Proud owner of a new M5660

[mcfarmall]

Took delivery of my new M5660 the afternoon of 11/6/2020. Put 2.1 hours on it over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with my purchase and it will be used to do the chores that the old Farmall C had been doing and a few new jobs that the C couldn't do. I'm liking the hydraulic shuttle!

I bought the base tractor with the following options:

Front wheel assist
R1 tires
Engine block heater
ePTO
Arm rest kit for the seat
Right fender grab handle

LA 1154 loader with the following options:

72" heavy duty round back material bucket
48" Construction Attachments 4200lb pallet forks
Kubota Shockless Ride accumulator
Third function valve
Bucket level indicator
Grille guard

Implements:
Land Pride RCD 1884 rotary cutter with front chain guard and optional skid shoes
Precision Mfg 333D72 Dual lid root rake grapple

I have some family property (40 acres) with about 15 tillable, 5 pasture and the rest semi-scrubby woods. Will be using the grapple for brush and fencerow cleanup, manipulating& loading logs for cutting into lengths. Pasture, roadside, lane mowing, and hopefully in the future, some tillage.

I live on a 2 acre parcel and will trailer the tractor back and forth for work on the 40 acres...the rotary cutter will live at the 40 in a small lean-to shelter that I'm constructing from a ginormous pallet that I salvaged from work. I'll use the tractor and bucket for snow removal at home and various lifting, etc. chores around the house.

Fire off with any questions or comments.

 

[bx tractorjoe]

Congrats! That is a big upgrade from a farmall c..

 

[likable1905]

Come easy, mate, congratulations.

 

[pokey1416]

Pics of your purchase please . Congratulations.

 

[mcfarmall]

Pics of your purchase please . Congratulations.

Ughhh...I'll try! Might have to do some research of the stickies and what not to figure it out.

 

[mcfarmall]

Here goes...

 

[B737]

that thing is a BEAST!

 

[NCL4701]

Welcome to the 21st century. Having a similar experience going from older tractors to a modern machine, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the major upgrade from the Farmall. At least for me, the biggest difference is the hydraulics. Having a capable loader, a 3 point with much greater lift capacity, and more PTO horsepower for rotary cutter, chipper, etc. is just incredible. Being able to shift forward/reverse without stopping, clutching, and moving the shifter is pretty sweet to, particularly for loader work.

 

[BIGO]

Congratulations. I also have a 5660 suhd with the 1154 loader . its a strong solid tractor.

 

[Teknys]

Congratulations. I also have a 5660 suhd with the 1154 loader . its a strong solid tractor.

I too have a M5660SUHD. I'm about to do the 50hr initial service. This one is a bit $$ on that service.
Tractor is great ! Impressive amount of work it can do.

 

[JimmyJazz]

Took delivery of my new M5660 the afternoon of 11/6/2020. Put 2.1 hours on it over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with my purchase and it will be used to do the chores that the old Farmall C had been doing and a few new jobs that the C couldn't do. I'm liking the hydraulic shuttle!

I bought the base tractor with the following options:

Front wheel assist
R1 tires
Engine block heater
ePTO
Arm rest kit for the seat
Right fender grab handle

LA 1154 loader with the following options:

72" heavy duty round back material bucket
48" Construction Attachments 4200lb pallet forks
Kubota Shockless Ride accumulator
Third function valve
Bucket level indicator
Grille guard

Implements:
Land Pride RCD 1884 rotary cutter with front chain guard and optional skid shoes
Precision Mfg 333D72 Dual lid root rake grapple

I have some family property (40 acres) with about 15 tillable, 5 pasture and the rest semi-scrubby woods. Will be using the grapple for brush and fencerow cleanup, manipulating& loading logs for cutting into lengths. Pasture, roadside, lane mowing, and hopefully in the future, some tillage.

I live on a 2 acre parcel and will trailer the tractor back and forth for work on the 40 acres...the rotary cutter will live at the 40 in a small lean-to shelter that I'm constructing from a ginormous pallet that I salvaged from work. I'll use the tractor and bucket for snow removal at home and various lifting, etc. chores around the house.

Fire off with any questions or comments.

Why would you choose the shuttle shift over the ever popular hydrostatic? I have an old Allis Chalmers 5040 with a geared transmission at the moment. I have been considering upgrading to a used Kubota and for no good reason been hesitant to consider anything other than the hydrostatic transmission. Thanks

 

[wgator]

Here goes...

I bow to you oh mighty one!

 

[mcfarmall]

Why would you choose the shuttle shift over the ever popular hydrostatic? I have an old Allis Chalmers 5040 with a geared transmission at the moment. I have been considering upgrading to a used Kubota and for no good reason been hesitant to consider anything other than the hydrostatic transmission. Thanks

I drove a Kubota 3301 hydro and I needed hearing protection from the whining hydrostat even when in low range and very light load on the tractor. The same is true of my FIL's JD 3038e. So one reason is the noise. Another reason is the potential for heat buildup during hours and hours of heavy draft loads such as tillage. Another reason is because of the minimal power losses of a gear transmission from engine to PTO. Rated engine HP on the M5660 is 57.9 per their specification sheet and I'm getting a solid 50 out the back end. Another reason is clutchless direction changes due to the hydraulic shuttle transmission...still suitable for loader and grapple work.

