Looking for advice ... first tractor. 20 acres just east of Lake Ontario, NY. Occasional 2-3 ' snowfalls. 1800 feet of creek and lowland on ~ 7 acres. Mixed hardwoods and softwoods. Light clay/gravel ... very few rocks. Steep inclines down to floodplain. 6 acre plateau w/ light brush. Want to build on south-facing edge of plateau overlooking floodplain toward creek. Need to build & maintain ~800 feet of gravel road over gently rolling field, clear for building site, build house / barn, extablish food and flower gardens, paths, cut firewood. Am considering Kubota B3030 with ATI Tach-All for bucket & pallet forks, MMM, rear-mount 5' snowblower, Valby CH 140 wood chipper, Farmi JL 290 skidding winch, FL1271C Kubota 50" Tiller, box blade, and small backhoe w/thumb. Have lots of time (hopefully) and little money. Hoping to find one-size-fits all tractor to include heavier initial use and subsequent lighter maintenance tasks. Bad knees, so mounting/dismounting gets burdensome. Small, powerful size looks good. Bottom line - Is tractor too light?
Retirement Tractor - B3030?
- Thread starter mrhoyt
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I think the B3030 would work pretty well for you. Although if money is a deciding factor, I would get one of the L series Kubota's. For almost the same money as a B3030 you can get a L3450. The L3450 is a little bit heavier unit and it sounds like you have some tasks that would benefit from that. Dont get me wrong, the B3030 is a great unit, I own one myself. I love it! But, by the sounds of the jobs you have to perform, you would benefit more from a larger unit, rather than the fancier B3030.
Good luck with your search!
Good luck with your search!
jbrumberg
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Mrhoyt:
Welcome to TBN
! The B3030 is a good tractor and will easily meet many of your long term needs, but it is relatively "light" in the weight department for serious ground engaging tasks. You will have to weight your tires as well as seriously consider what type of tire you want
(R-1 vs R-4). Some of your mentionned tasks would be best accomplished by a heavy equipment contractor to set up your property properly initially; it would save you a lot of wear and tear on the tractor (and a lot of time). I would also like to add that tractors are not bulldozers. Just my opinion on your project, and the 3030 is a good tractor (It was on my very short list when I bought). Jay
Welcome to TBN
! The B3030 is a good tractor and will easily meet many of your long term needs, but it is relatively "light" in the weight department for serious ground engaging tasks. You will have to weight your tires as well as seriously consider what type of tire you want (R-1 vs R-4). Some of your mentionned tasks would be best accomplished by a heavy equipment contractor to set up your property properly initially; it would save you a lot of wear and tear on the tractor (and a lot of time). I would also like to add that tractors are not bulldozers. Just my opinion on your project, and the 3030 is a good tractor (It was on my very short list when I bought
). JayMarkV
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Sounds like a fine tractor combo to me. I didn't see a rotary mower on your list but you may not have any rough mowing planned. Do some searches on the forum about finish mower options. Some swear by the MMM while others find a rear finish mower a better and cheaper option. Being that it is the retirement tractor, with the snow you get up your way the cab model may be worth considering. Cab with air and heat, stereo, drink holder and nice seat sounds like a good retirement tractor to me.
I do think that building an 800 ft road may be better left to heavier equipment. The 3030 should work well for maintaining the road.
Welcome to the forum.
MarkV
I do think that building an 800 ft road may be better left to heavier equipment. The 3030 should work well for maintaining the road.
Welcome to the forum.
MarkV
Bob_Young
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Mr. Hoyt,
I think you'll find the B3030 is a bit small and light for what you have planned. The Kubota L-series offers the weight and power you'll need for year round usefulness. For about the same money(?) as the B3030, you should be able to get a gear L3400; with a little more $, an L3400HST. There won't be as many bells & whistles, however. I think with your acreage and the weather in your neck of the woods, you could stand something more beef and HP. That plus the loader will be more capable. With the huge snowfalls you get in your area, you'll need all the HP and loader lift you can get to move snow over those big banks. The greater ground clearance of the L model will be a help as well.
