Buying Advice Grand L vs. MF 1600 Series?

[Yankee]

Although I have my wife's support for buying a cab tractor to replace my 7610, I'm in the still thinking about it stage because of the money involved. The current incentives make things very tempting, though!

I've looked on and off at the L's - 3240 through 3940 (no bigger). I like them, and have had good luck with my B. At the time of my original purchase I also looked at NH and MF. I dismissed MF, though, because the local dealer where I lived at that time was a disaster.

Since then, MF has come out with their 1600 series, which seem well-spec'd, and the dealers here (NH) seem better. I don't know anyone with a Massey, though, so thought I'd ask about opinions, specifically Kubota L vs. MF 1600 series, as well as any impressions of MF generally. I have local dealers for both brands and the Kubota dealer is superb (Chappell), which is a significant consideration.

I have some fairly substantial landscaping to do, including regrading the front yard, putting in several retaining walls, drainage, and new garden areas. I maintain a 250' asphalt drive and large parking area, and maintain a 1200' gravel drive. I also need to clean out, then maintain several wooded acres. No particular cab issues with the latter, by the way, apart from the undergrowth and saplings, the trees are typically 75-150 years old, the canopy is high with very few low branches. I use my tractor for snow removal as well. I don't mow with it, as I have a ZT mower for that.

Why larger? Because I already max out my 7610 at times, particularly moving rock and logs. I also want some features I don't have, including remotes, top and tilt, skid-steer type quick attach, etc., and don't want to invest more in the 7610. I also want a substantial enough tractor to take a BH without tossing the tractor around. (I understand the issues of BH use with a cab.)

Why a cab? Like most, I'm tired of freezing in the winter and getting eaten alive by the bugs in the spring and early summer.

I'm also still considering a 3030, though I find it a bit narrow and cramped. I'm most interested in what you know about Massey, though, and how that 1600 series compares to the Grand L's.

 

[bschopf2280]

I just purchased a L4740, but I considered a MF 1552. The only real differences between the 1500 series and the 1600 series is cosmetic as I understand. I thought the Massey was a real nice tractor, well built.

I think your biggest difference between the two is in the hydrostatic transmission. The Grand L has a computerized hydrostatic transmission now which gives you sensitivity control, stall guard, auto throttle and load sensing. I feel that that the sensitivity control is a great feature. One of my problems in the past with hydrostats was when taking my foot off the pedal at a higher rate of speed, the tractor would shut down so suddenly that it would almost throw me out of the seat. Now i can control this, so if I don't want a slow comfortable start and stop, then I can set the hydro to be less sensitive. If I'm doing FEL work close to a house and I need to slow very suddenly I set the hydro more sensitive. Kubota also have a slow and fast level on the column that when doing FEL work you can drop it down in low with a flick of the lever, gain more torque, dig into the pile, then while backing out of the pile kick it up into fast and take off. Kubota also has the auto throttle option effectively making your hydrostat peddle act like a accelerator on a car, no need for throttling up or down.

Taking the hydrostatic transmission out of the picture these two tractors are very close and either would be a good buy. It would probably come down to which dealer you feel most comfortable with. Hope this helps.

 

[amigauser]

I've looked on and off at the L's - 3240 through 3940 (no bigger).

Why larger? Because I already max out my 7610 at times, particularly moving rock and logs.

Not sure on the MF question but if you are looking at the L3940 you may want to go one size larger to the L4240 to get the more powerful LA854 loader. It is a good bit stronger than the LA724 on the L3240 - L3940. The 4240 is the same frame size as the L3940. The L3240 and L3540 are one step smaller.

I owned a B3030 Cab model prior to my open station L3240 that I own now. I believe the LA403 loader on the B3030 is similar in capability to the loader on the 7610 or just slightly stronger. The reason I went to the Grand L was for the better loader as I also use mine to move rocks/logs etc.

 

[dieselfreak]

Are you looking at a Powershuttle model? The 1635 is the entry level in the 1600 series, nice roomy cab, and the Powershuttle is a breeze to use. There are a lot of improvements over the 1500 series, not just cosmetic. Hydraulics, front axle to name a few.

Good luck

df.

 

[daveinnh]

I have Kubota L4310HST with Curtis cab and tried a MF recently. Don't recall model but slightly bigger than mine with a shuttle transmission. FYI, I'd like factory cab, bigger loader capacity, and wider stance.

- the loader seemed "slow" comparred to my Kubota - even when RPM was increased;
- cab seemed spacious and controls were nice.
- seat was plastic whereas Kubota was fabric.

Be sure to play with machines yourself before deciding. As others suggested, there's numerous used tractors on the market now.

(Consider rear remotes and front remote and quick attach for potential grapple - I have a WR Long grapple.) Bigger tractor also means potential bigger implements.

 

[Yankee]

I spent some time today looking at the entire L line again. Chappell must have got an order in, as the cabs are lined up in both lots. Handy to check them them out side-by-side. The fun part was climbing into the M95X, though. Now THERE'S a large tractor. I just need a hundred or so acres to go with it ...

On the Grand L's, I'm unsure of the value of the advanced Hydro features, to be honest. I do like the lever that allows you to flip instantly between high & low, as I often shift to low now when really digging in, then shift back to high to transport. Some of the other features feel more theoretical to me at this point, if you know what I mean. I get how they work, but without a real-world demo of the differences, it's hard to assess the value. It also seems like a lot of the time when you're at your power limits, you can't get more power into the ground anyway - the tires will slip first.

I haven't really considered a powershuttle. I've run simpler gear tractors and found them too much bother for my use, but haven't spent much time with more advanced trannies like this. I'll give it a try.

Thanks for the heads-up on the frame size 42 vs. 39. I can't tell you how many times I've looked through those specs. Somehow I had it stuck in my head that the 42 was the next size step up. There's no doubt whatsoever that the FEL is significantly more capable.

I appreciate your comments.

 

[TripleR]

Just some more free advice; may on point or may be totally irrelevant. My wife and I went looking for a new tractor for one of our properties as I got tired of shuttling back and forth as well as using geared machines.

We spent the day looking and had pretty much decided on a new cabbed L4240 when we decided to do a price check on a used L5030HSTC with 735 hours. We bought it and love it. Yes, the new transmission sure sounds neat and while we really liked the L4240, we got a very good tractor for much less than a new "smaller" tractor would have cost. While I love a new tractor as much as the next guy, buying used sure has its advantages; well at least for me.

 

[ovrszd]

Yankee, might wanna post this over on the Massey forum. Doesn't look like any of those guys have saw this yet. I too am considering a MF and have the same equality concerns that you do. I really had my heart set on a L4240. Then I started educating myself on the MF 1643. Now I'm on the fence. Haven't done any serious pricing yet, just internet shopping. good luck with your choice!!!

 

[crk133]

when i was buying looked at the kubota L's, 16&15 series massey's. i found the kubota cab to be much quieter and more refined esp vs the 15 series. if it was an open station things would have been more difficult. ened up buyin a L5240

 

[Yankee]

Yankee, might wanna post this over on the Massey forum. Doesn't look like any of those guys have saw this yet. I too am considering a MF and have the same equality concerns that you do. I really had my heart set on a L4240. Then I started educating myself on the MF 1643. Now I'm on the fence. Haven't done any serious pricing yet, just internet shopping. good luck with your choice!!!

Thanks for the suggestion. I've crossposted my original.

I have to say today was beautiful weather. Spring can make you forget the cab idea pretty quick ... except I know the black flies are coming out soon.

I'm going to make an effort to get out to a MF dealer this weekend.