Kubota L3301- is this right for me?

[GoosePaint]

New here, but have been reading for months trying to figure out what tractor I need. My wife and I bought 10 acres of completely wooded land north of Baton Rouge about a year ago. I've been clearing driveway and homestead area on the weekends. Borrowed a New Holland tn70a from a buddy for the heavy work, but I need my own now. We have a camper and generator on the property, its high and dry, no hills. I have a flat grass spot in the front under powerlines that I will garden, around 25000 sq ft. We have a sawmill so dragging trees around will be done too. I have narrowed down my choices to Kubota L3301. I'm 30 years old and would like to not have to buy another tractor out of need for the rest of my life. Will the L3301 hst 4x4 w loader do everything I need it do do?

 

[motownbrowne]

Personally I'd go up a size. I am 28 and have a mill too, so we have similar situations. I was about to pull the trigger on a l3800 (predecessor to the 3901, which I think is about the same weight as the 3301), but after spending some time on this site I decided to go with the mx4700. I can tell you that every time I lift a pallet of firewood, a log for the mill, or a stack of lumber I'm glad for the bigger machine. I paid $4500 more to step up one size and not once have I regretted it. Relative to the overall purchase price, the additional cost of a slightly larger machine is small. Let us know what you end up with, and happy hunting.

 

[newbury]

Treat is as your first tractor and be on the lookout for something bigger to LIFT logs with the FEL or develop a method to get the log loaded.

I've got a B7610 (which I knew was small) and it's great for moving the small stuff around. I've also got a Woodmizer LT 10 w/18' of track. But to put a 10 foot, 20" white oak log on my sawmill I need a lift of about 1500 lbs (unless I let it dry out). Now a 10' pine only weighs about 1100 pounds and I can handle that with the 3 point.
This log wasn't 20".

Now just for fun and jokes I have loaded a "full log" on my mill entirely by hand with a pair of cant hooks, but it ain't easy.

So I searched for something that would lift a ton on the 3 point and cost less than $15K.
Got this for $12K.

Supposedly lifts 2 ton on the 3 point and 1 ton on the FEL. Makes putting the logs on the mill REAL easy.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Personally I'd go up a size. I am 28 and have a mill too, so we have similar situations. I was about to pull the trigger on a l3800 (predecessor to the 3901, which I think is about the same weight as the 3301), but after spending some time on this site I decided to go with the mx4700. I can tell you that every time I lift a pallet of firewood, a log for the mill, or a stack of lumber I'm glad for the bigger machine. I paid $4500 more to step up one size and not once have I regretted it. Relative to the overall purchase price, the additional cost of a slightly larger machine is small. Let us know what you end up with, and happy hunting.

MoTown is right. I just happen to have both, an MX5100 and the L3301. But, I also have 80 acres. That said, both are excellent tractors and work really well. The MX is much bigger and 52 hp. I love my little L3301 and use it mostly for light front end work and finish mowing. I think with 10 acres and the work you want to do, I would go for the L3901 and more hp. Also, consider the gear drive shuttle shift, you'll save a few bucks and have (IMO) more power at hand, and just as easy to use. Good luck.View attachment 433948

 

[jeff9366]

We have a sawmill so dragging trees around will be done too. I have narrowed down my choices to Kubota L3301. I'm 30 years old and would like to not have to buy another tractor out of need for the rest of my life. Will the L3301 hst 4x4 w loader do everything I need it do do?

I would calculate max tree weight you want to transport to your mill, then select a tractor that will lift 125% or 150% of that load with the FEL for transport. I would not be dragging and collecting dirt on trees to be milled.

(Lift on the L3301 - LA525 FEL is around 1,100 pounds.) (Lift on the L3301 3-Pt is around 1,500 pounds.)

A grapple is optimum for moving trees. See STEPPENWOLFE's photo.

Less expensive option is SSQA (Skid Steer Quick Attach) pallet forks for moving trees.

I have aluminum Debris Forks but I lose some lift capacity due to fork mount on front of FEL bucket, so leverage works against me.

You can certainly use 3-Pt mounted pallet forks too, as in NEWBURY'S post, but FEL pallet forks offer more flexibility in loading and unloading, especially lift height.

L3301 is certainly ample size for a large garden.

You will want 5/16" chain grab hooks installed on the bucket of whatever tractor you buy.

