ok I was thinking of getting a 3120 tractor, But do you think it will have enough power to do landscaping (moving mulch, Dirt and snow) with 300cx loader. I am going to get a 47 Backhoe also. This is all for my personal use. My neigbor has a kubota 7510 and last winter he was moving snow with no problem so I was thing I may be ok. Also do you think I will need any ballast weight with the hoe on it? One other thing is a mid PTO a must to run the front snowblower? Thanks to all that can help me out.
Need help in a tractor decision
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jcmseven
Veteran Member
The 3120 would do all those tasks, but would labor on some of them. The snowblower would be a challenge if the snow were wet and heavy or the blowing would occur on a grade. On flat ground, the 3120 would do an admirable job with the loader; the real problem is in b range work and on hills, where its low power to weight ratio would hurt it. If you are on a tight budget, the 3120 would fare fine, but would work hard at times. If you can swing the mild upgrade to a 3320, you would gain enough power to make those jobs easy.
John M
John M
Bob_Skurka
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<font color="green"> How about ballast is that needed? Do I need to fill the tires? </font>
If you take the backhoe off and want to use the FEL, you will need some sort of ballast to maximize the capacity of the loader and to increase the stability. Generally it is unsafe to use an unballasted tractor with a FEL. Ballast can take the form of wheel weights, fluid filled tires or a ballast box/implement hanging from the 3pt hitch.
If you take the backhoe off and want to use the FEL, you will need some sort of ballast to maximize the capacity of the loader and to increase the stability. Generally it is unsafe to use an unballasted tractor with a FEL. Ballast can take the form of wheel weights, fluid filled tires or a ballast box/implement hanging from the 3pt hitch.
Bob_Skurka
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You would have to check the operators manual for that. Every loader model and tractor combination are slightly different, a well balanced and well matched tractor-loader can be very light and still lift a huge load and a heavy tractor may not be able to lift the same amount, but BOTH will require proper ballast. On my New Holland, the manual states that I need BOTH wheel weights or fluid AND a ballast box to achieve maximum lift with the FEL (I don't have wheel weights or fluid fill, but very likely will fluid fill soon). On my Kubota, I have fluid fill AND use a box blade.
jcmseven
Veteran Member
Yes, the two horsepower will help, but the 3320 has a few more foot pounds of torque too, which will also help. As far as for ballast, the 300cx loader will lift enough to lift the rear of the tractor if not ballasted. The best ballast to me is filled rear tires. They make two sets of r4 tires, one larger and one smaller. The larger ones will hold quite a bit (40+ gallons) of liquid ballast. The smaller ones just over 30 gallons per tire. This will give you around 450-800 pounds of rear ballast, depending on what you use and which tires you choose. Also, a box blade, which is a useful attachment, will offer another 400-500 pounds and can serve as your ballast. I think more cost effective than buying a dedicated ballast box. The combination of those two things will hold the rear of the machine down nicely, on even hilly terrain. Some folks are not enthusiastic about tire filling, but to achieve equivalent ballast with another means is very difficult and would cost a lot more too.
John M
John M
