HST Ground engagement

   / HST Ground engagement #1  

SCDolphin

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2003
Messages
457
Location
Columbia, SC
Tractor
Kubota L5240: Craftsman GT6500
I have looked at the orange tractors with hst and JD's. I have about 15 Acres I need to disc up and pull a bottom plow now and then. I have a need for hst. Some JD dealers told me that their hst was not built for ground enagagement. What's up with that. Does orange have a tougher hst???
 
   / HST Ground engagement #2  
Either HST is fine for a moderate amount of ground engaging work. An HST will not pull quite as hard/fast as a gear transmission because of how HST works, but lots of people here plow small areas with HST tractors with no problems. Now if you're plowing more than 10 acres on a regular basis, I think gear would be a better choice. I'm not aware of any difference in this regard between Kubota and JD, or any other brand of HST for that matter.
 
   / HST Ground engagement #3  
SCDolphin said:
I have looked at the orange tractors with hst and JD's. I have about 15 Acres I need to disc up and pull a bottom plow now and then. I have a need for hst. Some JD dealers told me that their hst was not built for ground enagagement. What's up with that. Does orange have a tougher hst???
I do have a Case IH DX33 HST tractor and my recommendation is if you want to do heavy pulling get a gear tractor as the JD dealer recommended. My HST tractor works great at mowing and bush hog work but I do not think it would be good for field work. Although mine is great for what I do I did not understand this when I bought mine.
 
   / HST Ground engagement #4  
I dont know if the orange hst are tougher, but it does sound like the JD dealer is a little more knowledgeable. I suspect there are a lot more green tractors than orange ones sold for ground engaging work.
 
   / HST Ground engagement
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I posted similar on K forum. I have a blown knee otherwise I would love the 5000 series but tried them and after a while clutching was a problem so the hst is my only option. Since I posted this I was told by JD that with load match ground impliments should not cause a problem?? I the JD I am looking at is the 4520.

Thanks
 
   / HST Ground engagement #6  
IH introduced the hydro to farmers about forty years ago. It was sold to many taht did not have the need for it and they were used as a tillage tractor in many instances. They were a two range, very limited and far more complex system then today but they worked and those that kept up with the maintenance did not have problems. With the slip factor in the transmission they often far exceeded the gear drive for saving the tires from spinning. They were totally flexible for speed control when in troubled areas of a field and they were used for many hours each day to till. As one customer said who had the gear drive and the hydro with comparable hours he said he'd put about three sets of tires on the gear and two clutch jobs into the gear drive. He felt that for the extra fuel used with the hydro it was a wash for the other repairs on the gear drive. My thoughts is if it would have had more ranges it would not have been as much of an issue on the fuel. Hydro's can do tillage! There are differences in the different lines as to the way they are made but for limited tillage I'd not back away from one.
 

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