Hydro vs Gear Drive ??

[chopped]

GEERS long life, and no oil to change,And lots less fuel. At least for me I run just above idle most of the time. My neighbors cranks up(HST).

 

[redman135]

Hello mcd176, just a slight tangent, make sure the controls are comfortable to use. EG on kubota b26xx (hydro) the forward/reverse pedal is very uncomfortable for me.good gearbox poor ergonomics so no sale. Can you put your hand on the controls or is there a slight reach?
Get some seat time on the type of work you intend as you may find bugs with a tractor that ticks all the boxes on the lot. eg b26xx has limited front axle travel so I got crossed and broke traction easily. No reflection on this tractor, it is just the wrong one for my job. It needed to be twice the weight for traction,and wider to handle cross slopes. Just a couple of examples why you need a test drive.
Forum to figure out the questions to ask, seat time to test "is this right for me"?
good luck

 

[MinnesotaEric]

There is a place for gear tractors, but the uses you listed primarily call for HST. On flat land pulling ground engaging implements, I'd rather have a gear tractor. But for any loader work, HST is the ticket. And since you have hills, that should cement the HST decision right there.

The HST does rob some power, so a gear tractor will out pull an HST tractor if you have identical tractors side by side one with each type of tranny. But the answer to that is to buy a bigger HST tractor if you need more power, not go with gears.

Even the people who have traditionally used gear tractors are excited to ditch them for CVT transmissions, which are always in at the best gear ratio for any given load. CVT transmissions combined with tier 4 engines in utility and crop row tractors see better than 20% fuel savings and higher productivity. Gear transmissions are going away for those people who can afford to leave them.

 

[The Fred]

Down the road (20 years) your HST will be broken and cost far more to repair than your 20 year old gear machine that never broke in the first place.

I have one gear and 1 HST, I still hate my HST tractor.
Fred

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Down the road (20 years) your HST will be broken and cost far more to repair than your 20 year old gear machine that never broke in the first place.

I have one gear and 1 HST, I still hate my HST tractor.
Fred

I think you're confusing cheap, non-rebuildable HST drives found on lawn mowers sold in big-box stores that are prone to heat-failure with the large, well-engineered, commercial HSTs drives designed to lug thousands of pounds around. CAT puts HST drives in 200 hp Wheel loaders for example. Down the road, we should consider that the clutch will go out and clutching itself makes for a harder to use tractor.

 

[nforktractor]

I think an earlier poster had it right, makes a good excuse to have more than one tractor! I had to try a 2520, and I already had 790.
For convenience, I like the 2520, for snow FEL type of work, forward and back is much easier.
I do like grunt of the 790, put it in 4wd, low range, first gear, with hand and foot throttle, hard to beat that.
I did use the 2520 yesterday to scrap out a ditch, and it pulled just as good, but there is that whine!

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

Even the people who have traditionally used gear tractors are excited to ditch them for CVT transmissions, which are always in at the best gear ratio for any given load. CVT transmissions combined with tier 4 engines in utility and crop row tractors see better than 20% fuel savings and higher productivity. Gear transmissions are going away for those people who can afford to leave them.

There are still plenty of people buying gear tractors who could afford any kind of tractor they want. Some people want the simplicity, reliability and power that a gear transmission provides. I don't think gear tractors are going away any time soon.

Based on years of operating old gear tractors running all sorts of tillage implements (moldboard plows, chisels, offset discs, etc.) and row crop equipment (listers, planters, cultivators, go-devils, cotton strippers, etc.), I am firmly convinced that there is a place for gear tractors that many people don't understand because they've never used tractors for those purposes on a large scale.

I'm talking about being on the tractor in the field all day long, day after day after day. And I'm talking about earning your living by doing it, not playing around with a compact tractor making your homestead look prettier.

 

[tman1020]

I have had more than one of both and I will say this: gear or shuttle shift allows you to use all the power your engine can put out. They will stall out before u stop tires from spinning. Hydros are designed so they have a relief valve that normally kicks out some time before that. So this means that you could be pushing your peddle/lever and not move if tractor is in the wrong range under load without spinning a tire. I believe this is why hydro gets a bad rap. But it just takes getting used to. I much prefer the Hydro. It is much more user friendly for multiple tasks plus I like the fact having that relief valve helps me from pushing my machine to the limit. As others have said it does depend and your intended use and mostly on your personal preference. There will be no replacement for driving them for yourself so go check them out drive his many as you can. Good luck & have fun.

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

. . . I much prefer the Hydro. It is much more user friendly for multiple tasks . . . .

I think you hit on an important point here. HST is a jack-of-all-trades tranny and is a huge convenience for those of us that use our tractors for a lot of different tasks. It's the best for some things (such as FEL work), but not for everything.

Gear tractors are better at some things. I just think that most people who own COMPACT tractors don't use their tractors much for those things at which a gear tractor excels.

 

[chopped]

:thumbsup::thumbsup: Well stated. fit the machine to your likes and needs. All i know is like an auto I can fix a gear but not the 'other'' I think most people arnt thing of down the road 20 years becasue they trade them in in a few years..

There are still plenty of people buying gear tractors who could afford any kind of tractor they want. Some people want the simplicity, reliability and power that a gear transmission provides. I don't think gear tractors are going away any time soon.

