newbie looking for some guidance

[yamhat]

Greetings,

I'm looking for some guidance on my first tractor purchase. My wife and I are city kid transplants, moved to the country finally after years of being fed up with neighbors and noise and so on...I'm sure some of you know how that goes.

So we bought a house out of town on 10 acres, which may expand to 20 down the road, the 10 next door are for sale but they want an exorbitant amount for it..so maybe if they get desparate later on? hehe. Right now it's basically all forest with a small yard around the house. We want to clear quite a bit of it out, what we want in the long (maybe very long) term is to have maybe an acre or so of nice yard, a small apple orchard, some pasture for a few goats and maybe horses farther down the road, enough garden to produce as much of our food as we can, with some woodlot in the back for firewood, and I'd like to keep a 50' or so perimeter of forest around everything for privacy...so realistically we're looking at probably 5 or so acres that would actually be maintained.

so, our immediate needs are land clearing, driveway maintainance & snow removal (400ish foot gravel drive with a couple of parking areas), tilling gardens, and whatever other random stuff comes up. I definitely won't be mowing with it for a while and I don't know if I ever will...we are in northern Minnesota and I mow the grass maybe 5 times a year...the push mower is fine for now.

implements I'm looking at for sure: loader (moving snow, dirt), backhoe (pulling stumps out, digging footers & running water/electric for new outbuildings, digging some drainage ditches, planting trees), rear snowblower, tiller, generator to replace our POS old gas one that's almost impossible to start, some kind of blade to take care of the driveway.

on the "maybe" list down the road: mower, chipper (for small stuff only, we heat with wood), log splitter (been doing fine with the 8lb maul so far, so I dunno)

so there's what I want to do. Our land is pretty hilly and with the thick woods I don't want something huge that's going to tip over and/or catch branches all the time.

I started out looking used and I'm sure like many newbies was floored at how well these things hold their value. Then I started looking at the Chinese tractors they sell at Northern Tool...which sound like they can be decent if you don't mind doing some tinkering (I don't), but the main thing that ruled them out is that my friend let me play around with his kubota B7500, and thusly I determined that the hydrostatic tranny is a must for me, and it's not an option on the Northern tractors.

I've done plenty of reading and checked out the local dealers and have gravitated to Kubota. both the JD and NH dealers here primarily deal with construction equipment and kinda looked at me funny. there are no dealers close by for Kioti or Mahindra, there's a Bobcat dealer but he also happens to be the Kubota dealer and doesn't carry any of the Bobcat CUTs.

Whatever I get needs to fit in my 7' garage door, and I'd like to be able to tow it without buying a new truck (have '01 toyota tundra, 7500lb tow rating). I can afford a tractor *or* a new truck, not both, hehe.

when I started going to dealers I was thinking I probably wanted the B3200/3300, or maybe a small L. Well, the closest dealer (the bobcat/kubota guy) had a large gap in his lineup -- a B2920 to an L3940, nothing in between. not helpful. so, we drove to the next closest dealer, about 90 miles away...he had a lot more to choose from and was much more helpful to boot. I was pretty surprised by my impressions...

I really liked the B2920. it seems really maneuverable and stable, I'm not worried about handling it in the woods/hills at all. My wife was comfortable driving it too, maybe I want that feature and maybe I don't! I'll never get to use it.

so on to the bigger...they had a B3200 and an L3400 parked right next to each other. to be frank, I was turned off by the 3200. It just seems taller and longer than the smaller Bs without really being any more substantial...I dunno if it's enough to really make a difference in maneuverability. I did notice the vibration people talk about, but it wasn't bothersome enough to be a deal killer for me, I'm not sure if I would have noticed it if I hadn't read about it beforehand. The thing that really got me about the 3200 is that sitting next to the L3400 it just seemed like so much less...just looking at it from behind the axles & rear end are so much smaller...for such a small jump in price the L just seemed like a *lot* better buy. So yeah, on to the L. I didn't realise how big, and perceptively substantial, it would be, feels like sitting on a serious, serious machine. I like where the loader joystick is better on the Bs. I really don't like the separate seat for the backhoe, I'm not a small dude and it looks like major pretzel time on there...the B2920 with the single rotating seat was way more comfortable. main thing that struck me about the L is that it's just...big...but I don't know if that's good or not.

