Kubota 5740 and a new Air Ride Seat

[danceswithdirt]

Very nice job 4shorts! Air ride certainly makes a better day on a tractor. Got the air suspension on my 7040 and love it.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

More pics!

Hey Paul,

Very nice job as always!!!:thumbsup:

That looks great!!!, and I'm sure it rides good too!!!... You would think on a nice cabbed tractor that it would come with an air-ride-seat!

How do you like your new tractor ??... Sure wish I could have bought your ''old tractor'' that ''looked new''!!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Bill

 

[The It]

Originally Posted by Robert_in_NY View Post
Well I think I am going to be looking closer into changing to an air ride seat in my M8540 Narrow. The stock vinyl seat has left a lot to be desired. Its actually very disappointing as I expected better from Kubota. The seat on my new Farmall 45A is extremely comfortable for a vinyl seat on an open station tractor at a third the cost of the Kubota.

You won't regret it. I'll never go back to a stock seat anymore. From now on its air ride. I'm really enjoying mine. Go for it. I couldn't understand why Kubota but that pos seat in the 5740 either.

The M-series narrows are good basic tractors, but not big on the little things that make a big difference.

Not only didn't they put a great seat in the cab of the $50K+ M-series narrow tractors, they don't even offer the option.

Another set of letdowns is the 3-pt setup, with the hokey (especially because it's tight) adjustments for the lower links!

 

[4shorts]

Very nice job 4shorts! Air ride certainly makes a better day on a tractor. Got the air suspension on my 7040 and love it.

Thanks. I'm very happy with it. It's even better than I thought it would be. Probubly my #1 favorite mod considering I don't feel the rough ride of the machine now. You know what it's like seeing you have one. I'd never go back to a mechanical seat anymore. If Kubota is watching and I'm sure they are they should offer the air ride seat as an option on all there cabbed machines.

Hey Paul,

Very nice job as always!!!:thumbsup:

That looks great!!!, and I'm sure it rides good too!!!... You would think on a nice cabbed tractor that it would come with an air-ride-seat!

How do you like your new tractor ??... Sure wish I could have bought your ''old tractor'' that ''looked new''!!!

Thanks for sharing!!

Bill

Hi Bill. Where the heck have you been? Oh man the new machine is nice but so was the 4240. There's a very noticeable differance in the power and with the 5740 I've made more important mods such as the stack conversion which was great. I get alot of compliments on the new Whelen Mini Justice LED light bar and then there's the Grammer seat.
The tractor is exactly how I like it now. She just rolled up to 68 hours. Had alot of fun in the snow this winter but I'm thinking we're done with it now
The guy who got the 4240 just loves the thing. He'll have it for his lifetime. Great hearing from you again my friend. :thumbsup:

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I started looking over my 8540 Narrow and the base is already flat so there won't be any major modifications. I'm just checking to make sure I have enough clearance now. I think the same seat you used will fit in perfectly. It would be great if I didn't even need to drill any holes but I won't count on it.

 

[4shorts]

I started looking over my 8540 Narrow and the base is already flat so there won't be any major modifications. I'm just checking to make sure I have enough clearance now. I think the same seat you used will fit in perfectly. It would be great if I didn't even need to drill any holes but I won't count on it.

A couple of things you'll need to pay close attention to before you take the leap with the seat. #1. If you are considering the optional arm rests measure your cab very closely to make sure you'll have enough room. Grammer don't give the measurements with the arm rests but I can measure mine for you if you want. Mine just fit with the arm rests so I'm not sure if it will with your model tractor.

#2. Take a look at the link I've included. Make sure there is enough room for the base of the seat to fit on your floor pan and yes you will have to drill new holes.

#3. Watch your back. It's hard moving the seat in and out of the cab testing the fit.

#4. These seats don't come with the safety switches so If your tractor had them then you'll need to modify the seat to accommodate them. It can be done but tricky to do or you can just leave them out.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me. Good luck!


http://www.suburbanseats.com/files/specsheet/MSG93 specs.jpg

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thank you, I was just told by a dealer in another post that Kubota released an air ride seat for my tractor a few weeks ago. I am going to look into this seat as it is suppose to be a complete system that would bolt right in. I will definitely let you know what I learn though.

 

[4shorts]

Thank you, I was just told by a dealer in another post that Kubota released an air ride seat for my tractor a few weeks ago. I am going to look into this seat as it is suppose to be a complete system that would bolt right in. I will definitely let you know what I learn though.

that's great news. Hope it pans out to be true. Sure will save you some work.

