Tractor Sizing Size of Tractor for What we have

[Diane59]

We just bought a place a few months ago. It's 5 1/2 acres and will be used for horses. Currently, we have 4 pens with Pen #3 almost entirely trees. The previous owner didn't use that pen. Our plan for Pen 3 is to have most of the trees removed and turn it into a pasture/pen. We'll have a zero turn to mow the pastures. We're currently getting quotes for a tractor, grapple, 9" auger, and box scraper. We have a nice-sized front yard, a pool, two shedrow barns, a small arena. I'm still up in the air about what tractor size to get. We're down to a 25 or 33 hp, probably Kubota. The grapple will probably be used to move trees that have fallen down and will be the most weight the tractor will carry. Even though we're in Atlanta, we had about 10-12 inches of snow and lost 8 trees. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance! Diane

 

[Peter 315]

We have 5 acres, 6 horses , kubota l3800 Is the tractor we use the most

 

[jeff9366]

Animal hooves pack ground harder than anything else, over time.

A Kubota L2501 should do.

No point in buying an L3301 unless you want to power a five foot Rotary Cutter in high grass.

I would budget for a pasture renovator for regular use. There are many brands. Hay King Miller C-3 would be suitable for L2501 WHEN YOUR SOIL IS MOIST.
LINK: http://hayking.com/var/m_3/3e/3e5/50010/556824-Renovator_Literature.pdf?download
VIDEO: small tractor pasture renovator - YouTube

I recommend L2501/HST which includes independent PTO as part of HST package.

Foxtail ~~ 10/08/2016​

A warning for those considering a Gear Drive Kubota L2501​

I want to tell my experience with a kubota L2501 in case it's useful to anyone considering this tractor, or a L3301. They are wonderful tractors but the buyer should be aware of the following if you're not planning to get a hydrostatic....

First some background: I cut 10 acres of rough land 1-2 times per year. I did this successfully with a John Deere 1023E tractor and 4 foot Frontier RC2048 cutter. The 1023E's ground clearance around the transmission was fairly low, however, and the ride was a bit rough. So I wanted to upgrade this summer. I wanted a Deere 3032E with 5 foot cutter but it ended up being more than I wanted to pay, especially since I am unlikely to ever put that many hours on the tractor. The new Deere 3025E seemed better for my budget, but is not out as of this writing, and in any case my John Deere dealer said it has only 17.4 PTO horsepower and thought that is too little for a 5 foot cutter.

So I talked to Kubota dealers, and they were quite supportive of putting a 5 foot cutter behind a L2501, which has better PTO horsepower than the Deere (and up to 70.2 lb-ft of torque, incidentally, compared to 51.3 for the 3025E and 64.2 for the 3032E; although torque is not probably as important as PTO HP).

I ended up with a Gear Drive Kubota L2501 with 5 foot Land Pride RCR1260 cutter. The gear drive saved maybe $1000 and offered more PTO horsepower (20.5 PTO HP vs 19.0 for the L2501HST). HOWEVER, the gear drive was a big MISTAKE for my situation:

Problem 1: Nonlive PTO. When mowing if you ever need to change a gear or reverse, you must fully depress the clutch pedal, which also shuts off the transmission-driven PTO (and rear cutter). If you are in heavy material and want to slow down or back up, your only choice is to raise the mower and keep going (but not getting the grass cut) or to put the clutch in, bringing the tractor and PTO to a complete stop. (Note that the gear drive L3301 also has nonlive transmission-driven PTO. The L3901 gear drive might have the advantage of a two stage clutch pedal, which can let the PTO keep going as you change gears. However, buyers should check this carefully).

