My thoughts on L series jerky 3pt hitch, don't regret purchase

[Harvest Moon]

BTW-- gotta love the rant off line..

Me too. Thanks Teg, hope you don't mind me borrowing it, I'm still waiting to get torched. Not sure why though, my hitch was really quite bad.

 

[peterc38]

I just noticed something tonight...I have loaded R4s, put on the hoe and FIL and I figure I'm looking at an additional 2,400 lbs added to the machine. I have a steep bank I have to go down over to get to my shooting range. It is steep enough that I elect to back up it when the hoe and FIL are on the tractor. The tractor and HST make the same sound going up this hill, with or without that additional 2,400lbs. QUOTE]

Why does your Father in Law have to ride on the tractor too? If he is adding that much weight can't you make him get off and walk or at least go on a diet?

 

[teg]

I, too, am tired about talking about the jerky hitch and going to try and put it behind me. I hope the L2800/L3400 are going to last for thousands of hours... only time will tell.

Harvest Moon, feel free to use the tag line (only when needed...) just don't forget to send me a quarter when you do!!!

PS. I really wish they would hurry up with the "Review" forum so we can have updated reviews.

 

[Robert6401]

I, too, am tired about talking about the jerky hitch and going to try and put it behind me. I hope the L2800/L3400 are going to last for thousands of hours... only time will tell.

I'm sorry if my thread has caused you heartache and you are "tired of talking about the jerky hitch." But I felt like someone needed to speak out on the positive aspects of this great little tractor. I don't think the hitch is really going to affect most people and I didn't want a prospective buyer to be turned off of what I believe is the best tractor in its price range due simply to the opinions of some who were more outspoken on here.

Now when someone comes to this website to research buying a tractor, does a search on the L series, they will have some positive things to hear to offset some of the negative about one, singular issue.

(switching 'rant' to off position, Flame suit ON) <- can I use the line too, just this once?

 

[teg]

Sure and no charge.

Like I said before a Review Forum that works would be best but maybe everyone should start posting reviews in the Owning and Operating sections. Makes sense to me...

To me, the L2800/3400 has several versions... 2004-2005 with the ratcheting pto and very jerky hitch (darn, I was not going to type that again $%#&*), 2006-ish-2007 where both of those were corrected, 2008-??? where the 3ph was changed again (for better or worst, I have no real knowledge about).

Sorry if I came across a little strong... I am still very bitter about how hard it was dealing with "those" valves... It would have been better if the tractors had L2800 "V-2.3" or whatever to change it's name. If someone was to read your review - AND was buying a USED 2004 model... thinking about your review... That would do them a disfavor... It's comparing "apples" to "rotten apples". IMHO.

 

[GMtb42]

Glad people like (love) their L2800/L3400 tractors , but it seems that someone is trying to trivialize the fact that others have had several problems with them .
The tractors are good tractors no doubt , but the ones that have or had the problems had a problem that was dangerous and may have hurt someone or something .
Perspective buyers should have been made aware of a potential problem , and that is what all the post here do negative or positive , but truths .
I mean someone brought this up , it could have just died out if not for someone beating the dead horse and putting lipstick on it to try and make it look attractive (positive posting) .

:{(((--

 

[teg]

You don't have to tell me, twice I have to shut down the tractor when I go near the PTO (good safety advice anyway) since my PTO doesn't always shut off (I do worry about it coming on by itself). That said, I've never had it come on by itself except for after starting the tractor... by evidence of the hole my tiller dug in the shed!!! This is on older 2004-2005 tractors, I hear that it may not be an issue on newer ones.

Does anyone know how much it costs to change over from the ratcheting type PTO to the non-ratcheting ones??

.

 

[Harvest Moon]

Sure and no charge.

Man, I was just about to put the postage on my quarter! I want the first one free too!

In the spirt of this, Love Thy L3400/L2800 thread, I would like to say a few things:

Probably the best value in its niche. It's truly an awesome standard tractor. Well built, it's strong, durable, got some weight to it. It's not too bad looking. It was very reasonably priced. It gets fair fuel economy. I've never run out of power. Never stalled. ALWAYS starts for me, no problem, down to 5 degrees.

Never felt to need to make an issue out of the few small things that I've dealt with, like the sight glass leaking, PTO cable and bracket problem. They were all fixed under warrantee and were really trivial. Could have done the repairs myself easily. I wouldn't expect better from any other brand.

Never lost a nights sleep about my ratcheting PTO. Always felt the one confirmed failure that I'm aware of was a cable engagement issue and not a cam flaw. (Except the first time I heard it ratchet) And kudos to Kubota for all the cams they changed out for concerned owners.

The only problem I've ever taken seriously is that Kubota represented this machine as an "Standard Tractor" and then changed their tune to "Economy" when addressing the hitch performance. And the hitch performance, that my tractor had, seriously limited it usefulness for many applications.

I'm glad they fixed it. I'm glad I fixed mine. I'm disappointed that Kubota betrayed their reputation for quality and performance by putting that hitch on these tractors, and then defended it.

