Buying Advice Small farm purchase: L4240 or CT 445

   / Small farm purchase: L4240 or CT 445 #1  

OHMontys

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Feb 9, 2011
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Small farm purchase: Kubota L4240 or Bobcat CT 445

Hello TBN...

I am in the process of getting quotes on a few tractors and have narrowed my search down to these two (and a few peripheral options still lingering).

I operate a grazing farm (161 acres) where we will need to brush hog and move round bales in winter. I also will need a backhoe for the many reasons digging exists on a farm. In addition, I will often need to remove pallets of feed from my truck at 2000lbs each. Or even lifting an occasional downed animal. And, I also have a sawmill and have need to haul from the woods and lift logs onto the bed. Last, we are building a few other structures on the farm and need to do some foundation/utilities work.

I have worked quite a bit with an '07 Kubota L3240 with a BH90 and 724 FEL. I really like its performance in most things. But, I find that I am at the end of its line when lifting logs onto the mill. And, I don't think it would handle a ton of feed very easily. I used this machine to dig a foundation for an addition and it worked very well...I liked the 9ft. reach!

I am looking at the Kubota L4240 because of the ability to get the 854FEL and its lifting capacity. The Bobcat CT445 has a similar capacity. I also like the BH 92 with the 9ft. reach. But it also feels more rugged than the 8T hoe that comes with the bobcat. Is my perception correct here? Can anyone compare the use of these two hoes?

Can you comment on the comparison of these two tractors? Overall, it seems that the Kubota is more "beefy". The FEL seems to have more substance to it and it feels "bigger". Am I correct or is that just color blindness when they aren't sitting side by side?

Two additional questions:
1. One dealer suggested that I get pallet forks instead of a bale spear because they are multi-use. What are your thoughts about this?
2. The local Kubota dealer has an L5740 in the room and has had it since the end of August. I read in another post that Kubota charges dealers for holding tractors longer than an allocated length of time. What does that usually mean? How much price negiotiation room is there? I am in no hurry and if I could get that tractor for a price closer to the L4240, I would wait for it. Can anyone add light to this question?

Thanks for your help in sorting through my issues. OHMontys
 
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   / Small farm purchase: L4240 or CT 445 #2  
I have a 2008 L4240 HSTC that I purchased new;currently has 375hrs.,I use it year round,tillage,brush-hog,snow removal.Has been a very good tractor.
As you know the L4240-L5740 are very similar;the 854 loader is very strong.
I don't have a back-hoe...can't comment on that.
I would expect a price increase due to steel prices rising....check
Index of / ,build your own&price....most dealers discount 10-15%
if this one has been setting for a while you might be able to deal.I think tractor purchases are like cars...Jan-Feb. the best time to buy.
You can read tractor reviews here on TBN
Good luck
 
   / Small farm purchase: L4240 or CT 445 #3  
I don't know anything about the Bobcat/Kioti, but looked into buying an L4240 seriously before buying a used L5030. The L4240 is a really nice tractor with good ergonomics and is a really capable machine. There are several owners on the Kubota forum and they all sem very pleased with theirs.

I am sure they are both good tractors, we just don't have a Bobcat/Kioti dealer in my area, so I have never seriously considered/researched one.

Good luck.
 
 
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