HST vs Gear drive

Ike

New member

Equipment
Kubota L 3301, Farmall Cub. JD B. Ferguson TE 20
Jul 18, 2015
324
1
0
Mich
If I was going to go with a transmission similer too an HST I would elmintate the whine and get the MF that I run. Different trans but worked the same and no whine. That track would have been sitting in my barn if the only dealer had not been 70 miles away. Don't gwet me wrong I like Kubota and so far it has been a good tractor
 

91redfrod

New member

Equipment
B7200
Oct 23, 2012
41
0
0
Vernonia
alot of interesting info/opinions & Iv'e been considering all of them...so I decided to go with a gear trans..I can deal with the PTO issue..the tractor has a backhoe FEL & grapple, Industrial loaded tires, a nice orange brush hog, 60", & a box blade. qualified for the 20% down 84 months 0% interest. make that credit work for you I say. thanks everybody for your input. I'll show it off after delivery. j:D
 

dlundblad

Member

Equipment
G5200, L2501, ZD1211
May 16, 2009
503
10
18
IN
I'll be interested to hear how she handles the 5' rotary cutter.

Seems to be lots of controversial info about what size to get with the L2501. Of course, if it's too much for the engine, just slow down a bit... Lol.
 

91redfrod

New member

Equipment
B7200
Oct 23, 2012
41
0
0
Vernonia
This is my new L2501 DT love affair, the blackberrys around here are in serious trouble, .7 hrs on it...it's sure shiny & new lookin' it's like art in a way all perfect like that....not for long...[/ATTACH]
 

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WFM

Well-known member
Premium Member

Equipment
L3800
Apr 5, 2013
1,334
656
113
Porter Maine
I'm glad our experience with your tractors help you make your decision.
Enjoy.
 

SRG

New member

Equipment
B8200D 4WD........ JD 870, FWA, 300x FEL.......... JD 797, 72" Z-Trak
Jul 15, 2017
490
3
0
N. IL
Nice machine! Got all the goodies too.
 

majorwager

Active member

Equipment
MX5100 FEL ford 1620 FEL International 484 FEL Lull 844C
All depends on what your goals are and how much land you plan on working. Not withstanding, I farm so my tractors are geared for farming. I didn't always farm, just kind of fell into it and at the outset I had a grand L 5030 HST cab tractor and I used it to run not only a round baler but a mower and a rake and believe me, I used it way beyond it's capabilities and it did as fine as it could but it was way underpowered and didn't weigh enough either.

Traded that on my first M and then bought a second M a few months later. Both gear drive, both hydraulic shuttle and both Ultra Cabs. Had both ever since (almost 10 years and 1500 hours plus on each with no issues whatsoever).

Like I said, depends on what you want to do and what you expect from a unit.

You might till a garden or chop an acre but you won't rototill 20 acres and chop 40 with an HST tractor. Not gonna happen and if it does, yiu are running it way beyond it's design capability and probably beating yourself up too.

I can chop 40 with my bat wing chopper in about an hour. and I do all the time.

All about size and scale.
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Tractor data indicates the ultra grand cab was not yet in production for the m 9000 and 105x, is tractor data in error ??
 

Kabota

Member

Equipment
Kabota L1801DT special
Nov 30, 2018
80
0
6
Summerville Pa.
I'll be interested to hear how she handles the 5' rotary cutter.

Seems to be lots of controversial info about what size to get with the L2501. Of course, if it's too much for the engine, just slow down a bit... Lol.
Yeah and if you still don't have enough power you can always just make a less than full width cut :D
 

Bulldog

Well-known member

Equipment
M 9000 DTC, L 3000 DT
Mar 30, 2010
5,440
78
48
Rocky Face, Georgia
=============================================

Tractor data indicates the ultra grand cab was not yet in production for the m 9000 and 105x, is tractor data in error ??
Go back on tractordata, look up the M9000 and go to the photo section. Click on the pic and you can see it has the Ultra Cab II.
 

