deciding on earthmover...

[mattbatson]

I had a kioti ck20 a few years back. Very light in front with backhoe on. Had front tires filled but that didn't make a difference. Tires are not big enough to put enough weight in them to make a difference. If you are planning on getting one of the machines you are looking at they are balanced very well with the one seat operation. The backhoe doesn't sit back as far as other models. I personally wouldn't fill rears either. I filled mine on my L45 (rears) thinking i would be doing a lot of work with backhoe off, but very well balanced with backhoe on. I never take the backhoe off except to use 3pt hitch. Just my option. You do what would work best for you. Nate

Ok, so I think you are saying dont bother filling the tires, as it didnt make much difference with your machines?
Now, is your land hilly? I dont know if that would make a difference in the decision or not...
Also, I felt that the B21 was very balanced also.
I did get the front and rear up off the ground a few times, but it was predictable and easy to deal with and I didnt feel in any danger. And I was running that rental a lot harder than I would my own personal tractor, lol

 

[lhansman]

I had a B21 for 6 years and put 1,800 hours on it with the rear tires loaded without any problems and I never removed the backhoe. I definitely found the extra weight on the back end to be very helpful. I found that the steering is so sharp on the B21 that at times in the woods doing sharp turns against an unseen root or stone that I actually popped the bead on the tire. Although my neighbour is a mobile tire repair guy after a couple of flats I took his advice and had the front tires foamed and never had a problem again.

I traded the B21 for a B26 and immediately had all four tires foamed to prevent flats. I now use my machine regularly on construction sites and there are always pieces of rebar and steel lurking below the surface to cause a flat tire. The B26 is a far superior machine to the B21 in every respect - much more than the five horsepower that is the most obvious benefit. The bakhoe is much smoother to operate and almost 40% more powerful. The B26 backhoe has slightly more reach than the B21 but in the end I decided 8' was still to short for me and after 3 years and 400 hours I traded the B26 for an L45 this spring.

The L45 is comparable to the L39 but it has HST instead of the glide shift of the L39. I could have purchased a used L39 with 200 hours on it for $2,000 more than the price I paid for the B26 at the time but I did not like the Glide Shift transmission and went for the B26 at the time since I could not afford the L45. I think the L35 is a good tough machine and you may find one of them in your price range but I think it would be hard to find an L39 in your price range. If you can live without the HST then either the L35 or the L39 will serve you well. I have seen some comments on the L39 having a somewhat weaker front axle then the L45 but I do not know the specifics of the differences.

All of the Kubota TLB's are tough little machines that will do far more work faster than their diminutive size would suggest.

Good luck with you search.

Regards,
Lauren

 

[Carl_NH]

"However, my wife and mother are hoping I can rent myself out with the tractor for odd jobs, and think it is better to be safe and get something bigger.... I argued a little bit with them, but darn it if that wasnt a losing battle, lol."


MATT - Get the L39 if this is the case, or MAYBE you should get a L45!


Seriously - if you have the trailer and truck to pull it, get the bigger machine. I love my B21 and its tough but size matters - so if you can swing a L39 or 45 go for it.

Carl

 

[mattbatson]

Okay, the last two posts solidified my decision to err on the side of getting too much tractor....
I should take a page from your experience lauren that the 26 wasnt big enough in the end and you ended up upgrading to a bigger machine.
And people with B21's are recommending that I buy the bigger machines...
I love advice from people who have lived with a machine for a few years.

I'm going to look at the L35 and maybe the L39 if I can swing it....
thx for all the advice everyone!

 

[mattbatson]

One thing I dont understand is the big price difference when the hours are similar.
I'm guessing there may be different options that are worth more or less and that is the reason?

http://www.tractorhouse.com/list/li...ntains&Manu=KUBOTA&FullText=kubota+L35&ETID=1


here is a list just for example purposes off of tractorhouse....and the first 5 or so are all over 20K.
but then you get down to the last few, and there is that one in TX with 1200 some odd hours and it is only 14K?

No matter what I get, especially if out of state, I plan to pay a tractor mechanic to go look at it.

just wondering why some are so much cheaper than others?

 

[mattbatson]

whoops, double post

 

[Carl_NH]

Different areas of the country demand is less for TLB's so prices are less, then condition and age make up the rest. There is one L35 there with no BH and thats obviously the price difference.

