Hydrostatic vs shuttle shift

[pwhite42]

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

I have both. Our newer B2601 has hydrostatic with a speed control on it. I like that for most work.

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

 

[Louis Mace]

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

Thats a great question.
I do a fair amount of bush hogging as a business. I was using a hydrostatic and neded to get it serviced so I used another tractor with shuttle shift on the same 60 acre job that I had done many times with the hydrostatic. Both machines were close in size.

I was suprised that I finished the job faster with the shuttle shift. It wasnt a small margin either. Id say 15-18% faster.

Im no scientist or mechanic but I can only say that i think the shuttle shift gearing kept a more consistent ground speed. I only know that I have done that job about ten times and always finished at the same time with the hydrostatic...but finished sooner with the shuttle.

No matter what, a new tractor is always a great thing. I hope you enjoy whatever you model you get.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Again, it's all a matter of preference. you really need to try both and decide for yourself.

I have noticed though, at the large Kubota dealer near me, 90% of the CUT tractors on the lot are hydrostats.

 

[Joe Batt]

If you buy a shuttle shift, make sure that your daily driver has a solid turn signal stalk, or you will rip it off the first time you try to back up your car after having been on the tractor for any significant amount of time.

 

[jyoutz]

Thats a great question.
I do a fair amount of bush hogging as a business. I was using a hydrostatic and neded to get it serviced so I used another tractor with shuttle shift on the same 60 acre job that I had done many times with the hydrostatic. Both machines were close in size.

I was suprised that I finished the job faster with the shuttle shift. It wasnt a small margin either. Id say 15-18% faster.

Im no scientist or mechanic but I can only say that i think the shuttle shift gearing kept a more consistent ground speed. I only know that I have done that job about ten times and always finished at the same time with the hydrostatic...but finished sooner with the shuttle.

No matter what, a new tractor is always a great thing. I hope you enjoy whatever you model you get.

Consistent ground speed can be the same with cruise control on a HST machine. But unless you’re mowing a golf course, being able to easily slow down ground speed without changing engine RPM or gears on rough spots is a big plus for the hydrostatic machine.

 

[Hermio]

Mowing is so much easier with the HST now, I can slow down for thick sections without compromising cutter speeds. I'll never go back to shuttle shift for mowing.

That is one of the big benefits.

 

[Hermio]

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

I also do logging in my woods. A hydrostat is much safer, in that you can stop just by releasing the pedal. This can prevent rollovers and getting impaled by branches.

 

[JimR]

I started out with a used Ford 8N for my first tractor back in 1978. That tractor was a left knee killer. My next tractor was a used Cub Cadet 7275 hydrostatic drive in 2002. That was the best move that I made going with a hydrostatic drive. In 2016 I bought a new Kioti NX4510HST. I'll never go back to a stick. My tractor has electronic cruise and anti-stall for doing loader work. This 45hp tractor pulls a 7' Landpride finish mower and a 6' JD MX brush hog mower. I now have almost 1700 hours on it with no issues with the hydrostatic drive. My only wish is that I didn't have the funds to buy a 60hp tractor back then. This tractor is used for logging, mowing, brush hogging, removing rocks, rototilling, snow removal and everything else that I need to do with it.

 

[tulenutn2o]

I have shuttle shift and have always wished for hydrostatic.

 

[marksold187]

I have a 1987 yanmar 187d shuttle shift. Snow blowing I leave the throttle maxed out for pto and never use my left foot. Shuttle shift on the column. Forward to reverse abuse for the last 39 years no service other than oil changes. That stands for something.

 

[dieselscout80]

I have a 1987 yanmar 187d shuttle shift. Snow blowing I leave the throttle maxed out for pto and never use my left foot. Shuttle shift on the column. Forward to reverse abuse for the last 39 years no service other than oil changes. That stands for something.

It must be a hydraulic shuttle and that’s way different than a shuttle that you have to use the clutch to shift between forward and reverse.

 

[ismilelots]

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

I'm on my second LS hydro and loved them both. They both have done well with brush hogging and hay mowing (mine have the magnetic speed control, so that makes it more comfortable). They probably run hotter than my green manual trans did, but nothing uncomfortable or problamatic,

 

[big bubba]

one comment on the subject. for those who use Utility sized tractors, nearly all are geared (w/hyd or shuttle shift). hydro is rarely seen on larger utility machines for good reason, regards

 

[CoveredWagon2]

I am a 66 year old homeowner with 34 acres. I mow about 109 acres, some with a bush-hog. I agree that overheating is a sign that I need

in terms of overheating, if a smaller hydrostat tractor transmission overheats in heavy work, it's not the fault of the tractor. just that a bigger tractor is needed for the job. many sub owners push their machines over the limits that their tractor is designed for in terms of safety and tasks.

to buy a bigger tractor. I over-heated my BX24 while mowing, to the point that the power steering line melted a hole in my plastic fuel tank and damaged the hst valve blocks! First problem was that I needed a bush-hog but was using a belly mower. I have a bush-hog now, but still run hotter than I like. Second is that I need a larger tractor! I love my BX, but I need to buy a bigger machine this year.

 

[Popgadget]

I have an L6060 with the e-hydro and it is perfect for my usage, mostly mowing and plowing snow.
The cruise control, auto throttle and anti-stall are all great features that i would not do without.
Having said that, if my main usage was with ground engaging implements like a plow, a lot of those features would be moot, and if i needed a more powerful tractor, hydro would not be an option. So YMMV.

 

[walnutman]

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

Yanmar YT359C

 

[Ridersupfarm]

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

I have tractors with both and prefer a shift transmission. However, some manufacturers are building shift transmissions that are not synchronized and must be brought to a stop to change gears. I recently purchased an L series Kubota equipped with a shift transmission and learned the hard way that their compact tractors are difficult to up shift and almost impossible to downshift while moving without clashing gears. I returned it for a hydrostatic model which performs well, doesn't overheat even after hours of bushoging. Go with the hydrostatic, you won't regret it.

 

[Ridersupfarm]

I had a shuttle driver for about 15 years (TYM). I bought a new one (TYM) that is hydrostatic a couple months ago and already wished that I would have stayed with the shuttle drive.

Why?

 

[racer86y]

I bought and enjoyed a shuttle shift 38hp tractor 19 yrs ago, but I'm 78 and thinking I'd like to end my days with a new tractor. Most now seem to be hydrostatic. I just talked with my brother-in-law who has both transmissions and he recommended staying with shuttle shift. I do some mowing and he says his hydrostatic gets way too hot when mowing. He likes it when doing dirt work and moving hay, etc. but not for something where you'll be driving it steady for a long time. It seems the dealers around here are mostly pushing hydrostatic. What's your experience?

Whats the difference between the 2?Is it kind of like manual

 

[Jrasband]

Maybe so, but why run a 100 HP tractor around a field, when 60 will work for 95% of it?

Also handy to slow down for corners or rough spots ...

Or folks could just be using sickle mowers instead of rotary mowers. I use a sickle mower for everything, and have no desire to do anything different. I am managing about 50 acres of pasture, and can mow through blackberry patches 10 feet tall, multiflora rose bushes, and finger size pine saplings no problem without damaging the knives or the mower.