jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
L4701 vs MX5400
- Thread starter NorthwoodsLife
- Start date
The one in my picture is a 10’ 3/8’s that I stole off my trailer. Will eventually get a 20’ 5/16 for tractor duty. I think the box will only hold one 20 footer.
If I get out today, I’ll try to remember to throw a 20’ in there and take a picture.
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
They share rear tire size and L4701 has more 3 pt lift by only 10pounds!!! MX has more FEL capacity and pto Hp and cab is offered as option on MX !! I went with L4701 with FEL and BH 92 love it !!!
4701 has been a huge seller for Kubota !!! If you get correct specs it’s really close to MX series !!! Those few thousands you can put towards implements !!!
If there's anything I can say about Kubota marketing, it's this; They have developed a market with hobby farmers and ranchers and property owners with luxurious, yet capable 'toys' that perform.
I'm personally amazed at their product lines. Back in the late 70's they built very small but heavy duty - construction rated tractors. A highly capable tractor that you could fit thru most backyard fences and do some serious work. Humbly stated; I know, I did it.
Thing's changed. Today, we see the Grand L Series with serious amenities for comfort. I mean this seriously, those Grand L's are made for comfort and ease of use. At High end Ranches and such it's common to see the owners daughter in the field with a Grand L. The BMW of tractor finery. Damn, they are beautiful.
My point is, because of my humble experience with Kubota, I've seen the changes over the years. But, For my personal use, I generally prefer low tech and basic capability. Conversly, as I get older the bouncy seat position and rugged open station bad-assery.... means less to me than a cab and an air ride seat.
I think that, frankly, Kubota offers too many models. But who am I to say, their obviously making money. I don't think one could go wrong with a L4701 or MX, LX or B.
Even the BX has it's place.
I'm personally amazed at their product lines. Back in the late 70's they built very small but heavy duty - construction rated tractors. A highly capable tractor that you could fit thru most backyard fences and do some serious work. Humbly stated; I know, I did it.
Thing's changed. Today, we see the Grand L Series with serious amenities for comfort. I mean this seriously, those Grand L's are made for comfort and ease of use. At High end Ranches and such it's common to see the owners daughter in the field with a Grand L. The BMW of tractor finery. Damn, they are beautiful.
My point is, because of my humble experience with Kubota, I've seen the changes over the years. But, For my personal use, I generally prefer low tech and basic capability. Conversly, as I get older the bouncy seat position and rugged open station bad-assery.... means less to me than a cab and an air ride seat.
I think that, frankly, Kubota offers too many models. But who am I to say, their obviously making money. I don't think one could go wrong with a L4701 or MX, LX or B.
Even the BX has it's place.
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I have 52 acres and deal with the same issues you have. Do yourself a favor and skip the tractor and by a skid steer. Every attachment you will ever need can be purchased for a skid steer. I wish now I would have bought one instead of my MX5800. Heck my farmer uses a skid steer for moving hay bales.
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
There is nothing wrong with the L4701, but there are significant upgrades to the MX for not much more money: telescoping lift arms, rubber floor mat, electric over hydraulic pto switch, no manual clutch, very significant increase in loader lift capacity, button override of seat safety switch, larger front tires and beefier axles. And probably more things I can’t remember.
Cost of the machine at 5K more seems significant at the time of purchase but 10 years down the road is a not so big of a deal.
I had a similar concern when I purchased my l3800 in 2012. I was looking at the l3800 manual trans (524 loader, bh77) vs l4600 (764 loader,bh90(OR 92) both outfitted LP rear blade, auger, 5 ft rear mower for the then 6 ac property. The primary need for the tractor was the 4 wheeler and blade couldn't keep up with our winters by February and we needed a way to push more snow effectively. We also raised some beef, prepped firewood from logs, mowing, cleared 30 years of wild rose, snow moving on a 300 yd driveway, and other typical farm chores.
