Anyone still running an L48 TLB?

[Hay Dude]

I find your "blind idiot" posts to be very thoughtful.

Except that “ Richard “ called me the blind idiot :laughing:
Maybe that will be helpful :confused3:

 

[Richard]

Except that “ Richard “ called me the blind idiot :laughing:
Maybe that will be helpful :confused3:

Negative, and my apologies if it read that way..... I was calling MYSELF the blind idiot for not reading it all ( hence the head slap emoji at the end)

Again, if it didn't read that way, my apologies. That wasn't my intent.

 

[rScotty]

The high low trans seems like the cats meow, full control at all times and shift on the fly. I wish they had them in the 48痴, or I could find an affordable 45. Those 47痴 look awesome as well, but kind of hard to justify as a homeowner ( in my case anyway).

I so wish that L48 had a thumb. I probably use the thumb on my M59 as much as any other feature on any of our tractors. Don't do much digging with the backhoe, but it's nice to have. Even when not digging, the backhoe is useful as a mobile crane for moving heavy things very precisely... and the thumb helps with that. A lot of what it does is simply the sort of thing I used to do by hand when younger. But now I like some help from a handy small tractor. The Kubota TLB all fit real well.
We also have a full size TLB with a cab. Wonderful condition and only 5800 hours. Yes, it was a good dollar purchase. We got a lot of machine for the money. It is mostly just for backup or very deep snow and cold weather. As far as being able to do work, either the M59 or the JD 310 will do similar work. Usually we end up digging with the M59 and carrying bucket full of dirt and rock with the JD. Small repairs to the JD can be expensive, however.

It's interesting how many of the Kubota TLBs on TractorByNet forums are ending up in the hands of us older guys. A lot of us are guys who are retired on a bit of land and no stranger to tractors - or to mechanical things in general. We know what we like. From the B26 on up these TLBs are just about the best "puttering around" and home project tractors ever. Ruggedly built and can do a bit of everything. If they have a downside it is the price to get into one. Even used ones hold high value. You will probably end up looking for good condition and extras rather than a low price. Nothing wrong with that....
rScotty

 

[fried1765]

I so wish that L48 had a thumb. I probably use the thumb on my M59 as much as any other feature on any of our tractors. Don't do much digging with the backhoe, but it's nice to have. Even when not digging, the backhoe is useful as a mobile crane for moving heavy things very precisely... and the thumb helps with that. A lot of what it does is simply the sort of thing I used to do by hand when younger. But now I like some help from a handy small tractor. The Kubota TLB all fit real well.
We also have a full size TLB with a cab. Wonderful condition and only 5800 hours. Yes, it was a good dollar purchase. We got a lot of machine for the money. It is mostly just for backup or very deep snow and cold weather. As far as being able to do work, either the M59 or the JD 310 will do similar work. Usually we end up digging with the M59 and carrying bucket full of dirt and rock with the JD. Small repairs to the JD can be expensive, however.

It's interesting how many of the Kubota TLBs on TractorByNet forums are ending up in the hands of us older guys. A lot of us are guys who are retired on a bit of land and no stranger to tractors - or to mechanical things in general. We know what we like. From the B26 on up these TLBs are just about the best "puttering around" and home project tractors ever. Ruggedly built and can do a bit of everything. If they have a downside it is the price to get into one. Even used ones hold high value. You will probably end up looking for good condition and extras rather than a low price. Nothing wrong with that....
rScotty

The OP could probably buy an aftermarket hydraulic thumb from Woods, but I am sure it would be rather costly.
A thumb is really an efficiency tool.
For anyone not believing so, just try picking things up with your hand, without using your thumb.

 

[Hay Dude]

Negative, and my apologies if it read that way..... I was calling MYSELF the blind idiot for not reading it all ( hence the head slap emoji at the end)

Again, if it didn't read that way, my apologies. That wasn't my intent.

:thumbsup:
It seemed like it made no sense

 

[PsRumors]

There is a 2015 L45 listed on SEARCHTEMPEST.COM for $14,300.
No hours are listed. It could have a blown engine, or is a scam, at that price.
Pictures look like it might be sitting in a Sunbelt Equipment rental yard.
Listing is for Chattanooga, TN., but also listed in Savannah, Ga.
SCAM? SCAM? SCAM?

If it isn't a scam....that's a phenomenal price. Looks to be in nice shape

 

[fried1765]

If it isn't a scam....that's a phenomenal price. Looks to be in nice shape

It just has to be a scam.
Nobody sells a 2015 L45 in the condition that appears to be, for $14,300.
That is $15,000 under the market.

 

[Hay Dude]

Scam 100%

 

[cstamm81]

The OP could probably buy an aftermarket hydraulic thumb from Woods, but I am sure it would be rather costly.
A thumb is really an efficiency tool.
For anyone not believing so, just try picking things up with your hand, without using your thumb.

I have never run a hoe with a thumb, but I am sure they are extremely handy. If I find a machine without one, I'll either weld on a manual one, or bite the bullet and figure out the auxiliary hydraulics needed to add a hydro thumb. I will be consistently dropping black walnut and ash trees on my own and neighbor's properties, and I can see how nice it would be to grab logs with a backhoe thumb, and buck them in the air! I've got a pile of about 50 black walnut logs to process as we speak.

 

[rScotty]

I have never run a hoe with a thumb, but I am sure they are extremely handy. If I find a machine without one, I'll either weld on a manual one, or bite the bullet and figure out the auxiliary hydraulics needed to add a hydro thumb. I will be consistently dropping black walnut and ash trees on my own and neighbor's properties, and I can see how nice it would be to grab logs with a backhoe thumb, and buck them in the air! I've got a pile of about 50 black walnut logs to process as we speak.

Thumbs are handier than you know. I wish I could express just how much. It isn't that they make things easier as much as they make the tractor into a whole new type of machine - One that becomes more important when you get past a certain age.....that age being when lifting heavy things is less of a challenge and more of a concern than it once was.

The thumb is especially nice for working timber. Not only will it grab a log for bucking and hold it all day at waist level...but it will stack the rounds when you are done. And if you want to move the log somewhere, you can curl the log in close and then swing the hoe to the side so that the thumb is holding the log into the bucket like a jousting lance. In that position a tractor carrying a big log is only slightly wider than the tractor itself. You can drive with the log right back down that narrow trail you came in on.

And for picking and placing rocks for landscaping or stone walls....well with a thumb you can make a move that that a bucket alone just cannot do.

Downside is the expense. I'd go hydraulic and aftermarket on most, but the L48 has a kit that is probably still available. My first choice would be to look for one of those and hang the expense. This is a once in a lifetime investment in a good back. Your back will thank you. Mine does.
rScotty