Fallon
Super Member
I've currently got a L3200hst that mostly serves me well. My big problem with it is icicles in my beard when plowing snow & being tarred & feathered (sunscreen, sweat & dust/grass) when mowing in the hot summer. So I'm looking to upgrade to a factory cabbed machine. Premium toys will also be nice.
I do some side tractor work, mostly mowing, some grading, post holes & barn mucking. Around our 5 acres I mow, maintain the driveway & am working on slowly improving the land. Just finished a big fencing & post hole run, although more is probably comming. Everything heavy or bulky is now on a pallet & the bucket has replaced a wheelbarrow.
There was a good used L3560 at an attractive price nearby a little while back I took for a test drive. However as expected the 2 extra HP over my L3200 was offset by almost double the weight, making it a bit of a dog. I do a fair bit of roading up some hills, so that would be annoying. The extra 5hp on the L4060 seeems to be where im at.
Generally my L3200 is a good size & takes care of 90% of my needs. Not excited about loosing some maneuverability on a wider machine, but more machine means more work done.
I really like the 2 speed aspect of the HST+ & can see that saving me a fair bit of time coming to a dead stop & fiddling with shifting the rough 3 speed between H & L all the time. My local dealer had a pile of L3560 & L4060s on the lot. Unfortunately by pile I mean stacks of unassembled machines. Apparently they can't assemble em fast enough to get ahead of sales so there is one on the lot for me to test drive. He got me a L3560 assembled with some advanced notice some warning & it was no different than the first one. Unfortunately he was out of L4060s when I pestered them to get one ready for a test drive.
After kind of landing on the L4060 as my target machine, I've gone & looked a JD 3039r (same size as my L3200, with noticeably smaller & less lift capacities than the L4060) which was a really nice smooth machine, but about $7k more for less machine. The next size up JD is a fair bigger than Kubota & too big for me. I stopped by & checked out TYM & LS, both are decent machines, but definitely not quite the same engineering & polish as Kubota or JD. A LS XR4140HC is pushing $10k less than Kubota though based on the first quotes I got from the respective dealers. That savings is mighty tempting. I suppose it's like comparing a Lexus to a Kia though (especially given the same country of origins). I wanted to look at a Kioti NX4010, but the dealer didn't have anything in that range indicating the LS & TYM were a much better bang for the buck. No other nearby Kioti dealers.
Planned options:
LA805 loader, Loaded R4s, 3 spools (2 float for TnT, 1 detent for other stuff), TnT. Debating on a 3rd function or diverter on the loader to angle a SSQA plow, but will probably just install my own later (may copy Roadhunter's hydraulic SSQA setup http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...inear-actuator-power-ssqa-14.html#post4369999 rather than do another linear actuator). I’m on the fence for draft control, a piranha tooth bar & the defroster with upgraded alternator.
The LandPride Quick Hitch was going to be $400 or something, so I'll probably just get another cheap HF type QH again. I'll install my own radio with Bluetooth later. I'm assuming chains for at least the fronts if not all corners will be in the cards.
Any features I'd be stupid to not get? LS makes a lot more sense financially, but my heart seems set on the Kubota. I rationalize most of it with a closer dealer who has a much better service department & Kubota quality. I'll probably end up with the Kubota, but my brain wants a sanity check.
I do some side tractor work, mostly mowing, some grading, post holes & barn mucking. Around our 5 acres I mow, maintain the driveway & am working on slowly improving the land. Just finished a big fencing & post hole run, although more is probably comming. Everything heavy or bulky is now on a pallet & the bucket has replaced a wheelbarrow.
There was a good used L3560 at an attractive price nearby a little while back I took for a test drive. However as expected the 2 extra HP over my L3200 was offset by almost double the weight, making it a bit of a dog. I do a fair bit of roading up some hills, so that would be annoying. The extra 5hp on the L4060 seeems to be where im at.
Generally my L3200 is a good size & takes care of 90% of my needs. Not excited about loosing some maneuverability on a wider machine, but more machine means more work done.
I really like the 2 speed aspect of the HST+ & can see that saving me a fair bit of time coming to a dead stop & fiddling with shifting the rough 3 speed between H & L all the time. My local dealer had a pile of L3560 & L4060s on the lot. Unfortunately by pile I mean stacks of unassembled machines. Apparently they can't assemble em fast enough to get ahead of sales so there is one on the lot for me to test drive. He got me a L3560 assembled with some advanced notice some warning & it was no different than the first one. Unfortunately he was out of L4060s when I pestered them to get one ready for a test drive.
After kind of landing on the L4060 as my target machine, I've gone & looked a JD 3039r (same size as my L3200, with noticeably smaller & less lift capacities than the L4060) which was a really nice smooth machine, but about $7k more for less machine. The next size up JD is a fair bigger than Kubota & too big for me. I stopped by & checked out TYM & LS, both are decent machines, but definitely not quite the same engineering & polish as Kubota or JD. A LS XR4140HC is pushing $10k less than Kubota though based on the first quotes I got from the respective dealers. That savings is mighty tempting. I suppose it's like comparing a Lexus to a Kia though (especially given the same country of origins). I wanted to look at a Kioti NX4010, but the dealer didn't have anything in that range indicating the LS & TYM were a much better bang for the buck. No other nearby Kioti dealers.
Planned options:
LA805 loader, Loaded R4s, 3 spools (2 float for TnT, 1 detent for other stuff), TnT. Debating on a 3rd function or diverter on the loader to angle a SSQA plow, but will probably just install my own later (may copy Roadhunter's hydraulic SSQA setup http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...inear-actuator-power-ssqa-14.html#post4369999 rather than do another linear actuator). I’m on the fence for draft control, a piranha tooth bar & the defroster with upgraded alternator.
The LandPride Quick Hitch was going to be $400 or something, so I'll probably just get another cheap HF type QH again. I'll install my own radio with Bluetooth later. I'm assuming chains for at least the fronts if not all corners will be in the cards.
Any features I'd be stupid to not get? LS makes a lot more sense financially, but my heart seems set on the Kubota. I rationalize most of it with a closer dealer who has a much better service department & Kubota quality. I'll probably end up with the Kubota, but my brain wants a sanity check.