Buying Advice Mahindra 4035 HST vs. Kubota L4240 HST

[GManBart]

Hi GManBart. ? The Mahindra is ~27% heavier than the tractors I checked. That's a significant difference.

looks like you started off with bad data. The 4035 weighs 4,367lbs, and the loader weighs 1,285lbs, for a total of 5,652lbs. The 4240 weighs 3,527lbs, and the loader weighs 1,300lbs, for a total of 4,827lbs. The difference is 825lbs, not the 1,146lbs you listed.

My LS, which is the same as a Case Farmall 50B, or NH Boomer 50 (and similar to many others like a Deere 4120), weighs 3,813lbs, the loader weighs 1,102lbs, for a total of 4,915lbs. A difference of 737lbs....not insignificant, but more like 15% difference.

Would it matter? Not unless you plan to drag race

 

[Sysop]

Excellent info. Sysop. Thanks. No hills around here, esp. on our small plot of land. Does the tractor ever tear up your grass/turf, being so heavy? What kind of tires do you run? How do you like the two-pedal HST, vs. the rocking pedal of the Kubota?

I'm running the Titan branded AG tires, it doesn't tear the turf up unless I'm on a hill in 2WD and barely getting enough traction to pull. Switching to 4WD in those situations, it doesn't tear up the turf at all. Soft ground that's never been compacted much will compact under the tires, and I don't think you'd want to use the same paths every time you mow. Everyone says mowing best practices are to alternate the mowing patterns and with something this heavy it is a must or you can develop grooves same as driving a car over the same path of earth all the time. Having the hills I have, I've got mine ballasted to the hilt at over 6000# with only the front end loader attached and nothing on the back. I plug and aerate a couple times a year to prevent over-compaction. That's something you might consider as well.

As for the pedal, heheh, well, that's another story... All the HST tractors I've ran up until purchasing my own have been Kubotas, but most of the tractors I've ran overall have been powershuttle. A forklift I was rather used to operating a couple years back (ran it for 6 10s for two years) had a dual pedal setup. One of my lawnmowers has a hand control for the HST. I knew I wanted HST for the ability to creep at a snail's pace for precision in tight spaces, but never really gave the HST controls much thought during my purchase thinking "I've ran them all without any major fails, it won't matter to me"... The type of HST control used on the brands I looked at never swayed me to or from any of the brands. First time running the rotary/brush cutter on the creekbank along the back barnyard, jamming along fine, gobs of forward and reverse as all I can do is back down toward the creek as far as I can, then pull forward moving to the side to back in again. As I go across toward the barn, the elevation increases and the creekbank becomes a drop off into the creek. Once I start getting up on the high parts, I only back up where the cutter extends over the edge a little bit as I don't like backing the tires of the tractor any closer than about 3 feet from the edge as it is a wet creekbank, and at it's worst, more than a 20' drop into the creek. Was about halfway through and out of drinking water, so I shifted to high and off across the barnyard and paddock I go toward the house, get my water, buzz back across and get ready to start again, shifted back to low, started cutting. I have no idea where my mind was or what I thought was going on, but in my mind I was driving a powershuttle. Backed up to the edge, slid my hand around the wheel to catch the direction lever and jammed the pedal again (without moving my foot from the reverse pedal). Tractor jumped back, all at once my heart stopped beating, my eyes went wide, my foot came off the HST R Pedal while the other foot jammed the brakes, hand hit the throttle down. Then my heart started again, I think I blinked after a minute or two. After I got a breath in, I turned to look how close I was to death (at that point of the creekbank it would have been about a 12' freefall into a foot and a half of water with a solid rock bed). Turned out the tractor only moved about 8" so I was still a good 2 feet from the edge and 100% safe. The way HSTs come to a halt when you let off the go pedals is a great thing. Beyond that one time, never an issue with the dual pedal setup.

On another note while talking about controls on these; I never really played with the cruise control systems they install on some HSTs until having my own to play with. The cruise lever on the 4035HST actually doubles as a forward control lever. No need to press the go pedal if you want to go forward, just push the cruise lever forward. Farther forward it is, faster you go and vice versa. Naturally, once you put it in position, it stays (that is the basic cruise function).