Problem 2: There are only 8 forward gears on the L2501 and they are spaced somewhat widely for mowing. It's hard to find the specs, which are only in the Kubota owner's manual and not online. Here are the details:
Low2 is 1.1 mph (much too slow for mowing except for very heavy conditions)
Low3 is 1.6 mph (very slow for mowing -- much slower than I generally did in my 1023e with a much smaller engine -- but this is the most realistic option for most conditions)
Low4 is 2.8 mph (substantially faster than L3, and generally too fast for mowing for all but the lightest material -- but still may not get a good cut because you're going so fast)
Also: on the L2501 (unlike L3301 as I understand it) there is no shuttle shift, which means that if you want to go from forward to reverse, you have to fully depress the clutch, come to a complete stop, which shuts down the PTO as well, and slowly shift and let your clutch out again. To save the clutch, the PTO and the implement, you really should do all this at fairly low RPM. However, since this action is also how you get the tractor to start moving again, you need some power -- maybe 2000 RPM to get the whole thing to go. Your left leg will really get some strength training!

Anyway, a gear drive L2501, with its transmission-driven PTO and somewhat widely spaced gears, is a little bit like a 1950s type tractor, and is not for everyone! I am sure there is someone out there who loves it, and will promptly tell me I'm just inexperienced. If someone has had a good experience with this tractor, please share.

After nearly 5 hours of frustration, my dealer let me trade up to a L2501HST, which essentially solves the problem. I would not hesitate to recommend the L2501HST to anyone wanting to run 5 foot implements.

 

[Jstpssng]

Animal hooves pack ground harder than anything else, over time.

A Kubota L2501 should do.

No point in buying an L3301 unless you want to power a five foot Rotary Cutter in high grass.

I would budget for a pasture renovator for regular use. There are many brands. Hay King Miller C-3 would be suitable for L2501 WHEN YOUR SOIL IS MOIST.
LINK: http://hayking.com/var/m_3/3e/3e5/50010/556824-Renovator_Literature.pdf?download
VIDEO: small tractor pasture renovator - YouTube

I recommend L2501/HST which includes independent PTO as part of HST package.

Foxtail ~~ 10/08/2016​

A warning for those considering a Gear Drive Kubota L2501​

I want to tell my experience with a kubota L2501 in case it's useful to anyone considering this tractor, or a L3301. They are wonderful tractors but the buyer should be aware of the following if you're not planning to get a hydrostatic....

First some background: I cut 10 acres of rough land 1-2 times per year. I did this successfully with a John Deere 1023E tractor and 4 foot Frontier RC2048 cutter. The 1023E's ground clearance around the transmission was fairly low, however, and the ride was a bit rough. So I wanted to upgrade this summer. I wanted a Deere 3032E with 5 foot cutter but it ended up being more than I wanted to pay, especially since I am unlikely to ever put that many hours on the tractor. The new Deere 3025E seemed better for my budget, but is not out as of this writing, and in any case my John Deere dealer said it has only 17.4 PTO horsepower and thought that is too little for a 5 foot cutter.

So I talked to Kubota dealers, and they were quite supportive of putting a 5 foot cutter behind a L2501, which has better PTO horsepower than the Deere (and up to 70.2 lb-ft of torque, incidentally, compared to 51.3 for the 3025E and 64.2 for the 3032E; although torque is not probably as important as PTO HP).

I ended up with a Gear Drive Kubota L2501 with 5 foot Land Pride RCR1260 cutter. The gear drive saved maybe $1000 and offered more PTO horsepower (20.5 PTO HP vs 19.0 for the L2501HST). HOWEVER, the gear drive was a big MISTAKE for my situation:

Problem 1: Nonlive PTO. When mowing if you ever need to change a gear or reverse, you must fully depress the clutch pedal, which also shuts off the transmission-driven PTO (and rear cutter). If you are in heavy material and want to slow down or back up, your only choice is to raise the mower and keep going (but not getting the grass cut) or to put the clutch in, bringing the tractor and PTO to a complete stop. (Note that the gear drive L3301 also has nonlive transmission-driven PTO. The L3901 gear drive might have the advantage of a two stage clutch pedal, which can let the PTO keep going as you change gears. However, buyers should check this carefully).

