Manitou 'Vario' transmission

Spotty Dog · Dec 28, 2023

I may change my Manitou next year and the dealer is pushing me to have what he calls the Vario transmission. I'm guessing this is a Hydrostatic transmission. Does anyone have any info on this gearbox? I have driven Claas and Merlo hydro telehandlers and cannot get away with either, i much prefer a normal torque converter gearbox.
I have run Manitous for over 20 years now and love them and would probably rather stick with the 6 speed powershift/torque convertor box.

Dog&stick · Dec 28, 2023

Got hydro; can't wait to get back to torque; I think they had the job right , with the dash switch .

Spud · Dec 28, 2023

Spotty Dog said:
I may change my Manitou next year and the dealer is pushing me to have what he calls the Vario transmission. I'm guessing this is a Hydrostatic transmission. Does anyone have any info on this gearbox? I have driven Claas and Merlo hydro telehandlers and cannot get away with either, i much prefer a normal torque converter gearbox.
I have run Manitous for over 20 years now and love them and would probably rather stick with the 6 speed powershift/torque convertor box.

We demo'd the Manitou pivot steer with said gearbox and couldn't get on with it at all. Its ok if you're always on similar work, but makes simple tasks hassle. Stick to a powershift.

Chae1 · Dec 28, 2023

We had demo one and I liked it. Other people on farm didn't, so we didn't buy one.

I drive a CVT tractor all the time, so used to driving like that.

Spud · Dec 28, 2023

Chae1 said:
We had demo one and I liked it. Other people on farm didn't, so we didn't buy one.

I drive a CVT tractor all the time, so used to driving like that.

We have 4 VT tractors too. The bother be all had with it was the big dial to adjust max speed. Say you're loading bales in a field. Slow speed high precision close to the trailer and a need to get a lick on to go get the next bale. Twisting the dial every time was tiresome.
For me, a telehandler needs to be as simple as possible so that anyone can jump on and be familiar in seconds. Umpteen operator specific or non obvious settings contribute more to unreliability than productivity imo

AndrewB · Dec 28, 2023

I’ve had a 533 pivot for a year now with the vario gearbox..
It took a few weeks to get used to it.
Great for yard work, normally have max speed set at 20k all you use is throttle no need to use the brakes,
On the road it’s ok, flat or gentle slope everywhere at 40k but it doesn’t like hills.
Pretty gutless in the field at bales ect, a power shift would make a fool of it.
Never towed with it but don’t think it would be very good.

ACEngineering · Dec 28, 2023

Spotty Dog said:
I may change my Manitou next year and the dealer is pushing me to have what he calls the Vario transmission. I'm guessing this is a Hydrostatic transmission. Does anyone have any info on this gearbox? I have driven Claas and Merlo hydro telehandlers and cannot get away with either, i much prefer a normal torque converter gearbox.
I have run Manitous for over 20 years now and love them and would probably rather stick with the 6 speed powershift/torque convertor box.

tell the dealer to sod off, its your choice what to buy not his.

if he dont want to sell the spec you want use another dealer.

e3120 · Dec 28, 2023

Spotty Dog said:
I may change my Manitou next year and the dealer is pushing me to have what he calls the Vario transmission. I'm guessing this is a Hydrostatic transmission. Does anyone have any info on this gearbox? I have driven Claas and Merlo hydro telehandlers and cannot get away with either, i much prefer a normal torque converter gearbox.
I have run Manitous for over 20 years now and love them and would probably rather stick with the 6 speed powershift/torque convertor box.

We demo'd one last time, tbh more at my request than the rep's (Stuart). I had hoped it would be more comfortable not working the brakes the whole time, but this was replaced with working the throttle. Not worth the extra for us (£5k?).

One thing I will say - the bloody electric handbrake that they now come with makes a lot more sense with the vario driving style. I didn't take much notice on the demonstrator (it worked well enough) and didn't realise that the powershift would come with it too. We just run it manually using the button on the dash, but that's a faff, as you need to be patient after startup.

Down farmer · Dec 29, 2023

Chae1 said:
We had demo one and I liked it. Other people on farm didn't, so we didn't buy one.

I drive a CVT tractor all the time, so used to driving like that.

We have an artic with vario gearbox and similarly have vario tractors which I really enjoy driving,the artic is very handy around the farmyard mainly feeding livestock.Had previously a yellow powershift which I didn’t like as it was much slower in reverse than the equivalent forward speed also if pushing up silage and needed a gearshift it was very aggressive compared to the vario,granted the vaRio is not as lively on the road .Never found it a problem loading bales or finer work with the vario but in fact when used to the vario overall much more pleasurable to drive and certainly wouldn’t go back to a powershift except possibly for towing/roadwork .Have1700 hrs on it vario has been trouble free as has machine except for the odd sensor

Spotty Dog · Dec 29, 2023

Thanks for the replies. I will try and drive a vario model sometime before i decide.