so, anyway, that's where we stand. I'm leaning toward the B2x20 because of the maneuverability issue and the woods. I really don't think I'd be happy driving that L around on our trails. what I want to know is, basically, am I just being stupid about that? when I look at other threads on here where people are talking based on lot size, I see Ls getting recommended for 5-10 acres...on the other hand, my friend with the B7500 has 40 acres of pretty similiar land to ours, and he's totally satisfied with it. realistically, what capabilities am I giving up with a B2620/2920 vs a small L? I'm not really sure if the extra weight is an asset or a liability for what I want to use it for. my gut is telling me that the B is plenty, but since I have no experience with these things I want to hear from some folks who know what they're doing.

Thanks everyone in advance, sorry for the long, rambly post

 

[radioman]

Welcome to kubota forum- and heck no, its not a rambly post. Its the kind of information we need to help you. I see you have already got a budget in mind, and know what you can do and cant. Have you looked into the used kubotas instead of new ? From you post, a B is a great starter, I wouldnt get anything smaller. An L would be nice with the extra HP and stablity you need, but I think with a B, you would either be trading it up in the future for L once the land is more cleared out or stay with the B as city clickers may find it a perfect size. I kinda have a feeling that you will want the B no matter what and once you find you need a bigger tractor and get something simalar to the L you will be glad you have 2 tractors down the road.

 

[dodge man]

Don't let the size of your land be the absolute deciding factor. There might be some people that have 100 acres that might get by with a BX. It sounds like you have your self talked into the B2920 being the right size for you. Go for it!

I got a BX about 2 years ago and the salesman talked me into it. I didn't have a clue what I wanted or needed, but it was the perfect tractor for me. It sounds like you are ahead of the ball game and have done your research.

 

[JJZ 109]

If you're in Minnesota and will be doing snow removal, you may also want to consider a cab. 400 feet is a fairly long drive and you'd likely be eating a few bushels of snow if you use a blower.
I've been very happy with my B3030.

 

[LD1]

I have a L3400 and find it to be just right for my 5 acres.

It is not too big or heavy to mow with, yet just heavy enough to have decient productivity when it comes to dirt/loader work. I don't have a backhoe so I cant comment on that.

But you shouldn't have any problems towing if you decide to get the l3400. The tractor weighs 2600lbs, another 1000 for the FEL and bucket. Not sure what the backhoe weighs, but with my loaded tires and the heviest implement I have out back, the most I can make mine weigh is ~4600lbs. That leaves you up to 2900lbs for a trailer and still be under the tow rating.

 

[KU Gator]

We have 3 acres where we live and bought another 11 acres which are recreational and I work at mowing and some clearing. My 1st comment would be, if you get serious about clearing it would probably be smart to plan on hiring someone with the right equipment to do it and plan on buying a tractor for what is left.

I get most of what I want done with the B2920. Occasionally I would like to have something heavier, but as I also trailer it, I did not want to go to an L. I have an 2003 Tundra and I can tow it on a two axel 16' trailer pretty easily. On a recent road trip I stopped by a Kubota dealer and looked at some of their stock. The tractor I most liked was the B3030. I didn't ask to drive it for fear I would go get mine and want to trade.

We did not get a BH with ours. I did not want to spend the $7K at the time and knew it could be added later. It can also be rented for a couple of days to do a lot that you have lined up, so worth a thought.

 

[ChuckinNH]

As another poster mentioned, even an L3400 is light for clearing much land efficiently. Hiring an excavator for removing that many stumps would be best. Still if it is your land, and your playground, and the trees covering it aren't too big, or with mean root systems you can make progress with the tractors you mentioned. Once you start working on roots, and stumps you will realize very quickly that more backhoe, and more weight is a good thing. I often got a loader bucket full of dirt when I was heading to remove a small stump with my BX. The backhoe is one area where the larger "B" Kubotas shine over the smaller B2620's, etc. They have a full 180 degree boom swing (important to reduce the amount of repositioning necessary), and considerably higher diggging forces. One thing for sure is that you will want different tools for clearing, and then maintaining 5 acres. I really like my B2620 on my 13 acres, but if I were going to throw a chainsaw in the bucket, and head to my woods with the idea of clearing a few acres, I would want something larger. Some of the dealers in the MA / NH border area have rental TLB's, and also sell their rental tractors after a certain period of time. I would suggest giving MB Tractor, or someone else in your area a call, and seeing if you can get something on your lot to try. There is nothing like a couple of days working on stumps to show you what you prefer for your style of working. It is a mistake to think that you will be able to just push even a 6" stump out with the loader on a B2920 though. It will come out with that combination for sure, but it will take at least a little digging around.

