Kubota B3030 vs L3400

[Charlesaf3]

Hi,

After reading through all the good advice on this and other forums. I'm trying to decide which of these to buy. Background, I have 7.5 acres, fair amount of hill, around 1.5 acres to be mown currently. I want to use the machine for general landscaping, road maintenance, and clearing the woods - brush cutting, lifting out cut logs etc.

I plan on getting the FEL, box blade or rear blade, brush cutter, finish mower, and maybe a backhoe (I love the idea, and could find a lot of uses for it, but the price is a bit rough. I'm trying to justify it though).

I gather that the 3030 would be better for mowing, and the L would be stronger/tougher, though per the Kubota stats it doesn't seem all that much stronger than the 3030.

Southeastern mass dealer quoted $18,350 for a B3030 HSD-F with a loader, and $18,000 for a L3400 HST-F with a loader.

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

Thanks,

Charles

 

[Charlesaf3]

how odd, email says there is a reply here, but I can't see it.

 

[DmansPadge]

Oopps... that was me. Sorry... got busy and couldn't finish. I will reply again later though.

 

[Bumble]

Hi,

After reading through all the good advice on this and other forums. I'm trying to decide which of these to buy. Background, I have 7.5 acres, fair amount of hill, around 1.5 acres to be mown currently. I want to use the machine for general landscaping, road maintenance, and clearing the woods - brush cutting, lifting out cut logs etc.

I plan on getting the FEL, box blade or rear blade, brush cutter, finish mower, and maybe a backhoe (I love the idea, and could find a lot of uses for it, but the price is a bit rough. I'm trying to justify it though).

I gather that the 3030 would be better for mowing, and the L would be stronger/tougher, though per the Kubota stats it doesn't seem all that much stronger than the 3030.

Southeastern mass dealer quoted $18,350 for a B3030 HSD-F with a loader, and $18,000 for a L3400 HST-F with a loader.

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

Thanks,

Charles

As someone also looking at new tractors, I would say go look at them side by side. Try them out, sit on the seat, run the loader, get a feel for them. I started looking at the B or BX series, and found them too small for what I wanted to do. Now the L and Grand L are on my short list.
Good luck,
Jim

 

[The Gardener]

I think you start out by defining and projecting the mowing you expect to do on this property. If it's under 2 acres, you might consider a riding lawn mower. I cut over 3 acres with a riding mower. It's not ideal, but it certainly works. I have done this for more than 10 years.

If mowing is not a variable in your tractor selection, I'd opt for the heaviest tractor. In this case, the L3400 would be my choice. You cannot substitute for weight when it comes to related work in and around wooded acreage. It improves traction and it improves safety [i.e. rollovers and balance]. The L3400 outweighs the B3030 by roughly 800 pounds. That's significant. The L3400 has a larger bucket. That reduces the number of trips. The L3400 most likely handles larger attachments which also lessens time to complete projects. If your mowing acreage increases with future clearing, the L3400 can be used with a rear mower to handle the distant cutting from your house.

All food for thought ...

Good Luck!

Either choice will be fantastic from all that I have read and from my opportunities to demo each of those tractors as I, too, try to make a new tractor selection.

The Gardener

 

[FamilyFarm]

If you can't go higher on the money, I'd go with the L3400 for the weight. If you could get into the GrandL series, such as the L3430, you get the extra weight AND the creature comforts of the B3030

Terry

 

[Charlesaf3]

I don't really want to buy a riding mower and a tractor - it kind of removes most of the justification for getting a tractor! Lots of things I'd like to do with the tractor, but I NEED to cut the grass - something that can be easily explained to other parties

I'll have a look at the grand Ls and see how much they'll push the price up - amazing how much mission creep is going on. The more I look, the more tractor I'm thinking of buying... But the grand Ls with a mid mount mower seem like they'd be almost as maneuverable as the B - does anyone have any experience with this?

I drove the B3030 and was impressed with it. I haven't had a chance to drive the L3400 yet as the local dealer is uncrating it - next week it appears.

Is the weight of the Ls going to be too much for the lawn, do you think?

Thanks,

Charles

 

[The Gardener]

I don't really want to buy a riding mower and a tractor - ... but I NEED to cut the grass

In this case, I highly recommend the B3030. It will be a lot easier to manuever in tight spaces for lawn cutting. It's nice and compact for circling trees and following garden edges, etc. Yet, the B3030 certainly has the ability to handle tree clearing duties and other such jobs.

Do keep us posted - and Best of Luck!

The Gardener

 

[rickmacheske]

I use my L3400 to mow my lawn and my field (about 7 acres total). One thing that I've found out about having a tractor is that I use it for everything. It helps out immensly around the house to move things around and in the 5 acres of forest. I'd definitely opt for the L3400. To give you and example, I used the FEL to lift 1300 lbs (couple trips) of tile to a second story sunroom through the french doors. Yep, the wife is making me tile this weekend but I figured out a way to use my tractor

 

[Charlesaf3]

Hmm, now I'm thinking about the L3130 or L3430 if the price works. Looks like the grand Ls can take a mid mount mower, and thus theoretically wouldn't be any worse for mowing, right? And at the same time they'd have the greater strength etc.

Any thoughts?