Hi all, medium time lurker, first time poster/potential Kubota owner here. I have some questions about a new L47 configuration below. I went to a local dealer and was disappointed at the knowledge of the salesperson and his listening skills, so I decided to ask my specifics here and try another dealer.
Intro: I'm finally at the point of upgrading from garden and yard tractors to a real sized one. I'm homing in on an L47 for three reasons: I want high lift capacity for logs/sawmilling, I have light excavator work (ditches, electrical, stumps), and want general PTO support for post holes & brush mowing a couple of acres of non-turf vegetation/trails. I imagine I would still use my yard tractor for the flat grass areas near the house that would otherwise require a finish mower. In addition I generally like to overbuy once so my tools last a very long time before I think about upgrading or adding to them. In an ideal world I would get a tracked excavator, skidsteer and pto mower, but I'm not seeing being able to spend that kind of money to own all three. For the once a year larger projects I can just rent an excavator locally but for normal monthly items I believe the L47 backhoe will be more than enough.
Questions related to getting a L47:
1. What features are best to get from the factory/dealer when buying up front instead of trying to add them afterwards? The 0% for 5-7 years makes this simpler to purchase, so I'd like to get whatever I will need all at once if possible. Specifically, what do I get when I move from the TLB to a TLB-LB and how does that relate to the single lever valve quick coupler for the loader and the remote valve kit for the rear attachments?
2. I'm looking at the qc heavy duty round back bucket based on some reading I've done here. Do I want the bolt on cutting edge? in what scenario does that really help?
3. Attachments from Kubota/LandPride: any to stay away from or to definitely get? I know there are a ton of third party and I've had mixed success with some in the past. How do these compare to what I can get at a place like everything attachments or similar. One of the benefits is to roll this into the initial financing and pay it off over the long term. I'm currently thinking of one of the front grapples, a post hole digger w/9 and an 18+ (posts & trees), pallet forks and a brush mower to begin with.
4. Backhoe: rubber pads and qc thumb, anything else? what's a cylinder guard?
5. Backhoe buckets: 12" or 16" for trench digging (electrical/water/buried conduit) and something bigger. The tilting grading bucket looks really cool but I don't see a real use for it on my property especially for the extra ~$4k.
6. Dealer installed options: seems like some of those are either packaged with the build or not. Which do I want to ask for specifically? (3 pt linkage kit, 3 pt linkage storage, draw bar kit, draw bar clevis, top and tilt kit)
7. Hydraulic 2-lever quick coupler: do people really get these? seems a bit (a lot?) wasteful given the likelyhood of changing the front bucket/grapple more than a couple of times in a day and the likelihood of yet another hydraulic breaking or leaking over time. Also does this take the third function away in the front then?
8. Separate but interesting: recommendation for an aftermarket cab if I'm interested in those?
Thanks for any help and advice.
Intro: I'm finally at the point of upgrading from garden and yard tractors to a real sized one. I'm homing in on an L47 for three reasons: I want high lift capacity for logs/sawmilling, I have light excavator work (ditches, electrical, stumps), and want general PTO support for post holes & brush mowing a couple of acres of non-turf vegetation/trails. I imagine I would still use my yard tractor for the flat grass areas near the house that would otherwise require a finish mower. In addition I generally like to overbuy once so my tools last a very long time before I think about upgrading or adding to them. In an ideal world I would get a tracked excavator, skidsteer and pto mower, but I'm not seeing being able to spend that kind of money to own all three. For the once a year larger projects I can just rent an excavator locally but for normal monthly items I believe the L47 backhoe will be more than enough.
Questions related to getting a L47:
1. What features are best to get from the factory/dealer when buying up front instead of trying to add them afterwards? The 0% for 5-7 years makes this simpler to purchase, so I'd like to get whatever I will need all at once if possible. Specifically, what do I get when I move from the TLB to a TLB-LB and how does that relate to the single lever valve quick coupler for the loader and the remote valve kit for the rear attachments?
2. I'm looking at the qc heavy duty round back bucket based on some reading I've done here. Do I want the bolt on cutting edge? in what scenario does that really help?
3. Attachments from Kubota/LandPride: any to stay away from or to definitely get? I know there are a ton of third party and I've had mixed success with some in the past. How do these compare to what I can get at a place like everything attachments or similar. One of the benefits is to roll this into the initial financing and pay it off over the long term. I'm currently thinking of one of the front grapples, a post hole digger w/9 and an 18+ (posts & trees), pallet forks and a brush mower to begin with.
4. Backhoe: rubber pads and qc thumb, anything else? what's a cylinder guard?
5. Backhoe buckets: 12" or 16" for trench digging (electrical/water/buried conduit) and something bigger. The tilting grading bucket looks really cool but I don't see a real use for it on my property especially for the extra ~$4k.
6. Dealer installed options: seems like some of those are either packaged with the build or not. Which do I want to ask for specifically? (3 pt linkage kit, 3 pt linkage storage, draw bar kit, draw bar clevis, top and tilt kit)
7. Hydraulic 2-lever quick coupler: do people really get these? seems a bit (a lot?) wasteful given the likelyhood of changing the front bucket/grapple more than a couple of times in a day and the likelihood of yet another hydraulic breaking or leaking over time. Also does this take the third function away in the front then?
8. Separate but interesting: recommendation for an aftermarket cab if I'm interested in those?
Thanks for any help and advice.