Grand L 4240 for Grapple Work

[3boys865]

I do own a L4240 HSTC,don't have a full grapple but a thumb and tooth-bar on the HD bucket.Works well for me but your 600# grapple would limit your lifting a bit.As far as power;shouldn't be a problem with the HST+ and auto throttle.
Ballast correctly and go to work.

The grapple is a little heavier than I wanted, but it is very well made and offered features that I really wanted. The 72" std bucket weighs about 320lbs so the grapple does cost me about 300lbs of lift. I was able to work with the grapple for about 1 hour clearing and moving brush. Seemed to work great with the limited amount of time I have been able to use it so far. I think the loader on the L4240 should be pretty comparable to the MX5100's so I don't anticipate that I would lose lift capacity, just 8 HP. Not sure if losing the HP will have much if any affect on the work I am doing with the grapple. The MX5100 does have a beefier front axle and wider R4 front tires, which in theory should help with FEL type applications. Don't know if it would be enough to notice a difference compared to the L4240 though...

[3boys865]

My Grand L5740 has no problem with my grapple bucket. And I can turn a gravel drive into a sheet of glass with my box blade and top-n-tilt on the 3pt.
Attachment 299085Attachment 299086

That has been my expectation, is that the 3pt hitch should raise smoothly enough to be able to feature up the box blade and spread gravel smoothly. My understanding is that the jerky 3pt hitch problem is only with the single internal cylinder design on the Standard L's and the MX models.

Has anyone ever come across a report of problems with the dual external cylinder design on the Grand L's and M's?

[3boys865]

My Grand L5740 has no problem with my grapple bucket. And I can turn a gravel drive into a sheet of glass with my box blade and top-n-tilt on the 3pt.
Attachment 299085
Attachment 299086

Great pics! How much does your grapple weigh? I don't think I would ever need to lift anything more than what you are lifting in that picture

[TripleR]

I have R4's on the MX5100 and the front tires and axle are pretty stout (12-16.5), but according to kubota.com I think the R4's on the 4240 (10-16.5) are the same diameter, just not as wide. I don't need to lift round bales or 1 ton pallets, just piles of brush, firewood and saw logs. I almost bought the 4240, but opted for the MX5100 for the price and 8 additional HP. The MX5100 is a great tractor, but with the jerky hitch, it is very frustrating trying to smooth out a gravel driveway. Constantly fighting with the 3pt lever to get the right height and feather up. I could probably live with it, but I know its not right. Shouldn't have to deal with it on a brand new tractor.

I don't have any real PTO needs other than a 6ft bush hog on occasion and possibly a tiller for the garden in the future, so I think the 35 PTO on the 4240 should be plenty. My only concern on moving down in HP to the 4240 is how that would affect my pushing power when going into a pile of brush. I'm thinking it wouldn't be much different than the MX5100.

I realize it is not an apples to apples comparison, but I traded my L5030 in on a L5740 for reasons other than horsepower and in normal use, I really don't find I can do anything with the L5740 that I couldn't with the L5030, both run out of traction before power. I would have bought a L5240 if a L5740 hadn't been available.

More HP can be good, but it's not always the best indicator of capability.

[nybirdman]

My rears are loaded and I usually have the box blade on back.Like stated with enough ballast and HST+ you should be fine with the L4240.The 854 loader is very powerfull,more than enough for brush ect.I have R1's and inflate to max when doing a lot of loader work.

[94BULLITT]

Now is the time to add a cab to the deal.

[murphy1244]

Now is the time to add a cab to the deal.

Yea boys, Get out that check book.

[crazyal]

I have R4's on the MX5100 and the front tires and axle are pretty stout (12-16.5), but according to kubota.com I think the R4's on the 4240 (10-16.5) are the same diameter, just not as wide. I don't need to lift round bales or 1 ton pallets, just piles of brush, firewood and saw logs. I almost bought the 4240, but opted for the MX5100 for the price and 8 additional HP. The MX5100 is a great tractor, but with the jerky hitch, it is very frustrating trying to smooth out a gravel driveway. Constantly fighting with the 3pt lever to get the right height and feather up. I could probably live with it, but I know its not right. Shouldn't have to deal with it on a brand new tractor.

I don't have any real PTO needs other than a 6ft bush hog on occasion and possibly a tiller for the garden in the future, so I think the 35 PTO on the 4240 should be plenty. My only concern on moving down in HP to the 4240 is how that would affect my pushing power when going into a pile of brush. I'm thinking it wouldn't be much different than the MX5100.

Traction is the main issue not power when pushing. Occasionally I'm in too high of a gear but with the HST+ it's simple to shift down without letting off the pedal. I really doubt you'll notice much of a difference between the two models.

[94BULLITT]

I think he will find a L4240 is more usable with the dual speed hydro. You can do just about anything in medium range.

[3boys865]

I am leaning toward swapping for the Grand L 4240. I really liked it when I was shopping and almost bought it then, but was lured by the additional power at a lower cost of the MX5100. Of course I would not have purchased the MX5100 if I had known that the 3pt hitch was going to be so jerky.

As long as my FEL performance will be comparable with the root grapple, I don't think I will miss the 8 HP since I don't do much PTO work.