1526/1533/2538 HST Price check

[sideskraft]

The 2538 is an HST. The 2540 is a shuttle... My property is very well suited to an HST. (Today's comparison would be the 2638 and 2545)

Aside from slightly higher loader capacity and also clear foot guards, there wasn't much else I wanted from the 2540 save for that suspension seat. Also at the time the 2540 was almost $2,000 more expensive. Hope that helps.

Actually the 2540 loader capacity is substantially higher than the 2538 (25% higher lift weight and 27% higher breakout force), which elevates its capabilities to another level. It's kind of like comparing a normal V8 to a Hemi -- both are fast, and the Hemi is the power king, but most people don't need that much power and aren't willing to pay for it. As you said, the 2540 has the shuttle shift trans (12F/12R). My property would have been better suited to the HST as well, but this was a used tractor purchase from CL and it was garage stored and almost mint, and very well priced with bush hog, front plow, and a rear blade that was never used. I learned to drive with a stick at age 13 ('70 Chevy C10 "three on the tree" with manual steering and brakes), and I've had many other manual trans vehicles throughout my life, so the tractor shuttle trans is not an issue at all. I did quite a bit of snow moving today (bucket, front plow and back blade) -- what a blast!