HST L3200 vs. L3800, $1800 more worth it?

[Dutch61]

I have 2 quotes and regional price factors make the actual amount not relevant. The delta is $1818, L3800 over the L3200, both are HST. The only real feature difference I can find is the horse power, and I'm having a hard time knowing if my needs require the extra 5. I'm not sure if 32/25 vs 37/30 is noticeable, these are Engine/PTO HP ratings.

http://www.kubota.com/product/L3200/pdf/l_series_spec.pdf

Cut to the chase...
If you factor in #5 below, would you spend $1818 more to get 5 HP at the engine and 5 HP at the PTO?

backstory/details
1. Flat land, 6 acres, wet in spring and fall, 12-24 inches topsoil, then 2-3 feet dense/hard clay, then sand/water table. I'm getting Ag tires, R1
2. 50x400 food plot, 64" tiller (reverse rotation), 5-6 foot cultivator for weeds and use with below items (maybe disc). The RTR tiller might need 30 PTO HP?
3. 400 foot flat drive way to grade and/or plow snow, not a lot of snow here, 10 inches is a lot, then it melts away, 3-4 inches is normal followed by thawing and maybe a repeat 2-3 times at most
4. I need to cultivate (maybe disc) small orchard, blueberries and other small fruit for weed control.

5."Wild card factor" If 1-4 above was all I needed then 32/25 probably would be fine. This takes up 2 acres, the balance of that land is house, barn and lawn maintained with riding mower. The 4 acres behind the barn is open flat pasture and I'm thinking about planting grapes or another cash crop/orchard etc. This would require disc/cultivator and or roto tilling on a regular basis to keep the weeds down, spraying with 100 gallon sprayer and/or 60 inch finish mower. Post Hole digger for grape trellis poles, soft, no rock ground, post would be 4 feet in ground, 6 feet out, one time shot to install. The balance of work here is pulling carts and general maintenance.

 

[Bluegill2]

I believe the 5 hp difference will be noticeable with the tiller. Otherwise the 3200 should do all you need.

BTW, I'm very impressed with my L3800. Very good tractor! :thumbsup:

 

[teg]

I would say the L3200 would be fine except for using a disc. Land Pride 66" reverse tillers hp requirements are 20-40 hp so, either tractor would work fine.

 

[LD1]

I believe the 5 hp difference will be noticeable with the tiller. Otherwise the 3200 should do all you need.

BTW, I'm very impressed with my L3800. Very good tractor! :thumbsup:

Agreed.

With those two tractors (In HST form) the power is the only difference.

For anything ground engaging (blade, snow removal, plow, disc, FEL work, culivating, skidding logs, etc) you really wont notice a difference.

But if you needs (or future needs) may have a lot of PTO duties....then them 5 ponies are definatally noticable.

I ran a KK 60" tiller behind my 3400 gear (29HP PTO....only one less than the 3800 HST) and it was a load for sure. Also think about future needs. Bushhogging???? Big Mower??? Snow blower???

Also, if you tow any loads in a higher gear and up hills, the power is noticable. I use my L3400 to tow firewood trailers to/from where we cut ~3miles away. In road gear (on the road ofcourse) even small hills will start to lug you down. IF I had less HP, that would mean downshifting more often.

 

[tractorshopper]

I'm sure either is fine for your intended uses. I went with the L3800HST because I figured 16% more HP was worth the extra ~$1,600 to me.

 

[Martian]

I would say the L3200 would be fine except for using a disc. Land Pride 66" reverse tillers hp requirements are 20-40 hp so, either tractor would work fine.

I'm with teg, don't see you requiring the extra power. Although it may be nice, and a little faster to do some things, not sure it's $1800 worth for your needs.

 

[Code54]

I look at the future and think if you ever want a chipper or other PTO driven implement it will cost you a lot more to upgrade tractors later on.... plus if you use the machine to make some extra money the extra horses may speed things up ever so slightly, and time is money!!

 

[teg]

I look at the future and think if you ever want a chipper or other PTO driven implement...

I'll have to tell that to my Bush Hog chipper/shredder :laughing: The only thing I can think of... that the extra HP will do that mine will not is if you are thinking about running a 6' bush hog instead of the recommended 5'.

BTW, that's 5 extra HP that you don't have to burn fuel for...

For that extra $1800 I got a grapple, Hydraulic top link and still had money left over for a beer or two :drink: (to be fair, for me the L2800 was much more tractor then I thought I needed and it's done everything I wanted it to do.)

 

[Sammy3700]

I have a 3700hst and love it. I ran my friends 3400gear before I bought mine and liked it. I decided on the 3700 because in my opinion you will never regret getting too much HP. You may regret not getting enough. As far as fuel we bush hog for hire together and have ran several times together both run 5' cutters and normally 2-5 tenths of a gallon difference in fuel per day. Some times I may use more some days he may burn more, guess it depends on who had the thicker grass.

 

[Code54]

Teg, while I understand your point I didn't mean to imply you can't run a chipper or even a 5ft/6ft hog, BUT when I gained a few HP at the PTO (when I traded tractors and got a l3700) It ran the chipper much better and I could brush hog both easier and faster. Could I run it before, yep, could I run it better now, yes sir!
I also run a PTO blower and it is all about PTO HP!!! I just think it never hurts to have the extra. I don't know any one that said, "my tractor has too my HP so I am selling it to get the same size machine with less HP" - know several that went the other way however.... Also with towing 1000+lbs of sprayer, a few extra ponies would NEVER hurt

Also shop around a bit, you maybe able to narrow the price gap some more. In our area the gap is often a bit less.
Good luck, both are great machines!!!