L60 Series Stereo Installation

[ericdube]

Even though I've only had my L4760 for a week now, I was able to at least find some time to get my first mod done to it. In anticipation for an upcoming project I'm going to start on tomorrow, I decided to install a new stereo and speakers. The installation was fairly simple, and everything was done without modification to the tractor.

I ended up going with a Kenwood KDC-BT955HD head unit and Kicker 4" CS4 speakers. I liked the Kenwood since it provided dual USB connectivity (nice to keep a memory stick plugged into radio and the other plug can be used to play music from my iPhone) and also has hands-free bluetooth connectivity (perfect for getting calls from my wife when I'm plowing in the winter.) While the Kicker speakers definitely won't win any awards on the bass department, they do have a pretty good frequency response range and are able to fit in the same space as the factory speakers (plus, they work with the existing grills since the tweeter doesn't stick out higher than the frame.)

For the radio wiring harness, I ended up using the Farm Radio Supply Kubota plug and mated it to the Kenwood harness (all the wires were soldered and heatshrinked.) The only modification I made was to remove the two unused wires in the Farm Radio Supply harness - otherwise, the factory plug in the L4760 was wired as shown on the Farm Radio Supply wiring diagram. This allows the head unit to directly plug into the factory plug without the need to cut any wires.

The only thing you need to do to install the radio and speakers is to remove the cab top from the tractor. It's fairly easy to do. First, you need to pop the plastic caps off the long screws inside the cab and remove them. Next, you remove the short black screws on the outside of the cab on the back of the tractor. It ends up being 16 screws in total.

Also, there's a metal bracket that comes with the tractor to install the OEM radio (shown in the pictures), however there's really no need to use it with most aftermarket radios since they all come with a sleeve that will fit in the existing cutout in the headliner.

The pictures should do the talking for themselves, but if you have any specific questions please let me know. More modifications coming over the next few weeks...

Thanks for looking!

 

[WaxMan]

Congratulations on your new tractor, thanks for the pictures of the radio install. I have to do that next. How do you like that backhoe with the hydraulic thumb?
Your going to be surprised on what that can pick up.

 

[94BULLITT]

I like how the radio illuminates orange.

 

[4shorts]

Well my friend this is one of the best radio install writups I've seen on here. Well documented in every aspect. It's so nice to see these things done right and yours is great. Solder and heat shrink too. Cool. I'd let you work on my machine anytime.
Congrats on the new tractor. It's a great looking unit. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your mods. Thanks for taking the time to post them because I know it takes a lot of time to do so.
Great job. :thumbsup:

 

[daugen]

I second 4Shorts, what a nice job, and to get a compliment from Paul, that's a high honor because he's better at this than 99% of us.

I did the same Kenwood head unit, well similar, and used Polk 4 inch speakers. Still very wimpy sound. Bought two Polk box speakers and will try to install them "up front" down at knee level where hopefully I can find spots that don't interfere with safely operating the tractor. My local Kubota dealer gave up/refused to install the new speakers; they seem scared to death of anything that changes the stock Kubota, and drilling/modifying anything while still under warranty.

 

[ericdube]

Congratulations on your new tractor, thanks for the pictures of the radio install. I have to do that next. How do you like that backhoe with the hydraulic thumb?
Your going to be surprised on what that can pick up.

Thanks! Unfortunately, I haven't been able to use the backhoe much since it got delivered last week. I was planning to dig up some of the stumps over the weekend and moving all the riprap from the hill behind my house in preparation for the Shelterlogic installation. However, I was only able to get 1 stump dug up before the controls developed pretty good hydraulic leak. Although, I think the thumb is definitely going to come in handy once it gets fixed (dealer is stopping by on Monday to try to fix that and a small leak on one of the loader hoses.)

I like how the radio illuminates orange.

Agreed. It makes the radio fit in with the rest of the tractor. I really like on the Kenwood how you can change the colors to suit your application (it was definitely one of the selling points for me.)

Well my friend this is one of the best radio install write ups I've seen on here. Well documented in every aspect. It's so nice to see these things done right and yours is great. Solder and heat shrink too. Cool. I'd let you work on my machine anytime.
Congrats on the new tractor. It's a great looking unit. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your mods. Thanks for taking the time to post them because I know it takes a lot of time to do so.
Great job. :thumbsup:

Paul, thanks a bunch for the feedback. I really appreciate it, and it means a lot coming from you.