Fergieman · Jan 13, 2024

Spud said:
We have 4 VT tractors too. The bother be all had with it was the big dial to adjust max speed. Say you're loading bales in a field. Slow speed high precision close to the trailer and a need to get a lick on to go get the next bale. Twisting the dial every time was tiresome.
For me, a telehandler needs to be as simple as possible so that anyone can jump on and be familiar in seconds. Umpteen operator specific or non obvious settings contribute more to unreliability than productivity imo

Not sure why you would constantly twist the dial, Set the two speeds and press the button to switch between the two or just control the forward speed by not giving it as much revs. Dial is really just for scrolling through menu's and setting speeds on preset button.

Fergieman · Jan 13, 2024

I have both a 630 Hydro and a 741 Vario here if you would like a go with them.

stevedave · Jan 13, 2024

We have what claas call a vario ( it's a hydrostatic) and I think the transmission is the work of the devil. We will never out of choice have a hyro again. It's bad on the yard unless it's dead flat, couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding and is awful in the field. You have to rev the balls of it to get moving then it takes off. If you back off the pedal then it stops as and when it wants. I've tried a manitou pivot and found it the same. Any rep who says they are the future should be fired out of a cannon and never be allowed in the industry again.

colhonk · Jan 13, 2024

I think I have sused WHY you torque converter lot do not like ? know how to use hydrostatic drives.................................. As only ONE foot is requires to drive hydro,,, you do not know what to do with your other TWO feet.

Down farmer · Jan 13, 2024

stevedave said:
We have what claas call a vario ( it's a hydrostatic) and I think the transmission is the work of the devil. We will never out of choice have a hyro again. It's bad on the yard unless it's dead flat, couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding and is awful in the field. You have to rev the balls of it to get moving then it takes off. If you back off the pedal then it stops as and when it wants. I've tried a manitou pivot and found it the same. Any rep who says they are the future should be fired out of a cannon and never be allowed in the industry again.

Have owned Jcb artic and Manitou 533 presently
Cannot understand why it’s a problem with the manitou vario in the field to me it’s the future like cvt tractors once one has mastered the benefits of a vario ,I’m an OAP and certainly would not after years in a JCB shuttle,would consider it v much a backward step from using a vario . To me it’s pleasurable loading bales in the field with a vario or feeding cattle in a yard when compared to the powershift,no bother with sharp aggressiveness in gearbox when needing speed and a good decent speed in reverse .Only time I adjust speed dial is pushing up silage where I would leave it at a lower speed constantly, and in the field lifting bales I can drive about with pleasure/precision at higher speed without adjusting the dial . To me it’s a well worth while learning curve(every day is a school day) and certainly would buy another vario , any powershift would definitely be a backward step.

ollie989898 · Jan 13, 2024

stevedave said:
We have what claas call a vario ( it's a hydrostatic) and I think the transmission is the work of the devil. We will never out of choice have a hyro again. It's bad on the yard unless it's dead flat, couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding and is awful in the field. You have to rev the balls of it to get moving then it takes off. If you back off the pedal then it stops as and when it wants. I've tried a manitou pivot and found it the same. Any rep who says they are the future should be fired out of a cannon and never be allowed in the industry again.

Something is plainly not right there- I've driven both types of Claas loader and the Kramer liveried machines and none of them are slow off the mark. In fact I'd say they were almost too responsive in the engine and hydraulic department. The earliest Claas model perhaps was a bit less enginey but not by much.

Towing stuff with any handler is never going to be optimal, given that the thing spends its life doing fine forward and back stuff I cannot for the life of me work out why anyone would want a torque converter.

lloyd · Jan 13, 2024

ollie989898 said:
Something is plainly not right there- I've driven both types of Claas loader and the Kramer liveried machines and none of them are slow off the mark. In fact I'd say they were almost too responsive in the engine and hydraulic department. The earliest Claas model perhaps was a bit less enginey but not by much.

Towing stuff with any handler is never going to be optimal, given that the thing spends its life doing fine forward and back stuff I cannot for the life of me work out why anyone would want a torque converter.

A JD 3420 can keep all hydraulic functions when driving into
a muck pile there is no cut out of drive.

ollie989898 · Jan 13, 2024

lloyd said:
A JD 3420 can keep all hydraulic functions when driving into
a muck pile there is no cut out of drive.

I can't say that I have ever noticed a loss of hydraulic grunt when driving/pushing with the drivetrain in any Claas, Kramer or Merlo handler. As I said, on the latest Kramer machines they are almost too responsive if you have come from another machine.

Conversely I have noticed an effect in JCB handlers where the engine is restrained by the brakes because in earlier variants you were obliged to use the brakes to give you any control over the machine.

stevedave · Jan 13, 2024

We have problems with boom very slow or not moving at all when moving. I have never really got on with hydrostatic but the class is bad. I'm yet to drive one that will push or pull anything like as good as a torque converter. I'm told that if you lift off the pedal it will stop but this isn't true hydrostatic creep a bit until they stop. We run cvt tractors and have always got on well with them. I will never get used to hydrostatic in handlers and we will not be having another I'm definitely going back to a powershift.

Barleymow · Jan 14, 2024

Fergieman said:
I have both a 630 Hydro and a 741 Vario here if you would like a go with them.

Drive a 741 loading muck ,after a while you can feel the wall but need to be careful as move foreward for a second when going into neutral so have to be ready. Not pushed a wall over in 2 years yet .someone told me you can't stall them ,that's not true

Manitou 'Vario' transmission

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