For what you posted earlier on the L39 for 28K that is a newer model has the QA bucket and would be top of my list due to the condition and one owner etc. THe L35 with the 4-1 bucket is OK and 1200 hours is not a lot if it has been taken care of, and not beat on as a rental etc.

That's why a low hour newer machine like the L39 is a better long term buy in my opinion.

 

[mattbatson]

Different areas of the country demand is less for TLB's so prices are less, then condition and age make up the rest. There is one L35 there with no BH and thats obviously the price difference.

For what you posted earlier on the L39 for 28K that is a newer model has the QA bucket and would be top of my list due to the condition and one owner etc. THe L35 with the 4-1 bucket is OK and 1200 hours is not a lot if it has been taken care of, and not beat on as a rental etc.

That's why a low hour newer machine like the L39 is a better long term buy in my opinion.

and we do plan on keeping this tractor forever and passing it down to my 3 yr old eventually....
I agree that with a tractor dealer you never really know what your getting.

As I posted earlier, the rental B21 I used had a disabled hour meter, and ran an auxilary meter that was screwed to the side cowl....so you cant always go by hours shown on the dash.

With that L39 I posted it seems like a well cared for and lightly used peice of equipment...probably worth the extra cost up front


edit...so it appears that there arent any significant options with these machines that were offered that would sway a purchase decision?
thx

 

[Carl_NH]

OK on the newer L39: Options were Hyd Thumb (but its plumbed for it I think), the front remotes (grapple etc), and quick attach BH bucket setup (comes with the Hyd thumb I think).

The 4-1 bucket on the L35 sorta cover the grapple portion parially tho not as handy in my opinion vs a grapple. There is no QA for the L35 - you can add one, but since it has the 4-1 you can use bolt pallet forks..

The L35 didnt have a Hyd thumb option but I you can add one probably $$$. Mechanical thumbs are relatively low $3-400 range gets a decent one vs Hyd are $1000+ typically.

Most of the dealers when they bought the TLB's would include the work lights, a 16 or 24" BH bucket, HD bolt on cutting edge as a standard package. The TLB's already have the HD bucket usually (the L39 does by the pic)

The addons for the L39 are the Thumb, QD BH bucket, Front Remotes as the big $$ options. For the L35 4-1 and I am not sure what others (back in 2001-2003 for the L35 they had fewer options).

Since you plan to keep this for the long term your money is better spent on a machine that has more future adaptability the L39 - it has the foundation to accept front implements grapple, etc, and Hyd thumb. You also dont need to worry about too many repairs like bushings, and the wear items that hit between 900-1200 hours..

If you put 80-100 hours a year on the L39 in 10 years it will be nicely broken in with 1200 hours or so when your son runs it..

 

[case245]

i say go for the L39 one size bigger tractor then what you want been there done that went from an l3800 to a 7040

 

[mattbatson]

OK on the newer L39: Options were Hyd Thumb (but its plumbed for it I think), the front remotes (grapple etc), and quick attach BH bucket setup (comes with the Hyd thumb I think).

The 4-1 bucket on the L35 sorta cover the grapple portion parially tho not as handy in my opinion vs a grapple. There is no QA for the L35 - you can add one, but since it has the 4-1 you can use bolt pallet forks..

The L35 didnt have a Hyd thumb option but I you can add one probably $$$. Mechanical thumbs are relatively low $3-400 range gets a decent one vs Hyd are $1000+ typically.

Most of the dealers when they bought the TLB's would include the work lights, a 16 or 24" BH bucket, HD bolt on cutting edge as a standard package. The TLB's already have the HD bucket usually (the L39 does by the pic)

The addons for the L39 are the Thumb, QD BH bucket, Front Remotes as the big $$ options. For the L35 4-1 and I am not sure what others (back in 2001-2003 for the L35 they had fewer options).

Since you plan to keep this for the long term your money is better spent on a machine that has more future adaptability the L39 - it has the foundation to accept front implements grapple, etc, and Hyd thumb. You also dont need to worry about too many repairs like bushings, and the wear items that hit between 900-1200 hours..

