Re: 3130 \"overloaded\" with 713 and BH90???
I have a
L3130 HST with loaded ag. tires, LA723, quick attach, heavy duty bucket and Woods heavy duty tooth bar. My Woods 6 ft. box scrape weighs in at 573 lbs.. I do not own a backhoe, wish I did. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
The way I understand it, according to Kubota, you must have the LA723 loader to use a backhoe on this tractor. The tractor I have, with loader, bucket and tooth bar, loaded tires and box scrape probably weighs in at about 5900 lbs. to 6000 according to my manuals. It has plenty of power in low, and the loader is very strong for a tractor this size. It digs very well with the tooth bar on. As far as transport is concerned, medium range has plenty of power around this area..... Chattanooga, TN. area. A few weeks ago I drove it about 11 miles on the road. It would reach 17 to 18 MPH down hills and 16 to 17 most of the time. Up steep hills in high range, I never went lower than 12 MPH. Of course, this wasn't with a backhoe.
I would like to have had the
L5030, but did not want to spend another $6000 for one....I have limited funds. Mine will do almost everything a
L5030 will, just a little slower. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
In my opinion, the dealer is being honest with you in that the
L3130 is the lowest horsepower tractor in the Grand L series. It will be lower powered than any of the other tractors in this class. To me, it depends on how much you want to invest in a tractor and how fast you want to get things done. If you need to pull a 7 foot brush cutter, then a
L5030 would serve you a lot better. I doubt the
L3130 would pull a seven footer very well, if at all. In my manual, the
L3130 is only rated for a 72" cutter. The
L5030 is rated at 84" cutter according to my manual. It probably would be better to go to an M series for that size cutter.
I did look at the MX5000. It is a nice tractor for the money if you don't want GST or HST transmission. Very strong loader LA 852-1...slightly more lift than the LA853 that fits the
L4330,
L4630 and
L5030. It also has the nice 3 point hitch setup like the Grand L. I think it has the same motor as the
L5030 and its about $4000 cheaper than the
L5030 HST. Or it was about 7 months ago. Plus it has a little more width and length which helps with stability. 3 Point hitch for the MX5000 is rated at 2315 LBS. 24 in. behind lift point while
L5030 is rated at 2980 24 in. behind lift point. Both have category I & II hitches.
I have about 77 hours on my tractor and no problems at all. Don't know if this will help you much, but maybe it will. Good luck with whatever you buy.
Curt
