hayden
Veteran Member
I'm a big fan of hydrostatic drive tractors. I just love the precise, infinite speed control, and easy shuttling back and forth when doing loader and other work. I also love my Kubota L5740, which the the largest HST tractor Kubota made at the time.
But I'm now managing close to 1400 acres of land, mostly woodlot, plus probably 20 acres of fields that get mowed a couple of times a year. And several miles of logging roads/trails that need to be kept clear. And our "driveway" is 1/2 mile and requires a LOT of snow removal, now done with a 74" snow blower.
So I've been wondering about bigger tractors, but I'm really thinking I only want HST drive. Kubota now offer the L6060, but it's only a touch bigger than the L5740 - not enough to make a difference, I don't think. But what else is there? I see a couple of the M series tractors are available in HST, but they are smaller than the 5740 - essentially no-frills models of equivalent size. Does anyone make a tractor in the 70-100hp range with hydrostatic drive?
I did spot the new Kubota M7 series, and they have an infinitely variable ratio transmission which sounds like it would accomplish the same thing - maybe - as HST. Does anyone know more about them? They appear very targeted at agriculture, but I have no idea what that actually means and how it makes a tractor different from any other, other than perhaps bigger. The other cool thing I saw, I think on the M7, was a front 3-point hitch and PTO in addition to the usual rear PTO. Just think of the snow blower I could put on the front of one of those machines?
But I'm now managing close to 1400 acres of land, mostly woodlot, plus probably 20 acres of fields that get mowed a couple of times a year. And several miles of logging roads/trails that need to be kept clear. And our "driveway" is 1/2 mile and requires a LOT of snow removal, now done with a 74" snow blower.
So I've been wondering about bigger tractors, but I'm really thinking I only want HST drive. Kubota now offer the L6060, but it's only a touch bigger than the L5740 - not enough to make a difference, I don't think. But what else is there? I see a couple of the M series tractors are available in HST, but they are smaller than the 5740 - essentially no-frills models of equivalent size. Does anyone make a tractor in the 70-100hp range with hydrostatic drive?
I did spot the new Kubota M7 series, and they have an infinitely variable ratio transmission which sounds like it would accomplish the same thing - maybe - as HST. Does anyone know more about them? They appear very targeted at agriculture, but I have no idea what that actually means and how it makes a tractor different from any other, other than perhaps bigger. The other cool thing I saw, I think on the M7, was a front 3-point hitch and PTO in addition to the usual rear PTO. Just think of the snow blower I could put on the front of one of those machines?
