New Owner with questions

[Bohnsack]

Hi all,

I am a new owner and new to this site. Never owned a tractor before. I have 40 acres of woods and some swamp in central Minnesota. Just purchased a 2010 Kubota B3200 from a good friend to took immaculate care of it. 230 hours. Included loander, snow blower and rotary cutter. Intended use is moving/hauling heavier items/material. Moving firewood, snow removal, and maintaining wildlife food plots. I've got experience running a skid steer. I know that is a different machine but there are some similarities with bucket work, etc. Since I'm new to the tractor world, I am sure there are things that I will do wrong, or tips that I could benefit from. I am wondering if you all could offer some advice on things to do or avoid such that I can skip over some of the inevitable rookie mistakes?? I already damaged the header above my shop overhead door because I forgot the roll bar was up when I tried to drive in. No major damage, but these are the dumb mistakes I need to learn to avoid.

One specific question - I've been moving some fill/gravel type material by taking down a small hill on my property. I'm easing into the side of the hill and working the bucket up and back to get it full. That is working fine, but sometimes I can feel that I've maxed out the lift capacity on the bucket and it won't go higher. I either back up a little or curl the bucket back and then I'm fine. My question is this when I max out the capacity on the loader, is there some kind of relief feature or override on the hydraulics? Or everytime I max it out, am I applying excess pressure on the hydraulic system? Basically wondering how careful I need to be about this, or if a little bit of maxing it out here and there is not a big deal? I do not want to apply excess force/wear on the machine or components.

 

[3Lfarms]

There is a relief valve in the loader valve that keeps the oil moving.
That said, you don’t want to rely on that relief all the time. It sounds like you are doing just fine. When the loader stops responding, let off and do something else to get it moving again. If you constantly keep forcing the relief valve to open, it can cause it to wear out prematurely. It’s also tends to heat up the oil.

 

[DLTTrekkers]

There is a relief valve in the loader valve that keeps the oil moving.
That said, you don’t want to rely on that relief all the time. It sounds like you are doing just fine. When the loader stops responding, let off and do something else to get it moving again. If you constantly keep forcing the relief valve to open, it can cause it to wear out prematurely. It’s also tends to heat up the oil.

First move the topsoil aside...then use the deadsoil to fill....then move your topsoil back.

 

[Thomas]

Welcome to TBN and congrats on your new investment. :thumbsup:

Your relief valve should keep you in the safety range if no one has made adjustment.
Are your tires loaded,if so you'll see big differents when using front loader.
Keep your RPM's up don't lug the motor down.

 

[TheMan419]

One thing to remember with the tractor vs the skid steer is the need for counter balance. Keep something heavy on your 3 point when doing dirt work. The bush hog sticks a long way out the back but if you are not in close quarters that is a good counter weight. IF you are working in close quarters get or make a weight box. That will be counter weight but not hang so far off the back.

 

[jeff9366]

One specific question - I've been moving some fill/gravel type material by taking down a small hill on my property. I'm easing into the side of the hill and working the bucket up and back to get it full. That is working fine, but sometimes I can feel that I've maxed out the lift capacity on the bucket and it won't go higher. I either back up a little or curl the bucket back and then I'm fine. My question is this when I max out the capacity on the loader, is there some kind of relief feature or override on the hydraulics? Or everytime I max it out, am I applying excess pressure on the hydraulic system? Basically wondering how careful I need to be about this, or if a little bit of maxing it out here and there is not a big deal? I do not want to apply excess force/wear on the machine or components.

As bucket enters the pile, curl it back so excess above bucket falls off. You are trying to lift all the dirt above the bucket, which is too much. Generally speaking, a tractor bucket will lift a heaping bucket of DRY sand or DRY dirt. Not all will lift a full bucket of wet sand or wet dirt.

Be sure to carry counterbalance on the Three Point Hitch to maintain rear wheels solidly on the ground. Counterbalance also unloads strain on the front axle and front axle bearings.

 

[MHarryE]

You'll be just fine the way you are lifting but if you are carrying for a substantial distance, keep an eye on your front hubs for leaks. I did a lot of load and carry on my place up in Northeastern MN and one of my front hub bearings failed at the worst time - mid-winter. Glad to hear I'm not the only one leaving marks on buildings. When trading in my L3710 my dealer asked the bucket width. I didn't need to go out to the tractor to measure - I only needed to measure the imprint on the garage door.