L3301 + Z400 ZT mower, best specs for BH, FEL, brush hog?

[bluelou212]

After getting some firm quotes from the local dealer I'm leaning toward doing the following all at the same time:
1) Trade in my 1 year old BX2670
2) Buy L3100 4WD w/HST, FEL, BH77 hoe w/12" bucket+thumb, (to add: brush hog, possibly grapple)
--FWIW, the B2650, L2501, and L3301 were too close in price to NOT get the L3301.
3) Buy Kubota Z400 60" ZT mower

Questions:
1) brush hog width? Dealer says 60" to match tire width? But, I'm more concerned about pulling the deck up a 10%+ grade. Any thoughts on this?
2) mechanical or hydraulic thumb? (I'm looking to use as a grapple to move fieldstone)
3) what size FEL?, Quoted as LA525 w/66" bucket? (I'm thinking possibly a narrower bucket. I want more force vs capacity)
4) Any opinions on the Z400 ZT on hills, overall performance?

Background:
Here are the jobs that I need the tractor and ZT for and the terrain type:
Terrain: 30 acres of mountainside with trails, of which, 2 acres requires finish mowing and 1 acre requires bush-hogging.

Uses:
In addition to the finish and rough mowing, we have about 1 mile of fieldstone walls that we've been reclaiming for landscaping uses around the property, plus other hardscaping and gardening projects.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

L 3301, great choice, be sure to load tires and add wheel weights. Consider gear drive for the terrain, I love mine... I also have a Kubota mower, it's an animal and mow's faster and better than any finish mower behind the tractor. Enjoy...

 

[bluelou212]

Steppenwolfe.
Thx for your reply. What are you using your various tractors for? What attachments are you using?
Do you think the L3901 is _that_ much better for brushhogging vs L3301? Or, the L3301 is capable enough?

Also, any thoughts on brush hog, thumb (mech vs hydraulic), FEL bucket size, grapple?

This looks like it could be a fit:
RCF2 & RCF272 Series Rotary Cutters | Land Pride

 

[teg]

L3901 would mow faster... L3301 will get it done, no problem, just a bit slower. Look into getting a tooth bar on the bucket, it puts "more force" in a smaller point. I would pass on the backhoe and get the other stuff... What plans did you have for the BH? Could you rent vs. buying?

 

[bluelou212]

Teg,
Thx for your reply. Re: BH, I've gotta a couple of hundred tons of fieldstone to move around, trails to maintain, new ones to cut, hardscaping. Id get a bx25 just to get the hoe b/f id get a larger tractor. Thumb is going to be really important, too.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Steppenwolfe.
Thx for your reply. What are you using your various tractors for? What attachments are you using?
Do you think the L3901 is _that_ much better for brushhogging vs L3301? Or, the L3301 is capable enough?

Also, any thoughts on brush hog, thumb (mech vs hydraulic), FEL bucket size, grapple?

This looks like it could be a fit:
RCF26 & RCF272 Series Rotary Cutters | Land Pride

We have 94 acres at our main house, and 5 at the cabin. All are hilly SW VA mountain acres. The B tractor stays at the cabin, it has a fel and a 5ft landplane for the driveway. My MX is the workhorse for the bigger tasks, 6ft brush hog, chipper, box blade, york rake, forks, and grapple. The 3301 is for lighter work, 5ft finish mower, 5ft bush hog, sprayer, and fertilizer. All have ssqa fel's. I bought the mini ex for trail building and stump removal. All have their uses, but I could probably get by with just the 3301 in a pinch if I had to. Don't be afraid of the 3901 if it is going to be your only tractor. Seriously consider the gear drive, pick up a bit more hp that way.

 

[bluelou212]

Sry, I don't even know what a gear drive is. Is that just a standard shift? I'm fine with that if I get more hp.

Well, now we're thinking on keeping the bx2670 (has 60" MMM and wife wants to use it for gardening) and maybe the most powerful L we can get. Hence, the L3901 question.

Btw, first time I've ever seen Voltaire quoted in any chat room : )

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Sry, I don't even know what a gear drive is. Is that just a standard shift? I'm fine with that if I get more hp.

Well, now we're thinking on keeping the bx2670 (has 60" MMM and wife wants to use it for gardening) and maybe the most powerful L we can get. Hence, the L3901 question.

Btw, first time I've ever seen Voltaire quoted in any chat room : )

Gear drive, shuttle shift. I grew up on old timey gear driven tractors, so that is my comfort level. HST is preferred by most, though. Yep... gotta love Voltaire, he suits my sarcastic wit.

 

[bluelou212]

Gear drive, shuttle shift. I grew up on old timey gear driven tractors, so that is my comfort level. HST is preferred by most, though. Yep... gotta love Voltaire, he suits my sarcastic wit.

Steppenwolf,
Thx for the words of wisdom. I think we may keep the bx2670 as a mower and gardening equip for my wife and maybe an L3901 for the bigger stuff. Gear driven doesn't bother me if it gives me better control.

 

[bluelou212]

Steppenwolf,
Thx for the words of wisdom. I think we may keep the bx2670 as a mower and gardening equip for my wife and maybe an L3901 for the bigger stuff. Gear driven doesn't bother me if it gives me better control.

