Need some help in deciding - Grand L or L4400

[photogman]

I posted earlier about price diff between a Grand L and L4400....here's my situation. My dealer can order me a L4400 HST and he said it won't be in until September. That means under the current financing plan 0% for 42 months, the tractor has to be delivered by 6/30/2008. Who knows what the plan will be after that??? Anyway, I was thinking if I went with a smaller horsepower Grand L and had it delivered by 6/30/2008, it would fall under the financing deal % for 42. I have 16 acres of a combo of hills, about 7 acres of wooded area (lots of dead, fallen trees), and the rest virgin prairie remnant grasses and prairie flowers. I plan on getting a mower(bush hog type) to use to push back some dogwood and sumac and reclaim some prairie. I wanted to go with a heavier 5 foot mower rather than a lighter 6 to be able to take down some 2 inch sumac and dogwood, using the FEL to push it over and then going over/backing into them with the mower. Then it would be used for a little snow removal in the winter with the FEL because a farmer does most of it with a giant JD. And then some general stuff i.e. hauling firewood out the woods, moving a little small 1-2" rock for landscaping etc and other general tinkering hobby farmer type stuff. I'm planning on getting industrial tires as they won't cause as much destruction to the prairie grass as the ag tires would. I've looked at some of the specs on loaders and it seems like the loader for the Grand L3450 can't lift anymore than the loader for the L4400 unless, of course, I've read them wrong. I can't find a weight for the L4400 overall with a FEL as compared to a Grand L3540 HST with FEL, but everybody on here it seems says the Grand's are built better/heavier. I might even think about a grapple someday to move some small, fallen, dead trees. I plan on getting a couple of extra hydraulics on the back end for whatever needed in the future. A lot of people say get as much horsepower as you can afford because it seems like very few people wished they had gotten a smaller tractor and more people say they wished they would have gotten at least the next size bigger. The last tractor I owned was a Ford 8n, so this next one will be like a BMW compared to that. If I do get a Grand L model, I only want to spend a couple of thou more than I would for a L4400. Any advice from you guys would be very much appreciated!

[Slade]

Hmmm. Any other dealers in your area? My dealer was able to very quickly get everything I wanted from others around the area, and even loaned me a smaller nearly new bush hog until my 7ft. came in a few days later.

[machmeter62]

If the decision was mine, and I could use the tractor now, with the benefit of the financing situation; I would purchase the Grand L of your choice of 30 HP or greater. It will take you a little longer, with less HP than the L4400, but it will still get the job done; while you are enjoying the financing benefits, and building all that "seat time!"

I have done all you plan on doing with 30 HP Kubota I purchased, which was the biggest Kubota built, or exported to Calif. in the spring of '78. And their first one of that size with 4WD! I added a loader and a backhoe, which I still use, when I purchased it.

You won't have to worry about Kubota's durability, unless you "severely beat it!" In most rental yards here in Calif., at least the Northern part of the state, will have Kubota tractors for rent. Their strength has never been an issue; the quality of the casting metals determines that, and not the gross weight of the tractor.

One other point on your purchase, if hills and traction are an issue, I would get R-1 tires for traction and safety of the adjustabe rear widths. I have several Kubotas, and the ones with the R-4's are limited to turf or hard surfaces, where they perform the best. In wet and muddy conditions, you may need to add chains with R-4's? They turn to "slicks!" You may want to do a tire search here, before deciding on the tires?

[N80]

I would find a new dealer and not let delivery dates influence your decision. Get the tractor you want when you want.

The Grand L you're looking at will probably be heavier than the L4400 and probably have better loader and 3 pt specs but it will have 1/3 less total HP. It will also be nicer all around than the 4400.

I went with the L4400 but the price difference was bigger because my L4400 is a gear model (I do not like nor want HST). This meant that for the price of the 4400 I could get much less of a Grand L. The hydraulic specs were not enough to make a difference and the available hp was important to me. At the time, being a noobie, I placed too much importance on the HP, but as fate would have it.....I've used it all and need it all. So make sure you know what your needs and potential needs are. Like machmeter said, you may never need the additional hp.