LINK: Ken's Bolt on Grab Hooks <<Bolt-On>>

 

[s219]

I would calculate max tree weight you want to transport to your mill, then select a tractor that will lift 125% or 150% of that load with the FEL for transport. I would not be dragging and collecting dirt on trees to be milled.

Agree 100%, but with a good skid plate on the 3-pt, you can elevate one butt and get very little dirt on the log when dragging. That's what I normally do. I think I paid about $125 for my skid plate on e-Bay, but they are easy to make with a welder and some square stock.

 

[jeff9366]

Agree 100%, but with a good skid plate on the 3-pt, you can elevate one butt and get very little dirt on the log when dragging.

Full cut chains on my Stihl MS261 retain sharpness a very long time so long as dirt/sand contact is nil to irreducible minimum. "Very little" dirt would be too much by my standards. Then there is the issue of unproductive time as dull chain is exchanged for a sharp chain.

While I occasionally have to skid a weather toppled tree, I only salvage the clean wood for chainsawing into firewood. Any part with visible dirt is segregated and carried to the burn pile on the Debris Forks.

I use an OMNI (brand) 3-Pt triangle-crossdrawbar, with an OMNI "hanging tree" to elevate logs when (rarely) skidding.

 

[s219]

I always run semi-chisel when dealing with dirty wood, which is most of the time. I love full chisel for performance in clean wood, but it is quite a bit more fragile in dirty wood. I think I reduced the need to file by about a factor of 3-4 when I started using semi chisel. I got that tip from a production logger on Arboristsite (before the jerks there annoyed the guy too much) and boy was that some good advice.

 

[s219]

I should add, when milling, I suppose the main concern is the milling rig, not the felling/bucking saw. I have a hard time sharpening or changing chains with my Alaskan slabbing rig, so the cleaner the wood the better there. And we go through enough bandsaw blades when using a WoodMizer as it is, so dirty wood would only make that worse, and require a bigger supply of spare blades on hand.

 

[Fallon]

I have a L3200 (same tractor only slightly older) & love it. I can mow our 4 acres of pasture (decent number of obstacles) in 4 hours. It moves dirt pretty well, although it would be nicer to have a bigger tractor to make things go faster at times. Generally I'm pretty happy with it, although I keep thinking about upgrading to a cabbed Grand at some point, but that almost doubls the price over what I paid.

If you are going to be moving logs, you might be limited by the loader capacity. 1,000 lbs isnt too much when doing some stuff. I generally dont like pushing my equipment to the limit often, as that wears things out & beats it up faster.

Definitely get a HST & one with the SSQA. HST makes manuvering & picking things up trivial. SSQA means it takes seconds to swap between a bucket & pallet forks.

 

[GoosePaint]

Thanks for the opinions. I borrowed a buddies new jd 4010 this weekend. Used it to move 28 yards of dirt down my 500' driveway w loader and box blade. Got more work done with 40hp hst than 70hp NH gear driven. Man that hst is nice. Makes front end loader work like slinging a shovel. Now i get it! Most of the logs we mill are pine, and all have been log jacked up onto the mill so far. Just for fun i moved a 15' piece of cedar that represents waaaay bigger than i will ever need to mill. The little tractor handled it fine. I wont be ready to buy for a few months, but i will be buying the l3901, 4x4, hst. The jd was nice, but i have a pile of made in japan honda stuff that i depend on already, and that jd isn't yanmar enough for me. Thanks!

 

[GoosePaint]

Also, because of the simple controls on the jd, i could slap it into neutral and jump off to hook up logs or whatever without tractor shutting down. Are the controls the same on new kubota? It was a pain on the tn70a new holland to set brake everytime.

 

[motownbrowne]

Also, because of the simple controls on the jd, i could slap it into neutral and jump off to hook up logs or whatever without tractor shutting down. Are the controls the same on new kubota? It was a pain on the tn70a new holland to set brake everytime.

With a hydrostatic machine you don't need to (and shouldn't) put the transmission in neutral to get off the machine. Leaving it engaged will hold the tractor from rolling to some degree. Not as good as brakes but better than neutral. It might creep downhill a touch, but it's not gonna take off.

 

[GoosePaint]

On this machine it would shut down when i took weight off seat unless lever to the left of seat was in neutral. I used it for 2 days without touching the brake.

