Today's disaster - rethinking HST

[RadarTech]

A few thoughts here:


1. I live in a very hilly area.. And I have an HST L3400 Kubota.. NOT WORRIED AT ALL
2. If an HST could let go, can't a clutch on a gear tranny let go too?
3. If you are going to have a loader, that can be used to slow you down and maybe stop you.. (LOTS of caveats here!!)

4. for hilly and mountain areas to me: an HST is safer!! forward / reverse transition are faster and safer! on many occasions I have driven up my hilly driveway and backed down... or backed up and driven down.. I would NEVER want to do this on a geared tractor...


Not I am going to the local fire dept to borrow a flame proof suit for the flame war I just started.....

Just kidding guys!!!

J

 

[gregfender]

I am thinking Mr. Fender's Wild Ride was more the product of an older, less than heavy-duty lawn mower HST combined with a significant slope. From the feedback I am getting, the robust HST of a CUT is nothing to worry about at all.

 

[gregfender]

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sure glad you were just skinned, bruised and royally pi$$ed. As you probably know that could have been real serious.

Were you thrown because of the rear end coming around?

thanks Sandbur. The one thought that I had when I made my, um, dismount was "keep away from the roll"...

and yes, the rear started coming around I felt it begin to tip...but it did not roll over...engine kill switch stopped it as soon as I left the seat.

 

[John_in_TN]

Tractors will not steer with both back wheels locked.

You have a point IF your trying to steer on a steep slope, however in my case I go straight up or down steep slopes and try very hard NOT to turn while doing so.

 

[whistlepig]

A few thoughts here:


1. I live in a very hilly area.. And I have an HST L3400 Kubota.. NOT WORRIED AT ALL
2. If an HST could let go, can't a clutch on a gear tranny let go too?
3. If you are going to have a loader, that can be used to slow you down and maybe stop you.. (LOTS of caveats here!!)

4. for hilly and mountain areas to me: an HST is safer!! forward / reverse transition are faster and safer! on many occasions I have driven up my hilly driveway and backed down... or backed up and driven down.. I would NEVER want to do this on a geared tractor...


Not I am going to the local fire dept to borrow a flame proof suit for the flame war I just started.....

Just kidding guys!!!

J

I am being careful and tippy toeing around the gear verses HST thingy. I want no part of that. But for my use the HST is much easier and safer for me to use on slopes also.

 

[texasjohn]

My tractor HST is very reliable on extremely steep inclines, as numerous others have said.

 

[whistlepig]

You have a point IF your trying to steer on a steep slope, however in my case I go straight up or down steep slopes and try very hard NOT to turn while doing so.

Going down a steep slope without the ability to steer is not an option that I want to live with out.

 

[John_in_TN]

A few thoughts here:


1. I live in a very hilly area.. And I have an HST L3400 Kubota.. NOT WORRIED AT ALL
2. If an HST could let go, can't a clutch on a gear tranny let go too?
3. If you are going to have a loader, that can be used to slow you down and maybe stop you.. (LOTS of caveats here!!)

4. for hilly and mountain areas to me: an HST is safer!! forward / reverse transition are faster and safer! on many occasions I have driven up my hilly driveway and backed down... or backed up and driven down.. I would NEVER want to do this on a geared tractor...


Not I am going to the local fire dept to borrow a flame proof suit for the flame war I just started.....

Just kidding guys!!!

J

I have to admit that I am one of the old guys who was afraid to use a HST on my steep areas up until a few years ago when I needed to replace my old riding mower and couldn't find anything I like with gears. I reluctantly bought a used HST mower just to try it. Now I have a HST mower (X740) and a HST CUT (3520). Now I am MUCH more comfortable on the steep areas with either than I ever was with a gear drive.

I would never tell someone else what they need to buy, but I believe a HST is much safer to operate on steep areas than a gear drive.

 

[John_in_TN]

Going down a steep slope without the ability to steer is not an option that I want to live with out.

This is probably one of those situations where we just simply have differing opinions or experiences, and I appreciate the ability to discuss such things here. It gives us all a chance to hear the different opinions and make our own decissions.

In the OP's situation: trying to stop a run-away on a steep slope: I would prefer to have both rear wheels lock and not be able to steer than to be able to steer while the machine proceeded down the hill. Admitedly, I am thinking about my steep areas BUT there are probably situations where I would prefer to steer also.

 

[RadarTech]

I have to admit that I am one of the old guys who was afraid to use a HST on my steep areas up until a few years ago when I needed to replace my old riding mower and couldn't find anything I like with gears. I reluctantly bought a used HST mower just to try it. Now I have a HST mower (X740) and a HST CUT (3520). Now I am MUCH more comfortable on the steep areas with either than I ever was with a gear drive.