 

[94BULLITT]

looks like you started off with bad data. The 4035 weighs 4,367lbs, and the loader weighs 1,285lbs, for a total of 5,652lbs. The 4240 weighs 3,527lbs, and the loader weighs 1,300lbs, for a total of 4,827lbs. The difference is 825lbs, not the 1,146lbs you listed.

My LS, which is the same as a Case Farmall 50B, or NH Boomer 50 (and similar to many others like a Deere 4120), weighs 3,813lbs, the loader weighs 1,102lbs, for a total of 4,915lbs. A difference of 737lbs....not insignificant, but more like 15% difference.

Would it matter? Not unless you plan to drag race

Add 400 to the Kubota for a bucket and SSQA.

 

[murphy1244]

Add 400 to the Kubota for a bucket and SSQA.

Add the same to the Mahindra

 

[TripleR]

I don't know anything about Mahindras, so I won't go into comparing tractors. My approach to the issue of weight is it is easier to add weight than remove it. Even the big ag tractors in my area have varying amounts of weights on he wheels or hanging off the front.

Agreed, if you start out with a heavier tractor adding weights will end up heavier than starting out with a light one, but the question will be how much is enough and how much is too much, what effect is there to hauling around unneeded weight etc.

We own heavy and light, relatively, we use the "lighter" one more often, uses vary, so what may be "better" for one won't for another; just need to decide which is which.

 

[milkman636]

Not owning either brand, my advice to you would be to not make a decision between the two based on weight. Guys with light tractors will tell you it doesn't matter, guys with heavier ones will tell you they're better. I have two tractors that weigh almost the same and vary quite a bit in performance. There is a lot in the geometry of the tractor and the loaders that will make it perform differently in different situations. In a draft situation on a dry surface weight will directly translate to tractive effort, for other uses the extra weight may or not be exactly where it is needed to help.

One thing I've seen with Kubota is that they offer iron wheel weights, and there is also the option of filling the tires if more weight is needed. Ballasting give you options to add weight where it is needed, and will likely be part of the equation with either tractor. So buy the one that you want more, and add ballast where you need to to get the performance you want. Both machines seem to have a good reputation.

 

[k0ua]

Turned out the tractor only moved about 8" so I was still a good 2 feet from the edge and 100% safe. The way HSTs come to a halt when you let off the go pedals is a great thing. Beyond that one time, never an issue with the dual pedal setup.

Yep when all else fails just quit pressing on the pedal. did you pee your pants?

 

[GManBart]

Add 400 to the Kubota for a bucket and SSQA.

The spec sheet lists a 72" bucket used for their numbers, why wouldn't that also include weight?

 

[GManBart]

Add the same to the Mahindra

Mahindra's specs also list a 72" bucket was used to determine the capacities, etc. I'm not sure why they'd include the bucket for all of the other specs, but not the shipping weight. It's possible, but definitely unclear.

 

[Sysop]

Yep when all else fails just quit pressing on the pedal. did you pee your pants?

Luckily I had just done that while refilling my drinking water from the house, otherwise I probably would have...

Mahindra's specs also list a 72" bucket was used to determine the capacities, etc. I'm not sure why they'd include the bucket for all of the other specs, but not the shipping weight. It's possible, but definitely unclear.

AFAIK Mahindra lists weight of the 4035HST with no loader, backhoe, or any other added weight. Both the KMW ML120 tool carrier (commonly thought of as the FEL) and the Bradco 485 backhoe are listed without the weight of any buckets (because what bucket you choose is up to you). They needed a bucket or some sort of tool to do their capacity testing with, but the various buckets and tools available all weigh various amounts which means depending on what buckets and tools you buy, your results might vary slightly. They specify which buckets and tools are used for their testing so it can be verified by others.

i.e. A guy who buys a 4035 with a high capacity 72" FEL bucket isn't going to have the lifting power of someone who purchased a set of lightweight pallet forks or a standard capacity 60" or 72" FEL bucket. You have the option of whatever you want when you buy, so weights that vary such as what tool or bucket you can put on the front tool carrier or the backhoe are all weight-spec'd separately and added together to determine shipping weight of a given configuration.