Another new guy - L4400DT or L3540GST?

[WildAK]

Hello, I a newbie here also, though I have been reading post on here for a month or so trying to come up to speed on Tractors.

I live on some remote property in Alaska, (about 15 miles from the nearest road). One of the reasons I am going with Kubota instead of another brand is the reliability factor. There will only be a couple of times a year I could get a tractor in or out of where I live, (ground frozen, not too much snow). Rest of the time it is boat or snowmachine.

I plan on buying a tractor with both a FEL and Backhoe. My immediate needs are to build a hydroelectric plant, (2000 of 6 inch pipe buried 4 ft deep), a root cellar, and put in about a 1 acre sized garden. After that it is going to be a garden tractor, plus whatever. So, I am trying to walk the line between having enough power to run a FEL and Backhoe, but small enough to have a garden tractor when I am done.

What I got from reading the posts is:
I do not need an HST because I am not doing a lot of running around, or dirt hauling.
There is no such thing as too much backhoe.
Put a grapple on the FEL & a thumb on the backhoe.
When in doubt, go with a little extra HP.

I have narrowed it down to either a L4400 with LA703A FEL with 3rd function valve & cutting edge, Skid steer disconnects, BH90A backhoe, 12 inch bucket.

Or a L3540GST with LA724 FEL with 3rd function valve & cutting edge, Skid steer disconnects, BH90 backhoe, 12 inch bucket.

If you have gotten this far, now my questions:

Am I even close to the kind of tractor / attachments I need?
I am leaning towards the L4400 because it has less fancy electronics, (more reliable?) and the BH90A backhoe, (I think it is a little beefier)
The stronger FEL on the L3540GST has my attention, but do I need it? How about all the electronics in this one. Will they survive setting at under a tarp a -15 for a month or so?

BTW, I've posted a view from my bedroom window and a foot print of a visitor we had in the garden, (that's my 5yo standing in it).

Anyway, thanks for all the great info you guys & gals put out here. It sure helps!

Kelvin

 

[Crash101]

Kelvin
WELCOME!
I've read your post several times and still have no idea what I'd prefer if I were buying for the conditions you describe. I keep thinking "snow" lots of it. Would you be using a mid PTO for a snow blower? Would stepping down one size to a B3030 or L 2800/3400 be a better choice when you are using it around the place after all the hard work is done? Those B3030's/ and L 2800/3400's are hard working machines and cost a whole lot less. Both use the B75 backhoe, a 7.5 foot model that will work hard as well. I'm sure the HST transmission will prove to be as reliable as the gear model, but I don't know how it will be on a cold 30 below morning after sitting for a couple months. Not sure of the viscosity range. Living in north Mississippi doesn't allow those answers to be experienced. There are a lot of fine people on this forum who live and operate a varity of Kubota (and other brands) tractors in some mighty cold climates, Upper Michigan, Canada, upper sections of the lower 48. Hopefully they will be able to provide some first rate answers to your questions based on actual experience. Take your time with this decsion, and by all means keep us posted on your choices and progress on that beautiful place.

 

[WildAK]

Kelvin
WELCOME!
I've read your post several times and still have no idea what I'd prefer if I were buying for the conditions you describe. I keep thinking "snow" lots of it. Would you be using a mid PTO for a snow blower? Would stepping down one size to a B3030 or L 2800/3400 be a better choice when you are using it around the place after all the hard work is done? Those B3030's/ and L 2800/3400's are hard working machines and cost a whole lot less. Both use the B75 backhoe, a 7.5 foot model that will work hard as well. I'm sure the HST transmission will prove to be as reliable as the gear model, but I don't know how it will be on a cold 30 below morning after sitting for a couple months. Not sure of the viscosity range. Living in north Mississippi doesn't allow those answers to be experienced. There are a lot of fine people on this forum who live and operate a varity of Kubota (and other brands) tractors in some mighty cold climates, Upper Michigan, Canada, upper sections of the lower 48. Hopefully they will be able to provide some first rate answers to your questions based on actual experience. Take your time with this decsion, and by all means keep us posted on your choices and progress on that beautiful place.

Crash,
Thanks for the welcome! I think I will be on here a fair amount now I've decided to pull the trigger on a tractor. Just trying to make sure I get something that will fit my needs and have a little fun too! (Just a side note, I am a little surprised nobody has commented on that the size of the bear paw print my 5yo is standing in.)

Snow does get a little deep here, (it's knee deep now), but I don't plan on using a snow blower. We just park the 4-wheelers, put up the boat and use snowmachines. I've posted a couple of pictures of the house just to show you how we deal with it. I don't think the tractor would see any use in the winter; my plan would be winterize it and put it away for the season.

