shu
Bronze Member
Recently I traded my 5+ year old New Holland TC30 for a Kubota L3400. The two tractors fill the same market niche. Both are quality machines; neither is clearly superior. Some readers may however find the following comparison useful. If I had it to do over, probably would have bought the equivalent current New Holland model rather than the Kubota, evan at a couple of hundred dollars more, if it were available - which it was not.
THE LAND, THE WORK, THE IMPLEMENTS. This part of south Texas is flat. However drainage ditch work provides awareness of slope safety. Six years ago we bought our retirement home on six acres in town and soon added other bits and pieces of real estate.
Purchase of a tractor seemed appropriate. The New Holland TC30 appeared to be a no-frills quality built machine, and indeed prooved to be. I bought one with HST drive, front-end loader, box blade, and shredder. Over the years I added a tooth bar for the FEL, post hole digger, and back blade for ditching.
The tractor was a marvel: land shaping, shredding pastures, clearing mesquite trees. Knocked down a couple of condemned houses we bought at tax sales.
THE DECISION. Couple of years ago the TC30 got an irritating habit when starting. Sound like the starter solenoid engaging, but no starter motion. Not a discharged battery; replaced that twice. Maybe a loose connection somewhere in the wiring causing a voltage drop. After eight or a dozen tries, finally it would catch and start like nothing was wrong.
Add to that, after 5+ years and 780 hours the mighty TC30 just seemed to be losing some of its zip. Maybe time to trade.
Thought briefly about a larger tractor; maybe a 45HP. More power is always nice; 6 foot implements instead of 5 foot width would make faster work. But a heavier tractor would require a stronger transport trailer, a larger truck to pull it, and new implements. Also less maneuverable in back yards and under trees. No, 30-35 HP will do.
New Holland re-issued the TC30 with a 35hp engine, calling it the T1520. Local dealer recently began handling Kubota in addition to New Holland. The Kubaota L3400, 34 HP and 2600 pounds, is the most directly comparable. (Both might be called "economy" tractors - fewer frills and less stout than the L3240 at 34 HP and 3395 pounds or New Holland's "Boomer" equivalent. But I had asked a lot of the TC30 and it had always delivered.)
In price, comparing 4WD gear driven models, the T1520 was a couple hundred dollars more expensive than the L3400. My TC30 was HST drive. I do enough FEL work and shredding around trees that I just did not want to be shifting gears at each forward/reverse change. Deciding factor however was that there just were not any HST T1520 in the entire state. It would be the Kubota.
THE RESULT. First thing I noticed operating the L3400 was the SEAT SAFETY SWITCHES. You can jump out of the seat without setting the parking brake and shifting the neutral. This is one of those small things that can be a major irritant.
To get the TC30 through a gate the procedure is:
1. set parking brake
2. shift to neutral
3. jump off tractor
4. open gate
5. jump on tractor
6. unset parking brake
7. shift to gear
8. drive through gate opening
9. set parking brake
10. shift to neutral
11. jump off tractor
12. close gate
13. jump on tractor
14. unset parking brake
15. shift to gear
With the L3400 over half these steps are eliminated. Nice.
MOUNT/DISMOUNT on the L3400 is difficult (but not impossible) from the right hand side. The FEL joystick and 3-point hitch lever restrict the entry space. Tractor seems to be designed for left side mount only. There is a step on the left side only. At 6 ft 2 in height, I don't need a step; but I do like to be able to jump on or off both sides. Sometimes a right side exit/entry is closest to what needs doing on the ground.
The first day with the L3400 I twice unintentionally turned on the headlights and turn signal during mount/dismount.
The L3400 has "CRUISE CONTROL"; a lever on the left side links underneath to hold the HST forward pedal down during those quarter mile shredder runs. Nice. New Holland does not have this.
The GRILL GUARD on the L3400 is superior to the single horizontal piece on the New Holland. Loading some concrete rubble over the side of a big truck one day with the TC30, the "grill guard" was at a height to just fit under the main frame of the truck. When I dumped the FEL, the front end of the tractor rose up an inch or two. Stuck. This would not have happened with the L3400 type guard.
The 3-POINT HITCH does not raise as high on the L3400 as on the TC30, and seems also not to lower as much. Raising high is important when trying to pull a big bite of dirt off a pile with the box blade. Downward extension is important when hanging the shredder over the crest of a hill.