 

[RadarTech]

I have the L3400.. and sometimes I wish I had a 4400... But it is rarely..

backhoe-- Well I wish!!

anyway--The biggest thing here is get something that you can spend hours and hours on.. if it is not comfortable for you.. it will be a chore and you will regret it!

Welcome to TBN!


J

 

[DiezNutz]

Yamhat, based on everything you described, I'd go with your gut feeling that a big B like a B2920 would fit your needs just right. :thumbsup:
A small L would be fine too, but you did mention some access/terrain issues.

I also agree with what KUGator and Chuck said, if you have substantial clearing to do, and any sort of schedule to do it in, hire or rent an excavator. None of the tractors you would consider are going to be efficient, you'd want a large excavator/dozer. If on the other hand, you simply want to do it yourself, don't mind the added labor, and can go at a leisurely pace, then by all means.

Good luck.

 

[crazyal]

I just got a grand L4240hst. I haven't had a chance yet to do much of anything with it yet, give me a week and I'm sure I could be more helpful. I ended up meeting the truck delivering the tractor about 4 miles from my house and towed it home with my 2000 Tundra. I ordered the tractor with both a FEL and a front mount blower, the sub frame for the blower is extremely heavy duty.

I felt fine towing it with the Tundra but I don't know how much larger I would want to go. I'm sure the BH weighs a little more than the front blower but not enough to say it's too much for the truck. So anything it sounds like you will be thinking of buying shouldn't be too big for your Tundra.

I think you would be better off not worrying about the clearing of the land but more about what size tractor you want after it's been done. The clearing of the land, if large trees can be done with a smaller tractor but the trade off will be more of your time. If you don't have lots of time to do this and you don't want to pay someone else then you may want to buy (or rent) a good used larger tractor and then when the clearing is done sell it for what you really want.

I'm not sure about the B cab tractors but I can't see a L tractor with a cab fitting under a 7' garage door.

 

[Tompet]

Hi yamhat,
I have a B2920 TLB and am happy with it (had a Massey Ferguson 2310 TLb before the Kubota). For the projects you outlined and your preference with the single BH seat and loader valve position (both of which I also prefer) I would not totally discount the B3200 at this point in your search. Particularly the increased capabilities of the BH76 on the 3200 vs the BH65 of the 2920. That is about the only thing that would make me want to trade in my machine for the 3200.

There are always compromises in your choices/setup which you indicated with the L series, but if you are dead set against the B3200 then my vote would go for L based on what you described. Out of your list of uses, finish mowing would probably be last on my list of equipment add-ons for the tractor as I would eventually shoot for a dedicated mower.

Anyway, just opinion...you will enjoy your new machine whatever you decide.
tp

 

[k0ua]

Well on my approx 7 acres. mostly all wooded and bad terrain. very little flat ground. mostly just one of the driveways. I had a B7500 for 8 years here, and got a lot of use out of it. That said I lusted after a hydrostat tractor, and traded up in june for a L3400. Love it. love the extra size and grunt power. I can dig out stumps in a hour that would take all day with the B7500. Lift more push more pull more. Dont get me wrong, the B7500 was a great tractor, never gave a minutes worth of trouble, but the L3400 is a better tractor, at least for me. You mention going thru the woods, and wondered about the clearance, well with the L3400 just push the darn things out of the way!
Be sure to load the rear tires with the fluid of your choice. ( I used RV antifreeze, its nontoxic) much more stable on hills and give extra push power.
the L3700SU is the same tractor as the L3400 but with a loader included as a package and some engine tweaks. I think they are good buy right now. I cant comment much on the backhoe as I dont have one. But I would think that with a heavier tractor a backhoe would work better. just my 2 cents worth, I hope you find your dream tractor, and whatever you decide, you will get a lot of use/joy from it.
James K0UA

 

[Gary T.]

