New L5030

   / New L5030 #1  

imported_NYFarmboy

New member
Joined
Dec 4, 2005
Messages
4
Location
south central NY
Tractor
kubota L5030
Well I made my choice and I want to thank everyone. Now I won't have to post any questions in the buying forum for a while. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I decided to get the L5030hst 4wd with loaded R4's, LA853 FEL, 4 way joystick controls, skid steer quick coupler with HD bucket, rear work lights, 6Ft Bush Hog /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I hope to have it delivered in early January.

Thanks again everyone
 
   / New L5030 #2  
Congratulations! That sounds like a late Christmas present worth waiting for. What type of work are you planning on using that bad boy for?
 
   / New L5030 #3  
Good choice, I'm very satisfied with mine.
 
   / New L5030 #4  
Hiya Farmboy, nice to see you again.

Hey, there's something I'd like you to take a VERY hard look at. I LOVE my HST, and for what I do, in fact I can hardly even imagine not having it. In the process of getting logs (some of them VERY heavy), brush, trees and limbs out of customers' back yards, I am constantly winding my way through tough spots, around obstacles, dodging mailboxes, fences and lamposts, on a WIDE variety of terrain, some of it very treacherous.

HOWEVER - for what YOU are doing, I would REALLY like you to think about the GST transmission. (For those who are not familiar with Farmboy's intended uses, here is the link to his first thread, M4800 - MX5000 - L5030 . In it, he tells about the <font color="red"> 60-80 acres of bush-hogging </font> and<font color="red"> 40-50 acres of tilling</font> he needs to do.)

That is a LOT of ground-engaging work, and the HST is going to get VERY HOT, please believe me. Over 200 degrees at times, close to 210 in fact. To ensure HST longevity, it would IMHO be almost mandatory that you equip the tractor with an auxiliary oil cooler if you're going to do all that ground-engaing. Plus, you will of course lose 1.5 PTO hp by going with the hydro over the HST. Not that big a deal one might say? But consider this. A human being working at maximum effort produces about .1 HP. So when you lose 1.5 PTO hp, that power loss is converted almost entirely (entirely?) into heat, in this case, the heat equivalent of 15 hot sweaty guys, constantly being dumped into your hydraulic fluid. Just their heat mind you - you don't even get to take advantage of the work that they could be doing.

As for hydro heat and longevity: some might say, hey, I've used my hydro very hard for XXX hours and I've had no problems, etc. That reminds me of an exchange I had with my brother a few years ago. I was talking with him about vitamin supplements, and asking him to reconsider his position on them (that they were totally unnecessary, he has never taken them, and is in PERFECT HEALTH). Several months later, a grapefruit-sized malignant melanoma was found in his chest. I have very little regard for anecdotal evidence, and so of course am claiming absolutely no connection between his abstention from vitamins and his cancer. (He's fine now by the way). The point of my story is that you might THINK that your hydro is doing just fine in the face of high temperatures, but out of sight, and out of mind, trouble might be brewing.

I have a very high regard for science, and physics in particular. You CANNOT fool physics, and there is no way that the kinds of sustained high temperatures that you would encounter with all that ground engaging will not shorten the life of your hydro, the only question IMHO is by how much. There are some very good threads on this, and as I said, an auxiliary oil cooler would be practically a MUST. With one, you might be able to get your hydro temps down to about 180 F. But again, you'd still be losing PTO HP.

Lastly, the GST is NICE. I would like to suggest that you PM two people before you buy, and ask them to look at these two threads, and hopefully "weigh in" here. One is "Skypup" (Thom) and the other is "5030" (Daryl). Between the two of them, they could give you some VERY useful input about which tranny would be best for you.

I do NOT believe that tranny is the HST, as much as I love it. You are tilling a LOT of acres.

All, please chime in. Would you use a hydro to till 60-80 acres?

Good luck FB,

John
 
   / New L5030 #5  
For tilling that many acres, I would choose a M6800 (or bigger). Failing that, I would try to get a M4900. M tractors are designed more towards ground engaging work then a L5030. The M tractors have a larger, beefier frame than a L5030. For the type of field work you are looking to do, I would seriously lean towards a M tractor with a hydraulic shuttle shift rather then a L with HST.
 
