Remember your first time on a HST?

[TripleR]

I've had all three, HST, non-synchro gear and Hydraulic shuttle.

Each has it's place. And when in it's particular nitch, each excels. And,,,, put each in a position that it isn't designed for and they all suck. Just depends on usage. Guess that means I need to buy another tractor, already got HST and Hydra Shuttle.

It's funny, but while I have the tractors I always dreamed of, there are times I miss the old crash box transmissions I grew up on. We still own several, but I can no longer use them, just something satisfying about using them properly. My brothers use them regularly. One brother just bought a new tractor and skipped HST and hydro shuttle for a synchro shuttle, the other will probably still be driving our old NAA till the end.

 

[Buppies]

Still own two geared pieces of equipment one car and backhoe(shift gears but button for clutch) everything else hydro would not have it any other way. Even motor grader is hydro but car has seven forward gears four speed with overdrive in 2nd, 3rd, and forth. The looks you get from stoplight to stoplight kinds funny even had people ask how many gears does that thing have. Last geared tractor we had was Satoh Beaver years ago. Since we do a lot of front end loader work hydro best for us

 

[caver]

For the first year switching from a gear to HST....I kept finding myself reaching for the shuttle shift lever that wasn't there.

 

[RobertN]

Looked and found sales receipt for my old Kubota; it was June, 1998. TBN was a Kubota only site back then, and had just started. Back then, there were maybe 50-75 members, and if you posted, it may have been a day or two before you got replies.

 

[grsthegreat]

Actually, all i ever used since the 70's were geared tractors. I do remember a construction backhoe that had forward and reverse lever next to steering column...but i only used that tractor for 1 day.

My neighbor purchased a HST JD about 1 year before i got mine. At first i thought i would hate the thing.....having 2 pedals and no clutch....but i have grown to like mine. It makes nearly every task (that I need to do) easier to do. I live on fairly flat property, so i dont have issues with stalling the unit on hills.

My biggest complaint about my old JD870 was that it only had 3 reverse speeds at 540 rpm. none of them were what i ever wanted.Now i have unlimited variety of speeds.....

 

[nickc]

my little jd2305 is hst & I love it. I sure don't miss plowing snow with the old 4 gear

 

[npalen]

The tires would have probably lasted a bit longer if my '65 Vette (327 fueli) had a hydro instead of 4 on the floor.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I love my HST for the TLB but I also like the straight gear on my utility sized tractor which I use for mowing, disking and heavy FEL work. I think each has a place and that is why they still make both. I really liked the powershift transmission on my Yanmar 4220D which I could use without ever clutching if I wanted and it was the best of both HST and gear worlds. I could outwork my brother in law on his HST New Holland moving dirt due to the powershift transmission. Load it up in 1st and shift up to 4th gear without clutching for traveling which was much faster than his tractor could travel as he had to shift to L range to load and then stop to shift to H when travelling. Some of the HST transmissions don't really have good variation of speed without shifting ranges and you have to stop to do that in most of them

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I love the HST not burning out the clutch when doing heavy bucket work.

 

[Looking4new]

I had a 1950 Farmall C (4spd crash box) for about ten years, I now have a HST that I got in 2012 and I will never go back.