Comparison Gear driven or HST

[DK35vince]

With gear tractor to slow down you have to down shift (which the average person is not capable of doing while moving)

Once again it depends on the type of gear transmission.
My DK 35 is syncronized. Shifts as smooth as a famly car while on the go. No need to stop.
Some gear transmissions like the Kubota Glideshift you can shift on the go and don't even need to clutch.

 

[MBTRAC]

HST is great for mowing & FEL 'shuttles' where many short duration directional & speed changes are required.......for ease of operator use in short duration duty cycles as a hobby tractor HST is hard to beat......

But, in large farm tractors gear drive shines under constant load heavy applications like ploughing, ripping, grading/road forming, haymaking, trailer/haulage, primary slashing...etc. as HST doesn't stand up as well to the 'day in day out' power/torque demands - & as for precision, provided your have a good spread of gear ratios (usually including crawler gears) & are a reasonable competent operator there's no benefit of HST.

 

[foggy1111]

How much change do you want from that dime, lad?

A buck three eighty five son.

 

[k0ua]

Yeah, Hydrostat does not "stand up to day in and day out power/torque demands" That is why they put them in most modern bulldozers, so they won't stand up.. :shocked: And if you are doing any grading/ road forming operation, you precisely WANT Hydrostat as it is a continuously variable speed application. As for Plowing there is no advantage to Hydrostat that I know of as for Trailering/Haulage/Fuel economy Gear may have an advantage. As for precision there is no way even 32 gear ratio's can compete with millions of gear ratio's of Hydrostat. The learning curve to become a reasonable competent operater is about 100 times longer with gear.

James K0UA

 

[jenkinsph]

I'm looking at a Kubota B3200 or a L3200 with either a gear driven or HST. I would like some comments on these.

Thanks

Most compact tractors are used for a wide variety of tasks, field plowing not being their main use I would hope. So I would recommend you get the hydro tranny. IIRC those tractors are available with a 3 range hydro which is a good choice.

 

[sixdogs]

For many years I stuck solid with gear drive for my combination ag as well as around the house uses. Then I got a B7800 with a hydro and for mowing the lawn it is wonderful. Now, six years later I recently got a gear drive MX5100 for ag, landscape and around the house use and it was my first choice. The synchro trans is great around the house and the gear drive is great for ag use.

Both transmissions are fine, depending, but I'll say the hydro is better for mowing or applications where you change directions frequently such as heavy duty loader work. Gear --with a synchro trans--is almost as good at that and I would say is better in an ag application. It's worth note that the trend towards a hydro or "constantly variable transmissions" (CVT) is gaining ground and they are working their way into some pretty big ag and commercial applications. In 30years I'll bet it will be hard to find many new gear drives. But for now, I'll have one of each.

 

[MHarryE]

The Fendt Vario is considered the ultimate large tractor transmission and it is a hydrostatic-planetary hybrid. I would love one if I could afford it and had a dealer. Sure I like our large Deere's power shift, but when it lugs down I need to shift and hope I don't have to stop and shift ranges if the gear I need is in a different range. Mostly we avoid that by pulling smaller equipment than what the tractor is capable of pulling. My L5740 with stall guard - can be run by an old guy with dementia. Pulling gets tough, it destrokes the pump automatically keeping it in the optimum power band. This works well past the speed difference where on the JD I would have to stop and shift ranges. Why both tractors? JD can plow four times faster, uses less than half the fuel per acre, is quieter, and has an air ride seat for super comfort. Kubota can get into spaces the JD can't touch, it's hydro transmission is more efficient in many general duty apps like loader work, and fits in my heated garage while the JD sits in an unheated machine shed on blocks all winter. If I used it for plowing snow I'd probably have smashed into all of my buildings and vehicles by now. So each tranny has its place. You need to figure what's best for you. I had the advantage of three companies paying me to design, test, and validate hydro equipped machines from 27 HP to 1,000 HP so I have no fear of hydrostatic being delicate "*****" machines.

 

[MBTRAC]

Yeah, Hydrostat does not "stand up to day in and day out power/torque demands" That is why they put them in most modern bulldozers, so they won't stand up.. :shocked: And if you are doing any grading/ road forming operation, you precisely WANT Hydrostat as it is a continuously variable speed application. As for Plowing there is no advantage to Hydrostat that I know of as for Trailering/Haulage/Fuel economy Gear may have an advantage. As for precision there is no way even 32 gear ratio's can compete with millions of gear ratio's of Hydrostat. The learning curve to become a reasonable competent operater is about 100 times longer with gear.

James K0UA

As I said initially, HST is hard to beat on a hobby farm tractor......IMO, there are very good reasons why tractor manufacturers don't & can't put comparable simple hydrostatic's in large farming tractors (including the 400+hp tractors we run on our broadacre farming operations), these tractors are used in 'mm' perfect GPS guidance precision farming applications & with no difficulty in hitching up 50'+ implements to the drawbar pin......,. Also, I don't believe there's currently a simple hydrostatic as an option on any ag tractor produced over c.100hp..... powershift yes, but this shouldn't be confused with a simple hydro's as used in most sub 50hp compact hobby farm tractors......& large dozers produced by Cat & Komatsu (of which we also run a few) use a driveline just a little more complex than these simple hydrostatic's........as for the learning curve: generally a HST will instill to some individuals false initial '"driver confidence" not commensurate with actual tractor 'operator ability', unfortunately this difference isn't usually appreciated until these "driver's" experience a close call or worse an accident (le.g ike losing control/malfunctioning of the HST down hill).............
Guess our varying degress of experience makes for diverse & interesting opinions........