   / New L5030 #6  
I cannot agree more with tjkadar concerning looking at the M series which by the way is cheaper than the L series and better suited for your application. I own a L5030 cab model and love it but I only use it for mowing grass and a few other things I can't get my big tractors in to do without destroying the ground and all things around it. I'm not sure about this but I think you can get a M series in the 90 hp range for the same money as a L5030, at least that's what I was told from my local Kubota dealer.

I have ground engaging equipment (plows, disc, rippers) and it has to be the hardest thing on a tractor. The transmission you choose for this application will determine the life of the tractor. One last thing, I have yet to own a tractor with too much horsepower. For the amount of ground you need to service, I would suggest a M9000 to make life pleasant.
 
   / New L5030 #7  
I'll second the recommendation on the m series. i hate to say this but my brother has both a l4330 gst and a m9000. i always thought that the gst was hydro with the controls setup like a normal gear tractor for times when your doing the same thing eight hours straight.
i know it whines like a hydro. you'd had better take a mp3 player because the whine gets old fast, but its pretty cool, the only time you haft to touch the clutch is for starting the tractor.
now for the big bota that thing is pure sweet heaven painted orange. now no one here will believe me, when i say it uses less fuel and is quieter than the little bota, but go to your dealer and try one you'll like it.
did i mention the power plus it revvs as fast as a car. god i love that tractor just wish i could afford one my self instead of my jinma.
i could list all the implements that have been destroyed with all that power but I'll save that for another occasion /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / New L5030 #8  
Does anyone know how much the auxiliary oil cooler costs for the HST? I just ordered 4330 HST adn may want to put cooler on it.
 
   / New L5030 #9  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( now for the big bota that thing is pure sweet heaven painted orange ... did i mention the power plus it revvs as fast as a car.)</font>


(drooool) /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / New L5030 #10  
CT Tree Guy P.M'ed me and asked me to get into this thread and I'll oblige.

I had a 5030 HSTC and used it for farming though not ground engaging tasks per say. I have a commercial forage operation and I ran my hay tools with the 5030 for 2.5 years and relaized the weakness of the unit not only in PTO power but in the inherent heat produced by what is essentially an automatic transmission.

The 5030 is not a ground engaging tractor, though in limited use it will suffice but not in the scope you wish to use it in. Plainly stated, it cannot, in stock form, rid itself of the residual heat produced by the HST transmission and it will fail, probably seal failure will occur. Your other bad choice ir R4's whether loaded or not. R1's would be mandatory as the wet weight of the 5030 would preclude most any tillage implements other than maybe a single bottom plow.

I traded in my 5030 recently for an M9000HDCC3 with R1's and a 12x12 shuttle. I'll tell you right up front, the M series are all tillage units and they are built for the task, in wet weight and structually too.

I will also tell you that you can't get an M9 cab tractor with a 1215 FEL for the same money as a GrandL5030HSTC. On the contrary. The M9 is over 40K whereas the 5030 is around 27K

Summing it up, for any gound engaging work (brush hogging not included), do yourself a favor and spare yourself the anguish of a broken tractor, get an M series of at least 60 horsepower or a NH TN 70 or whatever. The 5030 isn't going to live up to your expectations. It's a competent tractor but you are asking it to do work for which it isn't designed to do and it will let you down when you need it most. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Exactly, my M9 was $45,500.00. Thats with the 1215 loader, HD round back bucket, ATI skidsteer quick attach/detach, 2 sets of remotes, flow proportional valving (you will never get that on any GrandL), air ride Grammer seat with velour upholstery (the seat in the 5030 is spring ride and a killer, I know), all cab options available and an air condition/climate control package that works (the 5030's climate control leaves a lot to be desired in the summer and I know that too. If you do a search of my threads you will soon see what I had to do to remedy the ac problem as well as getting rid of the excess heat from the hydro. When you get into the M series, you can opt for the cast steel wheel discs which weigh 1500 pounds, each side and preclude the addition of filled tires and overcome the tendency of the FEL to "float" the rear end in maximum capacity situations.

I better add that the M9 is every bit as good on fuel economy as my 5030 was. Granted it takes more to fill it, 25 gallons versus 10.5 gallons, but the turbo/air to air engine is most of the time loafing along whereas the naturally aspirated engine in the 5030 is working hard.

I will admit that I miss the HST. The HST allows more "precision" in tight spots and the physical size of the 5030 is much less, however, those issues shouldn't affect you.
 
 
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