buck12
Veteran Member
I have wanted to provide a review of my Kubota 5460 HSTC in hopes that it will prove helpful for others as they shop tractors. I bought the tractor in August 2019. I bought a Land Pride 1872 rotary cutter with the tractor. I had the tractor equipped with radio, bucket, third function valve, rear work lights, and one rear remote with float detent (I should have went with two remotes). I already had a PHD with two augers, 6' box blade, and 5' tiller. I talked to the dealer about a Land Pride grapple and was told their grapples were overpriced. I wound up purchasing a MTL 5' grapple and forks.
I will start with a little background. I bought a used 2006 Mahindra 2615 gear in 2008 to keep the family land in a somewhat respectable state. In my area, Sweetgum and Cedar trees will take over vacant land if left unattended for a few years. Our land was becoming a jungle. This piece of property was bought by my great-grandfather well over a 100 years ago and I knew one day it would be transferred to me and nobody was keeping it up. The little Mahindra did everything I asked of it for 12 years. The only repair not caused by me was a fan belt. With the Mahindra I was able to reclaim much of the 72 acres and keep trails up and help with food plots on our hunting leases.
My parents are getting older and last year transferred the property to me. My wife and I decided to build a cabin on the property which meant I needed to do more than just keep the fields clear. I wanted to keep about 7-10 acres cut regularly and another 5ish acres cut semi regularly. Another 15ish acres will get cut once a year. Also, I need to do better job keeping up about half a mile of gravel road and I have a levee that needs occasional work for access to the back of the property. I do a lot of grapple work pushing up small trees and clearing thickets.
I work fulltime and will for the next 8 years. I wanted my retirement tractor and a little more tractor than the Mahindra to make the best use of my time. The cab and HST was a requirement when I began kicking tires. Another requirement was metal hood and fenders. I have a John Deere GT235 lawnmower and my experience with plastic on a tool has not been positive at all. The metal hood on the Mahindra never created any problems for me through heavy use.
My search began with Mahindra but the local dealer really didn't have much inventory of cabbed tractors in the size I was looking at. I visited the Kubota dealer and really liked the Grand L cabbed tractors. Then I had to determine the best size (HP). I decided the 4760 was perfect for my needs. The dealer had two cabbed 6060s and the 5460 I ultimately bought after a couple of months of shopping. I was able to get the 5460 for less than a 4760 because the tractor had been on the lot for eight months and there had been two prices increase in that time and the dealer sold the 5460 under the "old" price structure.
My hope is to provide an honest review that may help others. I don't bleed orange and don't get hung up on my whatever is better that another person's whatever. My uses include mostly FEL work and bush hogging with occasional box blade, tiller, PHD, etc. To date, I have 55 hours on the tractor and just finished the 50 hour service. Approximately half those hours have been bush hogging and half FEL work to include bucket, forks, and grapple. My attempt will be to give my opinion, likes, and dislikes.
Cab The cab is great. The AC works great even on the hottest Mississippi days. We had a mild winter this year but the heat seemed to work great. I really like the space of the cab and the flat floor. One dislike is that the cab light does not come on when you open the doors. This is bit of an issue as I park in a shipping container which can be really dark inside. I like the seat. I know there are others that really don稚 like the Grand L seat but it fits me well and I like the arm rests. It is way more comfortable than my Mahindra. I should mention I am 5'10" and 165 lbs. Those that have seat problems seem to be a bit heavier.
For those who are considering a cabbed tractor and concerned about operation around trees and in wooded areas, cabs are not as fragile as I had imagined. I have given the pole saw a real work out but I have also had quite a few limbs smack the glass and roof with no damage to date. The key is to watch what you are doing. I planned to keep the Mahindra for work in wooded areas but sold it a couple of weeks ago because it was not being used.
The cab has turned what used to be work into a true pleasure and is worth every cent it cost. No dust, AC, no bugs, radio, and most importantly at the end of the day I can get off the tractor and not need a shower and nap. The cab is a bit nosier than I anticipated.
Controls - Overall I like the layout of the controls with the exception of the digital dash control. One button to control everything is a horrible design. The panel itself is good but the control of the panel is a real pain. I am getting used to the HST pedal. My JD mower has the dual pedals while the Kubota has the single pedal. This has been discussed for years on TBN. I can use either setup and don't know which I prefer.
