Can a Kubota L2501 move a round bale?

[MRollins10]

Hello, I am new to TBN and am in the process of buying a home on 7 acres. I will have a couple of cows so that i can keep my ag exempt. I am looking at possibly buying a new Kubota L2501 HST with FEL and R4 tires. My property is flat / gently sloping. I will need to be able to bushhog and drag the gravel drive with a box blade. Occasionally i will want to move around a round bale for the cattle. Out of the barn to the pasture. I am planning on filling the tires with water and antifreeze for extra weight. Does anyone have any experience with this this tractor? Will it lift and move a round bale?

I have also looked at John Deere 2025e and a Massey Furgeson 1726E. I think the L2501's body is a bit bigger. Or at least it feels like it.

Suggestions anyone?

 

[jeff9366]

Round bales weight from 800 to 1,200 pounds dry. In Texas most round bales are probably towards 1,200 pounds.

The L2501 weighs 2,700 pounds, bare tractor. You cannot lift 1,200 pound round bales safely with a tractor that weighs less than 4,000 pounds bare, 5,000 pounds bare safer.

In Kubota the 4,000 pound tractors are in the Kubota MX series and the larger Grand L series. Even in the MX series you need 600 - 900 pound implement mounted on the Three Point Hitch as FEL counterbalance when moving 1,200 pounds on the FEL.

https://www.kubotausa.com/products/tractors/economy-utility/mx

I am in the process of buying a home on 7 acres. My property is flat / gently sloping. I need to bushhog and drag the gravel drive with a box blade. I am planning on filling the tires with water and antifreeze for extra weight.

Aside from moving round bales a L2501 is ample for your other tasks, using 60" wide implements.

For two cows, buy square bales. Transport square bales in the FEL bucket.


MORE: L251 bales site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

 

[Citydude]

I have an L2501, I use it for logging. I think you could lift 1200 pounds off the ground for transportation however that would be it. So if your getting bales off a stack, that would be too dicey.

 

[MRollins10]

I have an L2501, I use it for logging. I think you could lift 1200 pounds off the ground for transportation however that would be it. So if your getting bales off a stack, that would be too dicey.

How do you like the L2501?

 

[MRollins10]

@Jeff - Thank you.

 

[Citydude]

How do you like the L2501?

I like it. It's been a workhorse in steep terrain pulling logs and stacking them. The rear tires need to be loaded as you mentioned. The loud exhaust is my only complaint.

 

[MRollins10]

I like it. It's been a workhorse in steep terrain pulling logs and stacking them. The rear tires need to be loaded as you mentioned. The loud exhaust is my only complaint.

Knowing what you know now...would you have gone with a bigger one? Or some other brand?

 

[Citydude]

Knowing what you know now...would you have gone with a bigger one? Or some other brand?

I've got the machine that fits my needs as far as logging in deep timber and narrow trails. When it comes to running implements off the PTO, it is a few ponies shy for the size of tractor it is. So you might keep that in mind. The 3901 is the correct engine for the PTO to run a 6 foot cutter.

I've only had 2 Kubotas and no issues with them. An L3400 and the L2501. No experience with other brands. There are only Deere and Kubota dealers here in the middle of nowhere. Closest dealer is 75 miles away.

 

[newbury]

To answer the question posed by the thread title based on specs at Tractordata.com - Yes, on the 3pt.
BUT - If you are only going to have 2 cows and they are grazing on 3 acres how much hay do you need? Would round bales "go bad"?

 

[MRollins10]

I've got the machine that fits my needs as far as logging in deep timber and narrow trails. When it comes to running implements off the PTO, it is a few ponies shy for the size of tractor it is. So you might keep that in mind. The 3901 is the correct engine for the PTO to run a 6 foot cutter.

I've only had 2 Kubotas and no issues with them. An L3400 and the L2501. No experience with other brands. There are only Deere and Kubota dealers here in the middle of nowhere. Closest dealer is 75 miles away.

Thanks. Good to know.

 

[jeff9366]

I have an L2501, I use it for logging. I think you could lift 1200 pounds off the ground for transportation however that would be it. So if your getting bales off a stack, that would be too dicey.