91redfrod

New member

Equipment
B7200
Oct 23, 2012
41
0
0
Vernonia
I got 2 hrs on the seat yesterday, WOW that grapple really rips shit up/out..I had enough seat time to get used to a few things and figure out the best gear combo for back & forthing. Now I have never tried an HST so i don't no what I might be missing but I do drive a 6 speed Tacoma..I like shifting gears! so anyway I have zero complaints so far..got the work of 4 people done by myself in short order, my 15 acres is going to see a Kubota transformation. j:D
 

TripleR

Active member

Equipment
BX2200, BX2660, L5740 HSTC, M8540HDC and some other tractors and equipment
Sep 16, 2011
1,911
8
38
SE Missouri
I got 2 hrs on the seat yesterday, WOW that grapple really rips shit up/out..I had enough seat time to get used to a few things and figure out the best gear combo for back & forthing. Now I have never tried an HST so i don't no what I might be missing but I do drive a 6 speed Tacoma..I like shifting gears! so anyway I have zero complaints so far..got the work of 4 people done by myself in short order, my 15 acres is going to see a Kubota transformation. j:D
I'm 70 and my brother is 67. I bought my first HST an L5030HSTC several years ago and loved it on spite of a lifetime of geared tractors. My brother was a dedicated gear guy and wouldn't use one of my HSTs. Even bought a new shuttle shift Kioti compact for his "retirement gift".

My health went to heck a couple of years ago and he had to drive my L5740HSTC or haul a tractor from six miles away on our other farm. He quickly learned to love the HST and cab; things he never liked. I've learned that making judgements without experience usually can easily be a mistake. I also use an M8540HDC 12/12 and like it. We own tractors from old 50s up to four years or so.

Enjoy your new tractor, I used one like it for years.
 

Jhgr

New member

Equipment
L. 3901
Aug 14, 2018
23
1
1
Cumming Ga.
Learned about the whine after picking up an HST last week. When i first noticed it i thought something was wrong with the machine, haha. Can certainly get annoying.
I have an L 3901 hydrostatic and have never noticed a whine, at least not enough to bother me. I probably can’t hear as good as some people.
 

Rdrett

Member
Dec 5, 2017
222
8
18
Paris Ky
I have an L 3901 hydrostatic and have never noticed a whine, at least not enough to bother me. I probably can’t hear as good as some people.
Lock the brakes hard and stomp the HST pedal.
You will hear the whine people refer.
When I use my l2501 I use the proper range and hear no whine, it will spin tires before it whines.
People don’t understand that the HST pedal is like a gear shifter.
Tractor whining real bad? Select low range.
Working the tractor really hard in low and hear a loud HST Whine? Let off on the HST pedal!
 

Swamp

Member

Equipment
L4701DT with NH92 backhoe
Nov 22, 2022
40
35
18
Wisconsin
Drumming up an old thread, but when looking at the differences between the HSt and the Shuttle I keep coming back to a video that Messicks did with an L470HST and anL4701DT. The comparison was done in High since the DT only has H/L. The HST would pull down to the point of almost bogging out, whining and pull something like 1100 pounds and never spin a tire. The DT would hit 3100lbs and break all 4 tires loose. So when I read these discussions and I see that people are just using numbers and not what actually gets to the dirt I question which one is best. All of the dealers say it's only like 1hp at the pto, but in the woods skidding, pulling a plow or whatever the power to the ground really makes a difference too. Just my .02c I love the idea of the control that the HST would give, but I've been driving gear drives w/o shuttle for almost 50 years and I just don't know if I can switch to the HST.
 
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PaulL

Well-known member

Equipment
B2601
Jul 17, 2017
2,413
1,338
113
NZ
It's a personal preference thing for me. I've personally never seen a situation where an HST tractor wasn't capable of spinning all 4 wheels in any conditions where you might need that kind of pull (i.e. in the dirt, not on flat concrete). If you can spin all 4 wheels, your driveline has enough pull.

I guess there's an argument that when you're in high gear going up a hill with an implement on, that's when you're putting most power down. I also haven't seen people suggesting that an HST is dramatically less able to pull a hill, and you'd think they'd be complaining if that was true.

My view is that the gearing in them is simply different. A DT in top range but in 1st may have a lot more pull than an HST in top range with some random push on the HST go pedal that may be all the way down, part way down, who knows. Put the HST into mid range, perhaps it would pull more. Or perhaps not. Put the DT into 2nd gear, maybe it'd suddenly have a lot less pull.