Based on years of operating old gear tractors running all sorts of tillage implements (moldboard plows, chisels, offset discs, etc.) and row crop equipment (listers, planters, cultivators, go-devils, cotton strippers, etc.), I am firmly convinced that there is a place for gear tractors that many people don't understand because they've never used tractors for those purposes on a large scale.

I'm talking about being on the tractor in the field all day long, day after day after day. And I'm talking about earning your living by doing it, not playing around with a compact tractor making your homestead look prettier.

 

[oldpilgrim]

I'm 68. I'll worry about the fix-ability in 20 years.

 

[motownbrowne]

I want to point out that someone will say, hydro's are better for inching around and switching from forward to reverse. Then someone says that a power shuttle with lots of gears is just as good (which still is a stretch but okay). Then someone says that gears are less complicated and more durable. Again, fine, if you say so, but that is for standard crash boxes. A power shuttle is darned complicated and I don't think any more durable than a hydro.

So, you gear guys make valid points, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Straight gears, durable, simple, easy to fix, efficient hard to use.

Power shuttle, efficient, easier to operate.

Hydro, really, really easy to operate and safer for beginner users in addition to other benefits like being able to vary ground speed on the fly independent of PTO speed.

 

[TomSeller]

I think you hit on an important point here. HST is a jack-of-all-trades tranny and is a huge convenience for those of us that use our tractors for a lot of different tasks. It's the best for some things (such as FEL work), but not for everything.

Gear tractors are better at some things. I just think that most people who own COMPACT tractors don't use their tractors much for those things at which a gear tractor excels.

I'm talking about being on the tractor in the field all day long, day after day after day. And I'm talking about earning your living by doing it, not playing around with a compact tractor making your homestead look prettier.

Well said

 

[chopped]

I want to point out that someone will say, hydro's are better for inching around and switching from forward to reverse. Then someone says that a power shuttle with lots of gears is just as good (which still is a stretch but okay). Then someone says that gears are less complicated and more durable. Again, fine, if you say so, but that is for standard crash boxes. A power shuttle is darned complicated and I don't think any more durable than a hydro.

So, you gear guys make valid points, but you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Straight gears, durable, simple, easy to fix, efficient hard to use.

Power shuttle, efficient, easier to operate.

Hydro, really, really easy to operate and safer for beginner users in addition to other benefits like being able to vary ground speed on the fly independent of PTO speed.

Oh gosh your right, I did forget to warn -people that like with my 12 speeds (gear) Is a dis advantage with a snow blower. even the slowest speed isnt slow enough with alot of snow. Now If I had the optional creeper that would work. but yes there is a bad point of geared tractors. Im my opinion. But I can live with it.Something for a future gear purchaser to think about..

 

[crazyal]

Like many here I have all three and each has their place. I personally don't like gear anymore. Back in the day I loved to shift gears but now I guess you could call me lazy but I like doing other things while on the tractor and just pushing the pedal. Power shift seams to be more popular with larger tractors and construction equipment. There are a couple of disadvantages over HST though IMO. First with HST you can stop on a slope, hop off and move a rock while grading your driveway without doing anything. The HST will not let the tractor roll down the hill, it might creep a little but that's it. With PS you need to set the hand brake, not a big deal but one more added step and one more thing to forget to release. The second is when doing loader work. With PS you have to make a choice. Let the engine idle and deal with a slow loader or shift into neutral and rev the motor to increase the speed. The third option is to leave it in gear and rev the motor up while holding the brakes to fight the motor. This will heat up the fluid if done repeatedly.

Over all I like the HST the best but it does take time to get use to it. I have used my 4240 to drag logs almost 3' in diameter and 20' long without any problems. Traction is the only issue. I like having the engine speed decoupled from the tractor speed. When using an attachment like a rototiller or snow blower you can set the RPM for the attachment and then use the pedal to adjust the speed as needed.

 

[Deerherd]

There are a couple of disadvantages over HST though IMO. First with HST you can stop on a slope, hop off and move a rock while grading your driveway without doing anything. The HST will not let the tractor roll down the hill, it might creep a little but that's it. With PS you need to set the hand brake, not a big deal but one more added step and one more thing to forget to release. The second is when doing loader work. With PS you have to make a choice. Let the engine idle and deal with a slow loader or shift into neutral and rev the motor to increase the speed. The third option is to leave it in gear and rev the motor up while holding the brakes to fight the motor. This will heat up the fluid if done.

Personally, I make it a strict habit that ANY time I exit a tractor, regardless of transmission and whether it's running or not is to set the parking brake. It's a great habit to get into and takes less time than dealing with an "accident".

You must be talking about a standard shuttle, not a power shuttle when you are talking loader work. Choice one, if your sitting there idling you either are in neutral or you have the clutch pushed in. If you are in neutral push your right foot down on the accelerator and it will go up faster. No need to push in the clutch.

Your third option is looney because the only way to do what you describe is leave it in gear, step on the brake and use the hand throttle to rev the engine. Why would you do that, it sounds dangerous?!

How about you drive into the pile of dirt the same, regardless of transmission. With the PS, when you have filled your bucket, you take a 1/4 second to flip the lever to neutral. If you need to curl/raise the bucket faster before reversing, just press down your right foot.

Let up on right foot, take another 1/4 second and put in reverse, make sure it's clear behind you and go. Try that, you will like it!