If you put 80-100 hours a year on the L39 in 10 years it will be nicely broken in with 1200 hours or so when your son runs it..

alright, I know what to look for now :thumbsup:
btw the L39 must have been a good deal, as you stated before, cause it is sold, lol

If it was somebody on here, let me know how it runs :laughing:

thx for all the advice

 

[Carl_NH]

Yep - that was an excellent deal for an L39 - new B26's are $30K+.. Keep looking you will find one and dont dally when you find the right one.

Also others to be considered are the JD110 TLB - they dont sell anymore but are a great unit in the same size. Then the L45/L48 - you can find an L48 Kubota for similar $$ mid to high 20's.

Martian here has the JD110 and he spent months finding one with all the options he wanted (Hyd thumb, Front remotes etc) so they are out there be patient and watch locally on CL around the country. It doesnt cost that much to trailer a unit 1000 mi versus getting the ONE you want.

GOod Luck,

 

[azbinder]

For a price comparision, go to Kubota's website and price out a new L39 with the options that you would like. Then watch CL and Tractor House to see what private sales are running.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Yep - that was an excellent deal for an L39 - new B26's are $30K+..
,

The last time I looked at the Kubota website MSRP for the B26 was $42,000 with hydraulic thumb option. Even with 15% discount thats still almost $38K new. I didnt price the larger TLB but I would bet that they arent much more money. THe B26 is super high dollar for some reason.
By the way Carl, Thanks again. I have put over 50 hours on the B26 since I got it, all with using the back hoe. Going to slow down a bit now that winter is coming on and most of my projects are done. I put in a new sprinkler addition at my house, added some nozzles for my BIL's, dug a couple hundred feet of ditch to add 1 new water hydrants for BIL, cleaned out lots of debris from the creek, dug out some deep holes also so maybe they will hold some water in the next drought, cleaned out a small pond that had filled in a bit, used it and my LS to dig out several tons of dirt from our large pond that had dried up a lot and left much dry ground, dug out a whole thicket of sapling sweetgum trees leaving at least 6 feet between them, did the same with a pine thicket, hauled a bunch of dirt to fill in pot holes in my yard, dug up a whole bunch of stumps for my brother in law where he had cut down an old fence row. My BIL has gotten a lot of use out of my back hoe and wonders why I didnt get one sooner. LOL

 

[lhansman]

Matt

One of the options on the L39 that has not been mentioned is quick attach for the backhoe buckets too. If you are going to need multiple backhoe buckets this is a big time saver versus removing bolts and pins, lining up the bucket and then inserting pins and bolts and then greasing the new configuration. The QA hoe buckets are about the same price but adding the QA coupler to the hoe costs around $1,000 I think so if you find a used one with it already installed that is a plus.

Regards,

Lauren

 

[leonz]

I say earthmover, as this is primarily what it will be used for.
Our property is hilly and we wont be plowing fields with it.

Mostly digging roads, removing tree's, land clearing, digging drainage ditches...stuff like that.

We have 20 acres up in the mountains of western NC.

I rented a B21 TLB last week to dig footer for a concrete pad, trench for septic system,
and then to work on some roads across the property.

these shots show what the land kind of looks like. Mostly up and down.

I have to say I was really and truly impressed by the 21. When we rented it, I was comparing it to a tracked skidsteer which I had rented in the past, and I was worried it wouldnt be up to snuff.
Even though the 21 is obviously a much smaller and lighter machine than a T190 bobcat, it did really well out there.

So, we are tired of renting and looking to buy now. I think our budget is around 15 to 20K.
I do have a bit of mechanical ablility and dont mind fixing things, but obviously dont want something to break every weekend, lol...

So, I'm thinking of something under 2000 hours, and am thinking of something like an L35 or 39?
I'm wondering if at 2000 hrs I would be looking at the possibility of big repairs on these machines, and maybe should stick to 1000 hrs and under. I am going to try and buy from a private seller who has service records and such....no auction houses for me, lol

I loved the HST on the 21, as I could just heel the pedal to go backwards, which made it great when making a 4 point turn :laughing:

However, the 21 was a little light for the big 4 hundred pound rocks we have up there, and the reach of the backhoe (and power) were a little deficient also.

Now, the L series have the glide shift, so there is shifting from back to forward....but I'm not so sure this is a huge deal?
thoughts?

On the other hand, the 21 did get the job done :thumbsup:, and it just required a little more patience.
Maybe I should just get a 21?

