Kubota 4701/4060LE/3560LE?

[rScotty]

We are getting ready to purchase asap. 3901 chassis just seems too small - probably would do the job but small and narrow. We live on a VERY steep hilly property where we need to rotary mow 8 acres a few times a year in our horse pasture and so some arena dragging and moving downed trees/wood regularly. We have 11 acres total. Our old tractor really bogged down on hills mowing so we are considering HST+ over the HST to help with this. Most feedback I see is that it helps with loader work which we will have a 4 in 1 bucket but really won't be doing a lot of loader work. My question is does it help in the hills? More interested in getting up and down hills without having to be in snail mode while rotary mowing.

It may depend on the tractor. We have a 59 hp 8000 lb. M59 Kubota and a lot of hills on our property. We are also at a moderately high altitude (7000') in the mountains. We've used HST+ now since 2008 and over 1000 hrs so do have some experience with it.
HST+ is a HUGE advantage on hills, especially if you are loaded. If you have ever used a vehicle with high/low transmission range then that is exactly what HST+ works like. It works like a regular 3 speed HST, but it has a separate lower gearing available in each range.

The advantage is that if you tackle a hill in too high of a range, you can simply shift down to a lower gear in that range with one finger using the lever right there on the steering column.. The HST plus lever looks like the directional signal on a car. No stopping is required to shift to the lower gear, and the shift is very fast. Not quite instantaneous when you are loaded, but still plenty fast.

Setting up for fast shifts does require that you balance the pedal, HST attack mode, load sensing, and response speed for fast shifting, but those are operator controls made via the knobs right there on the dash.
Set those right and it doesn't even require that you let up on the throttle. You move your fingertip and the tractor shifts to a lower range. It's as simple as that. I've never had it miss a shift.

You may want to put some thought into HST+ for the advantage going DOWNHILL. There are times in 4wd going downhill when a quick shift to a lower gear is priceless. HST+ can do that - but I still wouldn't bet my life on it. I start downhill in a low gear and stay there.

HST+ is equally helpful when doing loader work because you can drive the full bucket around in a high or medium range for travel speed to the dump site, and then as you push into the pile a flick of the finger shifts from high speed into high torque gearing.

Caveat: I have no idea how this feature would work on a smaller HP machine. Any convenience feature is bound to eat up some power. I just don't know how it is on a 30 hp tractor But for the over 55hp tractor HST+ works for us & is a must have feature for us from now on for HST. Someday I'll have to try Kubota's Glide Shift in the hills and see how it stacks up. GST has more ranges and more total gears so it might be as good or maybe better.

On the 4n1 bucket. I was going to buy one initially, but didn't. Yes I think it would be useful sometimes, but I think there is an argument for the standard lighter FEL bucket on hills. So I know nothing except I'd love to try one. The M59 with short wheelbase and 4000 lbs lift on the FEL should be able to handle the 4n1 weight. Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing, though I'd still want to keep our standard bucket. If anyone wants to loan or sell us a 4n1 to fit the M59 I'm interested...

And finally on mowing. Frankly if I was doing as much mowing as you are talking about I'd be looking at a VENTRAC or something similar with ultra low center of gravity that is made for doing that. Tractors and hillsides scare me. Nothing wrong with having two machines.

Good Luck,
rScotty

 

[RjCorazza]

I would be more interested in machine weight and width before the hst or hst plus. I consider the on the fly range shifting as a plus in almost any circumstance, not just hills and loader work. That transmission is simply awesome, with the hi / lo, auto hi / lo, stall guard, hst response, and auto throttle advance. I have about 600 hours on my L4060, loaded R4's spread out to 72".

If you know some numbers on how steep the terrain is you want to work on folks here can offer a little more information and experience. I personally stay off slopes of more than 15 degrees or so, and I'm very careful on those. I bought a commercial walk behind mower to cut my 25-30 degree (120' x 40') bank.

 

[airbiscuit]

This TBNr in Virginia has a 70hp Kioti with a 7' rotary mower and a Ventrac with a Tuff Cut mower. He loves the Ventrac for the slopes.

 

[NWertz]

It is really helpful to have your LOCATION included in your T-B-N PROFILE.

Here are my reasons for wanting OP location.

ALTIITUDE - Tractors lose 3% of engine power output for every 1,000' altitude increase, over 1,500' Sometimes twenty posts will be made advising on tractor horsepower, then we find OP is a 6,500 feet altitude and is considering a low power, naturally aspirated tractor.

WEATHER - ESPECIALLY SNOW - Blowing snow and mowing are the two tasks that require considerable engine power. If we know an OP is in Buffalo, NY rather than Key West, FL snow needs are apparent.

WEATHER - Large swathes of the country have a continental climate, four seasons, with great temperature variations between winters and summers.
Areas near the coast have varying maritime climates.

PRICING - Tractor and implement pricing and dealer service pricing varies a great deal. Lowest prices are usually in the south. Prices along the west coast and in the northeast are usually highest.

Some states exempt agriculture and forestry equipment from state sales taxes. Florida is one example of liberal ag sales tax exemptions.

IMPLEMENTS - Availability of implements brands are regional, not national. ie: CountyLine, Rural King, etc.

SOIL AND GROWING SEASON - Whether game food plots or market crops, soil and length of growing season(s) in important. Soil type influences tire selection.

USED TRACTORS - When the OP posts a location, OP is often referred to good used tractors nearby or provided local tractor listings from Craig's List, eBay, TractorHouse, Machinery Peter or other sites.

I can't seem to figure out how to add my location, but West Coast, Northern CA, Auburn, elevation only 1000 feet. Slopes 10-15%. I have been mowing them for years with a similar sized tractor, a challenger 27hp same with with 72" mower and its a dog and not worth fixing thus shopping for new tractor. I mow up and down, no side hilling.

 

[Fxfymn413]

I think you would be happy with the Grand L4060, but the only way to know for sure is to have the dealer deliver one to you to try out. If you like it buy it, if not keep looking.

 

[jyoutz]

If you are considering tractors in that size class, you might as well look at a MX. The turbo provides plenty of power for hills.

 

[JethroB]

If I hadn’t treated myself to a Grand L (HST+ is great and the suspension seat) I would have gone with an MX. The MX series can now come with a few bells & whistles too, including a cab.

 

[jyoutz]

If I hadn’t treated myself to a Grand L (HST+ is great and the suspension seat) I would have gone with an MX. The MX series can now come with a few bells & whistles too, including a cab.

The new MX series now has some nice features as standard instead of options. Some examples are telescoping lift arms and cruise control on the HST.