I hope the new hitches have not been a step back. I'm thankful that this thread is here, I don't think the hitch has to be a deal breaker. Like it's been said, if you are buying one of these machines for mowing or backhoe use it's all good. Not a deal breaker. If you're looking to put in 1000 fence posts, use a boom pole or do fine grading then you deserve to be informed. Kubota won't tell you. You might not notice unless you see it in action with an implement installed. And once you leave the dealer, you're on your own.

Aside from the hitch, where else can you get so much tractor, with Kubota's great reputation for quality, durability, dependability and performance? I'm not sure you can. I happy with mine. If I had to do it all over, well, knowing what I know now, I'd buy this tractor again. And if it came with the same jerky hitch, I'd buy the upgrade and get it installed. And I'd still get the best value out there, at least for my needs.

Good luck to anyone considering the L3400/L2800. It is a great tractor.

Harvest

 

[Robert6401]

Glad people like (love) their L2800/L3400 tractors , but it seems that someone is trying to trivialize the fact that others have had several problems with them .
The tractors are good tractors no doubt , but the ones that have or had the problems had a problem that was dangerous and may have hurt someone or something .
Perspective buyers should have been made aware of a potential problem , and that is what all the post here do negative or positive , but truths .
I mean someone brought this up , it could have just died out if not for someone beating the dead horse and putting lipstick on it to try and make it look attractive (positive posting) .

:{(((--

I never stated that I had a problem with people complaining about their hitch issues and I believe it is very important for all of us to be as educated about not only purchasing a tractor, but also operating one. As I said from the beginning, I just wanted to voice my satisfaction with the tractor so that a prospective buyer would see more than just the negative. I, like Harvest Moon, recognize the fact that this tractor isn't perfect. The point I was trying to make is that for the money it is the best on the market.

As far as beating a dead horse ..... well, I could see where you would say that if I was just another person complaining about a jerky hitch. I brought up this particular subject because I had not read anything on this forum addressing otherwise. A year ago, if I had read all of the negativity surrounding this subject I probably would've bought a John Deere. Knowing what I know now (even after initially being upset that I bought a tractor with a jerky hitch), I am glad I didn't. I do LOVE my tractor (as much as you CAN love a tractor), it is perfect for me. To the point that as much as I dream about one day upgrading to a larger Grand L40, I will probably never be able to justify it.

 

[Goog]

Man, I was just about to put the postage on my quarter! I want the first one free too!

In the spirt of this, Love Thy L3400/L2800 thread, I would like to say a few things:

Probably the best value in its niche. It's truly an awesome standard tractor. Well built, it's strong, durable, got some weight to it. It's not too bad looking. It was very reasonably priced. It gets fair fuel economy. I've never run out of power. Never stalled. ALWAYS starts for me, no problem, down to 5 degrees.

Never felt to need to make an issue out of the few small things that I've dealt with, like the sight glass leaking, PTO cable and bracket problem. They were all fixed under warrantee and were really trivial. Could have done the repairs myself easily. I wouldn't expect better from any other brand.

Never lost a nights sleep about my ratcheting PTO. Always felt the one confirmed failure that I'm aware of was a cable engagement issue and not a cam flaw. (Except the first time I heard it ratchet) And kudos to Kubota for all the cams they changed out for concerned owners.

The only problem I've ever taken seriously is that Kubota represented this machine as an "Standard Tractor" and then changed their tune to "Economy" when addressing the hitch performance. And the hitch performance, that my tractor had, seriously limited it usefulness for many applications.

I'm glad they fixed it. I'm glad I fixed mine. I'm disappointed that Kubota betrayed their reputation for quality and performance by putting that hitch on these tractors, and then defended it.

I hope the new hitches have not been a step back. I'm thankful that this thread is here, I don't think the hitch has to be a deal breaker. Like it's been said, if you are buying one of these machines for mowing or backhoe use it's all good. Not a deal breaker. If you're looking to put in 1000 fence posts, use a boom pole or do fine grading then you deserve to be informed. Kubota won't tell you. You might not notice unless you see it in action with an implement installed. And once you leave the dealer, you're on your own.

Aside from the hitch, where else can you get so much tractor, with Kubota's great reputation for quality, durability, dependability and performance? I'm not sure you can. I happy with mine. If I had to do it all over, well, knowing what I know now, I'd buy this tractor again. And if it came with the same jerky hitch, I'd buy the upgrade and get it installed. And I'd still get the best value out there, at least for my needs.

Good luck to anyone considering the L3400/L2800. It is a great tractor.

Harvest

Well said. Since I had one of the forst L3400 HST's I feel I can chime in. This was my first and only tractor so far. I looked at several brands but decided on the Kubota based on reputation, price and this tractor met my needs.

The very first project I did was drill post holes with my new auger on my new tractor. It jerked so bad the dirt would fall off of the bit and back in the hole. My wife said "is it supposed to do that?"

I was ready to return it with less than one hour. I talked to the dealer and they put me in contact with a rep from Kubota who immediately sent an updated valve for the three point. The dealer installed the valve and it is pretty darn smooth.

The PTO cam thing bothered me and I had both the fluid level update and the cams replaced. Again my dealer was excellent to work with.

In the end I like this tractor but I would not buy it again. I would go with the Grand L for just the stronger loader, independent PTO and the smooth 3 pt. I can live without all the other fancy stuff on the Grand L's.

I do agree with several of the things people have posted and these are just my personal opinions. Brian