 

[Notforhire]

I hate to side with the hydro guys on this one,:mur: but looking at the spec sheet,http://www.kubota.com/product/L3200/pdf/l_series_spec.pdf I see that the L3200 has a transmission driven PTO. When you declutch to stop the tractor, you will also stop the PTO. If you are plaining on brush mowing this could be important. (Think Ford 8N.) Because there is no need to operate the clutch to stop or reverse direction with a hydro, the hydro would be better in that respect.
Now if you were to choose a L3800 it would have a live PTO. I personally would prefer a live PTO on any gear tractor.
It looks like a B3200 is Hydro only so it's a non issue, as far as PTO goes.
L3200 gear owners, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Bill

 

[RoyJackson]

I hate to side with the hydro guys on this one,:mur: but looking at the spec sheet,http://www.kubota.com/product/L3200/pdf/l_series_spec.pdf I see that the L3200 has a transmission driven PTO. When you declutch to stop the tractor, you will also stop the PTO. If you are plaining on brush mowing this could be important.

Bill

It probably has a 2 stage clutch.. depress 1/2 way down for shifting, all the down for the PTO. No affect on the PTO when shifting gears. There is a short learning curve with a 2 stage clutch, however. Also, shifting in a tractor isn't that frequent when brush cutting (depending on the size of the field). Most shifting is just the selected forward gear to reverse and back to the forward gear.

As far as brush cutting, the high rotational speed of the blades combined with the high inertia results in very little reduction in blade speed when shifting a gear transmission. Most newer (1980's and newer) have overruning clutches built into the tractor's PTO to prevent the cutter from "pushing" the tractor. The days of that problem are long long gone.
If you've ever ran a rotary cutter, you'll know it takes a good minute or so for it to spin down when you disengage the PTO, even if disengaged at lower RPM.

 

[Notforhire]

It probably has a 2 stage clutch.

Looking at the spec sheet the 3200 has a dry type single stage clutch. The 3800 has the dual stage, like the one you discribe.

 

[RoyJackson]

Looking at the spec sheet the 3200 has a dry type single stage clutch. The 3800 has the dual stage, like the one you discribe.

Kind of surprising, that...

Even with a single stage, if one clutches and shifts moderately fast, the driven implement loses little speed. However, one caveat...something such as a tiller should be raised when shifting.

 

[1fastbob]

Of course, it's a well known fact that HST's are for quiche eating girly guys who are too uncoordinated and/or mechanically inept to shift gears!!!

But there are, in fact, many many many threads on TBN on this subject. Do a search and read a few dozen...then get on the tractor and determine which you prefer.

Hey Roy, pass the quiche.

 

[RoyJackson]

Hey Roy, pass the quiche.

Sorry, Bro...I've got a gear transmission and I've never eaten quiche...

 

[kiotiken]

Of course, it's a well known fact that HST's are for quiche eating girly guys who are too uncoordinated and/or mechanically inept to shift gears!!!

Not when we're talking about a Standard L tractor, it takes a lot of extra coordination to operate any transmission while bouncing up and down when lowering an implement on the 3pt :laughing:

 

[foggy1111]

Sorry, Bro...I've got a gear transmission and I've never eaten quiche...

....and....I'd venture to guess you have never OWNED a hydro tranny Roy!

I've owned a few of both....and to me their is no comparison for certain tasks.....such as loader work, stump grinding, mowing and others. The precision positioning of a hydro tractor is unmatched by any gear tractor. So much easier for a newbie too!

Skip the quiche....and pass Roy some Crow.

 

[TripleR]

It seems like two issues here being put up for consideration, that being B3200 v L3200 and gear v HST and with only the one post with limited information leaving us with nothing to go on.

I honestly can't offer any useful advice/information, but if the OP will provide more information, I am sure we can offer more relevant assessments rather than simply our personal preferences.

 

[RoyJackson]

....and....I'd venture to guess you have never OWNED a hydro tranny Roy!

I've owned a few of both....and to me their is no comparison for certain tasks.....such as loader work, stump grinding, mowing and others. The precision positioning of a hydro tractor is unmatched by any gear tractor. So much easier for a newbie too!

Skip the quiche....and pass Roy some Crow.

Owned one...no. Operated some, yes. The first tractors I operated were an old Ford backhoe with a collarshift and the second was an ancient Farmall my Dad owned. The third was a Deere 855 with a hydro. The fourth and so forth were my own machines...all gears. However, I did operate a Kubota several years back (one of the B2xxx series from the late 90's, I think).
Before I bought my Deere 670, I was looking and testing the BX2200 and the B7500, both were hydros.

Keep the quiche and have another serving of that crow, Bro...

 

[jenkinsph]

IIRC Roy has problems with his right leg/foot so operating a hydro tractor won't work well for him. I can understand his using his left leg for the clutch and having a combination that works well for him. Gotta do what works for you and be thankful we can use these tractors at all.

About choosing a gear or hydro tractor under normal circumstances the OP needs to get his butt in the seat of a few different models and try out all of them.

 

[hmeadows]

Thanks to everyone that replied to this thread. TripleR makes a great point. I should have given you all more information. I have 6 acres of land, four has been cleared and two are wooded. I use my tractor mainly for the FEL (spreading dirt, hauling cut wood, etc.) but I'm planning on grading a driveway about 50 yards long and 10 feet wide, brush hog the other two acres, to thin out the under brush and with a rotary tiller for a small garden. I'm leaning toward the HST so my wife and daughter can use the tractor. My main concern between gear driven or HST is which one would need less maintenance. I have a small gear driven grey tractor now with less than 150 hrs that needs a clutch already. This is my first tractor and has been an expensive experience. I purchased it used about 15 months ago with 70 hrs. As for the other half of the question, should I buy a Kubota B3200 or L3200. If I wanted to sell it later on which one is the more popular. They both are about the same tractor except the
L3200 is a lot more beefier.