L5740 (interim tier 4) or L6060 (tier 4)

[Keadog]

Sorry if this is a repeat, but I searched and couldn't find anything addressing this question specifically. I have been considering a new Kubota to replace my well loved, faithful 2001 L4300 and have decided to go for one of these models with a cab.
My main concern is if there will be any problems with the interim tier 4 engines down the road. I'm not terribly worried about resale, as I plan to keep whatever I get indefinitely. I'm also not concerned about fuel economy as I plan to run maybe 100 hours per year max. My main concern is reliability and avoiding excessive maintenance costs/down time.
I realize the 60 will cost more up front and that's not a huge issue either - I am just interested in addressing the differences in the two engines, pro and con for each. I find the L5740 cab to be large enough, though the extra space in the 60 would be nice too.
Thanks for any help here.

 

[nybirdman]

I don't think any-one can really answer that question.If you can find a Grand L 4240-5740,they are getting hard to come by.The tier 4 engines haven't been around long enough.I have a L4240 HSTC and haven't found anything that it can't do.Eight ft.front snow plow,seven ft. back blade,two bottom plow ,six ft. box blade,roto-tiller and thumb on the bucket.......I use mine year round.It just turned 700 hrs,and burns 1.25gal/hr at pto speeds.

 

[MHarryE]

I have a L5740 and was surprised at what a fuel hog is at high load. The new engine which is direct injected comes in significantly better on the engine data but I don't know real time. I also have a M135GX with DPF. I only have 190 hours on it and enjoy the absence of smoke - the L5740 is quite a smoker at start up and under acceleration. The M135GX is clean at all times. But long term - Kubota says clean the DPF at 3,000 hours. And regen - with the big tractor I can always manage to hit a regen when I am working it so there is nothing to tell me except the regen light coming on and the percent DPF plug flashing 100% until the regen is over. My L5740 gets used for a lot of short jobs and I hate to think of a parked regen where it is just wasting time and fuel to burn the soot. Actually I was planning to trade my 2 year old L5740 for a L6060 this year but instead my wife didn't fight getting the M135GX so she can use the L5740 more often.

 

[TripleR]

Too early to really tell as mentioned, but I bought a new L5740 last year to avoid the L6060 and after looking at them, I am glad I did; don't like tank or loader valve location, cruise control or price.

I do like the air ride seat option, larger cab, elimination of the clutch.

I bought a Grammar air ride seat for my 5740 as I don't much care for the OEM seat.

One person will prefer the 5740 another the 6060.

 

[kiotiken]

I like the new engines, in theory anyway, but for me, it's too early. I'll let the first generation of tier 4 engines go by and let them iron out any bugs. Hopefully by the time they do, Kioti will have, errr "borrowed" the concept of HST+.

 

[k0ua]

I like the new engines, in theory anyway, but for me, it's too early. I'll let the first generation of tier 4 engines go by and let them iron out any bugs. Hopefully by the time they do, Kioti will have, errr "borrowed" the concept of HST+.

Ken from what I can see on the Australian Kioti website, they have adopted some of the features of HST+ already on some of this years models.

 

[BGigHarbor]

I couldn't find an l40 so I ended up buying an l5460 (not a cab). For my uses, traction is the limiting factor so more power might not have helped me much.

I am not crazy about where the front and 3rd function hoses are routed, but sure love the lack of exhaust smell. That's amazing and for me welcome.

I am really enjoying the tractor (only 80 hrs on it so far) but have noticed my dpf regens are happening more often each cycle. halfway to fifth regen.....Others have reported regen intervals of 50 and 30 hrs, but the longest my has gone is 22 hrs and last one was like 14 hrs. I have been using the tractor roughly the same the whole time.

Not enough data yet on how the l60 dpf will hold up, but in terms of operating the tractor it's a joy and the HST is awesome. And fuel usage is better than I expected. If you look at the overall expense, the fuel is a small portion anyway.

To be honest I would much rather waited a year to see how the dust settles on the L60s, but I bought a new property that needs a ton of work now. Was and am still concerned about dpf issues down the road but will just have to deal with any.

edit: To clarify, the reason I am watching the frequency of my pdf regens is me being paranoid about potential dpf issues like certain trucks have had in past years. The regen doesn't really impact my operation and I wouldn't know it was happening most of the time if it weren't for the display and a slight hot smell late in the cycle. I like to run the tractor a little harder than usual during the regen, but mostly I could just ignore it if I wanted. Plus I am curious because regens put diesel into the oil itself - how much is debated but even my Kubota manual says it's normal

 

[kiotiken]

Ken from what I can see on the Australian Kioti website, they have adopted some of the features of HST+ already on some of this years models.