I am a little concerned I might be going too big, but I look at like insurance. I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Now that I've said all that, if I am obviously going too large I'd like to know it. (I once put a 90hp jet on the back of an 18' tunnel hull. It ran like the dickens but was a little azz heavy)

Living in a river valley means rocks and I think rocks need a strong backhoe which is why I wanted the B90 hoe with thumb.

But the bottom line is I have never owned a tractor before and any experienced insight would be greatly appreciated.

Kelvin

 

[sixdogs]

I have an L4300---- gear--which is the earlier L4400 and have owned many tractors from 18 to 95 HP over the years. And if it matters I spent 25 years in the cold and snowy part of Maine so I can grasp the situation.
I would go with the L4400. It's not that it's simplier, it's that the L4400 has more HP. Everything works better. Neither one will ever break so don't worry about it.
If you get the L4400 get a set of remotes for the back and I would have the dealer install a block heater and make sure you get a big battery. I would talk to another backhoe guy to make sure the 12" bucket is OK for there. If you have clay soil it will plug up. You might need a 16" bucket.
My L4300 often funtctions as a lawnmower by pulling a 7 ft Woods rear mower so no problems there.
You could make do with the 3540 but I would also take a look at the L3400 already mentioned. It is a great little tractor that is fairly inexpensive and has the pep you want. I know you say you don't want it but the hydro is nice and very durable. Good luck.

 

[WildAK]

Sixdogs,
Thanks for the reply.

You think the HST is worth having even if you are not doing a lot of "running around" with the tractor? I must admit I thought is was a nice feature; but didn't want to pay for it if I really wasn't going to use it. Plus it seems heavily electronic, which made me wonder about it's longevity.

I was planning on a block heater, (in Alaska EVERYTHING has a block heater! )

Not much clay around here, few inches of top soil, old forest decay and a lot of dirt / glacier silt / rocks. Which is why I'm worried about the backhoe. To dig through that kind of rocky soil I was told I needed one of the stronger backhoes.

I'm starting to get the impression the L4400 with the BH90A might be the right way to go, or at least no one is telling it's the wrong way to go.

 

[LarryRB]

If it were me, I would be seriously looking at a L 39 TLB and not the 4400 model. The 39 being a true commercial design backhoe has much more power and operational ability than any add on backhoe.. The 39 is still small enough that I believe it's size is no bigger than the 4400 other than possibly a little taller,, Having three pumps, two dedicated to hoe use and a flip over seat is much more appealing and powerful than a single pump and add on hoe where you leave the tractor seat. climb on hoe seat and back and forth.,.

 

[rbargeron]

......2000 of 6 inch pipe buried 4 ft deep......

That one job is a reason to have a L39 or L48 backhoe with a 24" wide digging bucket. A four-foot deep trench needs to be wide enough for a man to work in - 24 is about the minimum for making up pipe joints, etc. If it's too narrow the pipe will end up not as deep as you want it.

P.S. - serious paw print.

 

[Baby Grand]

Kelvin,

Welcome! You came to the right place for tractor advice from people with years & years of experience. I'm not one of them. But I will tell you that I was very happy I got the GST over the DT transmission when it came time to use a tiller. The low, low first gear ratio is particularly good in that application.

Let us know what you decide.

-Jim

"Please close that door.
It's fine in here, but I greatly fear you'll let in the cold and storm -"

 

[WildAK]

That one job is a reason to have a L39 or L48 backhoe with a 24" wide digging bucket. A four-foot deep trench needs to be wide enough for a man to work in - 24 is about the minimum for making up pipe joints, etc. If it's too narrow the pipe will end up not as deep as you want it.

P.S. - serious paw print.

24"? I was thinking about digging a 12" ditch, making up the pipe outside of the ditch and just kickking it in.

So I went and read "ASTM D2321 - 05 Standard Practice for Underground Installation of Thermoplastic Pipe for Sewers and Other Gravity-Flow Applications"

Yikes! Now I know a lot more about it than I really wanted to! For the bedding and sidewall support I need at least 24".

Thanks for the reply.
Kelvin

As to the paw print, he's about a 10' griz that spends the summer on the other side of the river. His den is high in moutains behind us, so he passes through in the spring and fall.

 

[Crash101]

kelvin.
I don't know, the more I look at that paw print, the more I think you're going to need a kubota L4240. You're going to need the LA854 loader to lift that bear if you have to shoot it.
Great looking place you have there. Thamnks for the pictures.