I miss having a clutch for PTO work. With the electric PTO switch I throttle down every time I spin the bush hog up where as with my Mahindra I used the clutch and didn't touch the throttle. I have yet to use the PHD with the Kubota but I think I will really miss a clutch with the PHD. The differential pedal is way too stiff. Kubota should really fix this.
The FEL stick is really stiff and tends to stick. The FEL stick was much better on my economy Mahindra. When I have time I plan to remove the interior panel and to see if there is an adjustment or maybe it just needs lubrication. Another dislike is the third function control switch. The way I hold the stick I tend to hit the switch when operating the FEL causing the grapple to open or close when I don't want to. The WR Long third function on my Mahindra had this switch on the side such that I put palm on the ball and used my thumb to operate the switch. This made for smoother operation for me. Also the on/off switch is held to the stick by a hose clamp. It looks like something I cobbled together and out of place in the cab of a "premium" tractor.
Also, the range selector is really finicky. I tend to run mostly in mid-range and use the hi/low selector within each range but it seems every time I need to shift to low range or back to mid the range selector is stubborn.
Visibility - The design is great when looking to the rear. No gas tank like on my Mahindra to block the view. Front visibility is terrible compared to my Mahindra. I cannot see the center of the bucket or grapple like I could with the Mahindra. I am getting used to it but the design of the hood really limits visibility.
Fit and finish - Metal hood and fenders like a tractor should have. I did not even consider JD because of my experience with the plastic hood on my GT235 that is only used on my 1.5 acre subdivision lot. Overall the fit finish is good. Inside the cab everything feels well made. Same on the exterior other than the plastic nose piece and the absolutely horrible design of the exposed FEL lines which gets worst when you add the third function. It's a tractor that will used on rough terrain. I partially solved this problem with a skid plate that protects much of the soft underbelly. Kubota really needs to address this. For anyone who plans to use a Grand L (especially with third function) in rough terrain, do some research as to how others have improved this situation. I have a thread on the skid plate I had made.
Refueling - Kubota got this right. The fuel filler neck is at waist height and the beeper when the tank is almost full turned refueling into an easy task.
Servicing - Overall Kubota got this right. The one piece hood and side panels makes access easy to most items. The dipstick can be accesses without raising the hood. The grease fittings are easy to access. I really like that four of the grease fittings on the FEL can be accessed within inches of each other. On my Mahindra I had to kneel several different times to access the same fittings. Also, many of the grease fittings are recessed to prevent them from being broken off (I had this happen on my Mahindra).
A couple of items I don't like are that to get to the oil filter I have to remove a panel with two bolts and the oil filler hole is covered by a wiring harness. I use one funnel to service everything I own but had to get another funnel for this tractor. Also the third function hoses are in the way of the HST and hydraulic filters. One other minor gripe is that to remove the radiator screen which I have to do often when bush hogging is that the FEL must be up and you have to remove the �ront skirt? On my Mahindra, this screen pulled out from the top which is a much better design.
HST - I absolutely love HST after spending 12 years with a gear tractor. I left a lot of oak trees scattered in fields and HST makes bush hogging around them so much faster. Also, HST and FEL work go together like peas and carrots. The hi/low selector within each range is right up there with sliced bread. This one feature makes HST plus worth the cost. I would not want a tractor without this feature. Stall guard and throttle up are useful but I really don稚 use them much.
Other stuff - I have yet to find a good place to mount a tool box. Kubota should provide a tool box on a "premium" tractor. I would really like to know what cup Kubota measured for the cup holder. Every cup or bottle I put in the cup holder rattles and moves around.
I had a quick hitch on my Mahindra but I don't think I will need one with the extendable lower arms on the Kubota. I like Kubota's design of the adjustable side link.
I have not bought a hydraulic top link yet so I cannot provide an opinion on the rear remote.
The head lights, work lights, and rear lights all need to be brighter but I think this is common on most tractors. I plan to upgrade the front and rear work lights at some point to LED.
Regeneration to date has been a nonissue. I am at 55 hours and just experienced my third regeneration. I think this will happen less often in the future as I built a man lift which I spent a good bit of time using while painting the cabin. This was a fair number of hours at just above idle while my wife moved me up down and all around.
I broke the FEL level indicator at about 30 hours and have yet to have it welded. I seldom used it on my last tractor so no big deal. This was my fault but seems the setup seems is a bit flimsy.
Overall - I think 4760 would have met all my needs but having a few more HP is always nice. The Kubota 5460 overall is a great tractor. The cab and HST plus are great for my uses. The 4760, 5460, 6060 are the perfect size and capability for my general property maintenance and improvement needs.
