Mowing Is a 60" brush hog too much for a Kubota L3010?

avispetto · Jul 8, 2012

I am considering the purchase of a Kubota L3010, 30HP with 460HR including a 60" brush hog. I have 20 arces that it will be used to mow. About 30% of the area is covered with wire grass (heavy water grass). A friend told me that this tractor will not do the job. Any thoughts?

kebo · Jul 8, 2012

I think a 5ft BH is a perfect fit for that Kubota tractor. I have a 5ft BH on my 30hp JD 790 and this is a great set up imho. As for using it on that "wire grass", I am certain it will cut it, although if it is really tall and/or very wet, you can always make narrower passes, instead of the full 5ft cutting width. Good luck, and I say go for it!

TripleR · Jul 8, 2012

You will have roughly the same PTO HP as kebo and it works for him. We pull a 48" with a BX2660 with no problem. I would not however personally want to mow 20 acres with it on a regular basis.

creekbend · Jul 8, 2012

The PTO-HP of that tractor is 25.5 HP and the width is 56.7". I don't think you should have any problems. TractorData.com - information on all makes and models of tractors

avispetto · Jul 8, 2012

Thanks for all the reponses. I think I will go ahead with the purchase. However, can anyone tell me if this is a good buy? The Kubota L3010 HST comes with a LA481 loader, folding ROPs, box scraper, 60" bush hog, Disc, and Mid-buster (plow) with two blades. It's being sold by the original owner and has only 460 hr, and had been stored in a shed. It was used to maintain a 5 arce plot. The asking price is $12,500, this seems to be a very reasonable price. Your thoughts again.

kebo · Jul 8, 2012

I happen to agree and think that is a good price, especially considering the equipment that goes with it, the tractors condition, the relatively low hours, and that you know it's been taken care of. You can always go to tractorhouse.com and do some price comparisons of other like tractors. Just be sure to make allowances for all the variables if you do try to compare pricing. My advice is if you think it's a good deal, and YOU will be happy with it, buy it and don't think twice about it!

Mark Page · Jul 8, 2012

I've pulled a 6 ft. bush hog through some mighty thick multi-flora rose with a 35 horse tractor and it never missed a beat. Show up to see the seller with $12,000 in hundreds in your pocket. Flash it with your offer. When he sees that wad he'll take the deal. It's always worked for me.

mikehaugen · Jul 8, 2012

I am like Mark, I have a 38 hp (35pto) tractor and use it with a 6' woods brush cutter. It's always been fine, unless the stuff is real thick. The biggest problem with mine is not so much cutting it, but getting rid of it. It seems to be too restricted coming out of the hole in the back of the deck, though it does chop it up well. The other problem with mine is selecting a speed. It is gear drive with 3 ranges and 3 speeds within the ranges. The problem is for most mowing I can do 4th gear, but have to occasionally switch to 3rd which requires a range change and therefore having to stop the tractor. The difference in speed between 3 and 4 is almost double so I don't want to stay in three unless I have to. Makes for a lot of work- it's one time I wish I had a hydro tractor. But back to your question, I don't believe you will be under powered at all with a 5' bush hog, just have to slow down sometimes in thick/ tall vegetation.

mikehaugen · Jul 8, 2012

Also, as mentioned I'm not too sure I would want to mow 20 acres with it regularly, I usually figure 1 to 1 1/2 acres an hour depending on height and that is with a slightly larger combination. 2 or 3 times a year might not be bad though. Also a smaller tractor is easier to get around in tight areas and is much less hassle to tow around on a trailer if you plan on doing that and it's easier to store.

Gordon Gould · Jul 8, 2012

I don't have a BH but I can tell you that the L3010 has been a great and reliable tractor for me.

Mark Page · Jul 9, 2012

My goofy neighbor has a 20 horse Yanmar and mows with a 6 foot bush hog. I don't know how he gets away with it. With no overunning clutch the momentum in the mower will drive the tractor forward with the clutch depressed. He's cutting 12 inch pasture grass.
I guess this is a testamonial to Yanmar tractors and engines. About 4 years ago he bought a used 6 ft. finish mower, which seems to do fine.

Soundguy · Jul 9, 2012

i believe a 30hp mahcine should swing a 5' mower with ease..

avispetto · Jul 9, 2012

Thanks for all the respones again. I was going to ask, what is too much? I normally would need to mow about 3 or 4 times between Spring and Summer. The fields that I will be mowing is fairly flat and the grasses would be at around 2.5 to 3 ft max at the first mowing (all depends on the weather and how wet the ground is at the time). After that the grass height would be about 1 to 1.5 ft in height and I leave it at about 6 to 12 inches. Believe this or not, for the last 3 years I've been mowing about 12 to 15 arces with a 19HP Gravely 44 inch zero turn. Talk about madness and a sore back but that little machine did the job "over time" (it took about 4 days). Am I crazy, YES. That's why I want to be sure that this tacktor will do the job I needed.

joshuabardwell · Jul 9, 2012

Isn't the formula 4' of mower per 5 PTO hp?

mikehaugen · Jul 9, 2012

no, I have always heard as a rule of thumb 5 hp per foot of mower.

Back to the original question, the tractor will handle that bush hog and you have made it pretty obvious that you are willing to put the time in so efficiency isn't a huge concern. I say go for it!

joshuabardwell · Jul 9, 2012

mikehaugen said:
no, I have always heard as a rule of thumb 5 hp per foot of mower.

I'm sorry. That is what I meant to type. I don't know what I was thinking.

avispetto · Jul 9, 2012

Everyone's been great. I'm going for it, I'm calling the owner to make a deal. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I start become more familiar with the tractor.