Looking at purchasing a Kubota L4701DT

[rScotty]

On HST vs ShuttleShift transmission it's basically owner preference. Nice of Kubota to offer both. Some prefer one and some then other. You may want to go to a dealer and try both out. Imagine you are mowing or doing whatever it is that you will be doing most often. Drive it around & see which feels right.

Like many who have had tractors with both type of transmissions, I don't find one to be noticibly more convenient than the other. One you work with your foot more, and the other more with your fingertips. I do like having a lot of gears to choose from, but that is partly because I don't like to run my tractors at high RPM. I prefer to pick a gear and vary speed with the throttle. Less efficient, but for me more enjoyable.

I do a lot of work at a high idle, using the torque more than the HP. Because of that, I tend toward larger engines but use them at lower throttle settings. For me, this works well with shuttle shift, but for HST to do be as versatile, it needs the versatility of Kubota's "HST plus" transmission. Kubota offers the HST plus in some tractors but not others.
It's all individual preference. Other owners like to work their tractors differently.
rScotty

 

[CindyCRNA]

Couple of notes.

1. I also up-specc'ed to the MX5400 from the L4701. You may not need to, but I'm glad I did. It's also a wider tractor, so more stability.

2. Make sure you account properly for the weight. The bare tractor weight does not tell the tale. By the time you add loader, bucket, brush hog, and loaded tires, well, in the case of my MX5400 that's nearly 4 tons (compared to the ~3700 lb bare weight). Add in two to three thousand pounds for the trailer, and now you're talking about substantial truck/towing power needs. My truck is only rated for 9000 lbs, so... I can't tow my setup with it unless I strip it down.

3. Kubota loaders, the number on the loader is the approximate weight it can lift (at the pin of course), in kilograms, so multiple by 2.2. Of course you may see far less than that depending on what you're lifting and how you're lifting it. In that one regard, if you're going to lift with a grapple and third function, gears may give you more lift, I find my grapple curiously weak, but you need to bear in mind you're sharing hydraulic function between the grapple, loader, and drive, and so if you're using more than one thing at a time, you're reducing power to the others. That said, I have HST and love it, but I wanted something simple. Note that I'm not saying you can't do two things at once with the hydraulics (as some people might claim). But it does affect your lifting capability if you're doing something really heavy. I have not had any problem with it while moving gravel and similar things though. It's the grapple, mostly that seems weak.

Side note: Messicks has a video showing that you can abuse your hydraulics with grapples and third functions, if you're not careful, resulting in potential damage. So think twice about using the grapple to try to lift out 1 ton rocks.

Uh oh. That wasn't something I thought of. I have a 3/4 ton.

 

[JethroB]

The package link also is for R1 tires. Thats fine if it is what you want. I suggest building your own ‘package’ to best fit your needs. Shop for a trailer separately or elsewhere. I like HST when mowing for creeping around and under trees or when hitting thick grass or rough areas. It allows you to maintain a consistent PTO speed and vary the ground speed without shifting much. Use cruise in open consistent areas.