My biggest complaints are the FEL/third function hose routing, FEL control stick, intellipanel control and front visibility.
Best features for me are HST plus, cab, and metal hood and fenders.
This is by far my longest TBN post. I hope it helps someone.
I will start with a little background. I bought a used 2006 Mahindra 2615 gear in 2008 to keep the family land in a somewhat respectable state. In my area, Sweetgum and Cedar trees will take over vacant land if left unattended for a few years. Our land was becoming a jungle. This piece of property was bought by my great-grandfather well over a 100 years ago and I knew one day it would be transferred to me and nobody was keeping it up. The little Mahindra did everything I asked of it for 12 years. The only repair not caused by me was a fan belt. With the Mahindra I was able to reclaim much of the 72 acres and keep trails up and help with food plots on our hunting leases.
My parents are getting older and last year transferred the property to me. My wife and I decided to build a cabin on the property which meant I needed to do more than just keep the fields clear. I wanted to keep about 7-10 acres cut regularly and another 5ish acres cut semi regularly. Another 15ish acres will get cut once a year. Also, I need to do better job keeping up about half a mile of gravel road and I have a levee that needs occasional work for access to the back of the property. I do a lot of grapple work pushing up small trees and clearing thickets.
I work fulltime and will for the next 8 years. I wanted my retirement tractor and a little more tractor than the Mahindra to make the best use of my time. The cab and HST was a requirement when I began kicking tires. Another requirement was metal hood and fenders. I have a John Deere GT235 lawnmower and my experience with plastic on a tool has not been positive at all. The metal hood on the Mahindra never created any problems for me through heavy use.
My search began with Mahindra but the local dealer really didn't have much inventory of cabbed tractors in the size I was looking at. I visited the Kubota dealer and really liked the Grand L cabbed tractors. Then I had to determine the best size (HP). I decided the 4760 was perfect for my needs. The dealer had two cabbed 6060s and the 5460 I ultimately bought after a couple of months of shopping. I was able to get the 5460 for less than a 4760 because the tractor had been on the lot for eight months and there had been two prices increase in that time and the dealer sold the 5460 under the "old" price structure.
My hope is to provide an honest review that may help others. I don't bleed orange and don't get hung up on my whatever is better that another person's whatever. My uses include mostly FEL work and bush hogging with occasional box blade, tiller, PHD, etc. To date, I have 55 hours on the tractor and just finished the 50 hour service. Approximately half those hours have been bush hogging and half FEL work to include bucket, forks, and grapple. My attempt will be to give my opinion, likes, and dislikes.
Cab The cab is great. The AC works great even on the hottest Mississippi days. We had a mild winter this year but the heat seemed to work great. I really like the space of the cab and the flat floor. One dislike is that the cab light does not come on when you open the doors. This is bit of an issue as I park in a shipping container which can be really dark inside. I like the seat. I know there are others that really don稚 like the Grand L seat but it fits me well and I like the arm rests. It is way more comfortable than my Mahindra. I should mention I am 5'10" and 165 lbs. Those that have seat problems seem to be a bit heavier.
For those who are considering a cabbed tractor and concerned about operation around trees and in wooded areas, cabs are not as fragile as I had imagined. I have given the pole saw a real work out but I have also had quite a few limbs smack the glass and roof with no damage to date. The key is to watch what you are doing. I planned to keep the Mahindra for work in wooded areas but sold it a couple of weeks ago because it was not being used.
The cab has turned what used to be work into a true pleasure and is worth every cent it cost. No dust, AC, no bugs, radio, and most importantly at the end of the day I can get off the tractor and not need a shower and nap. The cab is a bit nosier than I anticipated.
Controls - Overall I like the layout of the controls with the exception of the digital dash control. One button to control everything is a horrible design. The panel itself is good but the control of the panel is a real pain. I am getting used to the HST pedal. My JD mower has the dual pedals while the Kubota has the single pedal. This has been discussed for years on TBN. I can use either setup and don't know which I prefer.
I miss having a clutch for PTO work. With the electric PTO switch I throttle down every time I spin the bush hog up where as with my Mahindra I used the clutch and didn't touch the throttle. I have yet to use the PHD with the Kubota but I think I will really miss a clutch with the PHD. The differential pedal is way too stiff. Kubota should really fix this.