There was a $9K difference in cost with the more capable loader/backhoe, bigger platform and weight. My wife insisted on paying cash and at the time I didn't understand that the added capability was worth the additional $9k for my then undetermined and seemingly small farm needs. It seems that we were able to most of our chores without a tractor, albeit with much more time and effort. The l3800 filled most of my needs, but wouldn't lift a tote of barley (1500#) pellets and move them or allow me to stack large square bales (1000#), at least directly and safely. I'd use the roll back function on the bucket (backhoe and rimguard for ballast) and have my wife drive the truck out from under the totes and then I could place them down in one spot and I would flip the bales (with bucket forks) onto each other but could never go more than 2 high.
Anyway, we now live at 42 ac mostly timbered property, take care of a 1/2 mi gravel drive, skid logs, maintain access roads, mow 7 acres of field, and clear brush (lots of wild rose and those tall southern ID variety junipers). That $9K difference would have made a big difference in ability to lift more material/weight and the weight associated ground pressure needed to skid some of the longer logs I have tried to move without having to cut them down in size. The heavier ground pressure would be useful with the wicked 55 root rake for wild rose and other brush. It works pretty good on the l3800 in the wet spring ground but not so much in the summer. There are even times when the bigger machine would have helped w plowing snow.
If I had purchased the L4600 I probably wouldn't be in the market for a bigger machine. $9000 more doesn't seem so significant 10 years later. If you can afford, want, and can use a bigger machine then I'd recommend getting one (as I'm sure others would too).
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Three main differences are MX has Cab offered its FEL capacity is larger it’s PTO HP is more than L4701.Elecrtric over hydraulic Pto is on both. Rear tires in R4s are same size.Fronts are slightly larger on MX. On Kubota specs lift capacity on 3pt is a hair higher on L4701 like 10lbs I figure there even.Rear axcels are probably the same the front may differ ??? I purchased a rubber mat from Messicks for an MX 5400 fits L4701 nicely !!! Both models get same BH92 attachment. As a home owner the L4701 was nice size plenty of HP and PTO HP for my needs. MX if I farmed needed more Pto hp and run 7 ft implement's I definitely would have went with MX 5200 couple years ago it was $1,800 more at the time
jyoutz
Well-known member
Equipment
MX6000 HST open station, FEL, 6’ cutter, forks, 8’ rear blade, 7’ cultivator
I was sold by the upgrades and heavier weight. Also the loader lift capacity is significantly higher on the MX. i wanted to be able to lift a one ton pallet . The lift capacity is 2400#, so with my 400# forks, I still have the ability to lift 2000#. Lots of things I buy are packaged on one ton pallet loads.
NCL4701
Well-known member
Equipment
L4701, T2290, WC68, grapple, BB1572, Farmi W50R, Howes 500, 16kW IMD gen, WG24
Lift capacity is a significant differentiator between the L and MX. I didn’t need it but it makes the decision easy for many who do need it. The L (at least mine) doesn’t have a clutch and does have the electric over hydraulic PTO. They’re comparable in many ways (such as 3 point capacity) but the MX spanks the L on loader capacity.
I really like the chain bucket option, unfortunately I've had to order a new mx5400 due to the attached picture...which means I need a new grill guard..come out ok in the tractor, not so much on the barn.
Attachments
NCL4701
Well-known member
Equipment
L4701, T2290, WC68, grapple, BB1572, Farmi W50R, Howes 500, 16kW IMD gen, WG24
Doesn’t look like that will buff out. Hope you had good insurance on the tractor, building, and everything else. Even if you did, that’s pretty rough.
Wow sorry to hear about the fire. I hope all goes well with the insurance company and glad no one was hurt.
Actually the L4701 has the lowest sales numbers of any L series and is considered an orphan model with golf courses as its target customer
And your getting the sales numbers directly from Kubota ???? Orphan status is really funny as it shares parts and components from many other models a fact you can look into !!!!
NCL4701
Well-known member
Equipment
L4701, T2290, WC68, grapple, BB1572, Farmi W50R, Howes 500, 16kW IMD gen, WG24
If you enjoy feeding trolls, feel free to proceed. If not, this would be a good time to stop.