Hopefully the shorter range of 3-point hitch motion on the L3400 will not be a problem with the post hole digger,
Design of the 3-POINT HITCH CONTROL LEVER on the TC30 is superior to the L3400. Both are a stamping from thick sheet metal. An adjustable lower limit stop on the fairing through which the lever passes permits setting a reference - say ground level for whatever implement you are carrying. On the L3400 the slot in the fairing is just wide enough for the lever; when you hit the stop, that's it. On the TC30 the slot is wider; after hitting the stop you can spring the lever around the stop and lower the implement further.
The PTO CONTROL LEVER on the L3400 is lighter design than on the New Holland - but also vastly easier and more convenient to manipulate.
The L3400 does not have a center PTO underneath as the TC30 did. Good for a center mounted finish mower; never needed it.
In GENERAL BODY DESIGN, I early on broke one of the TC30 stop lights, mounted atop the fender, working amongs the trees. The L3400 stop lights, mounted flush on the fender end looked good. Wrong. Snagged and broke the plastic mounting on the L3400 the first day of serious shredding.
The rear-hinged hood of the L3400 also seemed like a better idea than the front-hinged hood of the TC30. Seemed like. It is easier to access the battery, but not the components closer to the firewall. There is enough flex in the L3400 hood that unless care is taken lowering it you can put some nice dings in it from one of the supports around the radiator.
At first viewing of the L3400 I was put off by the fuel filter glass and the steering linkage (in front of the axel rather than behind, as on the TC30). Seemed very exposed for work in brush or trash. Time will tell.
Did not search out the numbers for comparison, but I sense that the L3400 has a bit wider foot print and bit lower center of gravity. If so, this would give a bit more stability on the slopes of ditches.
I thought the change from 30 to 34 HORSEPOWER would be at least noticeable. It was not. I get the sense that the New Holland somehow makes better use of it's horsepower; maybe it's just imagination. The two tractors really are at a comparable market niche and differentiable only in minor ways.
Finally, the L3400 FEL SCOOP is not as wide as on the New Holland loader. The L3400 scoop may have a bit smaller capacity, but appears to be sturdier built. The issue is important only because my tooth bar will not fit on the L3400 scoop without some welder work. With that tooth bar I could run at a stack of railroad ties and pick up one, maybe two, no problem. Today without it I had to dismount and hump them into place on the loader by hand.
Hope this information is of use to anyone making a buying decision. - shu
THE LAND, THE WORK, THE IMPLEMENTS. This part of south Texas is flat. However drainage ditch work provides awareness of slope safety. Six years ago we bought our retirement home on six acres in town and soon added other bits and pieces of real estate.
Purchase of a tractor seemed appropriate. The New Holland TC30 appeared to be a no-frills quality built machine, and indeed prooved to be. I bought one with HST drive, front-end loader, box blade, and shredder. Over the years I added a tooth bar for the FEL, post hole digger, and back blade for ditching.
The tractor was a marvel: land shaping, shredding pastures, clearing mesquite trees. Knocked down a couple of condemned houses we bought at tax sales.
THE DECISION. Couple of years ago the TC30 got an irritating habit when starting. Sound like the starter solenoid engaging, but no starter motion. Not a discharged battery; replaced that twice. Maybe a loose connection somewhere in the wiring causing a voltage drop. After eight or a dozen tries, finally it would catch and start like nothing was wrong.
Add to that, after 5+ years and 780 hours the mighty TC30 just seemed to be losing some of its zip. Maybe time to trade.
Thought briefly about a larger tractor; maybe a 45HP. More power is always nice; 6 foot implements instead of 5 foot width would make faster work. But a heavier tractor would require a stronger transport trailer, a larger truck to pull it, and new implements. Also less maneuverable in back yards and under trees. No, 30-35 HP will do.
New Holland re-issued the TC30 with a 35hp engine, calling it the T1520. Local dealer recently began handling Kubota in addition to New Holland. The Kubaota L3400, 34 HP and 2600 pounds, is the most directly comparable. (Both might be called "economy" tractors - fewer frills and less stout than the L3240 at 34 HP and 3395 pounds or New Holland's "Boomer" equivalent. But I had asked a lot of the TC30 and it had always delivered.)
In price, comparing 4WD gear driven models, the T1520 was a couple hundred dollars more expensive than the L3400. My TC30 was HST drive. I do enough FEL work and shredding around trees that I just did not want to be shifting gears at each forward/reverse change. Deciding factor however was that there just were not any HST T1520 in the entire state. It would be the Kubota.