Hey yamhat,

Welcome, I remember when I was at the same place you are right now. I have 10 acres of gently rolling hills and very hard, rocky soil. When I first started looking at tractors I started looking at the B7800 and the B2910. After talking with the dealer, I quickly realized that I needed to be looking at the L's and not the B's. It's not that the B's wouldn't do most of the things that I needed to get done, but for my property an L would be a better fit. The L is wider (better stabillity for hills), heavier (better traction), stronger hydraulics (better for digging in my hard, rocky soil). The one mistake I made when I bought my tractor was letting my neighbor talk me out of getting the backhoe. Once I did purchase the backhoe I quickly realized that was the most used attachment that I have.

So, I started with a GL3130, then later purchased the BH90 backhoe, then purchased a BX1860 for mowing and close work around the house and garden, then sold the GL3130 (only because someone offered me the right price, and I needed an excuse to upgrade), Then purchased an L45 (thought about M59, but too big for what I have to work around).

I think with the list of things you want to do, like tompet said, you should at least get the B3200 for the extra hydraulic grunt and the bigger backhoe. Others have suggested buying smaller and renting bigger. I can't tell how nice it is to have a machine big enough to do everything I want to do, when I want to do it.

Good luck and have fun shopping,
Gary T.

 

[Alan L.]

I have an 11 year old B2710 which has slight fewer HP than the B2920, and it would seem just right for that property. Don't have a backhoe so don't know how that would perform though. But you can run a 5' brush hog, 5' tiller, 6' finish mower with that tractor. Never laid eyes on a snow blower so wouldn't know anything about that either.

 

[yamhat]

thanks for the replies, everyone

I guess I was ragging a little hard on the 3200...I'm sure they're fine, it just doesn't seem like a good deal to me based on the price

with the hoe and everything the jump in MSRP from the smallest I'd consider (B2320) to the B3200 is ~$4500, from there to the L3700 is only another $1100...it seems like if I decide it's worth spending a few thousand more for a bigger tractor it would be worth the jump to the L. of course this could all vary depending on what deals the dealer is willing to cut.

I read about the BXs briefly but ruled them out pretty quickly thinking I'd beat one to pieces on rocks/stumps

cab isn't going to happen, becuase of the garage and the cost. i've been plastered with snow from my little snapper walk behind for 15 years, I'll survive. money is enough of an issue that I don't want to drop 5k on a comfort feature I'll only use for half the year, even if it did fit in the garage.

trailering isn't an absolute necessity and won't happen that often, it would just be handy for doing some work at friends' places and bartering for small jobs. and warranty work if I need it since I'll probably be buying from the dealer 90 miles away, unless his prices are terrible...we liked him a lot, very friendly and helpful.

so, you guys are saying the L will be more stable on hills because of the weight/width? it seemed so much taller when we were at the dealer that I didn't feel confident about it...seemed like it would be tippy...but that's just my subjective feeling with no tractor experience at all. maybe we're just intimidated by the L because it seems so huge to us city folk

will the L with folding rops for sure fit in a 7' garage? I didn't think to measure it while we were there.

another dumb newbie question: the backhoe runs on the tractor hydraulics, right? does that mean the backhoe comes with rear hydraulic hookups? can they be used for something else (e.g. log splitter) while the hoe is off?

does the bigger BH76 mount the same way as the smaller ones? I do think I'll be doing the on and off pretty frequently, the dealer showed us the BH65 and it looked pretty easy.

most of our trees are not large, there's just a lot of them. probably 90% of them are balsams that are maybe 6-8 inches at the base of the trunk -- they basically look like 75 foot flagpoles with christmas trees on top. there are a few birch & basswood that are probably 18in at the trunk, and a few nice big old maples I'll probably just leave up because I like them.

will I at least be able to dig out these 6-8in balsam stumps fairly easily with the small B? I guess I can leave the big stumps till I have a large area mostly cleared, and then rent a big machine for a day and take care of them all at once.

how many times can I rent a big backhoe/dozer/whatever for the $5k difference between a small B and an L?

 

[radioman]

cab isn't going to happen, becuase of the garage and the cost. i've been plastered with snow from my little snapper walk behind for 15 years, I'll survive. money is enough of an issue that I don't want to drop 5k on a comfort feature I'll only use for half the year, even if it did fit in the garage.