As I've said before, for the money you're talking about I would look no further than the M5040.

[Crash101]

Grand L or L4400? Everyone has their own opinions regarding this question and certainly there are those that are the result of more knowledge than I claim to have. that said, for me it would be no decision at all. I would choose the grand L over the L4400 with no hesitation. the Grand L 3540 HST costs about the same as the L4400 HST and will perform more work, may perform more tasks and is more comfortable while doing it. All at an added benifit of using less fuel. The only thing the L4400 has in it's favor is the HP number, but what good is HP when the wheels are spinning? What good is PTO HP when the tractor is somewhat light weight and 3 point hydraulics limit implement weights to those needing much less power. The L2800 and for those who believe they need 5 more HP the 3400 make good sense as a good combination of power, weight and price. The L4400 on the other hand is a little heavier with it's additinal cylinder and larger wheels, but is much more expensive. The Grand L3540, priced the same as the L4400 weighs more, has more hydraulic flow, more 3 point lift capability, may be equipped with mid point PTO and has more creature comforts. In a few years that Grand L will probably fetch more money when it's time to trade. Horsepower is great, but horsepower that really cannot be utilized, doesn't do much more than burn fuel. Sorry if I've stepped on any tender toes, my words are nothing more than an expression of my single opinion and has no more merit than that of anyone else.

[N80]

Crash, I both agree and disagree. I agree with you on which tractor to pick based on price. When people used to talk about how an HST L4400 would be such a great package I just could not see it. The appeal of the L4400 is primarily to the budget conscious who need some good HP. Adding HST makes a low end tractor cost as much as a nearly comparable Grand L and not far from an M5040 at the same time as robbing HP which other than price is the L4400's strongest selling point. So to me, an HST L4400 never made sense.

As for the utility of HP, well, I disagree. It clearly depends on what you intend to do with the machine, but I'm doing stuff with my tractor that I never dreamed I would do such as clearing trees, pulling a 2 bottom plow and a largish disk harrow. This uses every bit of HP the machine has. I'm not sure what you mean by wheels spinning. If you're talking about the additional weight of the Grand L, well, that really doesn't make that much difference. If you need more weight you can add it. (But if you need less, such as for mowing lawns or trailering...well, too bad.) So in my opinion HP does matter. What good is a stronger loader if you can't push it into a pile? What good is a stronger 3 pt if you can't pull the implement its supposed to lift. These are generalizations, of course, but are still legit when considering which machine.

I have an L4400 gear model and if you ever want to know what 45 hp can do for you, drop me a PM. And that's why, in my mind, the L4400 HST makes no sense to me. But comparing a 3540 to a 4400 gear model is a whole other thing. HP is not everything in every situation....but for some jobs it is.

As for the mid mount PTO on the Grand L, why pay for that? Unless you plan on putting turfs on the thing and mowing an enormous lawn or a golf course, its probably going to be something that you pay for and never use.

And I'll say it again, if I had the budget to get a Grand L 3540 or an HST L4400, I'd skip the watered down 4400 and the frills of the Grand L (which are meaningless to me) and save up a penny or two for an M5040.

[easygo]

Photog,

I don't have much to add on the size of the tractor, but I'd give you my $.02 on the size of the bushog.
you said: " I wanted to go with a heavier 5 foot mower rather than a lighter 6 to be able to take down some 2 inch sumac and dogwood, using the FEL to push it over and then going over/backing into them with the mower.
why not just do what you can with the 6' bushog and use a small chainsaw for the heavier brush. ( if it is not a large area). It sounds like you would only need the heavy duty unit for the very first mowing. In coming years the larger bushog will handle all of it just fine and you have an added foot of pasture mowed on each pass. Thus saving you some time in the future while mowing that 9 acre plot year-after-year-after-year.

[Gamer1524]

did you decide on what tractor to get?