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 | Jan in Mississippi
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2001-06-27 29648
About to buy the L3010...should I fork out the extra $$ for HST? Why is is so much better than standard or glide shift?
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2001-06-28 29662
The main advantage of HST is almost continuously variable ground speed that is independent of engine rpm plus little need for clutching or shifting. An HST is a big advantage when doing a lot of slow stop and go and backward and forward is required such as in loader work. HST usually has higher maintenance costs than gears, and they have more power loss. However, most compacts have more traction than power problems, so the extra power loss of HST's may not be that important. I've got a 3x4 gear TX. The 3 gears in each range plus the reverse are synchromesh, so I don't have a lot of trouble going back and forth, and I sort of like my gears. Even so, I have to use gears to adjust ground speed if I'm running PTO RPM. With 12 forward and four reverses, there still are times when one gear is too slow and the next is too fast. In addition, the ranges are not synchromesh, and I have to stop the tractor before shifting ranges. If I'm doing loader work on a hill, I have to hold the tractor with one foot on the brakes, and the other on the clutch while waiting for the loader to dump. The fairly low engine RPM and TX range that is good for loader work does not dump the bucket very fast unless RPM's are increased with the hand throttle. I suppose I could shift into neutral and use the foot throttle, but that’s sort of a pain. Sometimes, I'd like to go very slow into a pile with the loader, but I don't have a creeper option on the TX so I can't go real slow without running very low RPM's. I wouldn't have these minor aggravations with an HST, but there probably are other aggravations that go with HST. Plus, I could afford the extra power an HST takes. I'm sometimes out of traction, but I can't remember being out of power. Even so, I do sort of like my gears. Would a HST be worth it to me? Don't know. I bought the tractor used. It was the right tractor at the right time and place, and it still is. ....
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| Jim
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2001-06-28 29697
A lot depends on your intended use of the tractor and of course how much the difference is, and if the difference really effects your budget.
My opinion; if it's going to be used for mowing, you can't beat HST, makes it really easy to speed up where the mowing is light or slow down where heavy, or slow down in tight spots. Also, as Tom mentioned it's really nice when using the loader to move forward to back without a clutch. Another advantage to HST, is it's so easy for an inexperenced operator to operate, in case you want your kids to mow the lawn. An advantage to gears is if you need to calibrate for distance traveled, ie; chemical spraying. Jim
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