3130 vs3430

[billycalexander]

My local dealer has quoted me a price of 18100 for a 3430 with gst,723 FEL, quick attach bucket and R4's. The same setup for the 3130 is 17050 and for the 3830 it is 20025. anyone have any thoughts about the prices in general and any thoughts about the 3 hp (gross) difference between the 3130 and the 3430?

 

[Boondox]

Billy -- You don't mention how the tractor will be used or what your land is like, but here's my input. Assuming you need a tractor that large and heavy, I'd go for at least the 3430. I have an L3010HST, and really have to slow down going up hills. The GST model handles hills noticably better, but the 3410 even with the hydro does a superb job! My L3010 will pull just about anything, and it handles the hills on my land, but slowly.

Pete

 

[Jibber]

I just went through this and decided to get the 3130 HST. Even the dealers told me that the 3430 wasn't enough of a HP change to notice the difference. He said the 3430 might be a better choice if was planning some heavy duty work using a mid-mount PTO.. like a front mount showblower.

I thought about the 3830 but the dealer didn't have one in stock and I didn't want to wait. I'm actually glad now that I have the 3130. It's more than enough for what I'm doing.. moving gravel, soil, and rocks with the loader.. also box blade work.

There is a big difference in this years Grand L 30 series.. so don't compare them directly with last year's models.

ps.. the 723 loader is great. I live in an extremely rocky area and have been using it to relocate rocks for building rock walls.

 

[Buster57]

Exactly!
Boondox is right on the money!

 

[JATO_RaT]

Jim, your right, my dealer decided against even stocking the L3430 because of the slight increase in displacement/HP versus the cost. I was quite interested in the L3130 HST but was advised it might be a little weak to run my 84" mower especially on the hills which is most of my place. Both recomended the L3830 as a better alternative. The cost goes up of course but a few other things do as well to help justify the increase. Higher 3 pt hitch lift capacity, larger tires, longer and bigger bore/stroke on the 3 cylinder diesel. The only difference in the L3130 and the L3430 is .1 cu in of bore which is 91.5 vs 100.5 cu in in displacement. If the difference in power is dramatic, it could be well worth the upgrade, I just don't know the answer to that. Personally, I think they could have done away with one or the other. The same thing applies to the L4330 and L4630 where the diplacement is the same as well as everything else, but max. RPM is different resulting in different hydraulic pump and HP figures. Rat

 

[Jibber]

About the only power problem I've experienced is when I try to drive the 3130 on the roads around my home and have it in the high range (HST).. On hills it will slow down considerably.. even forcing me to shift down into mid range. I have the loader on and loaded tires.. If I shift down to mid range it handles the hills better.. but still slows down on steep grades.. In low range there is no problem, of course, it would take you all day to get somewhere in low range. I don't take to the roads very often though.

Now, I should qualify this in that the tractor isn't broken in yet.. and I'm staying with the manual's advice not to run the engine at full RPM. I generally run it at between 2000 and 2500 RPM. Not sure that running it full bore would help take the hills any better.

 

[Buster57]

I run mine full tilt boogie on my hills and it bogs all the time.
My trade off is the greater HP to run up my hills will cause soil problems in my orchard.
Solution, under reasonable economic constraints, is to slow down and, when possible , have a beer and enjoy the ride!
Greater H-P has additional problems; application of available H-P is the key for my use.
Good luck!

 

[Haz]

Just my opinion but the main reason to get the L3430 over the L3130 is so you can get the cab with it. Seriously, it has very good power going up hill and even while using a brush hog and hitting rocks, it still has good power. Haven't had it on the road yet since I just got it today, but I will be taking it over to my friends house down the road tomorrow for a short ride. I'll let you know how it works.

Haz

L3430 w/ cab
LA723 FEL
60" Woods brush hog

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I just picked up my L3130 hst with 723 fel, 6' box blade, sq600 cutter, R4 tires and 16' trailer for 20,100.00 I have put 7.5 hours on it this week, built a pad for a 16' X 24' shop built up using 25 yards of sand and ore mix, took just a couple hours to build the pad /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I have driven down the road....I have a slight hill, no lag, I run @ 2000 rpm, due to break in, NOW!!!!!.......Have you looked in the Kubota Brochure and seen the test where they are in a dirt pit? The first thing I did was I dug a hole big enough to bury my 'Bota in and the fel had no problem doing this!! and I did it in about 1 hour, dug the hole and filled it back in, While i was doing this my neighbor came by with his "Long" 45 to 50 hp w/fel........He begged me to let him try my 'Bota,...People,.... Dude was Impressed!!!, so was I!!! I'm a newbie as far as operating a tractor is concerned, my neighbor is not, he ran my "bota like a pro...he taught me some things, If I had to do it again, I would buy another "Bota! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Buster57]

My neighbor teaches me stuff about tractors all the time. Retired USAF doctor.
I also get lots of 'Nam stories while he teaches me tractor stuff I have no idea exists!
Have fun!