On a larger acreage, like yours, I've found a little B7610 to be a nice adjunct to an already owned L4300. What one can't do (or can't do conveniently), the other can. But if it came down to a choice of only one, it would be the bigger unit. There are times when even that is taxed to the limit. With your snowfall, I'm sure there will be times when an L4240 or larger would come in handy.
The L3400 is what Kubota calls a 'basic tractor'. As such it doesn't have a lot of the neat features of the B3030 or the Grand L's. But they do offer the functionality of the more expensive units at a good savings. If money's not a big issue, then the Grand Ls should be considered, but I'd look at the L3540 and up for your work.
For the rear mounted snowblower, HST will be the best choice. You'll have infinite control over the reverse speed and can easily slow to a creep when it starts to bog while maintaining full PTO RPM. The lower priced gear units, like the gear L3400, sacrifice the number of reverse speeds to keep costs down. You might find that your lowest reverse gear combined with the high engine RPM required by the blower results in a ground speed that's too fast for the blower. Same thing holds true when you're going forward and using the tiller; HST lets you choose the exact speed you need.
If you were in Virginia or Maryland and trying to manage 20 acres (or spent the winters in Florida), I'd say you could get by with the B3030. But year round at your location demands more.
FWIW
Bob
I think you'll find the B3030 is a bit small and light for what you have planned. The Kubota L-series offers the weight and power you'll need for year round usefulness. For about the same money(?) as the B3030, you should be able to get a gear L3400; with a little more $, an L3400HST. There won't be as many bells & whistles, however. I think with your acreage and the weather in your neck of the woods, you could stand something more beef and HP. That plus the loader will be more capable. With the huge snowfalls you get in your area, you'll need all the HP and loader lift you can get to move snow over those big banks. The greater ground clearance of the L model will be a help as well.
On a larger acreage, like yours, I've found a little B7610 to be a nice adjunct to an already owned L4300. What one can't do (or can't do conveniently), the other can. But if it came down to a choice of only one, it would be the bigger unit. There are times when even that is taxed to the limit. With your snowfall, I'm sure there will be times when an L4240 or larger would come in handy.
The L3400 is what Kubota calls a 'basic tractor'. As such it doesn't have a lot of the neat features of the B3030 or the Grand L's. But they do offer the functionality of the more expensive units at a good savings. If money's not a big issue, then the Grand Ls should be considered, but I'd look at the L3540 and up for your work.
For the rear mounted snowblower, HST will be the best choice. You'll have infinite control over the reverse speed and can easily slow to a creep when it starts to bog while maintaining full PTO RPM. The lower priced gear units, like the gear L3400, sacrifice the number of reverse speeds to keep costs down. You might find that your lowest reverse gear combined with the high engine RPM required by the blower results in a ground speed that's too fast for the blower. Same thing holds true when you're going forward and using the tiller; HST lets you choose the exact speed you need.
If you were in Virginia or Maryland and trying to manage 20 acres (or spent the winters in Florida), I'd say you could get by with the B3030. But year round at your location demands more.
FWIW
Bob
dedgett
New member
I am in somewhat of a similar position to you however I chose to hire out the heavier work to the larger machines. Sounds like I live just across the Lake to you on the Canadian side. I have only half the acreage that you do but I didn't have the time or the patience to go at clearing my property and building roads with a compact tractor. I've decided to buy the Kubota B3030 however, but more so for the purposes of maintaining my property and slowly cleaning up some areas that I choose to work on at my own pace.
I brought in a Cat D6 Dozer and a Cat 330 Excavator to prep my land. They cleared approx 5 acres of trees and brush, put in my road and driveway, installed 12" water mains, spread about 10,000 yards of fill, and got pretty close to a final grade on my yard. They did this over the coarse of a couple weeks. This did cost a bit of money, but I can't even imagine trying to do this with a B3030. Perhaps if I was retired and had nothing better to do, maybe, but even then I doubt it could be done.
Last weekend my neighbour rented a JD 3320 to move about 100 yards of topsoil and do a final grade on his back yard. After about 4 hours he had made a bit of progress but he wasn't getting far. He would have been at it all weekend. I called my buddy with a D3 Dozer and he had it done in 2 hours - after that my neighbour just dragged it with a screen and that was that. My point is that sometimes having the right tool for the job just makes sense... and ultimately makes life much easier.
