HST vs shuttle

[goeduck]

I don't see any homeowner tasks benefiting from gears, but to each their own.

Why do some people prefer shifting over HST in close quarters in the woods? I find myself constantly changing speeds and direction when finagling trees from between other trees in the woods with the tractor, and controlling speed and direction with my feet/foot (depending on machine) while keeping one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the joystick or 3pt controls.

Having to constantly move a hand from one control to the other becomes tedious, and then you have:

clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward,clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward, clutch, shift forward, clutch, shift backward......
all day long.... no thanks.

Why would I push in the clutch on my geared tractor? Seems that would be a pain in the knee. Quality geared tractors may have a clutch for convenience as do some HSTs but you do not need to use it to change directions. Moving my fwd/rev lever is about the same effort as changing my foot position. I have and like both systems but clearly there are HST operators on here that do not understand geared tractors.

 

[tman1020]

That's on THAT list?

HST wins on grass mowing IF you have a lot of things to mow around. The blade noise drowns out the hydro whine!

As for snow plowing, in the cold you are suppose to let the hydro warm up, for as much as half hour! In many cases, I'll be getting done in half hour with my gear tractor! lol

Loader work, I don't find a shuttle to be any harder to use than a hydro...

Dragging logs, I MUCH prefer a gear trans!! Gear drive is the hands down winner here...

I HATE hydro whine, I don't like all the heat they make and I hate the extra cost for maintenance! and that's after the extra you have to pay to get one! I also don't like the power they rob from the pto...

SR

Not all hydros whine bad. I have had 4 and only noticed it on one of them.

 

[tman1020]

Never owned or operated a power shuttle / reverser but had a manual shuttle shifter. It’s was NOT better than any hydro I have ever owned or used. And that goes for every task that you can think of. It was slightly better than my std gear drives.
I can see where some have a hard time appreciating hydro if you have many years accustomed to gear. Things like having to run at higher rpms and the relief pressure cutting out before loss of traction are hard to get used to. Plus if you have whine that would get annoying. But for me hydro has been massively better for all of my tasks.

 

[rScotty]

I have a HST & a shuttle and find the HST has more dependable "gear down" than the shuttle when going up or down or across hillsides. Particularly when things are icy on a sidehill, the HST works almost as good as an old fashioned standard gear drive machine.
rScotty

 

[aczlan]

I agree. Hydro much better and safer for dragging. Nice easy precise starts and no clutching or lose of momentum to change speed.

That is one downside to the GST in the L3830, it puts the tractor in "neutral" for a second when changing gears which is sometimes a problem.

Aaron Z

 

[ovrszd]

That is one downside to the GST in the L3830, it puts the tractor in "neutral" for a second when changing gears which is sometimes a problem.

Aaron Z

Wish I knew someone with a GST. I'd like to run one for the e,perience.

 

[MossRoad]

Wish I knew someone with a GST. I'd like to run one for the e,perience.

Go down to a dealer and take a test drive. I know, you're wasting a salesman's time, and you can't often tell what a machine will do with no load on it, but it might be a good way to get your hands on it.

 

[3Lfarms]

I know the safety police will freak out, but a couple weeks ago I planted 100 wind break trees at the farm. After digging all the holes with the PHD, I got a bucket load of compost and started at the end of the row putting a couple shovels full in each hole. With the tractor idling in low range and first gear, while standing on the ground was able to move the power shuttle lever into forward. It motored along at a slow crawl while I shoveled compost. Worked great and saved me a ton of time and effort. Try that with an HST.

 

[MossRoad]

I can see my bucket from my seat. I'd have gotten corner fulls of compost, filled all the holes with the tractor, and never gotten off my seat. :laughing:

 

[4570Man]

That is one downside to the GST in the L3830, it puts the tractor in "neutral" for a second when changing gears which is sometimes a problem.

Aaron Z

My old 2550 was GST. It worked good. Far better than the lower end transmission option that requires clutch for forwards and reverse and has 1-4 hi/low. The GST had 1-8 and no clutch required except to engage pto. The biggest downside is the shift was slow leaving the tractor in neutral for a few seconds. Same problem with changing gears. I’ve never driven a shuttle shift tractor, but the forklifts and backhoes I’ve used shifted almost instantly.