Buying Advice Just bought a L3400 HST

[BLSXJ]

After a year long search, I just brought home a 2005 L3400.

We (the boss/wife/cfo/etc) had been looking for a tractor ever since we moved in to our 40 acre chunk of paradise. I'd been watching the classifieds and visiting the local tractor dealers, and it was really starting to look like new Mahindra 2538 was going to be the winner. But on a bit of a whim we stopped at the local Kubota dealer and they had a 2005 L3400 HST with LA463 loader, and 1800 hrs.

We went in a talked with he sales guy and found out it had lived its life at a trailer park, and never winter driven, and came with a full set of Turf tires!
One big thing that made us do a double take was because it was a trade in, the financing rate was almost as good as buying new!

I've put 2 hours on it moving dirt and chipping brush. My only complaint is the ROPS doesn't fit through my garage door by less then 2":thumbdown:

 

[TripleR]

Congratulations, it is sure hard to find a good used Kubota today. The 3400 had a reputation for having a jerky 3PH under load if lifting slowly, but they are a good sold tractor.

 

[BLSXJ]

yeap, the 3 point is "jerky" when you try to move it in small amounts.

I read about that before I bought it. I've read the posts, and the service manual and I undertstand why it happens... but I cant think of a situation where it wil stop me from getting the job done.

 

[TripleR]

It shouldn't be a problem, we have a couple of tractors that do the same and we've just them for years, you just adapt to it.

 

[roadhunter]

Out of curiosity, why was the financing rate better because the tractor was a trade in?

 

[motownbrowne]

Oh man, a full set of ags and a full set of turfs. My dream come true. I guess the only thing better would be identical tractors with different tires...

 

[vulcancowboy]

I've had my L3400 for two years, very happy with it.

 

[2ndhalf]

After a year long search, I just brought home a 2005 L3400.

We (the boss/wife/cfo/etc) had been looking for a tractor ever since we moved in to our 40 acre chunk of paradise. I'd been watching the classifieds and visiting the local tractor dealers, and it was really starting to look like new Mahindra 2538 was going to be the winner. But on a bit of a whim we stopped at the local Kubota dealer and they had a 2005 L3400 HST with LA463 loader, and 1800 hrs.

We went in a talked with he sales guy and found out it had lived its life at a trailer park, and never winter driven, and came with a full set of Turf tires!
One big thing that made us do a double take was because it was a trade in, the financing rate was almost as good as buying new!

I've put 2 hours on it moving dirt and chipping brush. My only complaint is the ROPS doesn't fit through my garage door by less then 2":thumbdown:

View attachment 487205[/QUOTE

Congrats on the new tractor... the one in the pic has folding ROPS are you saying it won't go in your garage with the ROPS Folded either?

 

[amhicks21]

Congrats on the L3400! I operated the identical machine for quite a few years and it was excellent. my only advice is to be careful with the pto. they used 2 interlocking plates to engage the pto. If you use implements that take lots of shock loads like a tiller in rocky/rooty ground or a harley rake in nasty ground it can cause the teeth to hammer against eachother and eventually wear to the point that they slip past eachother and need to be replaced. also, if you're running something that would have a tendency to keep spinning like a brush hog, dont drop the rpms rapidly with the pto engaged because the plates will slide past eachother in the opposite direction causing the teeth to wear. You'll be able to tell because you'll hear a ratcheting noise. After having to replace mine i found its best to just disengage the pto while its not under load before idling the machine down every time. Kubota re-engineered the part several times so the replacement part is much better but it requires splitting the tractor which costs around $1000 if a dealership does it. As long as you're aware of how to avoid causing wear you shouldnt have any issues though.

 

[firemech]

Have the exact same tractor with loader and turf tires. Love the unit but find it a little light on the tail end. Have loaded the rear tires on mine and have a 300 lb rear counterweight. The tractor does a good job if you can keep the arse end on the ground!