Are you sure about that? getting a cabbed tractor could mean you would be able to leave it outside and no worry about getting it in the garage. Beleive me, garage tends to fiull up fast with other things.

so, you guys are saying the L will be more stable on hills because of the weight/width? it seemed so much taller when we were at the dealer that I didn't feel confident about it...seemed like it would be tippy...but that's just my subjective feeling with no tractor experience at all. maybe we're just intimidated by the L because it seems so huge to us city folk

Well- the L has larger tires meaning you can add more liquid ballast. any tractor that has loaded tires will have lower COG and the more the better.

another dumb newbie question: the backhoe runs on the tractor hydraulics, right? does that mean the backhoe comes with rear hydraulic hookups? can they be used for something else (e.g. log splitter) while the hoe is off?

My BX came with BH so it does run off tractor hydraulics. Once I get it off, and if I wanted to add a 3 pt splitter, I will need a power beyond joystick.
A B or L BH would be same way , but I havent seen one to confirm this.

how many times can I rent a big backhoe/dozer/whatever for the $5k difference between a small B and an L?

Your answer will depend on your local rental prices.

 

[crazyal]

will the L with folding rops for sure fit in a 7' garage? I didn't think to measure it while we were there.

My 4240 will fit through a 8' door without folding the ROPS and I think it's a little taller than the 3x40s so I'm sure with it folded it would fit. The real question is can you remember to fold it everytime? )

 

[RadarTech]

My 4240 will fit through a 8' door without folding the ROPS and I think it's a little taller than the 3x40s so I'm sure with it folded it would fit. The real question is can you remember to fold it everytime? )

I have an L3400.. With a 7 foot door and the ROPS up , clearance is within 1/2 inch of the door opening..
For the tractor cave, I made the door 7 foot 6 inches..

If I folded the ROPS.. 5 foot 9 or so..
J

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

thanks for the replies, everyone


so, you guys are saying the L will be more stable on hills because of the weight/width? it seemed so much taller when we were at the dealer that I didn't feel confident about it...seemed like it would be tippy...but that's just my subjective feeling with no tractor experience at all. maybe we're just intimidated by the L because it seems so huge to us city folk

I've had B's, BX's and an L. I have hillside property. Feeling stable may be different than being stable. The BX feels the most stable and I believe it is but the BX isn't up to some of the jobs the B's can do. The B feels more stable than the L but is it, I don't know but I got rid of my L3240 with under 40 hours on it because it was to big for my residential 5 acres hillside property and I always felt a bit skittish sitting that high up off the ground on hillside. Plus going over a limb, rock or in a dip scared me pretty bad with the L. Is the L more stable than a B, I don't know but having owned a B7800 and a B3200 and an L3240 I felt more stable on the B's.

I also pay for a man to bring his big track loader to do some work for me. He can do jobs in an hour that would take me days with my equipment. His $90 per hour track loader is at my neighbors now and when he leaves there I'll have him do some clearing on a steep hill side that I won't tackle. I'll be glad to have him do it for me and me keep the Kubotas that I need 99% of the time and pay for those 1% jobs.

Don't start out with the cost of a machine first. Start out with your needs first and then what machine will do most of your jobs and then see what you can get for the money you have or can get. If you start out hunting for what you can get for $20,000 then some times you can lose focus of your needs and try to match needs to the machine instead of the machine to your needs.
Acreage is also not a big factor to determine your needs unless it's to get a bigger tractor to handle bigger implements.

 

[TripleR]

thanks for the replies, everyone

So, you guys are saying the L will be more stable on hills because of the weight/width? it seemed so much taller when we were at the dealer that I didn't feel confident about it...seemed like it would be tippy...but that's just my subjective feeling with no tractor experience at all. maybe we're just intimidated by the L because it seems so huge to us city folk

how many times can I rent a big backhoe/dozer/whatever for the $5k difference between a small B and an L?

The taller the tractor, the more unstable/tippy it "seems" due to the height from the ground. I own an L and M and I never feel really comfortable on slopes and didn't with my Case CX80. You can see from the trad width that they are very stable and are used to mow some pretty steep stuff. The margin between "just enough" and "not enough" tractor is razor thin and thus my choice would be an L with the tread out and tires loaded.

Dozer cost is going to vary as my son caught a guy working close to his home and since he didn't have far to go got his work done in one day for well under $1000. We have bartered for a dozer as soon as my sons catch up enough for the guy to come out.