New Kubota L45 has arrived

[lhansman]

After more than a year of trying to decide whether to keep my B26, trade it for a used M59 with a Laurin cab or trade it for a new L45 I finally decided a few weeks ago to get e new L45 spec'd out just the way I want it. I have included a few photos of her below before she gets to work later today and tomorrow. I have also ordered the Laurin cab for it but there is a 6 - 8 week lead time but with the cool wind blowing yesterday I can't wait to get it installed too.

I want to thank all who answered my questions over the past year in assisting me to make what I think is the best decision for my needs. Your advice, experience and encouragement help me to purchase the best TLB for my needs. I am also pleased to report the I met the new owner of my B26 at the dealer yesterday and I think it is going to a good home and hopefully we'll soon have another new TBN'er on these forums.

I have been holding off on some spring projects pending the L45's arrival so now I have to get out there and get to work. I wish you all many happy hours of seat time as you do your spring preparations.

 

[UWAdventurer]

I am envious. Enjoy your new tractor, she is a looker!

 

[kcender]

Very nice machine,looks like you got a lot of options with it.I am sure you will enjoy it :thumbsup:

 

[KubotaToy]

Good, fun TLB, I have about 50 hours on mine. You will be glad you "bit the bullet" and put a 4-1 bucket on front. I miss my 4-1 I had on my skid steer I traded when I bought my L45 in Dec. I have a grapple that I keep on it all the time since I do mostly land clearing with mine.

 

[lhansman]

Thanks for kind word folks. Here are a couple of additional shots or her loaded for the trip home.

Hi KubotaToy

Since I already had added the auxiliary front hydraulics which I need for me snow blade and my hydraulic forks, I decided I might as well get the 4-in-1 bucket now as it was only $800 more versus paying arouond $2,200 later. I have never had one before but am spent a little time playing with it yesterday and it seems to work fine. I haven't tried grabing anything large or heavy yet (want to keep the paint looking nice a little longer) but it helped to clean up a pile of dirt.

One of the next items on my list is to get a grapple of some sort. There are so many different types and styles I am having a hard time deciding what would be best. I will be moving some brush and also many rocks and or boulders. Do you have a recommendation on a manufacturer or style?

Regards,

Lauren

 

[magicheater]

Thanks for kind word folks. Here are a couple of additional shots or her loaded for the trip home.

Hi KubotaToy

Since I already had added the auxiliary front hydraulics which I need for me snow blade and my hydraulic forks, I decided I might as well get the 4-in-1 bucket now as it was only $800 more versus paying arouond $2,200 later. I have never had one before but am spent a little time playing with it yesterday and it seems to work fine. I haven't tried grabing anything large or heavy yet (want to keep the paint looking nice a little longer) but it helped to clean up a pile of dirt.

One of the next items on my list is to get a grapple of some sort. There are so many different types and styles I am having a hard time deciding what would be best. I will be moving some brush and also many rocks and or boulders. Do you have a recommendation on a manufacturer or style?

Regards,

Lauren

Great looking tractor. I put these on my truck and it took out the squat I see you have in yours. I take them off in the winter when I am not pulling trailers. Makes the truck almost as stable as a dually. Plenty of threads on grapples here!

 

[jchealey]

You guys brought up a question about 4 in 1 vs gapple buckets. I have an L48 which besides the HP , maybe is not much different from your L45. It came with a 72 inch 4 in 1. The bucket is so heavy and even more so when the bucket is full, that I am scared to use it. A full bucket makes one of the rear tires get light and almost ready to get off the ground. I usually run with a grader on the back so I have a little ballast back there. I was wondering if the 73 inch is too wide , the tractor needs wheel spacers to spread out the load, Or I should get a separate grapple bucket on a smaller scale.
I already bought a smaller bucket without a 4/1 just to do most of my work. That one seems fine when full.
In any case, the size of tractor , 48 or 45, is great. You can pretty much pick up anything.

Any ideas?