 

[Railbender]

mr. 4shorts ;
I have just joined tractorbynet because i saw your work on re-
placing the seat in your 5740 with an air ride. I also read about another
man [ DDT ] who did the same. I think I like your install better, but I
do have some questions. What is the difference in the height and width of the two seats ? I believe you called his [DDT ] a " low profile " model. Also is
there a difference in the amount of compression ? Maybe I said that right,
I know some of them will move up and down as much as 3 or 4 inches. I
also have a 2011 5740 with loader 4n1 bucket and top & tilt kit on rear with
3 remotes. The original seat in the tractor rides "ruff" and that is putting it
mildly !!! I knew this as I had a 4200 some years ago and I ask about an air
seat when I bought this one. I have a 7210 jd with one and man is there a
big difference.

I stand about 6' and like to have all the head and leg room I can.

Would it be possible to get your exact specs. on
the seat pan with hole placement ? I bet you saved them, right.

Nice looking Tractor, Thanks for any info. and or help.
Railbender









'

 

[4shorts]

mr. 4shorts ;
I have just joined tractorbynet because i saw your work on re-
placing the seat in your 5740 with an air ride. I also read about another
man [ DDT ] who did the same. I think I like your install better, but I
do have some questions. What is the difference in the height and width of the two seats ? I believe you called his [DDT ] a " low profile " model. Also is
there a difference in the amount of compression ? Maybe I said that right,
I know some of them will move up and down as much as 3 or 4 inches. I
also have a 2011 5740 with loader 4n1 bucket and top & tilt kit on rear with
3 remotes. The original seat in the tractor rides "ruff" and that is putting it
mildly !!! I knew this as I had a 4200 some years ago and I ask about an air
seat when I bought this one. I have a 7210 jd with one and man is there a
big difference.

I stand about 6' and like to have all the head and leg room I can.

Would it be possible to get your exact specs. on
the seat pan with hole placement ? I bet you saved them, right.

Nice looking Tractor, Thanks for any info. and or help.
Railbender

'

Well Railbender welcome the TBN. You've found one of the best tractor sites on the planet. I'm happy that I've played some small part in you becoming a member as well.

Now with regards to the seat. The seat that DDT used is called a low profile seat. Those seats were intended to used in fork lifts, skid steers ..... The advantage to DDT using that seat was the fact that it was a fairly easy installation. He basically placed a plate across the tractors pan making the seat three inches higher and not having to modify the tractors seat pan and he was done. The actual travel is close to the same but I think the one I used had a little more travel.
The reason I went with the one that I did was because it was intended for a compact tractor. It was ver close to the orginal tractors seat size as well. I also wanted the seat to look as close to the OEM as It could be and I think I accomplished that.
The disadvantage to using my method is that it's more work to do the install but the fit and finish as I mentioned is as if it came from the factory like it is. Those who have seen it in person had no idea it was installed after the fact.

Do your head hit the top of the cab now? If it don't then it won't with this seat either. The seat travels a little more than the OEM seat but it would have to in order to give you that air ride feeling. I put 60 hours in the seat in all kinds of different situations and never ever once came remotely close to hitting the cab and I wear a cap at all times so I would have known if it did.

I didn't record the seat bolt pattern. It's really hard enough researching this stuff, figuring out a design and doing the fabrication and trying to document everything while trying to get the job done.

The hardest part to all of it was finding the right seat to go with and I've done that. I took many many measurements and put a lot of thought into this project and I'm more than happy with the results.

The photos I've provided along with the video will be very helpful I'm sure. Not one of the orginal bolt holes will work in the orginal seat pan so you'll have to fill them with welding as I did and re-drill new ones to fit the new bolt pattern on the new seat. If you go with this seat you won't need the For/Aft option. Leave that out but I do like the head rests and the arm rests. With he arm rests you'll need to be extra careful in the seats placement in the cab. There's not allot of extra room in there but if you installed exactly as I did it will be in the perfect position.

Your old seat has an operators presents switch in it. You can add that to this air ride seat as I did but it's a little complicated to do so you may just want to bypass that switch and use the seat with out it but remember that the switch is there as a safety feature and I not recommend removing any safety feature on a tractor. The last bit of infor or advise I can offer is read both threads from start to finish that DDT and myself has posted on the subject and think things out. If you need anymore info feel free to post your question here and no PM me. If you PM me others don't get the benifet or reading the info I provided. Good luck.

Paul aka 4shorts