L4400 vs M4800

[N80]

Not to complicate things, but have you looked at the MX5100 or the M5040? If I were in your shoes I'd get the M5040 but I don't know how much more it would cost over the M4800.

Another thing to consider when looking at tractor size is how much towing capacity you have...if you need to trailer the tractor. An L4400 with fluid in the tires, loader, impelment and trailer can push the limits of 150/1500 model trucks. The 4800, loader, fluid filled tires, implement and trailer could push you up to a 250/2500 level truck. I have an '03 F150 and my L4400 pretty much maxes out its towing capacity. I don't trailer often though.

 

[Knobby1]

yep you are right and the M5040/M6040 are great, however looks like the 5040 is about a $2500 jump over the 4800 more or less. And of course the 4800 is about a $3000 jump up from the L4400, so if I'm not careful I'd be jumping up about 6 grand. Of course the 5040 is a great tractor no doubt. It may be above my budget especially with loader etc thrown in. I'm afraid I'm pretty much stuck at the 4400 to 4800 4wd and gear model from a cost standpoint.

 

[N80]

It seems to me that unless there is a problem spec or feature of the 4800 that I'm not aware of (it does look like an older design) then it seems like the one I'd go with if I were in your position. And from a purely childish standpoint, the 4wd model just looks waaaay cool!

 

[Knobby1]

yes thats about the size of it, the 4800 is a very simple and basic design, its much like an L4400 on steriods I guess, none of the fancy bells/whistles of the 40 series. That is ok with me in this case though. A tractor (to me at least), is supposed to be like that.

 

[dex3361]

yeah I know dex, when you get to looking at the back end on the M4800, that thing is planted, big time. which is why I am favoring it at this point. if the L4400 was a bit heavier back there, it would be my hands down choice, its a great value and has good power. I am still concerned now that I would be operating (when using a heavy mower/brush hog) at the limit of the 3 pt on the 4400, and perhaps even exceeding it. Folks have said they are using the L4400 without having any problems however, I will need to resolve this for sure before deciding and buying. Don't want to go too light for the job, but also dont want to buy more than I need either. Must be something I'm overlooking between the two models that will decide me.........

What size rotary cutter are you going to run? I am using a KK medium duty 6 foot cutter and the L4400 handles it well. No doubt a 4800 would handle it better but at more money. What area are you in have you looked around for what works well for your area? No point in reinventing the wheel.

 

[Gamer1524]

Don't forget that the bigger the tractor..the more expensive the toys to go with it...so figure that into your choice

 

[Knobby1]

yeah this is true, bigger loader, etc to run up the price. If I had any sense I'd get the L4400 and make do with it, a 6' mower/brush hog would be about right. My land is in sw missouri ozarks, but am now living in texas. Dam they have some hard rocks up there and lots of them....

 

[mike5.56]

I just returned from the Kubota dealer in my town, and finished running the L4400 around his lot. I had gone to the New Holland dealer yesterday to give them one more shot, and drove around the TC45-whatever the number is now, 22 something. The NH was a very nice tractor with the 12 spd gear drive tranny, better vis over the hood than the L4400, or the 4250, but the plastic stuff kind of turned me off. I have all but decided on Kubota, but wanted to revisit my decision. Today, I decided, and Monday I go to fill out the papers on the L4400 with HST.
The NH would give me their tractor for $23,000 with loader, $1800 more with HST, and the Kubota is $22,190, plus a Landpride 6' medium duty (90 hp GB) brush cutter for $1825, and a post hole digger with 9" and 12" augers for $710. Total package is $24,725. They still have their 0% for 60 until 31 December with 15% down, and that was the final factor. NH has 0% for 42, with 15% down, and the total cost for 6' Bush Hog Squealer, and PHD, and HST would have been $26,500, but instead of getting free money for 60 months, I'd be getting it for 42, with alot higher payments. Since the cost of money is free, why not stretch it out over 60 months?
I realize that the tractors compared aren't exactly apples to apples, except in HP, but the financing helped to make my decision.

 

[Bob_Young]

Knobby, FWIW, the M4800 would seem the better bet to me. I bought a 6' Woods BB720 medium duty bush hog with my L4300 (older version of the L4400) and it was a bit too much for it. Was warned by the dealer that it might be. The BB720 is so heavy that it felt like the tail was wagging the dog. The L4300 could lift it (with the FEL on) and spin it OK, but on fast turns and hillsides, you could tell it wasn't a good match-up. I think this was mostly due to the tractor's light weight.

Worse than that, the somewhat cramped geometry of the L4300's cat I 3PH made hookups a tortuous affair. Always ended up disassembling one side of the 3PH to get it to open far enough to go on. This was because the BB720 has a wider pin spacing intended for cat I/II hitches. Hookups and removals always took about 45 minutes because of this.

On the little-bit-bigger MX5000 I bought later, I have no such problems. Even though the rear-end casting looks identical to the L4300's and the 3PH lift capacity is the same, the 3PH is designed with cat I/II geometry and I can hook up to the BB720 with no hair pulling. Not only that but the MX is just heavy enough to work well with the BB720, though the front does get a little light when lifting it without FEL or front weights.

Another item that helps immensely with hookups is extendable lower lift arms. Don't forget to ask about them whichever tractor you get.

Now if you get a standard duty 6' bush hog (what my dealer recommended) or something other than Woods, none of the above might apply. But, because I have a lot of rocks, and rough/uneven land, I thought I needed something tougher and went with medium duty....which for Woods meant HEAVY. An alternative, for Woods anyway, might be their recently introduced Extreme Service Standard Duty. As the name implies, it's a beefed up Standard Duty which doesn't go overboard on weight and retains the hitch dimensions of the Standard Duty.

Thought I'd toss this in because it looked like you might make the same mistake I did.
Bob

 

[dex3361]

The extendable lift arms are available for the L4400 have the dealer look in the standard shift L4400DT parts catalog in the options section "under3 point linkage 1 lower link option" and I highly recomend them. It would probably be much cheaper to get them as an option than to get them afterwards.