Kubota HP needed?

[motownbrowne]

Having spend a whole day running a tractor mowing I would not want to use hydro as your leg will be tired. Also working on hills you will be losing a lot of HP to hydro on the hills. If your spending 100% on loader work hyrdo is great, field work power shift(gst) or gear.

I see what you mean. I will point out that most hydrostatic tractors nowadays have cruise control. Both of mine do (all three if you count the riding mower). To me, this eliminates the sore leg problem. I'm with you though, that I wouldn't want to mow all day on a hydro tractor without cruise. Regarding HP loss, I see what you mean. Personally, in my mind the HST is just so convenient that whatever losses it gives up in efficiency (mostly heat) are offset by the ease of turning, backing up, and changing gears. It's definitely a tradeoff, though and I see your point. Thanks for your explanation.

 

[The Deerslayer]

If your primary use will be brush hogging fields, my vote is for gear. However if you will be doing some loader work and rear implement work that may require some back and forth, a great compromise is HST with cruise control. I have had both and find the HST to be much better for the work I do. Like you, my biggest task is brush hogging a couple fields twice a year. I would not go back to a gear drive now having experienced both. Good luck! BTW, I run a 5 foot brush hog on my L3901 and am very confident it could run a larger one without any issue.

 

[TripleR]

Having spend a whole day running a tractor mowing I would not want to use hydro as your leg will be tired. Also working on hills you will be losing a lot of HP to hydro on the hills. If your spending 100% on loader work hyrdo is great, field work power shift(gst) or gear.

As mentioned, most now have cruise control. I've spent all day mowing with HST as well as gear and on our hill farm, I use three gears with our M8540, but can leave my 5740 in medium all day.

I grew up using gears and have more geared than HST machines, but I sure like them and am beginning to spend more time on the HST than gears.

 

[PHILIP8N]

Different opinions. I love hydro for mowing and bush hogging. The ability to change speed due to thickness of material being cut, ability to change speed as you get close to objects you don't want to hit, ability to quickly go from forward to reverse. The Grand L's have cruise control, so you leg never gets tired In fact, the cruse control lever is like a big boat throttle, so you can make speed changes with that and not the pedal. Philip.

 

[TripleR]

Different opinions. I love hydro for mowing and bush hogging. The ability to change speed due to thickness of material being cut, ability to change speed as you get close to objects you don't want to hit, ability to quickly go from forward to reverse. The Grand L's have cruise control, so you leg never gets tired In fact, the cruse control lever is like a big boat throttle, so you can make speed changes with that and not the pedal. Philip.

Yep, I use it almost as much as my pedal and really handy when turned around and going up and down on short steep inclines, pedal for reverse and cruise to come out, very easy with smooth transitions, no need to move your foot.

 

[sea2summit]

I think the MXs and basic Ls have 2 positions that you achieve by swapping wheels side to side. We're talking about R4s here. R1s will have multiple positions achieved by swapping side to side, changing the dish of the wheel, and how it bolts to the rim, regardless of the model. The Grand L series has R4s that can be adjusted to multiple positions similar to how R1s work.

You can adjust the dish on my MX as well, not sure if that is a new option (R4s).

ETA: already covered I just hadn't caught up.

 

[pburchett]

Also FWIW, I regularly run a 6' brush hog through stuff I'd have a hard time walking through with out any bog down and hills appear to make no difference.

Thanks. This is the info I am lookin for. . I want that power to eat stuff down and keep on going. I am flexible on the width and the hydro vs gear. I am used to shifting gears so that does not bother me. I had not thought about the cruise control, so that is something to look for. I think I will take whatever is a good deal as I normally only put 40-50 hours a year on my current 30pto hp Ford. I see a lot of 30 hp Kubotas for sale locally with very low hours, but I thought they would be no better than what I has as far as hp. The 40-45 pto hp machines in any flavor seem to be very limited except for new or used up. I suppose those machines are the sweet spot in power and size. Information from experienced users are gold as I now am confident on the size I need. Thanks

 

[The Fred]

Go with a gear shift not a hydro on that hill as your will be in low range mowing a hill like that. We have a M5400 on a large 7' brushhog and really should have gotten a 6' but it is similar to landpride Rcf3672 a real heavy cutter. Look at a mx or grand l with gst transmission.
And get R1 tires

Yup for sure

I run a 6' bush hog behind my L3940, would not want to go with any less horsepower or any less weight. Most of the time the hp is fine to run a decent speed, occasionally have to slow down if weeds get thick or tall. I do not run front weights or FEL when I bush hog, so the L3940 weight is about the minimum I would want to be at. Philip.

I wouldn't ever consider (again) any hydro tractor with less than 60hp. You right foot's gonna be some sore with that hydro pedal. You'll wish you mowed it with a sickle.

Regards, Fred

 

[PHILIP8N]

I wouldn't ever consider (again) any hydro tractor with less than 60hp. You right foot's gonna be some sore with that hydro pedal. You'll wish you mowed it with a sickle.

Regards, Fred

I have had my L3940 hydro since 2009, no regrets, would do it again, never had a sore right foot. Use the cruise control... I own both gear and hydro tractors, when it comes to mowing, and almost any other task (minus some ground engaging work), hydrostatic transmission is the way to go. Philip.

 

[gladehound]

Thanks. This is the info I am lookin for. . I want that power to eat stuff down and keep on going. I am flexible on the width and the hydro vs gear. I am used to shifting gears so that does not bother me. I had not thought about the cruise control, so that is something to look for. I think I will take whatever is a good deal...

If value for money is important "good deal" and you are flexible gear vs hydro. It might be good to compare what you can get in an HST vs gear for the amount of money you're willing to spend on this.

I looked at a 40hp hydro before buying my 45hp gear. The 40hp hydro cost $3000 more and the engine felt like a dog compared to the 45hp gear. I went with the 45hp gear (with power reverser). I think those who are saying go for a GST are right on the money. Just not too many used GST tractors out there when looking used. A synchronized gear with power reverser is more common on the used market and you will be able to get more power for the $.

People seem to overlook that it isn't just the difference in power loss between gear and hydro with the same engine. It's power loss plus the fact that with gear you can go up an engine size of two for the same price! So yes, that HST may be convenient changing speeds for differing conditions, but with a larger engine and gear you might not have to change gears unless you want to go faster on the easy parts than the HST ever could.