Kubota L45 4.50 star(s) (4)

Excellent And Justifiably Expensive
Model Year: 2011

This is my second backhoe. The first was an immensely powerful John Deere 500 and this little unit, of course, can't hold a candle to that big behemoth - but its ease of operation and smoothness and build quality is something else. Maintenance is easy and the only flaw is a minute fuel filter with no water drain underneath which I have almost never seen on any diesel. The tractor would not start last winter and the filter was full of ice. On my other non Kubotas and my Dodge, you drain off the water every few months and I failed to do it on the L45. I added a second fuel filter, a Racor, with a clear bowl and now it is easy to see and use. The Racor is far larger and filters to 2 microns vs the 8 or 10 microns of the Kubota. Most usefully, the L45 becomes a farm tractor with the backhoe off and the 3-point in operation, although the power take-off horsepower of only 32 is a bit puny for big mowers or balers and the hydrostatic transmission of course is not ideal in that application, but for my small acreage this little TLB is hard to beat. It has lots of nifty features like hi/lo on the stick which actually gives you 6 speeds and a little lever that moves the tractor when you are in the backhoe seat. The engine speed control is a smooth easy lever. It is a great tractor in almost all respects and scarce and justifiably expensive in the used market.

Pros: Economy, safety, comfort, reliability, ease of use
Cons: Rinky dink fuel filte

Kubota L45
Model Year: 2010

I have nothing negative to say about the tractor itself. It is easy to operate, has enough power to do all the jobs I ask it to do and has saved me lots of money because I can now do all the things that I was paying someone else to do. The only negative would be the owner's manual. It must assume that you already know a lot about tractors because I've had to do a lot of independent research for some of the minor maintenance issues. It also doesn't go into a lot of detail about the specific operation of the tractor. I had to learn most of what I know on a trial and error basis. I'm really glad I didn't go with a smaller unit such as the L39.

Pros: Well built, dependable, easy to attach and remove backhoe.
Cons: Hydraulic pump could use a little more output and the owner's manual wasn't much help.

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Kubota TLB L45
Model Year: 2011

This machine is being used to build and maintain a dirt road. The backhoe end is impressive for a small machine. I am excavating shale that has not been previously disturbed. It tears through tree roots well. The front loader is also impressively strong. Fuel consumption is under 5 gallons a day digging & loading. Traveling with the machine seems to consume fuel rapidly. My only gripe is the exhaust discharge location. It blows across the left front tire downward to the ground. This blows all the lose dust into the air. The real fine stuff that statically sticks to the tire. I find myself working in a cloud of red dust. The machine is covered with stone dust. My truck is covered and so am I. This situation is getting modified just as soon as I figure out a better way to route the exhaust.

Pros: Power to size ratio.
Cons: Exhaust discharge location.

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L45
Model Year: 2011

This has been a great tractor. I've probably dug a mile of trench with the backhoe and moved tons of dirt and hay with the bucket and bale attachment. It's just the right size for my 80 acres.

Pros: Many.
Cons: Can't think of any right now.

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