That said, the B3030 is a very good machine and I"ve decided to buy one myself. I've chosen the B3030 as it's lighter in weight which I like as ultimately the primary job for this machine will be for mowing the lawn. It'll also allow me to bushhog some of my property, move snow, do some final grading with a BB, landscape, etc.
If you are set on doing it yourself however, I agree that a heavier L series tractor would make a lot more sense for the ground engaging tasks you'll be required to complete.
I brought in a Cat D6 Dozer and a Cat 330 Excavator to prep my land. They cleared approx 5 acres of trees and brush, put in my road and driveway, installed 12" water mains, spread about 10,000 yards of fill, and got pretty close to a final grade on my yard. They did this over the coarse of a couple weeks. This did cost a bit of money, but I can't even imagine trying to do this with a B3030. Perhaps if I was retired and had nothing better to do, maybe, but even then I doubt it could be done.
Last weekend my neighbour rented a JD 3320 to move about 100 yards of topsoil and do a final grade on his back yard. After about 4 hours he had made a bit of progress but he wasn't getting far. He would have been at it all weekend. I called my buddy with a D3 Dozer and he had it done in 2 hours - after that my neighbour just dragged it with a screen and that was that. My point is that sometimes having the right tool for the job just makes sense... and ultimately makes life much easier.
That said, the B3030 is a very good machine and I"ve decided to buy one myself. I've chosen the B3030 as it's lighter in weight which I like as ultimately the primary job for this machine will be for mowing the lawn. It'll also allow me to bushhog some of my property, move snow, do some final grading with a BB, landscape, etc.
If you are set on doing it yourself however, I agree that a heavier L series tractor would make a lot more sense for the ground engaging tasks you'll be required to complete.
BizDoc
Gold Member
I wasn't going to chime in since there were already so many good points, but just a few that made my decision to purchase a B3030HSDC yesterday. The cab will be great in your climate. It's cold plowing snow, the you will not be sorry in that warm cab when plowing or in the AC cab when working in the summer. One thing that I would recommend from experience is foregoing the rear blade for a front blade. I used a rear blade for snow for years and every year swore at it. I truly dislike looking behind me to see what I'm doing, and I don't feel like I get a good job that way, just frustration. I had a quick hitch front 6 way blade equipped on my new tractor for pushing the snow ahead of the tractor where my lights can direct me and if I start to float off center I can just move it to the side and continue on. I've tried pushing snow backwards and pulling the snow behind me, either way when I had a big snow fall it was a cussing parade. I'm looking forward to the bright forward lights, heated cab and pushing the snow with the 6 way blade. Granted the FEL will have to come off, but with the quick hitch, dropping the blade and pulling into the FEL shouldn't take long, if I need the FEL during the winter at all.
ronjhall
Super Star Member
I have a B2910 (B3030 is new model). Have many of the attachments you are considering. For 20 acres and task listed I would think the B3030 is a little small. One of the new L40 would be great tractors. But since you mention little money. You may be able to find a L3430 tractor still in stock or slightly used. Great size and power. All the atachments listed will work with this size tractor. Make sure the loader is an LA723.
I have the same tiller you have selected. If I had to do it again I would consider a standard rotation tiller and wider width. While the tiller does a great job stones larger than 6" will get caught between tines and top of tiller. Tiller must be stopped to remove these rocks. Lots of good tillers posted here on TBN.
You will appreciate the added wieght of the larger tractor with the skidding winch.
If you decide to stick with the B3030 you will not be disapointed. But it will take more of that time you will have in retirement. The B2910 was my retirement tractor.
I have the same tiller you have selected. If I had to do it again I would consider a standard rotation tiller and wider width. While the tiller does a great job stones larger than 6" will get caught between tines and top of tiller. Tiller must be stopped to remove these rocks. Lots of good tillers posted here on TBN.
You will appreciate the added wieght of the larger tractor with the skidding winch.
If you decide to stick with the B3030 you will not be disapointed. But it will take more of that time you will have in retirement. The B2910 was my retirement tractor.