I did have one question for you if you had a moment. Do you remember the wiring color coding for the rain tracker installation? I remember you commented on it in this thread, but I couldn't find anywhere the color coding was mentioned. THANKS!

I second 4Shorts, what a nice job, and to get a compliment from Paul, that's a high honor because he's better at this than 99% of us.

I did the same Kenwood head unit, well similar, and used Polk 4 inch speakers. Still very wimpy sound. Bought two Polk box speakers and will try to install them "up front" down at knee level where hopefully I can find spots that don't interfere with safely operating the tractor. My local Kubota dealer gave up/refused to install the new speakers; they seem scared to death of anything that changes the stock Kubota, and drilling/modifying anything while still under warranty.

Thanks! Do you have any pictures of your installation? I'd really like to see how you did yours.

I agree that 2 extra speakers would definitely be a worthwhile improvement. While the Kicker 4" speakers sound better than the factory Clarion, the sound is still a bit thin and lacking. Even just a few mid-range speakers would probably do wonders for the overall sound.

 

[4shorts]

Paul, thanks a bunch for the feedback. I really appreciate it, and it means a lot coming from you.

I did have one question for you if you had a moment. Do you remember the wiring color coding for the rain tracker installation? I remember you commented on it in this thread, but I couldn't find anywhere the color coding was mentioned. THANKS!

Thanks daugen. I appreciate your kind words.

My Rain Tracker is one of the early ones. It's much different than the new RT-50A that's out now. Mine was designed for a one speed motor where as the latest one is used for a two speed wiper motor. I know the wiring is different because I have on of the new ones in hand here at the shop that's supposed to go on a new 4240. If and when they trailer it out I'll document it all.

 

[ericdube]

My Rain Tracker is one of the early ones. It's much different than the new RT-50A that's out now. Mine was designed for a one speed motor where as the latest one is used for a two speed wiper motor. I know the wiring is different because I have on of the new ones in hand here at the shop that's supposed to go on a new 4240. If and when they trailer it out I'll document it all.

No problem and thanks. If I am lucky enough to find some free time between now and when the first snow comes, I'll definitely document the installation if I get to it before you do. (Still need to finish up the Shelterlogic project first before I will be able to get to it - I will post pictures of this as well.)

 

[The Fred]

Nice install.

I just can't understand why you guys buy a new tractor and immediately replace the radio, seat, lights and whatever else to make the tractor more ....friendly?

I would be happier with more torque, less smoke, cheaper parts prices (from Kubota), and lets see less whine from the hydro unit.

Maybe I should have mounted a FEL and 3PH to my old 80s boom box....
Just sayin,

Fred with no power, a squeaky seat, radio that can't be heard over the noise of the hyro unit....and a big 5 year payment.

 

[ericdube]

Nice install.

I just can't understand why you guys buy a new tractor and immediately replace the radio, seat, lights and whatever else to make the tractor more ....friendly?

Thanks. I guess it all depends on what you use your tractor for. I put the most amount of hours on my tractors during the winter for residential plowing/snowblowing. So it's nice to have some music to listen to while working. As for the lighting, while I haven't gotten to it yet, it's definitely on my list since during the winter months I mostly plow in the dark (and it makes a really big difference clearing snow with good lighting.)

At least in my case, my L4760 didn't come with a radio so this wasn't a replacement. Actually, all done and said it cost me less money for everything than going with the comparable radio option from Kubota. I think it was definitely a worthwhile improvement / money savings on my part, so I'm not sure how this can be viewed as negative.

I would be happier with more torque, less smoke, cheaper parts prices (from Kubota), and lets see less whine from the hydro unit.

You could always move to a larger model in the L40 or L60 series if you need more torque (power); the L5460 and L6060 even come with a turbo.

As for less smoke, the L60's all use a DPF, which eliminates most of the smoke you see on start-up and while running hard (I can't even tell when I start it compared to my older B.) Also, I don't find hydro whine to be an issue at least with my L4760 (and I come from a B series, which was extremely loud.)

Maybe I should have mounted a FEL and 3PH to my old 80s boom box....
Just sayin,

I'm not sure what you mean by this or even the point you're trying to make.

Fred with no power, a squeaky seat, radio that can't be heard over the noise of the hyro unit....and a big 5 year payment.

Sorry to hear you didn't get the right model tractor for your needs.