One thing I do know is that if you have a DT tied to a chain so that it's not moving and you're pulling on that, you're burning your clutch up. Whereas the HST will do that all day without complaining. :)
 

mcmxi

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
***Current*** M6060HDC, MX6000HSTC & GL7000 ***Sold*** MX6000HST & BX25DLB
Feb 9, 2021
5,125
6,007
113
NW Montana
Drumming up an old thread, but when looking at the differences between the HSt and the Shuttle I keep coming back to a video that Messicks did with an L470HST and anL4701DT. The comparison was done in High since the DT only has H/L. The HST would pull down to the point of almost bogging out, whining and pull something like 1100 pounds and never spin a tire. The DT would hit 3100lbs and break all 4 tires loose. So when I read these discussions and I see that people are just using numbers and not what actually gets to the dirt I question which one is best. All of the dealers say it's only like 1hp at the pto, but in the woods skidding, pulling a plow or whatever the power to the ground really makes a difference too. Just my .02c I love the idea of the control that the HST would give, but I've been driving gear drives w/o shuttle for almost 50 years and I just don't know if I can switch to the HST.
I have a gear drive in the form of the M6060 and an HST in the form of the MX6000. If I ever had to part with one tractor it would be the MX and I honestly feel that I wouldn't miss the HST much at all. Driving into a dirt pile isn't any trouble at all with the M, and the hydraulic shuttle is kind of awesome, but they are very different animals and mastering the M is just a matter of seat time.

The only bothersome thing about the M is the "need" to keep the revs up for the DPF to avoid excessive regen cycles, and high revs and the shuttle don' t play well together. I'm still learning how to use the clutch pedal, the shuttle, the hand throttle, the accelerator and engine rpm in the best way possible, but as I said, it's just seat time.

I have a Jeep TJ with a 5-speed manual transmission, and my F250 is automatic. I like the variety, and feel the same way about the MX and M. I enjoy the different driving, handling, operation and capabilities of those two machines. I don't plan on parting with either and hope I never have to, but if the MX6000 with cab had been available in a gear drive model I would have chosen that over the HST.
 
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Swamp

Member

Equipment
L4701DT with NH92 backhoe
Nov 22, 2022
40
35
18
Wisconsin
I have a gear drive in the form of the M6060 and an HST in the form of the MX6000. If I ever had to part with one tractor it would be the MX and I honestly feel that I wouldn't miss the HST much at all. Driving into a dirt pile isn't any trouble at all with the M, and the hydraulic shuttle is kind of awesome, but they are very different animals and mastering the M is just a matter of seat time.

The only bothersome thing about the M is the "need" to keep the revs up for the DPF to avoid excessive regen cycles, and high revs and the shuttle don' t play well together. I'm still learning how to use the clutch pedal, the shuttle, the hand throttle, the accelerator and engine rpm in the best way possible, but as I said, it's just seat time.

I have a Jeep TJ with a 5-speed manual transmission, and my F250 is automatic. I like the variety, and feel the same way about the MX and M. I enjoy the different driving, handling, operation and capabilities of those two machines. I don't plan on parting with either and hope I never have to, but if the MX6000 with cab had been available in a gear drive model I would have chosen that over the HST.
You are a lucky guy to have both of those tractors. I have also read that with the hydraulic shuttle that the clutches do not wear out as fast as the dry clutch plates. I dunno. My 1971 IH2444 with it's 8 speed is clunky, but I manage the little dirt work I do with it pretty well. I am not trying to convince anyone that I am right only trying to convince myself. Maybe all of those years with gears is why the whine gets to me also. Who knows. If I ever get my disaster worked out with the DT that I ordered in 2021 I'll be sure to let you all know.
 
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Vigo

Well-known member

Equipment
B6100, B8200
Jan 9, 2022
595
340
63
San Antonio Texas
I have a gear and an hst kubota, both with loaders. In all honestly if i could change anything about the gear trans it would just be to add synchros. I actually find the HST to be slower than the gear tractor IF you have to change speed ranges just because the 3-range shifter on that tractor is a lot clunkier than the 2-range shifter on the gear tractor. So that turns out to be a bigger factor than anything else in terms of ‘productivity’ between the two when doing loader work. They both need to be in low to fill the bucket quickly unless its a loose pile, and both are hopelessly slow in low range to the point that i usually shift to high range before i start backing away from the pile. In the gear tractor i can go from low/1st to high/reverse a lot quicker than i can go from low to medium or high range and hit the hst pedal in the other one. The only time the hst tractor is actually quicker is when im loading something soft/loose enough that i can work in medium range, and only IF i then dont go very far with it. If i have to carry a load very far the gear tractor is still faster shifting hi/low than the hst in medium. My .02
 
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