Greetings, looking at a Kubota L3400d

[novasbc]

I've got 10 acres of land that I'm working with. Needs are shredding, moving dirt, and leveling land.

I found a Kubota l3400d in my father in law's town, which seemed like a good match for what I want. Has the front loader, but I'd need to get a shredder, currently priced at $8500, but I was thinking of offering $8000.

Research here shows that it's a decent tractor, but has a shaky three point hitch, which makes it difficult to use a box blade. I hadn't known what a box blade was beforehand, but it seems like for leveling land, such a thing is required.

The price overall seems high, but if my needs for leveling land isn't a day to day thing, maybe the shaky 3ph won't be bad?

It has nearly 2000 hours. I'm curious if it's worth looking at further. My father in law (very experienced with running all sorts of equipment), says it's decent, but not a steal.

Thanks!

Mark.

 

[Thomas]

:welcome: to TBN...enjoy.

 

[mddorange]

:welcome:
To the TBN forum Mark. You came to the right place as there are many L3400 owners here.
Your father-in-law is correct about it not being a steal with 2,000 hours on it.
Check how it was maintained.
Check if it was kept inside or outside.
Check the hoses and tires for a lot of wear and cracking.
The jerkiness of the 3 Pt hitch won't be that much of a problem and you will quickly learn how to use it.

That is a good sized tractor for that amount of land unless you have some extra special needs.

If you can, post some pictures for others to help you check it out.

 

[Citydude]

Welcome to TBN! I had an L3400 and it was a great tractor. The jerky 3pt hitch I learned to live with and besides, a box blade is for hogging dirt and not a finishing tool. Take a look at Tractorhouse.com and you will get an idea of what they are going for on the retail market. $8500.00 isn't out of the ballpark if it's in good shape.

 

[BLSXJ]

I bought a L3400 HST last fall.... with about 1800 hours on it. I bought it because of its history (light use, stored indoors, never saw winter/salt)

does the one your looking at have the SSQA front bucket? if you plan on any hard digging with the bucket, your gonna want a tooth bar.

btw... I already regret not buying bigger....

 

[bspeedy]

Is this tractor 4wd? If not, I would not give more than 6500 for it. Actually, I would not buy a 2wd tractor for the uses you describe.

Post some pics and we can tell you a lot just by looking.

 

[novasbc]

Thanks for the welcome and responses.

According to my FIL and the model number it's front wheel assist. My guess is it was stored outside, but at least it's a Texas tractor. Most are stored outside, in practice.

I'll be able to inspect it in person over Easter weekend if I am still interested. Here are the pictures sent to my by the FIL.










Mark.

 

[TheMadOne]

Can't say I'm a fan of the gear drive for loader work. It'll do what you want it to, but your left leg'll be worn out by the end of a full day of dirt moving!

 

[bspeedy]

Looks like it's been outside. I really hate to see that. If you buy it, do yourself and the machine a favor and store it indoors. It makes all the difference.

If there is a maintenance history and it runs without smoking or making some terrible noise, it should certainly be worth in the 7-8 grand range. Unless it's been abused, that tractor should have half it's life left. Average use of these tractors is 100 hours per year. You should be good for 20 years. The bad thing is, in 10 years you will have a 3000 hour tractor which will be very difficult to sell. If you are quite sure you will keep it for a long, long time, go for it. If you think you will upgrade or need something different, maybe try to find one with closer to 1000 hours a a bit more $$.

If I were buying, I'd probably buy it knowing I'd have to settle for 6500 when I sell it in 500 or 1000 hours. Therefore, I would try to get it for as little money as possible. But, I guess that goes without saying...

As for the hours - I have an 1800 hour, 40 year old CUT that is as good as a new tractor. Never fails to start and run and will work all day in 100 degree heat without a hiccup. However, it was owned by my father and stored indoors. It took about eight hundred dollars to get it working right after I got it from him (for free - thanks, Dad). Had a hole in the radiator, needed a battery, new rims, tire repairs, full service, a few odds and ends. Dad was fairly consistent with maintenance, but this particular machine sat for around 10 years in the barn before I got it.

Good luck

 

[novasbc]

Can't say I'm a fan of the gear drive for loader work. It'll do what you want it to, but your left leg'll be worn out by the end of a full day of dirt moving!

This was a helpful comment. I did some searching through this forum aboutgear drive, and now understand that these come with gear drive, or hydrostatic. I'm guessing that it's obvious that this one is a gear drive.

I don't know how I would quantify the amount of work I'd do with the loader, so I can't make a judgement yet, but I will take it into account in terms of a purchase. It certainly seems to be a hotly debated subject.

Looks like it's been outside. I really hate to see that. If you buy it, do yourself and the machine a favor and store it indoors. It makes all the difference.

If there is a maintenance history and it runs without smoking or making some terrible noise, it should certainly be worth in the 7-8 grand range. Unless it's been abused, that tractor should have half it's life left. Average use of these tractors is 100 hours per year. You should be good for 20 years. The bad thing is, in 10 years you will have a 3000 hour tractor which will be very difficult to sell. If you are quite sure you will keep it for a long, long time, go for it. If you think you will upgrade or need something different, maybe try to find one with closer to 1000 hours a a bit more $$.

If I were buying, I'd probably buy it knowing I'd have to settle for 6500 when I sell it in 500 or 1000 hours. Therefore, I would try to get it for as little money as possible. But, I guess that goes without saying...

As for the hours - I have an 1800 hour, 40 year old CUT that is as good as a new tractor. Never fails to start and run and will work all day in 100 degree heat without a hiccup. However, it was owned by my father and stored indoors. It took about eight hundred dollars to get it working right after I got it from him (for free - thanks, Dad). Had a hole in the radiator, needed a battery, new rims, tire repairs, full service, a few odds and ends. Dad was fairly consistent with maintenance, but this particular machine sat for around 10 years in the barn before I got it.

Good luck

There is at least a recent maintenance history. The current owner is a farm equipment shop, who bought it used to do some work around the property, but no longer needs it. According to my father in law, it was treated well (other than being outside) by the guy, who also did some repairs on it at one point in time.

My FIL started it up, and ran it through some motions, and said it fired up nicely, and everything seemed smooth.

Perhaps I'll see if the guy will take a reduced offer, given the miles on it, and what seems to be less desirable, given that it is a gear drive unit.

If I do end up pulling the trigger, I'll have to start looking for a shredder. FIL recommended a 6 foot shredder with this tractor.

I imagine if we buy it, it's unlikely we'll ever sell it, unless we got more property. In the short term, I have landscaping work to do with it, but in the long term, one of it's primary uses will be for the shredder around the property, and save the zero turn for the lawns, and around pecan trees on the property.

Mark