 

[Fallon]

I zip tied down the seat sensor on mine L3200, so I can stand or jump off without it dying. As you probably noticed the HST acts like a brake when not being driven. I'll jump off mine on a hill in M range & it will roll a foot or so a minute. Not great, but good.

The Parking brake is a little lever on the right side, just to the left of the brakes. You jam on the left brake (or both if pinned) Then pull the parking lever to hold the brake in place. A bit annoying, but workable. I often drop my box blade instead. You get use to the twitch to the left when you try to take off with the parking brake on. I never pin my brakes unless someboyd else is going to drive the tractor. With the HST I use them for turning & very occasionally when trying to do precision pickups or drops on a hill.

Whatever you do, get the tires loaded & always use proper ballast, especially given your plans to mostly use the loader. Loaded rear tires really help with the traction & help keep the rear on the ground when lifting things. However loaded tires don't help keep the load off the weak front axle. Proper ballast on the back unloads weight off the weak & complex front axle to put it on the strong & simple rear

At one point I was trying to put a 100, maybe 180 tops gate on the pallet forks. It was just a gate, so I didn't bother with putting anything on the back for ballast. It was also only in 2wd & on a slight downhill slope (front wheels were maybe 6-8" lower than the front). I let off the go pedal & kept going. Jammed on brakes, no affect. FInally ended up with a couple small holes in the sheet metal in the back of my shop.

Moral of the story is, always ballast properly (not just load the tires) & use 4wd if you pick up anything with the loader as the brakes are only on the rear (and don't work in 2wd if your rear is light). Your brakes are also not likely to work if the HST doesn't stop you when you let off to go pedal.

I'd still highly recomend the tractor, but just be aware of the limitations & proper operation.

I got R4s as they have a higher load capacity, are a bit more durable. They probably have a little less traction than R1s, but I haven't had any problems, I'm power limited a lot of the time.

You'd be crazy not to get the loader with the SSQA on it rather than just the pin on one. Swapping between bucket, pallet forks & a grapple just takes seconds with the SSQA. Could take ages with a pin on.

 

[jeff9366]

All tractors sold in the last few years have OSHA mandated "safety" switches under the operator's seat and tied in with the PTO.

 

[murphy1244]

All tractors sold in the last few years have OSHA mandated "safety" switches under the operator's seat and tied in with the PTO.

Not so. Kioti does not use them in the DK series and I thank them for that.

 

[GoosePaint]

My 1986 honda 3813 garden tractor has the seat switch, so annoying.

 

[s219]

I zip tied down the seat sensor on mine L3200, so I can stand or jump off without it dying. As you probably noticed the HST acts like a brake when not being driven. I'll jump off mine on a hill in M range & it will roll a foot or so a minute. Not great, but good.

The engine should only quit on the L3200 when getting up off the seat if the HST treadle is depressed fwd/reverse or the PTO is running (though PTO can be started with seat lifted so that it will run without anyone in the seat).

Were you having problems with the engine quitting anytime you got up off the seat, even with HST treadle centered? That would not be right, and suggests the safety switches on the HST treadle need adjustment.

I get up and out of the seat on my L3200 all the time, and it won't cut out unless the treadle is depressed and the tractor is moving. It's annoying if I am creeping forward to do something and then lift up off the seat try to look over the hood (rare). But there are other situations where that could be important.

 

[Fallon]

The engine should only quit on the L3200 when getting up off the seat if the HST treadle is depressed fwd/reverse or the PTO is running (though PTO can be started with seat lifted so that it will run without anyone in the seat).

Were you having problems with the engine quitting anytime you got up off the seat, even with HST treadle centered? That would not be right, and suggests the safety switches on the HST treadle need adjustment.

I get up and out of the seat on my L3200 all the time, and it won't cut out unless the treadle is depressed and the tractor is moving. It's annoying if I am creeping forward to do something and then lift up off the seat try to look over the hood (rare). But there are other situations where that could be important.

I often stand when trying to maneuver to pick up things with the forks, which is my main reason for defeating the switch. If I fall off, the HST pedal will go to center & stop the tractor just as well as killing the engine would. I stay belted to the seat if I'm running a mower or tiller to prevent ant PTO entanglement.

Its was one of the first things I did, so I'm a bit fuzzy on all the kill scenarios with that switch operating normally. You are quite probably correct.