Tractor Sizing Kubota L3901, L4701, L4060, MX5400, stability, miscellaneous

[hks003]

On the driving over a lawn portion, I can say that I wouldn't do it unless it's very dry. My LS weighs roughly the same as a 3901 based off tractor data's website, and I have thoroughly torn up parts of my yard getting on it when slightly wet. Even when it's dry, it'll look like you're not doing any damage, but if you mow with a zero turn, you'll find where you left ruts. I still wouldn't hesitate to move dirt for a flower bed or something, but I wouldn't use it as a lawn mower, and I'd understand that if I did use it on the lawn, I'll probably need a load of dirt at the end of the summer to fill in some places.

I personally prefer that over a machine that couldn't handle the work as well or as quick.

 

[nybirdman]

Another thought on the Grand L's,you get a lot of extra's for the money that are very useful.HSt+,extendable end links,ect.
A friend has a L4701 with a back-hoe;nice but an odd duck in the Kubota line-up;low rated FEL also.
The MX will have larger tires and be higher off the ground and fairly basic tractor;strong FEL.
The L4060 with loaded R1 or the new R14's would be my choice of those listed.
I have 1300 hours on my L4240 doing similar work;snow plow instead of a blower.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

On the driving over a lawn portion, I can say that I wouldn't do it unless it's very dry. My LS weighs roughly the same as a 3901 based off tractor data's website, and I have thoroughly torn up parts of my yard getting on it when slightly wet. Even when it's dry, it'll look like you're not doing any damage, but if you mow with a zero turn, you'll find where you left ruts. I still wouldn't hesitate to move dirt for a flower bed or something, but I wouldn't use it as a lawn mower, and I'd understand that if I did use it on the lawn, I'll probably need a load of dirt at the end of the summer to fill in some places.

I personally prefer that over a machine that couldn't handle the work as well or as quick.

The tractor definitely isn't going to be used for mowing the lawn. Too big, too heavy. That's a whole other problem to solve, but I'm keeping the tractor out of it and presently hire guys with their zero turn mowers to mow the grass. Sadly, sometimes they do a pretty good job tearing the grass with their mowers, what with their attempts to take corners at 90 MPH and all.

So what I'm hearing is people saying the L3901 is gonna rip my lawn if I take any turns, which I guess makes sense if it's 4wd and locked differential. Can the HST models be run selectively in 2wd for such purposes?

 

[ericm979]

You can enable/disable the front wheel assist. The rear diff is open until you engage the mechanical diff lock, usually with a pedal. This is true of pretty much all CUTS.

It's the weight and the tire tread that will damage the lawn, not the turns. I don't run my Branson on the lawn. At 5000 lbs it's not going to be good for it.

A riding mower is a lot less expensive than a zero turn. It might not be as fast on a smooth lawn but unless you're doing it as a business or have a huge lawn it's not going to matter much.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

So the quote from the dealer is for R14 tires, which I don't know much about yet. He says these might be a better option than the R4's I was thinking of. Yes, no, maybe so?

 

[Bullwinkle123]

A riding mower is a lot less expensive than a zero turn. It might not be as fast on a smooth lawn but unless you're doing it as a business or have a huge lawn it's not going to matter much.

Yeah. The zero turns are like, what, $17k? Ouch. I try not to think about that for now. I'm not sure how large my lawn is. It probably takes the zero-turn 35-45 minutes to do the yard at very high speed. I imagine it'd take me 3-4 hours with my old 21 inch walk-behind deck. :-/ For now I pay for the service, I'll worry about doing the lawn myself when I retire. The tractor is filling more urgent needs, like tree removal where my back just will not let me haul this stuff around any more, and the more expensive things I'm tired of paying for, like driveway maintenance. Either way a large tractor is not going to do the lawn, there's too many tight areas between buildings and stone walls that they just won't navigate well. I wouldn't want to try it even with a BX series. I haven't begun to consider what I would buy to mow the grass. Something that will do as much work as possible on the leaf collection in the fall, I'd imagine.

 

[jeff9366]

So the quote from the dealer is for R14 tires, which I don't know much about yet. He says these might be a better option than the R4's I was thinking of. Yes, no, maybe so?

I'd like to go into the woods. I have trails I used to maintain by hand, some logs I'd like to skid out of the woods.

R14 tires were introduced last year. As yet I have not laid eyes on an R14 tire.

R14s are a variation on turf tires, which are 4-ply thickness 99% of the time. Turf type tires MAY decrease tractor ground clearance by 2" or so, lowering the center of gravity a tad. R14 tires MAY or MAY NOT come mounted on adjustable 2-piece rear rims which are deluxe/standard on the L4060 with R4/industrial tires. Without two-piece rear rims you will have no inane to the tractor ability to alter R14 rear wheel/tire spread.

R4/industrial tires are at least six ply, sometimes 8-10-12 ply. The additional plies prevent the front tires from squatting under heavy FEL loads. Additional plies reduce punctures. Tractor tires are vulnerable to sidewall cuts. Six ply tires have 50% more cut resistant side walls.

The Loader lift capacity of an L4060 with LA804 Loader is around 2,000 pounds, plus part of the weight of 1,200 pound Loader, mostly on the front tires. I recommend squat resistant, cut resistant, puncture resistant R4/industrial tires.

I have the LA804 Loader on my L3560.

 

[BRMyers]

I will be curious to hear what you think of the R14 tires and how they perform. Seen them at the farm show, they look nice, but never had them on a tractor.

Stability, my dad's MF275 is more stable, but sets lower and much wider.



It took me a little getting use to how the tractor felt. My narrow width allows me to get into places he can't, but I'm also more cautious on the hills than he is. Yet, it hasn't stopped me from accomplishing a lot.

 

[jeff9366]

Have you discussed with your dealer "loading" rear tires 50% to 75% with fluid?

T-B-N ARCHIVE: loading rear tires for stability site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

 

[Bullwinkle123]

Have you discussed with your dealer "loading" rear tires 50% to 75% with fluid?

T-B-N ARCHIVE: loading rear tires for stability site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

Yes, the plan is to load the rears.