Not to take the thread way off topic but I've seen that video. Seems to me it's simply a throttle control linked to the pedals. I've already started designing something similar for my DK45. Set the minimum RPM with the hand throttle and once the forward pedal is pushed in far enough, it starts activating the throttle via a linkage. Once the pedal comes back, the throttle is free to return to the pre-set minimum position. It actually seems pretty simple to do, but it'll be at least spring before I have time to try. HST+ is one feature I'd really like to have but a throttle linked to the HST forward pedal would be a nice addition to.

 

[bigbull338]

if i was going to buy a 60 kubota id skipp the 6060 an go for the 7060 as it has the heavier and bigger frame.like meny have said i traded quick to avid getting into the unknowns with the 7060.an i was lucky enough to find a few 7040s still on dealers lots.

 

[TripleR]

if i was going to buy a 60 kubota id skipp the 6060 an go for the 7060 as it has the heavier and bigger frame.like meny have said i traded quick to avid getting into the unknowns with the 7060.an i was lucky enough to find a few 7040s still on dealers lots.

Always a tough decision for many of us. We are lucky enough to need a GL and an M, if we could only have one, it would have to be the M, but I sure would hate to get by without the 5740. There are just places our M won't fit and times the 5740 just isn't enough tractor.

Like many, I am what most would consider a hobbyist and don't depend on our equipment for income, so my approach may well not work for real farmers and ranchers. It would be cheaper for me to hire my work out, but it's just not in my nature.

 

[Keadog]

I'm afraid the 7060 might be a little too big for some of the areas I need to get into. I foolishly sold my B7100 with FEL 2 years ago and I wish I hadn't. Then the larger frame would have been great to have.
But with just one tractor, I feel I need to stay in the size of a compact. Plus, I now only have room to store one indoors.

 

[MHarryE]

I couldn't find an l40 so I ended up buying an l5460 (not a cab). For my uses, traction is the limiting factor so more power might not have helped me much. I am not crazy about where the front and 3rd function hoses are routed, but sure love the lack of exhaust smell. That's amazing and for me welcome. I am really enjoying the tractor (only 80 hrs on it so far) but have noticed my dpf regens are happening more often each cycle. halfway to fifth regen.....Others have reported regen intervals of 50 and 30 hrs, but the longest my has gone is 22 hrs and last one was like 14 hrs. I have been using the tractor roughly the same the whole time. Not enough data yet on how the l60 dpf will hold up, but in terms of operating the tractor it's a joy and the HST is awesome. And fuel usage is better than I expected. If you look at the overall expense, the fuel is a small portion anyway. To be honest I would much rather waited a year to see how the dust settles on the L60s, but I bought a new property that needs a ton of work now. Was and am still concerned about dpf issues down the road but will just have to deal with any. edit: To clarify, the reason I am watching the frequency of my pdf regens is me being paranoid about potential dpf issues like certain trucks have had in past years. The regen doesn't really impact my operation and I wouldn't know it was happening most of the time if it weren't for the display and a slight hot smell late in the cycle. I like to run the tractor a little harder than usual during the regen, but mostly I could just ignore it if I wanted. Plus I am curious because regens put diesel into the oil itself - how much is debated but even my Kubota manual says it's normal

My M135GX varies a lot in time between regens by how hard I am working it. Chopping hay I went as much as 34 hours, running around 70% power but also idle time waiting for empty forage boxes. Plowing I was in the 18 - 22 hour range - lots of small fields around here so although I was running 80 - 90% in the furrow there was turning time at 10%. Disking and cultivating where the implement is in the ground all the time and I'm running 90% - 100% I dropped as low as 14 hours. Then I found the Nebraska Tractor Test has been published and it states that the manufacturer stated 13 hours between regens at 100% power. Nebraska measured 3% power loss during regen but I believe you need a dyno and controlled conditions to measure something that small.

 

[BGigHarbor]

My M135GX varies a lot in time between regens by how hard I am working it. Chopping hay I went as much as 34 hours, running around 70% power but also idle time waiting for empty forage boxes. Plowing I was in the 18 - 22 hour range - lots of small fields around here so although I was running 80 - 90% in the furrow there was turning time at 10%. Disking and cultivating where the implement is in the ground all the time and I'm running 90% - 100% I dropped as low as 14 hours. Then I found the Nebraska Tractor Test has been published and it states that the manufacturer stated 13 hours between regens at 100% power. Nebraska measured 3% power loss during regen but I believe you need a dyno and controlled conditions to measure something that small.

Thanks for the info. I wasn't able to find much online specific to kubotas tier IV.

As others have mentioned, interesting how much difference what one is doing in terms of dpf buildup. I leave the display in that mode alot and watch it. For example, I was doing some front end loader work driving up and down a bumpy hill about maybe 500 ft long, and I think the downhill without a load was really loading up the dpf. When I then ran it for maybe 5 minutes at maybe 90 percent power (traction up hill was the limit) the display percentage actually dropped from 25 percent to 18.

I've started setting the tripmeter to track the regen interval, and hopefully will pay less attention to it after a while.