Please do not take this the wrong way your road slope is to
steep. Do you have a laser transit, theodelite and
target pole or access to one?

Your going to have a huge wash out and landslide with
the road you just dug up unless you fix it by benching
the ground above the path or back filling it quickly
to lower the rise and run of slope and dig a drainage ditch
in the center of the path.

It would be better to back fill the path quickly as all the water will simply
follow the road you have dug back down to where your car is and make a
huge mud hole.


You seem to have at least a 20 percent grade on this slope.

This slope is not good at all unless you lay down geotextile fabric to
control the erosion quickly. along the cut wall and the road surface


For your use one of the small Kubota tracked excavators
with a wide bucket would be a better fit as you will not have
deal with outriggers and the tracks will give you plenty of traction.
The small dozer blade on the excavator if it is equiped with one
is what is used to stabilse the tracked excavator as all is required
is that the blade is lowered to the ground.



You now have a monster on your hands with the roads you
have cut into the hill side and it will erode quickly with rainfall.

it will be easier to maintain grade with a laser transit where the ground
can be painted to follow the desired slope which would or should be
below five percent on open ground and hills.

 

[mattbatson]

Please do not take this the wrong way your road slope is to
steep. Do you have a laser transit, theodelite and
target pole or access to one?

Your going to have a huge wash out and landslide with
the road you just dug up unless you fix it by benching
the ground above the path or back filling it quickly
to lower the rise and run of slope and dig a drainage ditch
in the center of the path.

It would be better to back fill the path quickly as all the water will simply
follow the road you have dug back down to where your car is and make a
huge mud hole.


You seem to have at least a 20 percent grade on this slope.

This slope is not good at all unless you lay down geotextile fabric to
control the erosion quickly. along the cut wall and the road surface


For your use one of the small Kubota tracked excavators
with a wide bucket would be a better fit as you will not have
deal with outriggers and the tracks will give you plenty of traction.
The small dozer blade on the excavator if it is equiped with one
is what is used to stabilse the tracked excavator as all is required
is that the blade is lowered to the ground.



You now have a monster on your hands with the roads you
have cut into the hill side and it will erode quickly with rainfall.

it will be easier to maintain grade with a laser transit where the ground
can be painted to follow the desired slope which would or should be
below five percent on open ground and hills.

Hey,
I'm not sure I understand what you mean by maximum slope for the roads up the property?
The main road up our property is probably near 20 percent.
We plan to road bond on it, and then pave it eventually.
It has been dug for about a year now and so far has had some erosion, but I'm still working on the drainage ditches. Definitely no landslide though?
So far as driveways it really isnt that steep compared to many around here.
My mom's house driveway is steeper.

I did just cut the side road off to the right (if going up the main road). This is the road in the shots that is only about 50 ft long so far.
I'm aware that I will need to work on rain runoff with pretty much everything I build there
but I'm building a decent crown on the roads with ditches on both sides with gravel and plastic drainage culverts, and I'm pretty sure I'll be okay.

 

[mattbatson]

Yep - that was an excellent deal for an L39 - new B26's are $30K+.. Keep looking you will find one and dont dally when you find the right one.

Also others to be considered are the JD110 TLB - they dont sell anymore but are a great unit in the same size. Then the L45/L48 - you can find an L48 Kubota for similar $$ mid to high 20's.

Martian here has the JD110 and he spent months finding one with all the options he wanted (Hyd thumb, Front remotes etc) so they are out there be patient and watch locally on CL around the country. It doesnt cost that much to trailer a unit 1000 mi versus getting the ONE you want.

GOod Luck,

appreciate it, will do!

 

[Gary Fowler]

That is the exact mileage (1000) that I put on my truck getting my B26 home. I took a 6 day vacation on the trip, visited daughter and grand daughters, two sisters and brothers-in-law. Well worth the drive plus I got my B26 with 140 hours on it. I have put over 50 on it since I got it home in June . Actually put over an hour on it at one of my sisters before I got home with it digging a little drainage swale and some stumps..

 

[npalen]

I may be missing something but it seems that any weight added to the tires in the form of liquid or wheel weights is much better than the same amount of weight added above the axle. The reason that weighted tires are so beneficial is that the extra weight is gained WITHOUT adding that weight to the axles and bearings. Another advantage of the weighted tires is lower center of gravity for hillside work.