I would never tell someone else what they need to buy, but I believe a HST is much safer to operate on steep areas than a gear drive.

I agree...

 

[gregfender]

I appreciate all the feedback. As I said earlier, I think I ended up in a situation caused by an old lawn mower with a weak HST. I am sure an HST on my upcoming HST purchase shouldn't be an issue. I suppose the instance of HST failure on a slope is more or less a non-issue actually. From the sound of things, everyone has had good experiences on slopes. That was the info I was looking for. Thanks for all of your responses!

 

[John_in_TN]

Be sure to let us know what you get.

 

[k0ua]

A few thoughts here:


1. I live in a very hilly area.. And I have an HST L3400 Kubota.. NOT WORRIED AT ALL
2. If an HST could let go, can't a clutch on a gear tranny let go too?
3. If you are going to have a loader, that can be used to slow you down and maybe stop you.. (LOTS of caveats here!!)

4. for hilly and mountain areas to me: an HST is safer!! forward / reverse transition are faster and safer! on many occasions I have driven up my hilly driveway and backed down... or backed up and driven down.. I would NEVER want to do this on a geared tractor...


Not I am going to the local fire dept to borrow a flame proof suit for the flame war I just started.....

Just kidding guys!!!

J

+1 here, my place is very hilly, and I got rid of the gear lawn tractor and the gear CUT,.. never lost it totaley, with the CUT, but the gear lawn tractor took me for one nice ride and roll over. and the wifey a couple of times, with a crash into a tree for her. All it takes is a fumble with clutch and shifter, and wheeee! much safer transitioning from forward to reverse on these terrible hills with the hydro's. One thing I have learned for sure, flat ground is much safer:thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[RadarTech]

+1 here, my place is very hilly, and I got rid of the gear lawn tractor and the gear CUT,.. never lost it totaley, with the CUT, but the gear lawn tractor took me for one nice ride and roll over. and the wifey a couple of times, with a crash into a tree for her. All it takes is a fumble with clutch and shifter, and wheeee! much safer transitioning from forward to reverse on these terrible hills with the hydro's. One thing I have learned for sure, flat ground is much safer:thumbsup:

James K0UA

Hmmmmm flat ground being safer... Hmmmmm....
That depends on what your.doing... :laughing:

 

[George2615]

I am thinking Mr. Fender's Wild Ride was more the product of an older, less than heavy-duty lawn mower HST combined with a significant slope. From the feedback I am getting, the robust HST of a CUT is nothing to worry about at all.

If the grade is too steep and there is any moisture or dampness, the use of 4WD (whether HST or Manual transmission) will help since all wheels are trying to maintain traction. Having 4WD is still no guarantee you won't slide. With only the back wheels being driven on the tractor (especially when going downhill) the majority of weight transfers forward resulting in a lose of traction ending up with you going for a ride.

 

[milkman636]

My geared Craftsman riding mower threw the drive belt last summer while I was mowing down one of our sled runs in summer. A tire must have caught the end of a stick and caused the other end to poke up perfectly between the belt and pulley. It was an immediate thrill ride to the bottom, riding the brakes all the way.

I learned two things that day when I crawled underneath to see what happened: 1)Murphy is alive and well in my backyard. His broken little stick was still there mocking me. 2)Sears didn't invest much in the (1) tiny brake on my craftsman tractor.

 

[jenkinsph]

gregfender,
Glad you weren't hurt too bad, that is the important thing.

Some of the new mowers with fwd would be a big improvement too and typically have a lower CG than the CUTs. One of the reasons I bought an X749 instead of a 2X20 Deere. Just mentioning that the fwd mowers would give you alot more control than the older 2wd mowers of yesterday.

 

[jenkinsph]

My geared Craftsman riding mower threw the drive belt last summer while I was mowing down one of our sled runs in summer. A tire must have caught the end of a stick and caused the other end to poke up perfectly between the belt and pulley. It was an immediate thrill ride to the bottom, riding the brakes all the way.

I learned two things that day when I crawled underneath to see what happened: 1)Murphy is alive and well in my backyard. His broken little stick was still there mocking me. 2)Sears didn't invest much in the (1) tiny brake on my craftsman tractor.

Reading this makes me feel better about my mower having good brakes.

 

[gregfender]

Reading this makes me feel better about my mower having good brakes.

+1 on the good brakes...any brakes would have been welcome this afternoon bouncing down the hill!:confused2:

 

[LarryD]

I don't think I would call the tiny litte grip thingy on a lawn mower "brakes". More like something to hold it still while fueling.:laughing: