M4700 4wd

[Billc]

Tom, spent part of yesterday helping my brother at his place. We were clearing part of a pasture that had over grown. His hst is so much easier and quicker when you are in a tight area. We were doing a lot of backing in to the brush and chopping all the crap up with the 5' Bush Hog. Not a problem at all.

The land is on a gental slope and the tractor didn't feel loose at all. But then on similar ground mine wouldn't either.

As to the 3710, I know it is a lot of money. My brother started off wanting a 3010, then decided for a little more he could get the 3410. Once he had decided on that, then he thought for a little more money he could get a 3710. Now he wishes, and this is his only regret, that he had gotten a 4310 hst. But on the other had, once he has all his land cleared and is mainly maintaining his property the 3710 will be plenty big enough.

Again, I think a man should buy whatever he damn well wants, period. But I think, and this is only an opinion and we all know what that's worth, the L series hst is better suited to your needs. You can hire a tracked loader to come in and he can clear your land in a day. Then with your L series you'll be able to grade it how you want it.

One other thought, on your more extreme slopes you don't want a tractor on it no matter which you buy. The second you even get sort of close to the tractor being tipsy you've made a big mistake. It will only take doing that once, scaring the hell out of yourself, and you won't do it again.

I live on a ridge top, my house is at the peak. When I am mowing I only go up and down, not sideways. And along that note, make sure any tractor you get has a ROPS and always wear a seatbelt.

Tom, how will you be using a tractor? What jobs will it be doing? Will you use it to build your house? etc.

Last thing, when negociating for a tractor, don't get too ruffled when you make an offer and the seller looks at you like you are crazy. If your offer is too low just ask, "How 'too low' is it?". When he tells you then you can look at him like he's crazy. I make about 20 offers per week to buy a house. Most of my offers are 40 to 50 cents on the dollar of the asking price. Most sellers look at me like I'm crazy. I know my offer is too low, but with any offer I make the seller is going to think it is too low. I'm convinced that I could offer the seller $10,000 more than their asking price and their first thought wouldn't be "Yipee, I've sold my house!", rather it would be, "Uh-oh, he knows something we don't, we're not asking enough for our house, we might want to up our asking price.". So make the offer and let the sell be shocked.

 

[W5FL]

Mark - He can get the M4900 with the 24 inch low profile tires and definately be more stable. What you lose (everything is a tradeoff) is some traction. Since I wanted all the traction I could get, I did not take the low profile option. All of the Orchard tractors are low profile. The reason is they are build for California where the only level ground is under the ocean, and not many places there. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
The local city bought a 2WD M6800 with Low Profile Tires for mowing on freeway slopes, but the 4WD would have been much more suitable. It looked kinda funny because it had the original front tires. Normally they also use the low profile tires on the rear for the 4WD Kubotas.

Places where my MF245 Massey felt unstable the M6800 doesn't even miss a beat. The large 4WD front tires just go right across the ditches and washes and keep right on going. The tires when ballasted on some of these vehicles weigh more than some small tractors. Still believe Kubota's 4WD vehicles properly weighed and ballasted are second only to a tracked vehicle in stability.

 

[MChalkley]

Wen, more stable than what? Than an M without low profile tires, or than an L with R4's?

Mark

 

[Thomasre]

Mark and Wen,

Hey guys thanks again and I hate to keep asking but - help me here - 24" (low profile tires?) What would be the tire size of these low profile on 4700? What type tred? R4 or are they the super turf tires. I would think the 4900 with low profile tires would have to be more stable than 3710 with R4 tires? Suggestions on who might be able to answer question? What is the lowest profile tire for each tractor with at least r4 type tred? I will definitely fill either tractors tires.

Again can't thank you enough. If the 3710 would be as stable, I sure would like to have that confirmed. Otherwise, I would sure consider the 4700.

 

[W5FL]

Low Profile Tires: On my M6800, the low profile tires are changed from 16.9-30 to 16.9-24. Tires are same width just a little over 2 inches less in rolling radius. If you run through the calculations, you will see that setting the tires out 4 inches total center to center accomplishes the same degree of stability.

On the M Series the centerline of the rear wheels can be adjusted from 52 in to 67.7
On the L Series the centerline of the rear wheels can be adjusted from 46.5 to 60.8 (L4310)

The L Series will never be able to be adjusted as stable as the M Series due to the narrower track of the L Series. It is the angle where the cg of the tractor passes through the line of the tire touching the ground on the downhill side that causes the restoring moment to be negative and over she goes. Both series are helped significantly by adding ballast to the tires as either wheel weights or better yet as liquid ballast in the tires. 50% fill (as Mark has) is even more effective than the more common 90% fill (the tires are filled to the filler valve when it is at the top of the tire rotation (12:00 position).

The front tires are also changed in rim size to maintain the correct rolling ratio between the front and rear tires.

The dealer offered me the low profile tires as a negative cost option on the M6800SD. I did not take it because the traction is less on the same size (width) tire on a 24 inch vs a 30 inch rim and I need all the traction I can get at times. I did have him set them out 4 inches to get the same stability.

 

[W5FL]

Forgot the rest of your question was about the tread. I have only used the R1 tires. The Firestone Road and Field tires have an overlap in the bars and ride smoothly on either soft or hard surface.

The R4 tires are industrial tires and are good for construction sites with lots of nails. They would be of no use to me.

Also have no use for the Turf tires. They get full of mud and are pretty useless then. They are a speciality tire suitable for large lawns and are used by sod farms and golf courses and of course by those that bought a tractor primarily to mow with.

 

[Thomasre]

Again - Thanks,

I knew the centerline of the tires could be moved out, but I didn't realize how much, Now I just have to get everything lined up to buy - will let you know decision.

The Firestone Road and Field tires sound good if I buy new.

 

[MChalkley]

Check out the posts on the Michelin XM27 tires, if you haven't already. They're the best of both worlds: the traction of R1's and the durability of R4's. Plus, they're radials and as such will outwork any bias tire hands down, not to mention ride, efficiency, and traction advantages.

Did I miss it, or did this discussion not address the height of the M-series? If it's higher than the L-series (I say 'if' because I don't know) the increased center of gravity will negate track width. Another thing to keep in mind is that with increased track width, you have to increase the width of most of your rear implements - which adds to expense. Plus it gets a lot less maneuverable, if you're going to be using it in the woods. I think you're trading "all for naught" if you're doing all for increased stability - the difference is going to be negligible. Now if you need the increased horse power, that's a different story altogether.

Mark

 

[W5FL]

Mark, I keep my tractor in a barn all times not being used. Will the tires still crack over time. I never wear tires out, but previous ones that spent a lot of times outdoors become nearly unusable from cracks in the tire. I think the radials are better, but Kubota doesn't think enough of them to offer them on any tractors that I have checked.

Look at the M4700 and the L4310 in their crates, and there is not much difference in size. The primary difference in size comes from the wheels and tires. I always thought the M5700 and M6800 were wider, but it turns out that the only difference is the tires are wider.

 

[Billc]

The 4700 is taller, wider, and longer than the 4310. When my brother and I have our two tractors next to each other the difference in size is amazing. His 3710 is about the size of a 4310, and my 5400 is about the size of a 4700.

Mark hit the nail on the head as to why there's such a difference in size. I use a 1001 loader with a tooth bar, he has the 681(?) loader. I have a 6 ft heavy duty brush cutter and his is a 5 footer.

When in a tight area the M series can be a hand full, especially with all the gear changing.

Another thing to think about that Mark keyed on was that the impliments will be bigger and more expensive with the M series.

You might want to see if a rental company close to your has a hydro Kubota. Rent it for the day and see how it works.

Wen, the traction Mark gets with his tires is simply incredible! I heard he had 30 o locking rings on each tire (he modified of course!). He is able to take the rubber heads off of toilet plungers and connect them to the rubber o rings (hydrolically of course). Then when he is doing some serious landscaping on the roof of one of thoes big tall buildings Mark is able to simply drive up the side of the building!