The Grand Ls lift pretty high. You could put a hydraulic side link or a adjustable side link on the left and shorten them for more lift.
Buying Advice Kubota L6060 Questions
- Thread starter SilverJett
- Start date
The Grand Ls lift pretty high. You could put a hydraulic side link or a adjustable side link on the left and shorten them for more lift.
SDT
Veteran Member
Read the current 4720 NE test. The 4720 dyno at 59 PTO HP, higher than advertised. Kubota does not send machines to NE for real world testing.
The max rated engine speed is importand for reasons other than noise. Revolutions translate into wear. The "hour meter" is (or at least should be) a revolution counter. Higher engine speeds result in faster accumulation of "hours."
I bought neither and have no dog in the fight. Both have advantagegs and disadvantges but neither offered a package with few enough compromises for me to purchase.
Recently, I spent about 30 minutes speaking with the Kubota representative at my dealer. I mentioned my desire for E-PTO on the 6060 and he said that he is not aware of any plans to offer such. Even if it is offered in the future it is highly unlikely that it will be cost effectively field retrofittable.
I will not buy Tier IV. Manufacturers forced reactions to governmental mandates invariably result in unforseen issues that usually manifest them selves after the warranty period. I was a GM design engineer far too long to have not learned this.
SDT
OP
SilverJett
New member
I've previously read the NE Tractor Test Report on the 4720; they state it didn't meet the manufacturer's claim of 12 gpm implement pump flow. So you can take that statement in two different ways: John Deere is tweaking their advertised specifications in favour of marketing or NE Tractor doesn't know what they're doing. I certainly believe the first one, but seeing as how the NE Tractor Test Laboratory is heavily influenced by John Deere - it's a head scratcher. I'm thinking Kubota does not participate in NE Tractor because it's a test that is mainly targeted at heavy Ag tractors.
I do know that higher RPM's can relate to a higher rate of wear, but the 2.4L in the L6060 has an oil capacity of 9.4L whereas the 2.4L in the 4720 holds less at 7.5L. Hydraulic oil and coolant capacities are more on the L6060 as well, 45L/8.2L vs 36.1L/6.2L on the 4720. More capacity is always better to help minimize heat and wear and prolong service life.
Back to the ePTO again....I can see why JD is offering it in the 4720. It's a feature targeted to homeowners and acreage owners who would be doing light tasks such as mowing or maybe a small tiller for their garden. But for my application, I need full rpm on that 81" tiller to ensure sustained PTO power and proper cooling of the tractor. This 6060 will not be used for homeowner applications or in those conditions! It's going to see at least 500hrs per year in the field under heavy commercial/industrial use. I ran the 81" green-colored tiller on the M9960 at ePTO speed - the tiller lasted about 75-80 hours before the gearbox piled up, resulting in a $3000 repair. I could never tell if the tiller was working the tractor, but it was obviously being overpowered and thus failed...that's why I'm getting the L6060 which is a proper sized tractor for the tiller.
I'm not trying to start an argument...but here's the thing - I also grain farm several thousand acres and run John Deere Ag tractors exclusively. And not just row-crop tractors...the big 400+ hp four wheel drives too. I can tell you this - the days of getting 10,000+ hours of service life out of a tractor have disappeared with today's machines. Any qualified John Deere Service Tech will tell you (at a whisper of course...) that the modern Ag tractors of the last 10-12 years have a defined service life of about 5-6,000 hours before significant and costly (i.e. economical threshold costly...) repairs will be inevitable. I'm sure you can understand why manufacturer's are doing this...
I do know that higher RPM's can relate to a higher rate of wear, but the 2.4L in the L6060 has an oil capacity of 9.4L whereas the 2.4L in the 4720 holds less at 7.5L. Hydraulic oil and coolant capacities are more on the L6060 as well, 45L/8.2L vs 36.1L/6.2L on the 4720. More capacity is always better to help minimize heat and wear and prolong service life.
Back to the ePTO again....I can see why JD is offering it in the 4720. It's a feature targeted to homeowners and acreage owners who would be doing light tasks such as mowing or maybe a small tiller for their garden. But for my application, I need full rpm on that 81" tiller to ensure sustained PTO power and proper cooling of the tractor. This 6060 will not be used for homeowner applications or in those conditions! It's going to see at least 500hrs per year in the field under heavy commercial/industrial use. I ran the 81" green-colored tiller on the M9960 at ePTO speed - the tiller lasted about 75-80 hours before the gearbox piled up, resulting in a $3000 repair. I could never tell if the tiller was working the tractor, but it was obviously being overpowered and thus failed...that's why I'm getting the L6060 which is a proper sized tractor for the tiller.
I'm not trying to start an argument...but here's the thing - I also grain farm several thousand acres and run John Deere Ag tractors exclusively. And not just row-crop tractors...the big 400+ hp four wheel drives too. I can tell you this - the days of getting 10,000+ hours of service life out of a tractor have disappeared with today's machines. Any qualified John Deere Service Tech will tell you (at a whisper of course...) that the modern Ag tractors of the last 10-12 years have a defined service life of about 5-6,000 hours before significant and costly (i.e. economical threshold costly...) repairs will be inevitable. I'm sure you can understand why manufacturer's are doing this...
