Buying Advice Glide shift transmission versus hydrostatic

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

The L5460 has bigger tires (I think) & more HP than my L4060, but the same frame. Other than being able to take a slightly bigger loader than the L4060 for marketing reasons it won't do more work than the L4060. It however will do things faster. I was wishing for more HP when mowing some tough fiberous yucca today & a bit on roading to & from the gig. I didn't stall it, but the bigger yucca put the burn on my engine & really tried. But the extra cost for that extra HP wasn't & still isn't worth it for me. That turbo (think 54 is the one they finally turbo) would be nice at my altiude though.

I'm a fan of R4's for the extra carying capacity & durability, not to mention not tearing out the ground quite as much. Much more of a comprimise tire than R1's pure focus on traction, but I'm happy with that comprimise. My dealer uses bio ballast instead of rim guard, but I'm happy with t. Similar cost, weight & freezing chararistics. I'd consider methonol (windshield washer fluid) or non-toxic anti-freeze if I were penny pinching, but bio ballast or beat juice (Rim Guard) is the best for weight & enviromental concerns.

http://www.kubota.com/assets/product/Comps/L60/L4060_Comps.pdf

http://www.kubota.com/assets/product/Comps/L60/L5460_Comps.pdf

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

If I was ordering a tractor I would get these tires:


Titan multi trac.

In fact I think I might shed my R4s and price some for my tractor. So far I'm not a fan of R4s, I don't feel there traction would be any better than Titan turfs in mud and they suck in snow where Turfs would excel.

Most of what I'm rolling on is pasture and lawn, if it rains at all my R4s mark up both so most the time I go out of my way to keep the tractor in the barn if it's even slightly wet out.

 

[mopardude318]

Don't buy out of you means or you won't have the tractor long enough to pay it off.

i hear ya on that. i went through that before on a brand new pickup. i bought what i thought was a "good enough" truck for me. ('13 RAM 1/2 ton 2 wheel drive, gas truck)..the payments for me werent unbearable, i could do it & get by fine, but it was the constant feeling of paying for something i wasnt really happy with & not buying what i kinda really WANTED, (& needed for where i live. 2500, diesel, 4x4) so 3 years & 20,000 dollars later, i happily sold it. LOL. I dont want to make that same mistake again with this tractor. id rather pay a little more upfront and be happier with it. but thats with any tractor, not just a grand L

If I was ordering a tractor I would get these tires:
View attachment 506853View attachment 506854

Titan multi trac.

In fact I think I might shed my R4s and price some for my tractor. So far I'm not a fan of R4s, I don't feel there traction would be any better than Titan turfs in mud and they suck in snow where Turfs would excel.

Most of what I'm rolling on is pasture and lawn, if it rains at all my R4s mark up both so most the time I go out of my way to keep the tractor in the barn if it's even slightly wet out.

I dont have snow, and I dont have lawn, but i was thinking the extra width and lower center of gravity would help some when i go on my hill sides, but thatll only be once in a while...so still undecided...maybe Ag's arnt a bad idea..

anyways to get back on topic, Im almost certain I'm going with the HST.

 

[aczlan]

anyways to get back on topic, Im almost certain I'm going with the HST.

Good choice IMO. We have a L3830 with GST and it's better than a gear transmission, but HST blows it out of the water for loader work and other work with lots of back and forth.

Aaron Z

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

i hear ya on that. i went through that before on a brand new pickup. i bought what i thought was a "good enough" truck for me. ('13 RAM 1/2 ton 2 wheel drive, gas truck)..the payments for me werent unbearable, i could do it & get by fine, but it was the constant feeling of paying for something i wasnt really happy with & not buying what i kinda really WANTED, (& needed for where i live. 2500, diesel, 4x4) so 3 years & 20,000 dollars later, i happily sold it. LOL. I dont want to make that same mistake again with this tractor. id rather pay a little more upfront and be happier with it. but thats with any tractor, not just a grand L



I dont have snow, and I dont have lawn, but i was thinking the extra width and lower center of gravity would help some when i go on my hill sides, but thatll only be once in a while...so still undecided...maybe Ag's arnt a bad idea..

anyways to get back on topic, Im almost certain I'm going with the HST.

No snow and no lawn kinda defeats the need for R3s, if your rolling on lots of hard surfaces R4s will hold up better, if you mostly on dirt and you don't mind washboard tracks I would go with R1s.

Here's more info on tires.

They make R1, R1w, R2, R3, and R4 tires, but Kubota only offers R1, R3 and R4 I believe

Understanding basic tire information

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/buying-pricing-comparisons/183932-ag-tires-vs-r4.html

 

[lhansman]

I know a few people who purchased GST and then traded their tractor to get HST. I don't know anyone who purchased HST and traded it to get GST.

I tried an L39 with GST before purchasing my L45 with HST plus and it was an easy decision despite the fact the L39 was thousands of dollars less. Why you ask? Because it had been returned with less than 100 hours on it and traded for an L45.

Good luck with your decision making.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[scdeerslayer]

Johnson City Kubota

sounds like an extra lever for shifting between the gears. if that is the case. forget it, and go with an HST.

most of the jobs you listed, 1 hand FEL or 3pt hitch, 1 hand steering wheel, 1 foot gas/hst peddle. 1 foot split brakes.

while yes HST has some range selections / gears. you will only be hitting that lever when you get done doing what ever with FEL or 3pt hitch and on a straight away, and be cruizing that speed for some time.

on other hand the glide shift transmission, do you have a 3rd hand to mess around with another lever?

with above said, you can over do a HST transmission, by having it in to high of a range/gear selection and trying to drive to fast. there really is no tall tell sign that i know of. that tells you to drop down to a lower range for an HST, beyond having a transmission temperature gauge. a manual gear transmission the motor stalls out and possibly dies if you are in to high of a gear.

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shuttle shift with lever beside steering wheel i personally like!

check to see if you get option for same speed forward and reverse. some times you go faster forward than in reverse.

Don't need a third hand. You've got to stop to change directions, so you don't need your hand on the steering wheel at that time. Usually I don't need a hand on the FEL/3 pt and on gear shift at the same time anyhow, so the hand not being used goes on the steering wheel.

I agree about having the same number of gears forward and reverse, but for the opposite reason. The tractors I've used with fewer reverse gears than forward gears go a lot faster in reverse.

 

[DK35vince]

Don't need a third hand. You've got to stop to change directions, so you don't need your hand on the steering wheel at that time. Usually I don't need a hand on the FEL/3 pt and on gear shift at the same time anyhow, so the hand not being used goes on the steering wheel.

I see this repeated all the time, "need 3 hands"
If you are at or near a dead stop for the 1 second it takes to flip the shuttle lever to forward/reverse where are they trying to steer to when your not moving ?

 

[houser52]

I've never operated a HST tractor but after 25+ years of operating my L3600 GST I don't see how changing directions could get any easier. I don't even remember using the shuttle shift. Seems like it changes directions automatically without the use of my third hand.

 

[Tobster]

Had the M7060 for two days now, really impressed with this tractor, which is my first Kubota. Already adjusting pretty well to the shuttle...takes a little getting used to after using HST for several years, but feeling pretty comfortable already