Bales are sometimes wet, hence heavier.

When bale is speared at least half, probably 60% of the weight will be above the spear. The front wheels crossing a rut or dropping into a depression could fairly easily roll a L2501 in this inherently unstable condition.

Safety first.

 

[MRollins10]

If you are only going to have 2 cows and they are grazing on 3 acres how much hay do you need? Would round bales "go bad"?

Great question. Im learning as i go here. lol

 

[Citydude]

Bales are sometimes wet, hence heavier.

When bale is speared, at least half, probably 60% of the weight will be above the spear. The front wheels crossing a rut or dropping into a depression could fairly easily roll a L2501 in this inherently unstable condition.

Safety first.

Not if the bail is just off the ground. The bail would hit the ground preventing rollover. Work smarter....

 

[newbury]

Bales are sometimes wet, hence heavier.

When bale is speared at least half, probably 60% of the weight will be above the spear. The front wheels crossing a rut or dropping into a depression could fairly easily roll a L2501 in this inherently unstable condition.

Safety first.

Not if the bail is just off the ground. The bail would hit the ground preventing rollover. Work smarter....

Also, if your careful, and like the OP only handling a few BALES, you could probably stick them in the side, further reducing roll over chances.

 

[4570Man]

I seriously doubt the tractor will lift a 1200 pound bale at all with the loader. I think you could lift a 1200 pound log on pallet forks, but a bale pushes the weight farther forward.

 

[Ortimber]

I seriously doubt the tractor will lift a 1200 pound bale at all with the loader. I think you could lift a 1200 pound log on pallet forks, but a bale pushes the weight farther forward.

I have an L3901 and no way will I use it for moving round bales. 1200lbs, which I doubt is possible for that tractor, is asking for trouble.

The little L tractors are fine machines for what they are, but the lack of weight makes them marginal at best for loader work...

 

[Fallon]

I had a L3200, same loader & frame as the L2501. I helped a friend move a small barn full of "1,200lbs" big square bales. I got the job done, but it was sketchy as ****. If I recall the loader is rated to 1,200lbs at the pins. Add in a couple hundred lbs for the forks & a decent bit for the load being well in front of the pins & I was well past the OEM rating.

I had a 5' rotary cutter on the back & a small pile of 50lbs bags of stuff on the back of that. Loaded R4 tires too. Lots of ballast & it was located a lot further back than normal for better performance. It still really wasnt enough. The back end was really light & pretty much came off the ground at least once.

The lack if ballast is guaranteed to be the weak point on the economy L 2 & 3 thousands, possibly the "frame". My new L4060 on the other hand is rock solid at max loader lift with just loaded tires (I keep ballast on the 3pt pther than that one time). So hydraulics & loader design are the weak spot there. Probably closely followed by the front axle, but that's just a guess. Everything has a weak spot, so that's not a complaint against either machine. Just s matter of where that weak spot is. Hopefully it's a power or ballast weak spot, not a structural issue.

I was lucky if I could lift a bale high enough to stack it on another bale. It depended on how lucky we were with the weight of a given bale.

In short, a L2501 might be able to lift your bales. But it wont be able to do it safely. You can probably get away with an occasional bale, as I did. But plan on getting a bigger machine if you plan on moving big square or round bales.

 

[MRollins10]

I have an L3901 and no way will I use it for moving round bales. 1200lbs, which I doubt is possible for that tractor, is asking for trouble.

The little L tractors are fine machines for what they are, but the lack of weight makes them marginal at best for loader work...

Do you wish you would have purchased larger?

 

[Citydude]

I seriously doubt the tractor will lift a 1200 pound bale at all with the loader. I think you could lift a 1200 pound log on pallet forks, but a bale pushes the weight farther forward.

Good point

 

[Fallon]

Oh, you'd be reasonably safe moving the bales on a 3pt bale spear as opposed to the loader.

If the rear wheels come off the ground, the tractor will immediately roll to one side on the front axle pivot pin. Then hit the axle stops & almost assuredly keep rolling over.

If the front wheels come off the ground things aren't likely to be as bad. The solid rear axle wont ever roll side to side. It's easy to add ballast to the bucket to prevent that issue too.