Problem 2: There are only 8 forward gears on the L2501 and they are spaced somewhat widely for mowing. It's hard to find the specs, which are only in the Kubota owner's manual and not online. Here are the details:
Low2 is 1.1 mph (much too slow for mowing except for very heavy conditions)
Low3 is 1.6 mph (very slow for mowing -- much slower than I generally did in my 1023e with a much smaller engine -- but this is the most realistic option for most conditions)
Low4 is 2.8 mph (substantially faster than L3, and generally too fast for mowing for all but the lightest material -- but still may not get a good cut because you're going so fast)
Also: on the L2501 (unlike L3301 as I understand it) there is no shuttle shift, which means that if you want to go from forward to reverse, you have to fully depress the clutch, come to a complete stop, which shuts down the PTO as well, and slowly shift and let your clutch out again. To save the clutch, the PTO and the implement, you really should do all this at fairly low RPM. However, since this action is also how you get the tractor to start moving again, you need some power -- maybe 2000 RPM to get the whole thing to go. Your left leg will really get some strength training!

Anyway, a gear drive L2501, with its transmission-driven PTO and somewhat widely spaced gears, is a little bit like a 1950s type tractor, and is not for everyone! I am sure there is someone out there who loves it, and will promptly tell me I'm just inexperienced. If someone has had a good experience with this tractor, please share.

After nearly 5 hours of frustration, my dealer let me trade up to a L2501HST, which essentially solves the problem. I would not hesitate to recommend the L2501HST to anyone wanting to run 5 foot implements.

The lack of a live PTO is the only reason I went with an HST, as I don't see how you can bush hog OR rototill without it.
The other thing I'm not sure of is Kubota's "shuttle shift." The purpose is to go from forward to reverse in one fluid movement... On my 275 it made going from forward to reverse very easy . Yet on the 3400 I tried, Hi/Lo range was on the same lever as reverse, which means you are looking for the gears every time you shift which can be a real pain, especially when plowing snow.

 

[jeff9366]

The L2501/Gear is NOT shuttle shift. It is clutch and non-synchromesh gears.

 

[Jstpssng]

The L2501/Gear is NOT shuttle shift. It is clutch and non-synchromesh gears.

I was looking at the 3301, as the smaller tractor wouldn't work with my existing implements.

 

[jeff9366]

I was looking at the 3301, as the smaller tractor wouldn't work with my existing implements.

L2501/L3301, same tractor chassis, same tractor dimensions, same engine block. The only differences are engine tune and the addition of mandatory Tier iV emission control paraphernalia. So if your implements will not fit a L2501, neither will they fit a L3301.

L2501/L3301 has a 'Category I' Three Point Hitch. Almost all standard weight implements should fit, with OLD, standard-size turning plows an occasional exception.

What was your previous tractor?



The next increment heavier/larger tractor in Kubota's offerings is the L3901.

 

[ericm979]

The 2501, 3301 and 3901 HST models have live PTOs. There's a two stage clutch pedal, allowing you to shift gears while keeping the PTO turning. To turn the PTO on or off you need to push the clutch all the way in, which means stopping the tractor and being in the driver's seat. With an independent PTO you don't need to operate the clutch- there's a separate PTO clutch which is operated by the PTO control (often an electrical switch). The advantage of that is that you can tun the PTO on and off from beside the tractor, which is handy when using a PTO chipper. The PTO is one of the reasons I bought a Branson with an independent PTO (switched from a panel on the right fender) instead of a 3901. I do a lot of chipping.

 

[jeff9366]

I'm still up in the air about what tractor size to get. We're down to a 25 or 33 hp, probably Kubota.

Here is a well developed thread viz Kubota L2501 Vs. Kubota L3301.

LINK TO T-B-N ARCHIVE: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/387798-l2501-v-l3301.html

 

[TheMan419]

We have 18 acres and horses. For mowing just pasture grass and even waist high weeds my 24 hp new holland has been well more than adequate.

One thing to consider is hay. Small squares? Round or large squares? If round or large sq make sure your FEL has enough lift. Also remember the specs talk about lift at the pins. So a large round hanging off the front weighs well more than you think it does because of the physics involved.

Think about the size of the tractor w a bush hog hanging off the back and can it get into your pasture.

A zrt is not usually going to mow the pasture well. It will be a rough ride after the horses get on the pasture.