THE RESULT. First thing I noticed operating the L3400 was the SEAT SAFETY SWITCHES. You can jump out of the seat without setting the parking brake and shifting the neutral. This is one of those small things that can be a major irritant.
To get the TC30 through a gate the procedure is:
1. set parking brake
2. shift to neutral
3. jump off tractor
4. open gate
5. jump on tractor
6. unset parking brake
7. shift to gear
8. drive through gate opening
9. set parking brake
10. shift to neutral
11. jump off tractor
12. close gate
13. jump on tractor
14. unset parking brake
15. shift to gear
With the L3400 over half these steps are eliminated. Nice.
MOUNT/DISMOUNT on the L3400 is difficult (but not impossible) from the right hand side. The FEL joystick and 3-point hitch lever restrict the entry space. Tractor seems to be designed for left side mount only. There is a step on the left side only. At 6 ft 2 in height, I don't need a step; but I do like to be able to jump on or off both sides. Sometimes a right side exit/entry is closest to what needs doing on the ground.
The first day with the L3400 I twice unintentionally turned on the headlights and turn signal during mount/dismount.
The L3400 has "CRUISE CONTROL"; a lever on the left side links underneath to hold the HST forward pedal down during those quarter mile shredder runs. Nice. New Holland does not have this.
The GRILL GUARD on the L3400 is superior to the single horizontal piece on the New Holland. Loading some concrete rubble over the side of a big truck one day with the TC30, the "grill guard" was at a height to just fit under the main frame of the truck. When I dumped the FEL, the front end of the tractor rose up an inch or two. Stuck. This would not have happened with the L3400 type guard.
The 3-POINT HITCH does not raise as high on the L3400 as on the TC30, and seems also not to lower as much. Raising high is important when trying to pull a big bite of dirt off a pile with the box blade. Downward extension is important when hanging the shredder over the crest of a hill.
Hopefully the shorter range of 3-point hitch motion on the L3400 will not be a problem with the post hole digger,
Design of the 3-POINT HITCH CONTROL LEVER on the TC30 is superior to the L3400. Both are a stamping from thick sheet metal. An adjustable lower limit stop on the fairing through which the lever passes permits setting a reference - say ground level for whatever implement you are carrying. On the L3400 the slot in the fairing is just wide enough for the lever; when you hit the stop, that's it. On the TC30 the slot is wider; after hitting the stop you can spring the lever around the stop and lower the implement further.
The PTO CONTROL LEVER on the L3400 is lighter design than on the New Holland - but also vastly easier and more convenient to manipulate.
The L3400 does not have a center PTO underneath as the TC30 did. Good for a center mounted finish mower; never needed it.
In GENERAL BODY DESIGN, I early on broke one of the TC30 stop lights, mounted atop the fender, working amongs the trees. The L3400 stop lights, mounted flush on the fender end looked good. Wrong. Snagged and broke the plastic mounting on the L3400 the first day of serious shredding.
The rear-hinged hood of the L3400 also seemed like a better idea than the front-hinged hood of the TC30. Seemed like. It is easier to access the battery, but not the components closer to the firewall. There is enough flex in the L3400 hood that unless care is taken lowering it you can put some nice dings in it from one of the supports around the radiator.
At first viewing of the L3400 I was put off by the fuel filter glass and the steering linkage (in front of the axel rather than behind, as on the TC30). Seemed very exposed for work in brush or trash. Time will tell.
Did not search out the numbers for comparison, but I sense that the L3400 has a bit wider foot print and bit lower center of gravity. If so, this would give a bit more stability on the slopes of ditches.
I thought the change from 30 to 34 HORSEPOWER would be at least noticeable. It was not. I get the sense that the New Holland somehow makes better use of it's horsepower; maybe it's just imagination. The two tractors really are at a comparable market niche and differentiable only in minor ways.
Finally, the L3400 FEL SCOOP is not as wide as on the New Holland loader. The L3400 scoop may have a bit smaller capacity, but appears to be sturdier built. The issue is important only because my tooth bar will not fit on the L3400 scoop without some welder work. With that tooth bar I could run at a stack of railroad ties and pick up one, maybe two, no problem. Today without it I had to dismount and hump them into place on the loader by hand.
Hope this information is of use to anyone making a buying decision. - shu
. Jay 