 

[Keadog]

I drove the L6060 around a parking lot this week and noticed the large cab size. That made me wonder if it will be harder to cool in summer and heat in winter with 20% more volume. The smaller cab of the 5740 seemed fine or my size.
The washer fluid container hanging off the back window looks pretty weird. It's like they finished building it and said "hey, we forgot this. Let's just stick in on the back window!" Fuel filler location not ideal either IMO.
Back to the original point - does the L5740 have a DPF Filter since its interim tier IV? They look quite pricey to replace if something goes wrong. I wouldn't mind a puff of smoke at start up...

 

[Keadog]

I drove the L6060 around a parking lot this week and noticed the large cab size. That made me wonder if it will be harder to cool in summer and heat in winter with 20% more volume. The smaller cab of the 5740 seemed fine or my size.
The washer fluid container hanging off the back window looks pretty weird. It's like they finished building it and said "hey, we forgot this. Let's just stick in on the back window!" Fuel filler location not ideal either IMO.
Back to the original point - does the L5740 have a DPF Filter since its interim tier IV? They look quite pricey to replace if something goes wrong. I wouldn't mind a puff of smoke at start up...

 

[TripleR]

I drove the L6060 around a parking lot this week and noticed the large cab size. That made me wonder if it will be harder to cool in summer and heat in winter with 20% more volume. The smaller cab of the 5740 seemed fine or my size.
The washer fluid container hanging off the back window looks pretty weird. It's like they finished building it and said "hey, we forgot this. Let's just stick in on the back window!" Fuel filler location not ideal either IMO.
Back to the original point - does the L5740 have a DPF Filter since its interim tier IV? They look quite pricey to replace if something goes wrong. I wouldn't mind a puff of smoke at start up...

The L5740 does not have a DPF filter. No doubt if you use fuel cans the filler location is not ideal, we use a tank, so it's not an issue. We work in brush and woods and the loader valves, tank, filler neck "seemed" pretty exposed. No one has reported issues with this so it's probably a non-issue.

Overall the L6060 seems like a really nice machine, so I can sure understand the difficulty, I prefer the 5740 and others will prefer the 6060.

 

[Keadog]

I have a tank, so that's not an issue. If the DPF filter lasts 3000 hours, that's probably not an issue either, since I'm looking at 100-150 hours per year and probably not much more than 20 years of tractor work ahead of me (one can always hope, tho). Dealer pointed out FEL arms should protect filler neck on the 60, at least from the front. It just seems like it shouldn't be sticking out like that, just like the washer fluid reservoir.
Thanks for the info!

 

[TripleR]

I have a tank, so that's not an issue. If the DPF filter lasts 3000 hours, that's probably not an issue either, since I'm looking at 100-150 hours per year and probably not much more than 20 years of tractor work ahead of me (one can always hope, tho). Dealer pointed out FEL arms should protect filler neck on the 60, at least from the front. It just seems like it shouldn't be sticking out like that, just like the washer fluid reservoir.
Thanks for the info!

I don't think the DPF/Tier IV is as big of deal as some of us feared and I sure like the air ride seat, I am replacing my OEM seat with a Grammar Air Ride if I can find the down time; may have to wait till winter.

 

[BGigHarbor]

As I have posted before, from a past life I really hate the smell of diesel exhaust these days. I worried alittle that the exhaust from my tractor would bother me sometimes in certain conditions (just a personal problem here from working in a mine with diesel machines).

But my l5460 has exceeded my expectations in that regard. No smell at all during operations. I put in 8 hrs almost non stop yesterday on the tractor and never thought about exhaust for a moment.


It terms of the new tank position, I actually prefer it because I fuel from cans. Since I have a FEL and a 3rd function valve the tank neck is hidden behind those lines. Those exposed lines do cause me concerns with brush and such but so far I haven't ripped those off. A pain but I can live with it.

For me a very serious issue with the l60s with a 3rd function valve is the routing of the hard and soft lines directly below the tractor. I had the dealer built a box around the soft lines which has taken a thrashing so far without hose damage. I recommend a cover over the hard lines too, as i have had pretty big sticks get stuck in those lines and break off. Been lucky so far, but it's only matter of time the way I use it.

Bottom line personally, if the dpf doesn't cause me grief down the road, I am actually glad I ended up with an l60 rather than the l40 like I wanted. Because I can sort of deal with protecting the exposed hydraulic lines on the l60, and with the joy of no fumes (at all, it's weird in a good way) it promises to be the best choice for me.

I realize most people don't mind diesel exhaust as much as me, and for those I would try to get something pre dpf for now.

 

[TripleR]

I don't care for diesel exhaust and my wife absolutely HATES the smell, we didn't experience a problem with our L5030HSTC or L5740HSTC. We also run an M8540, no exhaust smell. I accept the L60 has a cleaner exhaust, but it just hasn't been an issue with our tractors; may be different with an open station.