Kubota l4701 Longevity and Reliability?

[Lt. El Diablo]

I am interested to hear from owners who work them long and hard. I will need one for brush hogging, grappling, cattle feeding etc, on 400 acres of hilly Ozark land. I have used small tractors like this for all of my 50 years of farming. I am thinking about trying an hst. Replies and advice are welcome. By the way, I am 6'3, 230 lbs with size 14 boots. Thanks!

 

[Wyatt545]

I think you would be much better served with MX model if you are wanting HST. Little more cockpit and capability

 

[toxicjeeper]

I have had gear tractors and then shuttle shift( including full size tlb) and now this kioti NS 5310 hst...I wouldn't ever go back..love the hst!

 

[jeff9366]

I will need one for brush hogging, grappling, cattle feeding etc, on 400 acres of hilly Ozark land. I have used small tractors like this for all of my 50 years of farming. I am thinking about trying an hst. I am 6'3, 230 lbs with size 14 boots. Thanks!

The MX is a more robust machine. The MX comes standard with adjustable width rear wheels/tire stance with both R1/ag tires and R4/industrial tires. Greater width, larger wheels/tires and 400+ pounds additional weight will make the MX more stable than the L4701.

Kubota MX5400 Dimensions​

Dimensions
Wheelbase:	74.6 inches 189 cm
4WD Length:	125.8 inches 319 cm
Width:	69.7 inches 177 cm *
Height (ROPS):	95.7 inches 243 cm
Height (cab):	92.7 inches 235 cm
Ground clearance:	15.2 inches 38 cm

Kubota MX5400 Weight
4WD Gear ROPS :	3716 lbs 1685 kg
4WD Gear Cab :	4251 lbs 1928 kg
4WD Hydro ROPS :	3734 lbs 1693 kg
4WD Hydro Cab :	4268 lbs 1935 kg

Kubota L4701 Dimensions

Kubota L4701 Weight
2WD Gear :	3219 lbs 1460 kg
4WD Gear :	3296 lbs 1495 kg
4WD Hydro :	3307 lbs

Dimensions
4WD Wheelbase:	72.6 inches 184 cm
4WD Length:	119.5 inches 303 cm
Width:	62.4 inches 158 cm
Height (ROPS):	91.7 inches 232 cm
Ground clearance:	15.2 inches 38 cm

 

[crashz]

My little L2501 pulls a 5ft brush cutter or 6ft finish mower all summer long. She works weekends, but works very hard. 380 hours and running like a champ. None of the jobs I do are easy. One customer has a slope of 28 degrees (yes, degrees not percent) at its steepest part and it takes all of its 25 HP to cut heavy grass going uphill (in 4wd and diff locked) for hours on end.

Especially with the emissions laden machines, running them hard is better for them. I recall recently that member was surprised to see his new tractor regen at 15 hours. Later in his thread he mentions that he primarily uses it to move his trash cans to the end of the driveway. Whichever model you choose, work it.

 

[JWR]

I don't know if it matters but I am 5'8", 215 lbs with size 13 shoes. And 79 years old. Oh well... Ha !

400 acres of hilly Ozark land is a tough assignment for a L4701 all by itself. I used a JD 4700 very similar in size and HP to that for about 10 years. You will be good to go with a 6ft hog, med size grapple, and whatever you need to move hay around. Don't know that you want to tackle huge round bales with it but maybe ... I have 3 smaller B2150 4cyl Kubotas (2 stick and one HST.) The Kubota engines are very reliable as you know. Of course you want a loader and I like the Kubota loaders which look stronger to me than their specs would indicate compared to other brands.
My larger tractor is a MF 2660 81hp and all I own are stick except for the one B2150 HST.

For "near the house" lots and much loader work the HST is a better suited tool if that is a real high % of your work but I favor a gear trans rather than HST for most farming, esp bush hogging and heavy work. The HST wastes some of your HP for one thing and I like the control I get with a stick on steep ground. It gets to be a personal preference thing.

Does "hilly" mean that you operate on pretty steep ground a lot, especially when bush hogging? Probably so. [45% slopes are routine but not threatening and much above 50% to near 60% is "stay off of it" for me. Not that I haven't done some crazy things, but I have lost too many friends to tractor rollovers. In my opinion you need to get those rear tires out much further apart than Kubota allows/makes any provision for. I recommend 6" spacers for both sides if you intend to work steep ground at all with the L4701. It is a stout and "over achiever" of a tractor which I think you will love but somebody in Japan thinks we all live on flat land. I have friends using an M6040 (cab) and an L3400 (open station) and they put 6" spacers on both those tractors which makes them much more comfortable on ordinary steep ground without getting heroic. They had the spacers put on by their dealer. I use 6" spacers on one of my B2150's (installed myself about half the price of the dealer) and it makes a HUGE difference in hilly areas. I can go horiz around 45% slopes very comfortably and safely that way which I could NOT without the spacers.

Good luck with your gathering info. Should be lots of it...

 

[jeff9366]

I will need one for brush hogging, grappling, cattle feeding etc, on 400 acres of hilly Ozark land. I have used small tractors like this for all of my 50 years of farming.

Few here will recommend a tractor of less than 5,000 pounds bare weight for the applications you have listed ( brush hogging, grappling, cattle feeding ) on 400 hilly acres, however, you know your conditions better than your respondents. 5,000 pounds bare weight mostly for stability/safety reasons. You should give greater weight to stability issues as you age.

 

[Lt. El Diablo]

Few here will recommend a tractor of less than 5,000 pounds bare weight for the applications you have listed ( brush hogging, grappling, cattle feeding ) on 400 acres, however, you know your conditions better than your respondents. 5,000 pounds bare weight ostly for stability/safety reasons. You should be more concerned with stability issues as you age.

Thanks for the good advice! The 4701 when ballasted plus the loader will weigh around 5700. I am currently using a Kioti of similar size. It does very well on the slopes, especially in areas where I have to cross the slopes. They are a low profile tractor. The tractors I owned in the past were exactly as you described .

 

[jeff9366]

Stability issues with Loader loads are the reason you should consider 1) wide spread rear wheels and 2) greater weight. Despite the weight of Loaders, they DECREASE tractor stability when elevated.

Tractors are inherently unstable operating on sloped ground. Tractor rear wheel/tire spread, sometimes adjustable, is a critical factor increasing compact tractor stability working sloped or uneven ground. A 6" to 10" wider rear axle substantially decreases tractor rollover potential.

Use bare tractor weight when making comparisons, so you have apples to apples specs.

Is there some reason you are not considering a Kioti again? What model Kioti do you have now? Does you current Kioti have a Loader? (( They are a low profile tractor. ))

 

[Wyatt545]

I would definitely go to dealer lot and get on both and see, if you haven’t already done so. Don’t forget to account for the “shrinkage” that happens once you get it to its new home…