK35vince]

After reading all of this stuff, I'm almost afraid to add another comment to the original thread. However.... I did think of one thing I am concerned about with my HST. The parking brake. When you get off of the tractor and set the brake, if you kick the brake while getting off of the machine and you happen to be on a slope.... away goes the tractor. At least, mine would, particularly when you are leaving the machine running because you have to put the range lever in neutral before you get off.

Of course if you get off most gear machines and leave it running it needs to be in neutral (unless it has park), so no difference when left running.