I read Candide as part of my minor in French in the mid 80s

 

[teg]

...Gear driven doesn't bother me if it gives me better control.

Gear gives you more HP, HST gives you fine tune preciseness, where you can creep very slowly to hook up implements, also very quick and easy to go from forward to reverse.

I was a gear only, kind of guy but now I really love HST (especially the older I get).

I would get a HST L3301 before a Gear Drive L3901 - but that's just me.

 

[s219]

I think the main advantage to gear is that you don't lose ~ 15% engine power to the HST driveline. So for many uses, gear is better, like mowing, row-crop farming, many types of logging, etc. Where gear really loses out is when doing a lot of front loader work -- HST lets you go through the motions of material pickup and dumping a whole lot more efficiently, lets you change direction rapidly, gives you very fine/precise control to creep or position the machine, and so on. If looking at bulk materials, you can nose in, bury the front bucket in the pile, curl up, and back out in a very fluid motion with an HST machine.

I have an HST machine and I frequently operate a relative's gear tractor. I'd say loader work is the task that really separates out the two machines. HST is so much more productive for loader work. For everything else it's somewhat of a wash and I could go either way.

 

[bluelou212]

teg and s219,
Thx for the feedback on gear vs hst. I'm used to the hst on the bx2670 so I'll probably stick with that on the L3301 or L3901.

Also, thinking about keeping the BX2670. We'd use it for mowing and my wife wants the BX2670 for herself for garden stuff. Yes, we do that much work on the property ; )

 

[Tompet]

On the BH77 I would suggest getting the 16" bucket. I had a 12" bucket on a prior Kubota and much better with the 16". Way less plugging for sure and increases productivity. Also a 16" trench you can work in, 12" is too tight. Brush hog a little wider than your tire spread is better than narrower.

They don't make factory hydraulic thumb for bh77 last I knew, though some have discussed adding it with aftermarket parts. Maybe you need a B26 tlb instead? That would be my ultimate upgrade! With 30 acres, I wouldn't want anything smaller than you outlined.

For some of tasks you outlined, get the SSQA for the FEL now, then currently or in future a set of forks...very very handy, especially with the stone work. Construction Attachments makes a lightweight set for a good price that works great on that size tractor.

I went with a narrower FEL bucket, just covers tire width, for same reason you stated, that a wider bucket just puts more potential lateral/twisting force on FEL arms. I think a 60" bucket would work well for you, then after you get it order a Pirahna tooth bar....worth the money imo.
Enjoy!

 

[Ortimber]

If I remember correctly, the L model gear tractors do not have a live PTO. I would never have a non live PTO tractor. Been there and done that on many old machines.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

If I remember correctly, the L model gear tractors do not have a live PTO. I would never have a non live PTO tractor. Been there and done that on many old machines.

You are correct, the L series do not have live pto. It is a nuisance, but not a big deal.

 

[bluelou212]

Update. So, here's what I've narrowed it down to. Looking to complete the purchase before year end. Any constructive comments would be much appreciated.

Thx,
Lou

Here's the spec:
L3901 HST 4WD
+ Loader w/66" bucket + SSQA
+ BH77 QA hoe w/12" bucket

NOTES:
--MSRP (kubota website, including thumb and forks) = $36,500 vs $30,000 dealer quote for same. So, dealer is about 82% of MSRP.
--Financing is 60 months, 0% down

Other items likely to be added in:
Thumb
LandPride RCR 1272 72" brush hog
R1 tires loaded
Kubota QA pallet forks

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Update. So, here's what I've narrowed it down to. Looking to complete the purchase before year end. Any constructive comments would be much appreciated.

Thx,
Lou

Here's the spec:
L3901 HST 4WD
+ Loader w/66" bucket + SSQA
+ BH77 QA hoe w/12" bucket

NOTES:
--MSRP (kubota website, including thumb and forks) = $36,500 vs $30,000 dealer quote for same. So, dealer is about 82% of MSRP.
--Financing is 60 months, 0% down

Other items likely to be added in:
Thumb
LandPride RCR 1272 72" brush hog
R1 tires loaded
Kubota QA pallet forks

You have a winner there... Great setup. Be sure and load tires or keep bh on lifting. These L's are real light in the butt.

 

[bluelou212]

You have a winner there... Great setup. Be sure and load tires or keep bh on lifting. These L's are real light in the butt.

Steppenwolfe,
Thx. You're right. I took an L3901 w/o hoe out for a test drive yesterday and raised a rear tire just picking up a few hundred pounds of wet sand with the FEL. So, they got me an L2501 w/hoe to test drive and it was much more stable working with the FEL. Except for brush hogging I expect to keep the hoe on. I tried gear vs HST, too. HST for me.

 

[bluelou212]

Bought the tractor Friday, yea!
Final spec:
Kubota L3901 HST 4WD TLB with standard hoe w/thumb, and bucket (66" SSQA)

Implements:
Land Pride 72" brush hog
Bobcat pallet forks, SSQA
Land Pride SCG 10 61" grapple, SSQA

Wish List:
Skidding winch
PTO chipper