SDT
Veteran Member
Again, I have no dog in the fight and do not care how others spend their money.
I like both machines but not enough to buy either. If either was offered with E-PTO on the ROPS version I would have bought one or the other. I was/am looking for what I call a "first round" tractor for use with a HD 6' cutter. I have several irregular, steep parcels with many obstacles to mow. I cannot use a cab tractor because I routinely drive beneath tree limbs and sometimes simply let the ROPS push the limbs out of the way. I am currently cutting in these parcels with a 2007 MF 533 (latest version of the 135) before shifting off to one of my larger tractor/mower units. Though the old tech (I like old tech) 45 PTO HP 533 is adequate for my purposes, I could save considerable time with a hydrostat due to the VERY frequent direction and speed changes required to back in under the surrounding overgrowth. The 533 has a sliding gear, non synchronized transmission and drum brakes. It's old tech, heavy and inexpensive but certainly not up to current market expectations. I do, however like the long stroke, low RPM Perkins 202 CI engine (derated to 45 PTO HP for use with the single reduction 533), but the drum brakes are marginal for use on my steep parcels.
I agree with you about service life. Federal regulations have mandated technology that is expensive to repair and the market does not want. Neither JD nor Kubota can be faulted for what the dolts in Washington do. The market does, of course, mandate competitive costs, hence the advent of "throw away engines." Gone are the days of replaceable sleeves and 4 or 5 ring pistons in most applications.
You stated earlier that this will be your first hydrostat tractor. Hydostats are VERY convenient but also very inefficient. They are not well suited for heavy drawbar use because considerable HP is being converted to heat. Though efficiencies have improved in recent years, I expect around 25% of engine HP is lost to inefficiencies between the flywheel and the drawbar. This is one of the major reasons that the IH hydro tractors built in the 1970s were commercial failures. It is also the reason that European made railroad locomotives with hydrostat transmissions were such collosal failures when introduced into the US market in the 1960s. FWIW, most (all?) late model hydrostat tractors do not exhibit similar inefficiencies between flywheel and PTO (non-hydro engine - PTO power transmission?).
All things considered, do you NEED a hydrostat transmission for your 50+ HP tractor? When faced with this dilemma a year or so ago, I decided to buy an old tech MF synchro shuttle (I would have paid the money for a hydro shuttle had it been available on my chosen model.) for use with HD 7' and 8' cutters. Of course, the availability of Tier III (Tier II?) long stroke, low RPM engines appealed to an old guy like me, so I decided to buy one while I could.
A final thought: Hydrostatic transmissions are NOT tolerant of improper maintenance. Clearences are very tight and accelerated wear will result if oils and filters are not changed as specified.
I have a Kubota B1750HST, 20 HP CUT, bought new in 1993 that I use for lawn mowing and snow removal duties. It's a hydrostat and has been given excellent maintenance. In the 20 years that I have owned it, it has needed absolutely NOTHING, aside from routine fluid and filter changes. Nothing. Not so much as a fuse, lamp or fan belt. Certainly, I understand the loyalty of long term Kubota owners. I am one.
Aside from a 730DWES, I have never owned a JD and have no JD loyalty.
I expect that either machine will suffice for your purposes but both are expensive. Perhaps, a less expensive alternative would suffice as well.
SDT
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SDT
Veteran Member
The rated PTO speed on the 6060 is 2550 rpm. That is what you run it at for 540 at the PTO. I have a L5040 glide shift that gets a workout with my Kuhn 65-210 tiller. That is a 84 inch tiller. Never had any push issues with it nor has my mom on her light B3030 HST with a smaller tiller behind. We just till on level ground and never have tilled "downhill". Check out the Kuhn tillers...LOVE the depth wheels VS. skids.Mine is my best piece of equipment.
jvanclieaf
New member
We just got a 2013 Kubota L6060 with the tier 4 emissions i have now put 70 hrs on it in the last 3 weeks and overall i am quite happy with the tractor. Now we do use it for a much different application as we are running a 80" front mount blower and a rear blade on it. As for a sound goes i can sit in it all day (i was in it for 14 hrs the other day) and it is quite bearable i can still listen to the radio with out it blasting others say it is quieter than our 3030 was. Yes the cruise control has NO resume function and it does come standard with a cat 1/2 hitch. There is a 2 prong 12v plug on the left side of the cab and a normal cigarette light plug on the right side of the cab. I absolutely love the HST i can stop on a hill and it will stay except in high range it will start to roll. The HST has a whine to it when at road speed of 25 km/hr. I have not had a single issue with the emission system and i am running a fuel burn of 5 L/Hr so i am not calling it fuel efficient. The only issue so far is there is a recall for the alternator being under sized so right now running at night if i have all of my lights on and i turn my defroster on all the lights go dim.
TomSeller
Super Member
Very nice looking tractor. Congratulations.