WHICH TRACTOR TO BUY?! L3130, B3030, L2800

[con1965]

My husband and I are in the market for a Kubota tractor. We have 8 acres and currently mow about 2 acres. We want a tractor with a loader and mower, and would also like to use it for plowing snow. We recently checked out and test drove the B3030 and L2800 and liked features about each of them. Our question is about the L3130. How would this tractor be for mowing the lawn? Most of our land is flat, though there are some spots with sloping. We don't have many trees to contend with. My husband liked the idea of a heavier tractor, but would we regret it after we mow with it? Thanks!

 

[white]

I have used B2910 with a 60 inch belly mower for the last 5 years to mow 3 acres lawn and 5 acres field with great results. I also use my loader to clear NE snow with no problems. B3030 is the new B2910 and I am looking at the B3030 with a cab that just arrived at my dealer.

 

[art]

The biggest disadvantage for a large tractor would be mowing! Manuverability is not as good for trim work or just getting around. We do have customers using the grand L's and they work fine but we often prefer being in or around 75lbs max per horsepower for mowers to help keep compaction down. For tillage work or heavy tractor work we go to about 130 maximum but still prefer to stay around 110 to 120lbs per horsepower.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

con1965 & white, welcome to both of you.

Like "white" I use a B2910 which is essentially the older version of the new B3030.

Here is what I see. The L2800 is probably the worst tractor offered by Kubota, some people like it, I would recommend people to buy a different brand rather than that machine. I think the transmission/pto combination is a horrible choice for mowing work. Its absolute lack of mechanical sophistication compared to the other machines you are looking at simply takes it out of their league.

The B3030 is the lightweight tractor champion in terms of size, weight and manuverability in that horsepower class. That light weight and small size mean its has limited capabilities in some areas, it simply does not have the capacity of some other tractors of this horsepower, but it excels in tasks that do not require heavy weight. For a mowing tractor it cannot be beat. It will very easily handle a snow blower, the loader is modest but powerful enough for most any homeowner tasks.

The L3130 is a brute in comparison, in the roughly 30hp class of tractors it is about as tough as they come, its big, heavy and has lots of capacity. It will not fit into places that a B3030 will fit into, but as you don't have many trees that might not be an issue at all. Can you mow with it? Sure. But at 1500+# heavier, do you really want to if you don't need the extra capacity? Now if you need the capacity, then it is a good choice, but I'd prefer the B3030 if most of my tasks were mowing.

 

[con1965]

Thanks for all of your feedback! I'm sure it will help my husband and I make a decision.

 

[Ritterbeck]

I own a L3130 4 -WD HST with a L723 Front End Loader and also have a 6 foot Woods finish mower and a 6 foot Woods scraper blade. I mow around 6 to 8 acres, have a one mile long gravel drive-way and am in the process of clearing a couple of acres on a hill for my kids to sled ride down.
If your grass is not the Golf course manicured kind, I would recommend the L 3130, why? Because, as mentioned before it is around 3400 lbs. without loader. Therefore, a sharp turning radius and or wet ground can leave impressions when not careful. But, the extra power and weight and size is perfect for me. It just depends on what the majority of your work is going to be. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jmc012]

I was concerned about the same thing when I bought my L3430, I was mowing with a L2050 which is about 1500 pounds lighter. The L3430 seems to work fine with the R-4 tires, haven't noticed any problems. I would definitely do it again, it's a big improvement over my old tractor.

 

[poco]

If you think the loader capacity is an issue then go with the gl 3130 I looked at the front axle on the grand L it is a monster compared to the 3030, when using a fel the front axle gets a lot of abuse . The differance in price is small compared to the capacity of GL to the 3030. I use a GL 3430 to mow around two houses and 7 acres of fields ,super quiet tractor and mower, 72 " mid -mount