The FEL stick is really stiff and tends to stick. The FEL stick was much better on my economy Mahindra. When I have time I plan to remove the interior panel and to see if there is an adjustment or maybe it just needs lubrication. Another dislike is the third function control switch. The way I hold the stick I tend to hit the switch when operating the FEL causing the grapple to open or close when I don't want to. The WR Long third function on my Mahindra had this switch on the side such that I put palm on the ball and used my thumb to operate the switch. This made for smoother operation for me. Also the on/off switch is held to the stick by a hose clamp. It looks like something I cobbled together and out of place in the cab of a "premium" tractor.
Also, the range selector is really finicky. I tend to run mostly in mid-range and use the hi/low selector within each range but it seems every time I need to shift to low range or back to mid the range selector is stubborn.
Visibility - The design is great when looking to the rear. No gas tank like on my Mahindra to block the view. Front visibility is terrible compared to my Mahindra. I cannot see the center of the bucket or grapple like I could with the Mahindra. I am getting used to it but the design of the hood really limits visibility.
Fit and finish - Metal hood and fenders like a tractor should have. I did not even consider JD because of my experience with the plastic hood on my GT235 that is only used on my 1.5 acre subdivision lot. Overall the fit finish is good. Inside the cab everything feels well made. Same on the exterior other than the plastic nose piece and the absolutely horrible design of the exposed FEL lines which gets worst when you add the third function. It's a tractor that will used on rough terrain. I partially solved this problem with a skid plate that protects much of the soft underbelly. Kubota really needs to address this. For anyone who plans to use a Grand L (especially with third function) in rough terrain, do some research as to how others have improved this situation. I have a thread on the skid plate I had made.
Refueling - Kubota got this right. The fuel filler neck is at waist height and the beeper when the tank is almost full turned refueling into an easy task.
Servicing - Overall Kubota got this right. The one piece hood and side panels makes access easy to most items. The dipstick can be accesses without raising the hood. The grease fittings are easy to access. I really like that four of the grease fittings on the FEL can be accessed within inches of each other. On my Mahindra I had to kneel several different times to access the same fittings. Also, many of the grease fittings are recessed to prevent them from being broken off (I had this happen on my Mahindra).
A couple of items I don't like are that to get to the oil filter I have to remove a panel with two bolts and the oil filler hole is covered by a wiring harness. I use one funnel to service everything I own but had to get another funnel for this tractor. Also the third function hoses are in the way of the HST and hydraulic filters. One other minor gripe is that to remove the radiator screen which I have to do often when bush hogging is that the FEL must be up and you have to remove the �ront skirt? On my Mahindra, this screen pulled out from the top which is a much better design.
HST - I absolutely love HST after spending 12 years with a gear tractor. I left a lot of oak trees scattered in fields and HST makes bush hogging around them so much faster. Also, HST and FEL work go together like peas and carrots. The hi/low selector within each range is right up there with sliced bread. This one feature makes HST plus worth the cost. I would not want a tractor without this feature. Stall guard and throttle up are useful but I really don稚 use them much.
Other stuff - I have yet to find a good place to mount a tool box. Kubota should provide a tool box on a "premium" tractor. I would really like to know what cup Kubota measured for the cup holder. Every cup or bottle I put in the cup holder rattles and moves around.
I had a quick hitch on my Mahindra but I don't think I will need one with the extendable lower arms on the Kubota. I like Kubota's design of the adjustable side link.
I have not bought a hydraulic top link yet so I cannot provide an opinion on the rear remote.
The head lights, work lights, and rear lights all need to be brighter but I think this is common on most tractors. I plan to upgrade the front and rear work lights at some point to LED.
Regeneration to date has been a nonissue. I am at 55 hours and just experienced my third regeneration. I think this will happen less often in the future as I built a man lift which I spent a good bit of time using while painting the cabin. This was a fair number of hours at just above idle while my wife moved me up down and all around.
I broke the FEL level indicator at about 30 hours and have yet to have it welded. I seldom used it on my last tractor so no big deal. This was my fault but seems the setup seems is a bit flimsy.
Overall - I think 4760 would have met all my needs but having a few more HP is always nice. The Kubota 5460 overall is a great tractor. The cab and HST plus are great for my uses. The 4760, 5460, 6060 are the perfect size and capability for my general property maintenance and improvement needs.
My biggest complaints are the FEL/third function hose routing, FEL control stick, intellipanel control and front visibility.
Best features for me are HST plus, cab, and metal hood and fenders.
This is by far my longest TBN post. I hope it helps someone.
