curtisfarmer
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2005
- Messages
- 460
- Location
- Southern NH
- Tractor
- M7040, L48, KX121-3, RTV 1100 and a couple of older Fords
Review of New L48 with Hyd. Thumb.
My new 2005 L48 was delivered last week and I have put about 15 hours on it so far. I opted for the hyd. Thumb option from an equipment fabricator as I had heard so much about how useful they are. The machine is a beast for sure. The backhoe with the 24” bucket and thumb is really amazing. I can pluck rocks the size of a washer dryer ( maybe slightly smaller, but still HUGE!) and rotate the rock almost the full curl of the bucket without letting go….then reach over and place the rock into position, usually the full extension of the hoe (over 12’). The thumb also ensures a full bucket every time and holds all of the debris tight for loading. It was installed professionally and the thumb is an awesome attachment. I would not have put it on after the fact, but now I cannot imagine using the hoe without the thumb!! The cylinder is huge, much beefier than the JD 110, and with the bucket curled and thumb in, I have almost 4’ of claw width. I wish you could all come over and try this out. The machine digs and digs and digs! In 15 hours I have rebuilt some stone walls, opened up a new road opening, and dug 40 yards out for a pond beach and more. The L48 is kinda slow and wimpy in H with the back hoe on. With the tires loaded and the hoe on I think the L48 is around 9,000lbs. Going to try to put it on a trailer today to bring it to the first paying job. I took the hoe off the other day for the first time so I could plow with it, came off nice and easy although I haven’t put it back on yet. Plowing was excellent, I use a rear blade and plow about 8 driveways and 2 roads. You can plow in H on level ground, but only M uphill. Plowing 1,000’+ roads uphill at 4mph….I was afraid the neighbor with the snow blower was going to pass me!!! The loader is fantastic, very responsive and powerful. The self leveling feature is OK. I like the swivel seat and not having to get off the machine to use the hoe. The operator area is set up excellent; maybe the hitch lever could be higher. When you are plowing you instinctively reach for the lever, but all three (throttle, range, and hitch) are grouped closely together. Visibility is good, I am kinda short so I don’t like the seat safety switch as sometimes I lean up off the seat. I like the work lights up high front and back, it lights the whole area up at night, my neighbors are wondering if I have become nocturnal. I haven’t opened the machine up yet, keeping it below 2K rpm. I am building a beach with huge rock retaining walls and I have been hauling 2 rocks at a time to the site from the woods and the loader handles it no problem. I am used to using a 1976 Ford 3400 industrial and a Kubota 2350 GST. The Ford is big, old and sloppy and 2350 GST was small but nimble. The L48 is big, nimble, and productive. I still cannot believe the backhoe. I usually spend 1-2K$ per year on back hoes and excavators here at my farm, and the L48 has already proven that there are few things I will be subcontracting out for bigger machines. Never owned a hydro tractor before and it is handy. I cannot wait to start mowing with it. I like how the L48 is designed with heavy duty applications in mind. The Grand Ls don’t have a frame as with most other CUTs, but the frame on the L48 is very impressive. High angle of departure as well, haven’t really bottomed out, yet. Over all the L48 is worth the investment and I am pleased. Now I just have to make it pay for itself.
My new 2005 L48 was delivered last week and I have put about 15 hours on it so far. I opted for the hyd. Thumb option from an equipment fabricator as I had heard so much about how useful they are. The machine is a beast for sure. The backhoe with the 24” bucket and thumb is really amazing. I can pluck rocks the size of a washer dryer ( maybe slightly smaller, but still HUGE!) and rotate the rock almost the full curl of the bucket without letting go….then reach over and place the rock into position, usually the full extension of the hoe (over 12’). The thumb also ensures a full bucket every time and holds all of the debris tight for loading. It was installed professionally and the thumb is an awesome attachment. I would not have put it on after the fact, but now I cannot imagine using the hoe without the thumb!! The cylinder is huge, much beefier than the JD 110, and with the bucket curled and thumb in, I have almost 4’ of claw width. I wish you could all come over and try this out. The machine digs and digs and digs! In 15 hours I have rebuilt some stone walls, opened up a new road opening, and dug 40 yards out for a pond beach and more. The L48 is kinda slow and wimpy in H with the back hoe on. With the tires loaded and the hoe on I think the L48 is around 9,000lbs. Going to try to put it on a trailer today to bring it to the first paying job. I took the hoe off the other day for the first time so I could plow with it, came off nice and easy although I haven’t put it back on yet. Plowing was excellent, I use a rear blade and plow about 8 driveways and 2 roads. You can plow in H on level ground, but only M uphill. Plowing 1,000’+ roads uphill at 4mph….I was afraid the neighbor with the snow blower was going to pass me!!! The loader is fantastic, very responsive and powerful. The self leveling feature is OK. I like the swivel seat and not having to get off the machine to use the hoe. The operator area is set up excellent; maybe the hitch lever could be higher. When you are plowing you instinctively reach for the lever, but all three (throttle, range, and hitch) are grouped closely together. Visibility is good, I am kinda short so I don’t like the seat safety switch as sometimes I lean up off the seat. I like the work lights up high front and back, it lights the whole area up at night, my neighbors are wondering if I have become nocturnal. I haven’t opened the machine up yet, keeping it below 2K rpm. I am building a beach with huge rock retaining walls and I have been hauling 2 rocks at a time to the site from the woods and the loader handles it no problem. I am used to using a 1976 Ford 3400 industrial and a Kubota 2350 GST. The Ford is big, old and sloppy and 2350 GST was small but nimble. The L48 is big, nimble, and productive. I still cannot believe the backhoe. I usually spend 1-2K$ per year on back hoes and excavators here at my farm, and the L48 has already proven that there are few things I will be subcontracting out for bigger machines. Never owned a hydro tractor before and it is handy. I cannot wait to start mowing with it. I like how the L48 is designed with heavy duty applications in mind. The Grand Ls don’t have a frame as with most other CUTs, but the frame on the L48 is very impressive. High angle of departure as well, haven’t really bottomed out, yet. Over all the L48 is worth the investment and I am pleased. Now I just have to make it pay for itself.
