L4610 mowing capabilities

[Anonymous Poster]

I'm shopping for my first tractor and this site has been really helpful in fiquring out that I want to buy a Kubota. Thanks for all the posts that aid us novices in making a good decision. I think I want an L4610 HST but have a few questions about its capabilities. First, is it suitable for mowing with a Bush Hog 286 six foot medium duty mower (it calls for 40 PTO hp)? If I have 100 acres or so to mow is this tractor too small? I have a lot of farm clean up to do and sure like the idea of a smaller tractor with HST, but wonder if I should maybe have a larger ag tractor. Also, what is it like mowing with a loader attached? Do you need to keep it on for the front weight (it doesn't look like you can put suitcase weights on with the loader quick detached)?

Thanks, Lonestar

 

[Bird]

Lonestar, the L4610 should handle the 6' Bush Hog very easily; of course mowing 100 acres with any tractor and a 6' mower is going to take some time. As for mowing with the front end loader on; I've done it both with and without the loader on, and much prefer without the loader simply because of the better visibility with the loader out of the way, and more importantly a smoother ride. My ground is pretty rough and the weight of the front end loader out in the front of the tractor adds to the front wheel bounce; not intolerable, just not as comfortable. And in my opinion, you will not need the loader or additional weights with the 6' mower (I'm currently using a 5' mower on a B2710 and no weight on the front end). The best advice I guess I could give you is to try it both ways and see which suits you best.

Incidentally, I think I'd probably be looking at a 7' mower instead of 6' if I had an L4610.

Bird<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Bird on 05/13/01 09:19 PM (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[Alan L.]

If I had 100 acres to mow I would hope for bigger than a 6' mower. At 2.5 acres an hour thats 40 hours to mow it. By the time you finish it will be time to start over. Seems like a batwing would be needed for that much land.

Bird, I'm glad to hear you say your 2710 works well with the 5' cutter and loader removed. I've never taken my loader off, but have wished to have it out of my way visually.

Alan L., TX

 

[HR_Mutt]

Lonestar
I am shopping for a batwing mower for my L4610, here are some stats for where I am at this point.
Befco Cyclone 12' 25-60 tractor pto hp
" " 15' 30-60 " " "
" " 20' 35-80 " " "
Bush Hog TD-1100 11' 30 tractor pto hp minimum
Woods Turf Batwing 12' 30-80 " " "
" " " 15' 35-80 " " "
These are all finish mowers, I have not got too deeply into the bush hog type, however if a deal comes along on an 8' I'll probably snag it. The smooth, quiet power of the L4610 is quite awsome and think you will be pleased./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
regards
Mutt

 

[radman]

Lonestar: I grew up on a farm and still own some farm land. I wouldn't want to mow a 100 acres with a 6' mower. It will take a long time. I have a L3710 and need either the front end loader on or front end weights for my heavy duty 6' bush hog mower. I made a front end bracket with a 6" peice of angle iron and mounted a Kubota weight bracket to the angle iron. The entire peice then mounts over the existing front loader bracket and held in place by the two loader pins. I can put the "modifed" weight bracket on in a few seconds. The bracket will support 5 eighty-five lb weights. A L4610 should be able to handle an 8-10' bush hog type mower but I doubt it could lift a 3pt type mower of that size. (I assume you are not refering to a finish mower.) Could consider a pull type mower or hydraulic lift assist mower in the 8-10' size. Do you need to mow all the 100 acres? I have used my JD5300 (about 55 hp) on a heavy duty 8' bush hog with no problems. Must have the loader mounted to lift the 8' mower with the JD.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thanks guys, for all the good advice. I've been told that ideally a person with my amount of acreage to mow (100+) would have two tractors, one smaller one for the incidental farm work and little mowing jobs, and a larger one that could pull a batwing for mowing pastures. Does this make sense? I
will not be farming (except planting a large garden), only improving my pastures (that have not been mowed in years) so I can run cattle in the future.
My immediate needs though, are to mow and clean up around an old homeplace. I was hoping the L4610 with a loader would be a good choice but maybe I should look at the M series???

Thanks, Lonestar

 

[Billc]

Lonestar, I don't have a good answer for you. I have a M5400 and 34 acres. We are hoping to end up with about 100 acres within the next year or two. That's why I bought a M series and not a L4610.

I normally mow with the loader bucket attached. I have a quick release bucket so it can be removed in a minute or two. I leave it on because I am always picking up rocks as they come to the surface in the pasture.

Yesterday I finished a brush cutting job for a fella with 20 acres. The property was pasture until 7 years ago, has been allowed to grow since then. Everything I cut was either small trees (10 -14 feet tall), brier and bramble thickets, or thick clumps of huge weeds. In other words a solid wall of mass. I could have made a great maze cause everything growing came up at least to my fender and was usually over my canopy. By the way, when doing this type of cutting, leaving the bucket on is a good idea. I used a Bush Hog 286 (heavy duty). I love this thing. Anyway, I had to mow in L1 or L2 the entire time. It took me 20+ hours. It think the L4610 would handle this job, it is only about a 10 hp difference in tractors.

When I get more property I'll add a bat wing. It saves so much time having a 12 foot cut verse a 6 foot cut. But I'll never get rid of my 286.

As to whether to go L series or M series, only you can answer that one. Often, when I'm doing loader or grading work I kick myself in the seat for not buying a hydro. When I am brush cutting, especially like the job over the last few days, I'm so glad I got a M series. Guess you just have to figure out how you will use your tractor the most. After this last tractor job I have no doubts that the M series is a tank!

Good luck.

Bill Cook

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Bill, thanks for the M series viewpoint. I went to a Kubota dealer yesterday and looked the M4900 and M5700 over real good. I have come around to the notion that if mowing 100+ acres of overgrown pasture is my central task I'll probably be better off with an M. The L4610 HST sures sounds great for everything else though. I have a couple of questions for you(or anyone else): If you were NOT going to get a loader and your land was mostly sandy pasture would there be any reason to get 4WD? Also, the M4900 and M5700 are very similar except for the 7 HP difference...why one over the other?

Thanks, Lonestar

 

[john_bud]

Loanstar,

Personally, if I had mostly sandy soil, I would probably not get the 4WD, unless I was going to pull some big ground engaging implements. Once you get to a certain size (and weight) of tractor, you probably reach a point of diminshing returns with 4WD as compared to front weights and Ag tires. For mowing 100 + acres I would want a BIG tractor with a BIG mower! What's the $$ change between 4WD and No 4WD?

John Bud

 

[JATO_RaT]

Just wait for the first wet, mucky area you hit and get stuck with a 2WD. I think the first thought in your head will be something like "should have got 4WD" Or pull a box scraper because you want to do a little dirt remodeling, 4WD again will pop into your head. Backup a moderate slope and 4WD will be dominate in your thoughts. Today, 2WD tractors are getting rare. Compacts have become so desireable because of it. A full size industrial 2WD with a loader can't match a larger 4WD compact in pull and push ability. My 2 cents is that you save up and get 4WD either in the M series or a L4610 HST. Also, get the widest mower you can, mine is 80 inches and it still takes 4 to 5 hours every other week to mow my place. Good Luck, Rat