Jerry
L48

 

[KubotaToy]

One of the next items on my list is to get a grapple of some sort. There are so many different types and styles I am having a hard time deciding what would be best. I will be moving some brush and also many rocks and or boulders. Do you have a recommendation on a manufacturer or style?

Regards,

Lauren

Lots of threads about grapples, I shoped for quite a while since I had a 4-1 before I bought a grapple. 4-1 is great for small brush jobs but if you are doing any kind of brush moving at all, you will be in need of a grapple. I bought mine based on what I thought was a good value and the fact it has two cylinders for the teeth, which is a must for picking up odd sized items such as stumps, it is a little heavy but I have not found much I cannot pick up that I want to pick up. Go to Skid Steer Attachments | Skid Steer Loader Attachments |.

 

[Kytractor]

After more than a year of trying to decide whether to keep my B26, trade it for a used M59 with a Laurin cab or trade it for a new L45 I finally decided a few weeks ago to get e new L45 spec'd out just the way I want it. I have included a few photos of her below before she gets to work later today and tomorrow. I have also ordered the Laurin cab for it but there is a 6 - 8 week lead time but with the cool wind blowing yesterday I can't wait to get it installed too.

I want to thank all who answered my questions over the past year in assisting me to make what I think is the best decision for my needs. Your advice, experience and encouragement help me to purchase the best TLB for my needs. I am also pleased to report the I met the new owner of my B26 at the dealer yesterday and I think it is going to a good home and hopefully we'll soon have another new TBN'er on these forums.

I have been holding off on some spring projects pending the L45's arrival so now I have to get out there and get to work. I wish you all many happy hours of seat time as you do your spring preparations.

Congratulations, On your new L45. I know I love mine. Smart thing to get it specced out in the beginning. I'm getting ready to add the front remotes for a grapple. I had everything when I had the M59 and find myself missing the grapple the most.

 

[lhansman]

Hi Magicheater

Thanks for the tip but I actually have had Timbren's on my last three trucks - including the one in the photo and I love them. They are inexpensive, trouble free and work very well. I actually backed the L45 in initially but I didn't like the way the trailer was sitting - it looked like it had too much weight to the rear so I took it off and drove it on with the 4-in-1 and the 36" ditching (252 pounds) and 24" digging (212 pounds) buckets in it. I still thought the back of the trailer looked a little low but it towed fine up to the 65 mph I hit at one point. Several years ago I almost lost a machine, trailer and my truck when improper weight distribution caused the trailer to start swaying violently without warning and since then I don't take anyone elses word for weight and I do tend to load the front of a trailer heavier than the rear for extra insurance.

I drove it down to a public scale that is about 20 miles from my place to do some weighing but unfortunately they chose this weekend to repave the scale yard so it was closed to all traffic. I plan to try again in a couple of weeks as I am away next weekend and have arranged to have all four tires foamed which will change the weight distribution. I also have the Laurin cab coming in a few weeks which I presume will add at least another 500 pounds. Last but not least I almost always travel with my forks which the manufacturer says are around 500 pounds and chain the bucket on them so I did not have the full equipment compliment in the photo. I will post some more pictures when all is complete.

Hi JCHealey

I always run with the hoe on when doing loader work and I had some full to overflowing buckets this weekend and did not have any problems. The specs say the L45 hoe is around 1,500 pounds which I think is probably around what the L48 hoe weighs. I don't know how much your grader weighs but it is probably lighter than the hoe.

Thanks KubotaToy - I'll check them out. I like the idea of the double cylinders too and wasn't sure whether to go with a solid bottom or the open bottom in your picture.

I only managed to get 8 hours on the L45 this weekend but I really enjoyed the additional power. There are lots of good sized rocks on my property and I dug a few out in minutes yesterday that would have taken considerable longer with the B26. Still adjusting to the bulk of the L45 vs. the B26 but really loving the power. Even the engine note of the four cylinder L45 is much more business like than the B21 and B26 that I had.

Regards,

Lauren