At the end of the day each purchaser should carefully weigh all these factors in to their final decision. I don't have the means to buy and sell new tractors if I don't like this or that about it, so I had to make the right choice for me the first time. For the past SEVEN years I have been scouring the forums, researching manufacturers websites and brochures, and working through in my mind all the chores that I currently engage in AND could possibly engage in the future to make the right choice for my application. I believe I have made the right choice for me and my tasks at hand.

In the future, I might consider a smaller Kubota like a 2601 with turf tires MMM and a loader to replace my JD 260 should it ever die. In that case, I would definitely opt for the hydrostatic transmission for a plethora of reasons...we'll save that for another post. I hope this won't turn into the Gear vs. Hydrostatic debate...that horse has been beat to death many times over!

 

[troverman]

The Kubota "standard L" series like the 3301 you tried out, has for whatever reason a pretty loud hydro whine. That goes for the 2501, 3301, and 3901. However, the larger "Grand L 60" series from the 35HP to 60HP range have basically silent hydros. The MX series of tractors with the HST transmissions are also very quiet. So I don't think the 3301 is a fair generalization. That said, for ground tilling, HST is probably not as good a choice as gear. I really like the 5660 and have no problem with a hydraulic shuttle. It is a beefier tractor than any L series and its beefier even than an MX series

 

[mcfarmall]

The Kubota "standard L" series like the 3301 you tried out, has for whatever reason a pretty loud hydro whine. That goes for the 2501, 3301, and 3901. However, the larger "Grand L 60" series from the 35HP to 60HP range have basically silent hydros. The MX series of tractors with the HST transmissions are also very quiet. So I don't think the 3301 is a fair generalization. That said, for ground tilling, HST is probably not as good a choice as gear. I really like the 5660 and have no problem with a hydraulic shuttle. It is a beefier tractor than any L series and its beefier even than an MX series

Interesting information...I didn't test drive the larger Grand L series because they were outside my budget constraints nor did I test drive the MX hydros because they were not suitable to me for other reasons. It's nice to hear comments like yours as I take it as a confirmation that I chose a very suitable and capable tractor for my particular applications.

The reason Kubota's lineup is so diverse is for the simple reason that one size does not fit all.

 

[troverman]

Interesting information...I didn't test drive the larger Grand L series because they were outside my budget constraints nor did I test drive the MX hydros because they were not suitable to me for other reasons. It's nice to hear comments like yours as I take it as a confirmation that I chose a very suitable and capable tractor for my particular applications.

The reason Kubota's lineup is so diverse is for the simple reason that one size does not fit all.

I've owned a bunch of Kubotas...B series, L series, two Grand L, and one MX. The Grand L has an amazing HST transmission; Kubota calls it HST-Plus. That said, your tractor is beefier than any Grand L. My older Grand L has a GST "Glideshift" transmission which had 12 speeds which could be shifted on the fly with no clutch and a hydraulic shuttle. It put excellent power to the PTO and was easy to operate...not as quick for loader work as an HST, but excellent for mowing. Even though it wasn't necessary, I tended to make a habit of using the clutch between forward-backward shuttle changes.

 

[BX23S-1]

Here goes...

What a beautiful sight. Perfect! Congratulations, it will serve you very well!!!

 

[GeoHorn]

Very nice....Congratulations! (Love those hard-workin’ M’s).

 

[AOK]

Took delivery of my new M5660 the afternoon of 11/6/2020. Put 2.1 hours on it over the weekend. I'm pretty happy with my purchase and it will be used to do the chores that the old Farmall C had been doing and a few new jobs that the C couldn't do. I'm liking the hydraulic shuttle!

I bought the base tractor with the following options:

Front wheel assist
R1 tires
Engine block heater
ePTO
Arm rest kit for the seat
Right fender grab handle

LA 1154 loader with the following options:

72" heavy duty round back material bucket
48" Construction Attachments 4200lb pallet forks
Kubota Shockless Ride accumulator
Third function valve
Bucket level indicator
Grille guard

Implements:
Land Pride RCD 1884 rotary cutter with front chain guard and optional skid shoes
Precision Mfg 333D72 Dual lid root rake grapple

I have some family property (40 acres) with about 15 tillable, 5 pasture and the rest semi-scrubby woods. Will be using the grapple for brush and fencerow cleanup, manipulating& loading logs for cutting into lengths. Pasture, roadside, lane mowing, and hopefully in the future, some tillage.

I live on a 2 acre parcel and will trailer the tractor back and forth for work on the 40 acres...the rotary cutter will live at the 40 in a small lean-to shelter that I'm constructing from a ginormous pallet that I salvaged from work. I'll use the tractor and bucket for snow removal at home and various lifting, etc. chores around the house.

Fire off with any questions or comments.

I just received my M5660 a few days ago. So far so good.

Ran a rotary cutter for 3 hours yesterday. Will be back at it today when the dew dries.